Bleacher Report Hires Four Veteran Sports Journalists to Expand NBA Content

Howard Beck, Kevin Ding, Ethan Skolnick and Jared Zwerling Join Editorial Team

Bleacher Report, a leading digital destination for team-specific sports content and real-time event coverage, has hired four veteran sports journalists to anchor its NBA coverage. Howard Beck, Kevin Ding, Ethan Skolnick and Jared Zwerling will join Bleacher Report’s editorial team beginning this month, in anticipation of the tip off to the 2013-2014 NBA regular season. The new additions build on the company’s commitment to bolstering its real-time, comprehensive coverage of teams and topics including breaking news surrounding the league.

Howard Beck, a long-time NBA writer for the New York Times, joins Bleacher Report as its National NBA Lead Writer, providing in-depth commentaries on the league’s biggest topics, along with breaking news stories. A well-respected industry veteran, Beck has covered the NBA and New York Knicks for the New York Times since 2004, adding the Brooklyn Nets last season. He brings more than two decades of sports-writing experience to the role, as well as several Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) writing awards. In addition to his editorial contributions, Beck will also contribute to Bleacher Report’s NBA video franchises. Beck will continue to be based in New York.

Kevin Ding joins Bleacher Report as the Lead Writer covering the Los Angeles Lakers. He will be a primary source of Lakers news and information throughout the year, providing regular columns as well as video commentary. An award-winning journalist recognized by the Pro Basketball Writers Association, Ding joins Bleacher Report from the Orange County Register where he has been the newspaper’s Los Angeles Lakers beat writer since 1999. Ding will continue to be based in the Los Angeles area.

Ethan Skolnick joins Bleacher Report’s editorial team as the Miami Heat Lead Writer where he will provide comprehensive news and analysis about the team, as well as national stories throughout the league. Skolnick’s
17-plus years as a sports journalist include prominent positions at the Palm Beach Post (covering the Heat), the Miami Herald and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Skolnick will continue to reside in South Florida.

Jared Zwerling has been tapped as Bleacher Report’s National NBA Analyst where he will focus on features, breaking news and video analysis. He joins the company from ESPN.com where he primarily covered the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets across a variety of multimedia platforms. Zwerling will continue to be based in New York.

Ding and Zwerling officially joined Bleacher Report earlier this week, while Skolnick joins today and Beck will start on September 23.

“These four reporters are extremely well respected throughout the industry and they bring a wealth of experience and perspective to our NBA coverage,” said Joe Yanarella, editor-in-chief of Bleacher Report. “The addition of these journalists is a game changer for our coverage of the NBA as we deepen our commitment to enhancing our content offerings and continue to build our roster of talented contributors at Bleacher Report.”

About Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report, a division of Turner Sports, is the leading digital destination for team-specific sports content and real-time event coverage, and is one of the fastest-growing digital properties in the U.S. The company was founded in 2007 by four die-hard sports fans as a platform through which passionate writers could have their voices heard, and at which sports fans could find all relevant content for their favorite teams in a single place. Today its editorial and video teams, led by a growing roster of lead writers and premier contributors, create hundreds of pieces of content per day to provide fans with the most comprehensive experience for their favorite teams and topics across all major sports. Bleacher Report also provides an unmatched fan experience on mobile devices through Team Stream™, the top-rated, industry-leading tablet and smartphone app, and via the Bleacher Report daily sport- and team-specific email newsletters.

About Turner Sports
Turner Sports, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is an industry leader in the delivery of premium sports content across all multimedia screens. Turner Sports’ television coverage includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, NASCAR and professional golf. The company also manages some of the most popular sports destinations across broadband and mobile platforms including Bleacher Report and its top-rated Team Stream app, NCAA.com and the critically-acclaimed NCAA March Madness Live suite of products, PGA.com and the Sports Emmy Award-winning PGA Championship LIVE, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile sites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, a robust collection of offerings including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA Game Time App, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.