ABBOTT COLUMN: Donating to Wrestling411 is the right thing to do
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by Gary Abbott
I finally did something about a week ago that I had been intending to do for a long time. I made an online donation to Wrestling411.
For those who are unfamiliar with this project, Wrestling411 is a business created by wrestling legend J Robinson, with the goal of getting wrestling on national television on a regular basis. The plan is to fundraise for Wrestling411 within the wrestling community, to raise enough support to get a regular wrestling highlights show on a major network.
I compare this to how National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) operate their business. Each of the NPR and PBS stations fundraise within their communities, raising money for their budgets and allowing them to provide quality programming directly to those who want to receive it.
Robinson, who has been an innovator within the sport for decades, always tries to look outside the box to help the sport. He has some basic philosophies. J believes that nobody will help wrestling unless wrestlers step up and support their own sport. He also contends that wrestling gets what it deserves, based upon what it is willing to do.
The wrestling community is screaming for regular television coverage. Here is the opportunity to get that job done.
Wrestling411 hired two creative and talented young people with strong journalism skills, Jason Bryant and Kyle Klingman, to bring news and features about wrestling to the world.
At this point, Wrestling411 has not brought in enough funding to produce a regular national television show. When they realized it would not happen this season, Wrestling411 chose to cover the sport anyway, going to an online format. On a regular basis this year, Wrestling411 created a radio and a webTV broadcast and posted it for the wrestling community.
Bryant and Klingman did hundreds of interviews. Their show can be considered the SportsCenter of wrestling. Some compare it to the Mike and Mike in the Morning show that airs on ESPN. They had a lot of fun, and they presented a ton of information and interesting content to our fan base. They were also one of the most active partners in the new College Wrestling Network, posting not only broadcast features but also written reports into the system that reached thousands of fans.
For a full month, Wrestling 411 hit the road, going to four straight college national events: the NJCAA Nationals in Minnesota, the Div. III Nationals in Iowa, the Div. II Nationals in Texas and the Div. I Nationals in Missouri. The only other wrestling journalist to cover all four events was veteran photographer John Johnson. It provided some tremendous coverage, and some great "on-the-road" stories.
I believe that the wrestling community should support all of the broadcast programs on the market today. That includes the tremendous work done by Scott Casber and his team with Takedown Radio and TDR-TV. Also producing outstanding video is the team at FloWrestling. This also includes the regular radio show "On the Mat" with Kent Sesker produced by the Dan Gable International Wrestling Museum. These people and others are making a huge impact on wrestling. They deserve your support, and most importantly, they need you to take the time to watch and listen to their shows.
Wrestling411 has a different business model. They make a simple request. On their show and in their press announcements, this is what they ask:
"Please make a small tax-deductable donation - it only takes A LITTLE FROM A LOT of people to keep wrestling alive."
Jason Bryant notes that if everybody who attended NCAA Wrestling Championships chipped in $10, that they would be funded. People can make donations at whatever level they feel comfortable. This approach works for NPR stations and PBS stations. Why can't it work for wrestling? All that is missing is you.
To mail in a donation, send a check to: Wrestling411, P.O. Box 22442, St. Paul, MN 55122. Make the checks out to the NWCA, with Wrestling411 in the memo.
To make an online donation, visit their website and click on the "Donate" button on the top right-hand side of the homepage at:
http://www.wrestling411.tv/
For those who are unfamiliar with this project, Wrestling411 is a business created by wrestling legend J Robinson, with the goal of getting wrestling on national television on a regular basis. The plan is to fundraise for Wrestling411 within the wrestling community, to raise enough support to get a regular wrestling highlights show on a major network.
I compare this to how National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) operate their business. Each of the NPR and PBS stations fundraise within their communities, raising money for their budgets and allowing them to provide quality programming directly to those who want to receive it.
Robinson, who has been an innovator within the sport for decades, always tries to look outside the box to help the sport. He has some basic philosophies. J believes that nobody will help wrestling unless wrestlers step up and support their own sport. He also contends that wrestling gets what it deserves, based upon what it is willing to do.
The wrestling community is screaming for regular television coverage. Here is the opportunity to get that job done.
Wrestling411 hired two creative and talented young people with strong journalism skills, Jason Bryant and Kyle Klingman, to bring news and features about wrestling to the world.
At this point, Wrestling411 has not brought in enough funding to produce a regular national television show. When they realized it would not happen this season, Wrestling411 chose to cover the sport anyway, going to an online format. On a regular basis this year, Wrestling411 created a radio and a webTV broadcast and posted it for the wrestling community.
Bryant and Klingman did hundreds of interviews. Their show can be considered the SportsCenter of wrestling. Some compare it to the Mike and Mike in the Morning show that airs on ESPN. They had a lot of fun, and they presented a ton of information and interesting content to our fan base. They were also one of the most active partners in the new College Wrestling Network, posting not only broadcast features but also written reports into the system that reached thousands of fans.
For a full month, Wrestling 411 hit the road, going to four straight college national events: the NJCAA Nationals in Minnesota, the Div. III Nationals in Iowa, the Div. II Nationals in Texas and the Div. I Nationals in Missouri. The only other wrestling journalist to cover all four events was veteran photographer John Johnson. It provided some tremendous coverage, and some great "on-the-road" stories.
I believe that the wrestling community should support all of the broadcast programs on the market today. That includes the tremendous work done by Scott Casber and his team with Takedown Radio and TDR-TV. Also producing outstanding video is the team at FloWrestling. This also includes the regular radio show "On the Mat" with Kent Sesker produced by the Dan Gable International Wrestling Museum. These people and others are making a huge impact on wrestling. They deserve your support, and most importantly, they need you to take the time to watch and listen to their shows.
Wrestling411 has a different business model. They make a simple request. On their show and in their press announcements, this is what they ask:
"Please make a small tax-deductable donation - it only takes A LITTLE FROM A LOT of people to keep wrestling alive."
Jason Bryant notes that if everybody who attended NCAA Wrestling Championships chipped in $10, that they would be funded. People can make donations at whatever level they feel comfortable. This approach works for NPR stations and PBS stations. Why can't it work for wrestling? All that is missing is you.
To mail in a donation, send a check to: Wrestling411, P.O. Box 22442, St. Paul, MN 55122. Make the checks out to the NWCA, with Wrestling411 in the memo.
To make an online donation, visit their website and click on the "Donate" button on the top right-hand side of the homepage at:
http://www.wrestling411.tv/
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