Blogger Outreach?

A few moments ago, I received the email below from the kind folks at The New Republic. As far as I can remember, I have never provided "TNR," as the magazine is known in media circles, with my email address.

I therefore interpreted the following as outreach to sports bloggers; The magazine's writers must have visited College Ball, appreciated the content, noted my email address, and added yours truly to their media email list.

Nothing succeeds like flattery. I'll be sure to read TNR's periodic emails and comment on the magazine's sports articles as I see fit.

During the last few months, The New Republic Online has begun publishing an increasing number of articles on sports. While The New Republic is mainly a political and literary magazine--and therefore isn't usually associated with sports journalism--we believe there is value in bringing the magazine's argumentative sensibility to the world of sports, particularly the intersection of sports and politics. This is the inaugural edition of a periodic email that we hope will help you keep track of sports articles being published at TNR Online.

As you probably know, about half of our articles--including many of our sports pieces--are accessible only to subscribers. But these periodic emails will include pass-through links to our subscriber-only sports content. We encourage you to forward these links to friends and colleagues you think would be interested in reading them--and, if you are a blogger or writer, to use these pass-through links if you write about any of our pieces. Your readers will get the benefit of reading some of our subscriber-only material; and we will get the benefit of interesting your readers in TNR Online.

If you prefer not to receive these emails, let us know. And feel free to send us comments at this email address.

Best,
Richard Just
Editor, TNR Online

Most Valuable: With last night's win, the Detroit Pistons rescued the ethos of basketball--again.
by Jonathan Chait

Tale of Two Cities: D.C. and L.A. are both seeking sports teams. Only one knows what it's doing.
by Aaron Schatz

Contempt of Court: The media's nauseating coverage of Kobe Bryant.
by Kevin Canfield