By PromptBoston

September 8th, 2014

Tracking Tom Brady: How will this affect your Sundays?

Tracking Tom Brady: How will this affect your Sundays?

We often stop and think about the ways in which technology is changing our lives and as the years have gone by, frustrated sports fans have all-too-often been faced with game-time innovations their not sure how to feel about. Show of hands – who’s happy about instant replays finally making their way to the MLB?

Photo courtesy of: http://wickedtacosonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/football-by-keri-weiland.jpg

As the football season kicks off and summer comes to a close, the National Football League (NFL) is taking steps to track its players. By wearing non-obtrusive tracking devices in shoulder pads, players will be analyzed in games and practices so teams, fans and the big organizations behind it all gain a better sense of individual performance – i.e. speed, position and accuracy.

Certainly, this type of tracking with take fantasy football to a whole new level but for those of us still watching simply for the love of the game – will this delude it even further? It’s no secret that the rise of fantasy drafts has changed the way fans watch and interact with the sport and, subsequently, the way the NFL presents it.

These tracking devices will present more data than ever thought possible to players, teams, managers and fans. It could impact trades, game-time decisions and rivalries. In short, it could change everything. As with every new innovation, the hot debate ensues – will it change for the better, or take a turn for the worse?

Let us know what you think on Twitter at @PromptBoston. Have a happy football season, America – whether you’re on the side of the devices or not!

By PromptBoston

September 3rd, 2014

Five things you may not know about the German media

Five things you may not know about the German media

#1           Germans published the world’s first newspaper

In 1605, Johann Carolus from Strasbourg (then part of the German Empire) published the first newspaper titled ‘Relation’, which included news from all over the world. About four decades later another German, Timotheus Ritzsch, a printer from Leipzig, published with ‘Einkommende Zeitungen’ the first daily newspaper, which was issued six or seven times each week.

#2          For centuries, it was the country with the largest number of newspapers

Until the Nazis came into power in 1933, Germany was the country of the largest number of newspapers. Of the 4,700 newspapers published in Germany before the Third Reich, no more than 1,100 remained after World War II.

#3           It has one of the largest selections of newspapers

Germany offers the widest variety of newspapers in Europe: With 329 daily newspapers, Germany supplies a larger variety of papers than any other European country. Spain offers 130 newspapers, followed by Italy (97 newspapers) and the UK (95 newspapers).

#4           It has the world’s tightest newspaper dealer network

With 1.4 newspaper sellers per 1,000 people, Germany hast the tightest network of dealers in the world. In addition, over 400 sales outlets at airports and train stations make German and international publications available to travelers.

#5           The German press is (mostly) privately owned

Compared to many other countries such as the US or the UK, most of the German press is privately and family-owned. Axel Springer AG, one of the largest newspaper publishing companies in Europe, and Bertelsmann, one of the world’s largest media companies, are still in private hands.