COVID-004 — Pivoting in a Pandemic

Welcome to this special series of the GBH Collective podcast, where we'll be checking in with members of our global team to keep you updated on unfolding events surrounding COVID-19. I'm Michael Kiser.

Today's guests are special to me—both of them are media peers who I've often measured myself against. They're also just delightful humans who are always accessible and open to inquiry. Over the years, they've helped me think about Good Beer Hunting's business model, our audiences, and the ways in which we all develop our voices.

As the world started turning upside down this past month, I wanted to check in with them to see how they were handling things—both personally and as part of a larger organization. How did they process the world-changing news? How did they work with their teams to adapt? And how do they expect to evolve going forward? These conversations go far beyond beer and media.

First up in Eno Sarris of The Athletic. The Athletic is a phenomenon in the sports-writing world. It has a subscription-based readership, much like our own Fervent Few member community. And it serves as a platform for people who want both exceptional narratives and deep dives into data. In that way, it covers a spread much like GBH does.

I first got to know Eno when he put his role at the FanGraphs and BeerGraphs sites on hiatus to join the October project we started with Conde Nast. After that, he went on to join The Athletic, and I've been glued to his progress ever since.

Next, we're going to talk to Peter Frost of Molson Coors. I knew Peter back when he was a reporter at Crain's Chicago, one of our city's business magazines. Peter developed a keen interest in the beer industry while he was there, but his investigative reporting made him a key voice in Chicago business before he left to join what was then MillerCoors to launch their blog devoted to beer industry analysis and insights.

This conversation immediately gets a reframe as he reminds us that, not only are they dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, but this is coming on the heels of a devastating mass shooting that happened on their campus just a few weeks prior.

Honesty, I was stunned when he brought that up because as shocking as that was—this pandemic has made anything that happened before it feel like a lifetime ago. But for Peter and the Molson Coors team, it's been a long, blurry timeline of tragedy.

Both of these guys are holed up in their homes and were generous enough to share some time with me while still doing their jobs and taking care of their families.

This is Eno Sarris of The Athletic and Peter Frost of Molson Coors. Listen in.