The San Francisco 49ers have what I consider a strong stable of beat writers. Matt Barrows and Matt Maiocco are the proverbial “Insiders” with strong sources for breaking news. Barrows also brings a great sense of humor to the beat. Meanwhile, Eric Branch does amazing feature writing, and Cam Inman is a solid middle ground of good features and some solid reporting.
A year ago, The Athletic launched, bringing with it a no-ad subscription-based service. It’s taken the sports media world by storm, launching all around the country, and into Canada with its hockey coverage. The Bay Area site has a strong stable of writers for the Golden State Warriors, and it’s football coverage has been strong.