Greg Macafee just wants to cover sports again.
That's what our newest full-time hire told me in one of our talks a few weeks ago and, believe it or not, that took some convincing. He was, until yesterday, the editor-in-chief at the Youngstown Vindicator, overseeing all kinds of important fare from his important post. But he felt the itch to get back to ground-level reporting and ... well, let's just say I've been there.
So, please join me, Dali and our entire staff in welcoming Greg to our family. Because he really, really meant it.
He'll be covering the Steelers alongside me and Chris Halicke, as we take a large step toward making our football coverage unlike any other. We'll all be pushing -- from various angles and approaches -- to offer original news, analysis, Xs and Os, multimedia and more, and we'll be doing so as a team, beginning in earnest when Chris moves back to the Pittsburgh area from Texas within a couple weeks.
Greg's bio can be found right here. He's starting Monday, though it'll take some time to have him fully up and running.
There's more to come, too.
We've made another full-time hire, as well, behind the scenes and already at work. I'll share in due time. And we're looking for one more, also full-time but this one very much up front. A reporter. Pass the word along, please, to anyone with legit experience in journalism. This isn't an entry-level position in any way, shape or form.
Pending this hire, I can't really detail who'll be doing what, but I know that we want one more to solidify the depth chart, so to speak.
I told everyone a while ago that we're drop-dead serious about elevating our collective game, and I meant that. All of our beats have to rise up to the level of what we do with the Penguins, while it's also right to stress that Taylor Haase and I have been at that together for a long time. We want that on Steelers and Pirates, too, and we'll get there.
As ever, I'll be in comments if there are any questions.
ANNIVERSARY DATE: JULY 23
Yet another reminder that everyone's more than invited to our company's 10th anniversary, July 23, at our HQ/shop, 224 Fifth Avenue, Downtown, ranging from noon to some undetermined point past 6 p.m.
• There'll be refreshments 'n' at. Still being weighed what that'll entail. (The Boss wants to make sure nobody's putting their greasy fingerprints all over her merch!)
• There'll be goodies galore. That means giveaways and, yeah, that'll include that one extra shipment of 3XL Kenny Pickett T-shirts this idiot ordered right before the trade.
• We're making up T-shirts of that logo up there, too. And that'll be available online, as well, for anyone who can't make it.
Plan ahead!
INSIDE THE WORKS
• We're short-handed for a while, as I'm kind of hinting above, and there are times it'll show. All I can promise: We're pushing like crazy to be back to firing on all cylinders by the start of the Steelers' training camp.
• Those miniature commenting balloons have been adjusted back to their normal size.
• Everyone loving being ad-free? If you're not there yet, it's only for paying subscribers. If you aren't subscribed yet or if your subscription's expired: This is our subscribe page. From there, make sure you're logged in, tap on the link, and thumb down to the bottom for the SUBSCRIBE button to buy/renew at the monthly or annual level. We also offer discounts, as ever, for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions.
• Grateful that so many of you continue to leave us good reviews on outside platforms. For anyone who hasn't yet, feel free to add your own on our Google listing, our Apple or Spotify podcast channels, our YouTube channels for the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates and, last but not least, our own app, whether it's the Apple or Android version. And again, thank you!
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 636,411, with 33,673 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, June 21-27. Our most-read original piece was ... well, pretty much a dead heat between my column on the Pirates' front office from PNC Park, at 17,305, and Friday Insider at 17,205.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 67,453, and our YouTube video views were 70,258.
• Our company social media accounts are at 54,092 followers on X, 40,557 on Facebook, 31,576 on YouTube, 14,939 on Instagram ... and already 4,680 on the new Threads!
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• We're often asked about our HQ/shop merch being available online, and yes, it's right here. The Downtown shop itself's open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Thanks for reading and, as ever, for your support of this venture.
