It's not bragging. It's not an opinion. It's not perception, either. It's reality, in that there's no newspaper or media outlet -- based in Pittsburgh or anywhere -- that can match the audience we've been blessed to build up for coverage of the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, whether that's readers, viewers, listeners, app downloads, comments ... all of it.
I don't know that I ever thought we'd reach this status, and I mean that. When this all took off in mid-2014, the only goal Dali and I had was to recoup the money I was abandoning -- six-figure salary plus benefits -- and get the kids through college. Nobody was talking about pioneering or revolutionizing anything within the industry, and you'd better believe no one was talking about being No. 1 at what we do within a decade.
But on a week like this, where we achieved an all-time high of nearly 1.5 million page views, where we reached readers in 107 countries, where our videos approached a quarter-billion and where every other number associated with the company continued to grow -- even podcasts, which had been somewhat flat in recent months -- I'd like to seize this opportunity to remind that we've got an awful lot of co-builders in this.
Meaning you.
No pandering, I swear.
If there's one discernible difference between us and the old-school companies we've bypassed, it's the community. We're here with you, and you're here with us. We create a product for you, and you enhance the product by both supporting it and holding us directly, vocally accountable. And there'll never come a day where I take any credit for that.
A 77-year-old gentleman named J.D. Zerbee hand-wrote a letter to me this week, snail-mail and all, sending a check for $300 to contribute to our special-worker drive. If he'd sent $3, I'd have been no less moved because of the time he clearly took to share his thoughts on what we've all pulled off here and how much it's meant to him.
I worked for him that day. And you'd better believe I'm writing him back. (If I can still remember how to write by hand, anyway!)
I'm sure this sort of thing happens with other companies, including in our industry, but I can't name one. And I definitely can't name a newspaper or TV or radio outlet that does everything so directly. All their interactions tend to come on the now-toxic Twitter, as if that platform or those users somehow pay their salaries. That's not us. We're with YOU.
So hey, congrats on the big week!
AWESOME WEEK ON THE DRIVE
We started the week out awesome with a wave of commitments toward our special-worker discounts drive, but it really slowed down. We're at 346, including a mindblowing 100 committed yesterday from a longtime reader who goes by 'Yinzer Bobby' here, plus the 15 from J.D. above and many more.
Every single one of them's appreciated the same, big or small.
If you missed Site Stuff, we're seeking reader help toward building a fund from which we can offer 3,000 massively discounted subscriptions for teachers, police, fire, nurses, other emergency workers and volunteers. They're $20 per contribution. We'll then sell these at two-thirds off the full annual price ... and that'll remain their price forever.
• Our new Images feed just got up and, speaking for myself, it's been fun. Between my trip to St. Paul, Minn., and shots I've taken here Downtown, I've felt more aware of sharing visuals with you. Greg Macafee's whipped up a couple galleries, as well, from Florida. And of course, our subscribers keep sending their Snaps from all over the world. Be sure to make it a regular stop. It's got a box on the home page now within the Coverage That Connects row.
• Greg and José Negron have tag-teamed spring training, contributor Anthony Murphy's down there now, and I made a cameo myself at the outset. Alas, none of us can play first or left, but we can do our best to cover. I'll be flying back for the final week, coinciding with the Penguins playing there in Sunrise and Tampa, and I'll stick for the Pirates' opener in Miami.
• Everyone should now be seeing the red-bell notifications when anyone replies to your comment. It's silent, and it's at the top right corner of your screen. Try it!
• 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 mega-discounts, as ever, for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions.
• Grateful that so many are leaving us good reviews on other platforms. Feel free to add your own on our Google business listing, our Appleand Spotify podcast channels and, arguably most important, our own app, whether it's the Apple or Android version.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers, again, were an all-time record 1,470,930, with 42,473 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, March 7-13. Our most-read original piece was my Mason Rudolph exclusive, at 27,967.
• On the multimedia front, our video views for the past week were 240,497, and our podcast downloads were 101,037.
• Thanks for reading and, as ever, for your support of this proud independent venture.
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Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
THE ASYLUM
Dejan Kovacevic
5:58 am - 03.15.2025DowntownSite Stuff: Take a bow!
No. 1 means No. 1.
It's not bragging. It's not an opinion. It's not perception, either. It's reality, in that there's no newspaper or media outlet -- based in Pittsburgh or anywhere -- that can match the audience we've been blessed to build up for coverage of the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, whether that's readers, viewers, listeners, app downloads, comments ... all of it.
I don't know that I ever thought we'd reach this status, and I mean that. When this all took off in mid-2014, the only goal Dali and I had was to recoup the money I was abandoning -- six-figure salary plus benefits -- and get the kids through college. Nobody was talking about pioneering or revolutionizing anything within the industry, and you'd better believe no one was talking about being No. 1 at what we do within a decade.
But on a week like this, where we achieved an all-time high of nearly 1.5 million page views, where we reached readers in 107 countries, where our videos approached a quarter-billion and where every other number associated with the company continued to grow -- even podcasts, which had been somewhat flat in recent months -- I'd like to seize this opportunity to remind that we've got an awful lot of co-builders in this.
Meaning you.
No pandering, I swear.
If there's one discernible difference between us and the old-school companies we've bypassed, it's the community. We're here with you, and you're here with us. We create a product for you, and you enhance the product by both supporting it and holding us directly, vocally accountable. And there'll never come a day where I take any credit for that.
A 77-year-old gentleman named J.D. Zerbee hand-wrote a letter to me this week, snail-mail and all, sending a check for $300 to contribute to our special-worker drive. If he'd sent $3, I'd have been no less moved because of the time he clearly took to share his thoughts on what we've all pulled off here and how much it's meant to him.
I worked for him that day. And you'd better believe I'm writing him back. (If I can still remember how to write by hand, anyway!)
I'm sure this sort of thing happens with other companies, including in our industry, but I can't name one. And I definitely can't name a newspaper or TV or radio outlet that does everything so directly. All their interactions tend to come on the now-toxic Twitter, as if that platform or those users somehow pay their salaries. That's not us. We're with YOU.
So hey, congrats on the big week!
AWESOME WEEK ON THE DRIVE
We started the week out awesome with a wave of commitments toward our special-worker discounts drive, but it really slowed down. We're at 346, including a mindblowing 100 committed yesterday from a longtime reader who goes by 'Yinzer Bobby' here, plus the 15 from J.D. above and many more.
Every single one of them's appreciated the same, big or small.
If you missed Site Stuff, we're seeking reader help toward building a fund from which we can offer 3,000 massively discounted subscriptions for teachers, police, fire, nurses, other emergency workers and volunteers. They're $20 per contribution. We'll then sell these at two-thirds off the full annual price ... and that'll remain their price forever.
If interested: DK@DKPittsburghSports.com
INSIDE THE WORKS
• Our new Images feed just got up and, speaking for myself, it's been fun. Between my trip to St. Paul, Minn., and shots I've taken here Downtown, I've felt more aware of sharing visuals with you. Greg Macafee's whipped up a couple galleries, as well, from Florida. And of course, our subscribers keep sending their Snaps from all over the world. Be sure to make it a regular stop. It's got a box on the home page now within the Coverage That Connects row.
• Greg and José Negron have tag-teamed spring training, contributor Anthony Murphy's down there now, and I made a cameo myself at the outset. Alas, none of us can play first or left, but we can do our best to cover. I'll be flying back for the final week, coinciding with the Penguins playing there in Sunrise and Tampa, and I'll stick for the Pirates' opener in Miami.
• Everyone should now be seeing the red-bell notifications when anyone replies to your comment. It's silent, and it's at the top right corner of your screen. Try it!
• 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 mega-discounts, as ever, for student subscriptions and senior subscriptions.
• Grateful that so many are leaving us good reviews on other platforms. Feel free to add your own on our Google business listing, our Apple and Spotify podcast channels and, arguably most important, our own app, whether it's the Apple or Android version.
BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers, again, were an all-time record 1,470,930, with 42,473 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span, March 7-13. Our most-read original piece was my Mason Rudolph exclusive, at 27,967.
• On the multimedia front, our video views for the past week were 240,497, and our podcast downloads were 101,037.
• Our company social media: 59,040 followers on Facebook, 57,799 on X, 47,237 on YouTube, 16,547 on Instagram, 5,872 on Threads, 4,722 on TikTok, 2,540 on Bluesky
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• The Downtown HQ/shop's open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m., and our company merch can all be had in our online store.
• Anything you need, email: Help@DKPittsburghSports.com
• Thanks for reading and, as ever, for your support of this proud independent venture.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
We’d love to have you!