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Are you ready to be an MLS correspondent for SBI?

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Are you an MLS fan who wishes there were someplace that a fan’s voice could be heard? Do you long for the day when you could read (or even write) about strong opinions about your MLS team?

That time is coming.

Soccer By Ives is set to select 14 readers/MLS fans to serve as correspondent/columnists for their favorite MLS teams. Are you a long-time MLS fan? Do you have some journalism experience (or are you a journalism student looking for a place to work on your craft)? If so, then send an email to soccerbyives@gmail.com with your information, including club you support and writing experience, and it will be considered for one of the 14 correspondent positions.

I am looking for writers who follow their teams closely, attend games regularly, have some writing experience, and are ready to meet a deadline.

The position (which isn’t paid) will consist of a weekly piece (between 300 and 500 words) on the state of your team. I’m not so much looking for match reporting as I am looking for intelligent commentary and opinion on the teams in MLS. Ready to sing the praises of Claudio Lopez after he scores a brace? Ready to rip the Red Bulls after a loss? You will be given the task of not only providing a voice for your favorite club’s supporters, but also informing the rest of the MLS fan community about the state of your team from week to week.

So what is the benefit of being chosen? You will have your voice heard and words read by thousands of readers of Soccer By Ives, a website that will surpass 2 million total page views just three months after launching. If you are an aspiring journalist you will also have an opportunity to work on your craft and establish a name for yourself.

Once again, of you are interested in becoming an SBI correspondent please email me at soccerbyives@gmail.com. Include the MLS team you follow in the subject heading and include your personal information and writing credentials in the email.

Comments

  1. Ives,

    I absolutely love the idea and I would love to be the Chicago Fire correspondent. I just saw this and I have somewhere to be at five, but I’ll send you an email tonight. All the best,

    Kevin Anderson

    Reply
  2. Ives,

    What are the viewer-ship numbers on your site. In individual people a month and page views a month. Is the viewer-ship growing? I hope it is because that means there is a heightened interest in soccer in America! YAY!

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  3. Dave Martinez, it WAS sarcasm but only good natured. It was more of a reference to the fact that Ives gets millions of requests for info on O’Brien and expansion so I thought I would just throw in another one.

    Me and Ives go back a long way, I remember when he was known as Ivy and wore a mini-skirt, but I still like giving him a hard time whenever possible.

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  4. So should we now call the site Soccer by Readers? And how is it going to have a Jersey flavor with writers from all over the country.

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  5. Ives,

    Can you please give me some information on the current whereabouts of John O’Brien. Also, I would love to know where you think MLS is going to expand next. I have been a reader of your site for several minutes and have never seen either of these very important topics addressed. Please do so immediately.

    Also, can you please tell me what your opinion is on Columbus draft pick Andy Iro – and whether you think that SBI will pick up any Brophies or Awards for blogging this season.

    Ty HardOn.

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  6. Ives,

    I am ready. I would like to start features on the career of John O’Brien and the impact promotion and relegation will have on the Red Bulls.

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  7. Based on a lot of the hilarious and (generally) insightful comments from the mafia, I can’t wait to read people’s takes on their teams. I would even read teams I don’t care about just to appreciate the commentary.

    Not to beat a dead horse, but seriously Ives the site is great and evolving nicely, thank you for doing this. I thought my visitations would decrease at some point, but they have not – and there’s no sign of letting up…

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  8. I think John is looking at it the wrong way. Ives can’t cover each team individually. Especially from a fan’s perspective. While he continues to do what he does best (dispensing inside information to the rest of us) he can improve the coverage of the site overall. I think its a great move.

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  9. I want to be a soccer commentator to help change soccer into a bigger sport in America as a great energetic color commentator. so does this has to do with this?

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  10. Nico, the new site has been up like three months? You want it to be Fox Soccer or something?

    Getting us readers involved is a good next step. I like the way the site is evolving.

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  11. fan blogger vs pro writer ??

    Pros can give you confirmations and information with some analysis but the dictates of pro journalism leans towards detached and balanced reporting. Problem is , does the team exist inside the pressbox or in the dressing room?

    I say neither. The true heart of the team actually exists in the mind of the supporters. No love, no team.

    The fan blogger allows you to take the temperature of those outside the loop. The voices in the stands, the opinions around the bar, those who say they will live or die on the fortunes of “their” team.

    Sure, as a blogger I have a bias. I am truly looking forward to the conversation that Ives is pursuing.

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  12. i like the idea of fan participation and opinions. though i must say, i don’t see how this is evolving beyond a blog. why not enlist professional writers? even if you can’t pay them much…i would think some would be more than happy to contribute short pieces. anyway, the website is quite good. I just dont see how it has evolved beyond the blog with occasional primary sources (ie interviews and occasional “breaking” news), which is what you had previously. Again, I really enjoy the website and your hard work; just haven’t noticed a difference other than the increase in posts/articles.

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  13. I swear Steve isn’t my sock puppet lol! I really think the competition would work. I was thinking that you could probably get the MLS to give away some merchandise prizes or even tickets. You probably have some influence on getting something like that done. It’s just an idea and I’m sure every person that posts on SBI is already partially doing it for free…so

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  14. Good idea PCFC!

    A weekly competition for the mafia to be posted on SBI. Ives, I know you may think that it would take too much time to sort though them all, but you could set the rules by providing a topic, limiting word counts, and only accepting the first 50 or so. I bet you’d get some good ones that us readers would enjoy.

    …Just a thought.

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  15. Great Idea, but I would also recommend that you have an opinionated or even op-ed section where readers send in their opinions on the week or the league in general, and the best one (or most interested or controversial) gets posted for the week. I don’t know…it’s a different idea than getting amateur writers, but it does give some of the readers who do not have the time to be a correspondent the opportunity to contribute.

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  16. Of course you had to write “Ready to rip the Red Bulls after a loss?” hahahaha 😀 There’s gonna be a lot of applicants for that one!

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  17. Yeah, John, get off your high-horse. It’s volunteer-driven and you don’t have to read any of the submissions if you don’t want to.

    I’ve wanted a local perspective on FCD games ever since the Dallas Morning News “fired” the only guy around these parts (Steve Davis) that could construct a soccer-related sentence that actually made sense.

    This is a great idea. Looking forward to the increased FCD coverage.

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  18. Yeah, I’m looking forward to reading some of these. Fans who go to games and read every press report and know the daily schedule for the club invariable come up with commentary that I find interesting and more valuable than the typical prematch reports.

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  19. John, relax…we are all a soccer community here, hell we are lucky to even have this kind of website to browse anyway. 2-3 years ago these blogs were not around and the only thing we could turn to was Soccer America. Great idea Ives and looking forward to the columns!

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  20. I imagine these writers aren’t hunting for “breaking news” or to clarify rumors. They won’t be asked to be an every-day newshound like Ives is for the Red Bulls or Luis Bueno is for the Galaxy and Chivas.

    It’s just what these writers think of how their team did match after match and the state of their team from week-to-week.

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  21. John you do realize this site has been around a while and has major traffic, right? How is it wrong for Ives to ask for writer submissions? He created a great site and is trying to make it bigger and is now bringing in readers to help him. Nothing wrong with that. Sign me up.

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  22. John, for a writer, its actually a great trade off – get your articles read by millions as opposed to tens on a blog (not speaking for MY mighty blog of course – we rule!!!).

    Writers get recognition, respect and what they want MOST – readership.

    Ives, as the boss, gets his hits (and then some) and advertising. And he still writes.

    Its a good deal. And it makes for more reading and information on EVERY MLS team.

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  23. That’s pretty good, naming a site after yourself and then asking people to work for free while generating page hits and advertising. You’ll have people who will do it, no doubt. But it doesn’t make it right.

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  24. Amazing idea.

    Id love to do it (i love to write and looooove my soccer) but im not sure how one would go about this (mostly with regards to rumors etc)

    Reply

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