Patrick Florence

April 11, 2016

Intro to Advanced Communications

Dr. Melissa Zimdars

El Presidente and the Kardashians

     Society today has a tendency of falling in love with the wrong people. They may not be all bad but they aren’t always known for being the best people, but more so the most entertaining people. The Kardashian family is one of the most well known families around the world today. Whether it’s their television show, store, or any of the crazy tabloid stories that are always coming out about them, the world cannot get enough of the Kardashian drama. David Portnoy, or “El Presidente” as he goes by, is the founder of Barstool Sports, a website that consists of a mixture of sports and entertainment blogs. This website has primarily a New England based audience and the popularity of David Portnoy has risen to the point that he is for many, a household name around the region. 

     If you can capture the minds of people nowadays, whether it be for a beneficial reason to the rest of society or not, you can be successful and make a lot of money. What is it about these people though? Why is it that people care what they do? The Kardashians became famous large in part because of a celebrity sex tape of one of the daughters and Dave Portnoy is a blogger. Neither of these things would seem to spark fame and fortune, but they did. It is the ability to market ones self in today’s world that sets you apart from the rest.

      Barstool Sports caters to an audience of primarily 18-29 year olds males but there are many “stoolies” that are women and other men of all ages. The material presented on this website tries to reach the common man in New England, giving opinions on current events and stories that do not always fall under the politically correct umbrella. Portnoy, the leader of it all has become a celebrity that people follow. Many stoolies follow his every move, whether it be on Periscope, Twitter, or on the daily broadcast that he and the other two main Barstool bloggers put on every weekday. Knowing that he has a faithful audience, he speaks about anything and everything that is occurring in the world. Barstool sports has become much more than a simple sports blog. It has turned into an “empire” according to Portnoy. There is some truth to this because it seems that every move Portnoy makes, people are interested. People want to know what he is doing, how he is doing it and Barstool is getting better and better at showing this content. Recently, Barstool was bought by Peter Chernin and The Chernin Group, a media and technology firm. This move is making the company grow to a level that even Portnoy never thought it could get too. There will be more coverage of Portnoy and his gang of bloggers than ever before, taking their blogging game to the next level.

       As a “stoolie” myself, I find it interesting when I think why I listen to so much of what this guys talks about. He is just an average New Englander that created this blogging business. Yes, his blogs are funny and entertaining but I find myself wanting to know his opinions on certain topics that aren’t related to sports. This must be similar to a person who finds themselves on the edge of their seats to find out what happens in the fight between Chloe and Kim on Keeping Up With The Kardashians. I don’t think anyone understands why they keep coming back for more but they do.

     Looking at the media today, I feel as if we are seeing this trend more and more as time goes on. We have become so interested in the ten seconds of fame on snap chat or getting retweeted on twitter that our perception of what is important has drastically changed. When the media did not consume so much of our daily life, people who impacted the world were the ones that people thought about and listened too. Artists who thought deeply about the world and put that into a different light were looked at in the highest regard. Music was another example of people looking up to someone and using something as a guide. The music and paintings though were not the same as they are today. In today’s world, it is not the words so much that matter, but more so the beat of the music. Songs can be popular for a short period of time and fade away to the next fad. Instead of living in a world where we focus on the ideas of great thinkers and more importantly great people that are trying to change our world for the better, we focus on what makes us laugh and intrigues us. And because all this media is so accessible and nonstop now, there is no way to stop it.

     I am not mad that Barstool Sports has had an impact on my life. I love following the journeys “El Pres” goes on and listening to him speak every weeknight about random topics. It is something that is always there and always entertaining. There is some concern though in me that we are losing some sort of solid foundation of who we look up to. David Portnoy is a great leader and businessman. He is the least of our concerns but when the Kardashians are more influential in the world than almost everyone, there is a problem.

Work Cited:

Hurley, Ryan, and Assignment-Final Draft. "BarstoolSports. com’s Civil War."

http://www.inquisitr.com/2689408/barstool-sports-sold-to-peter-chernin-and-the-chernin-group/