Please join me and everyone at DK Pittsburgh Sports in welcoming Mark Clemente to our staff to cover Pitt football and basketball.
And though that's the final piece of our 2.0 process in reassembling our staff for the future, it's also just the beginning of what I've got to say about how we'll cover college athletics for the 2022-23 school year.
Mark's a veteran reporter whose background includes having been part of some of the formative ventures covering the Pitt programs more than a decade ago, and he'll bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and professional passion to the beat. He's maybe the most energetic, excitable individual I've been around in this business, and I've got a strong sense that'll translate to what fans of the Panthers will read, see and hear.
He'll begin next Thursday with the first of several weekly entries intensely breaking down Pat Narduzzi's entire roster for the coming season, and there'll be much, much more to come.
Within that, I'll announce here that we'll resume traveling with Pitt football and basketball, now that the coast's mostly clear of COVID cancellations that made that close to impossible the past couple years. Plain and simple, we'll be everywhere the Panthers are, just like we are with our city's three big-league teams.
The same, I'm happy to further announce here, will apply to Penn State football. Cory Giger will be back on the beat, only with much greater access and license for much more of the quality content fans of the Nittany Lions have long come to expect from him.
We'll also have Andrew Mundy covering Duquesne basketball, working all home games on the Bluff as part of that, and Jarrod Prugar covering Robert Morris basketball and hockey, working select home games for both. It'll be extra-fun to have the Colonials' return to the rink back in our rotation.
Not bad, right?
Our staff's full-time roster's now at an all-time high of nine, and our nine contributors double that figure for our overall family.
As ever, I'll be in comments to answer anything anyone's got.
PART OF ARTS FESTIVAL!
If you're heading down today for the Three Rivers Arts Festival, it'd be wholly uncivil to not stop over to our new HQ/shop and say hello. We'll all be here, with a special table out on our sidewalk.
And remember, all our brand-based merchandise is available online with free shipping.
Thanks to everyone who visited this week, by the way. I had the chance to meet several very familiar names from our community for the first time, and that's terrific every single time it happens.
THE PRICE INCREASE
One last time: We're letting all of our subscribers know of a general price increase that took effect June 1, explained in both Site Stuff and via mass email.
For anyone who missed it, the price of an annual subscription's now at $59.99, and a monthly's now at $6.99. Seniors and students are still at $19.99, and military will always be completely free here. And anyone who can't afford the increase can just email me directly -- DK@DKPittsburghSports.com -- and let me know. No questions asked.
To date, we've heard from roughly two dozen people who can't pay the increase, and we're respecting each and every one, just as we're grateful for everyone who's able to pay it. Believe me, it's why we're able to do the expansion of all our coverage that's been laid out here in recent weeks.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page views for the past week were 381,324, our lowest week of the year. Our most-read original piece was my column on the Pirates' progress from PNC Park, at 7,052. Broken down by team traffic, articles on the Pirates brought 23.1% of our readership, the Penguins 16.7%, the Steelers 15.4%, Pitt 2.8%, and Penn State 1.1%.
• Our podcast downloads for the past week were 178,027.
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• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
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