Comment by queuebert
7 hours ago
So Nate & Co sell out to a big corporation then are upset that it does big corporation stuff? I'm more mad at Nate here because 538 was my go-to for political coverage pre-sellout, and because of his greed it went away.
538 had some decent years through its various sellout phases and imo hit its peak after Nate Silver left - he'd long since exposed himself more as a contrarian than a serious analyst and had become a real detriment to the brand.
It was definitely sad to lose 538 how we did, but G Elliott Morris has really stepped up to continue the spirit on his Strength in Numbers blog. It's the best data-driven US politics reporting out there right now imo. He also contributes to Fifty Plus One with Mary Radcliffe, and that's excellent too, reminiscent of the old 538 polling roundup stuff that went beyond just core US politics. Recently he started a podcast with David Nir of The Downballot, which is another solid resource for lower level races.
Clare Malone era of FIVE THIRTY EIGHT was among the most serious political journalism out there.
Whatever you feel about his actions that was at worst it was a win-lose decision. He benefited from it.
If his comment is accurate, then ABC’s decision is a clear lose-lose decision driven entirely by personal spite.
Honestly is Nate even wrong here?
IIRC, he got to keep all of the models and etc from 538 which is kinda all that mattered about it. Like anybody is really going to lookup the 2016 election in 2030 but they're definitely want the model's output in 2030 for 2030.
Management seems to be clearly inept and if somebody wants to give you a wheelbarrow of cash for something worthless you're generally foolish to not accept.
I don’t think that’s all that mattered. FiveThirtyEight was a strong brand, it was definitely worth something.
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He never sold the prediction models, and only leased them to ABC/538, so they left with him as he left the company.
Just follow the man, not the brand. He’s still doing his thing: https://www.natesilver.net/
But he kind of sucks and isn’t worth following.
He’s a sellout at heart, including his recent association with Polymarket.
Someone cool would have never sold out a website as good as 538 used to be. Now he’s more interested in profiting off of gamblers.
538 has basically always been a licensed product, first with the NYT in 2010, and then with ESPN/ABC/Disney since they left the NYT in 2013. There were only 2 years where it was an independent blog
You do realize the person responsible for 538 is the same person?
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538 got one election right a decade and a half ago with a contrarian alternative data source, and hooked a bunch of partisan gamblers since
now you can actually bet on your beliefs and dont need to debate with anyone on whether the koolaid colored wave of choice will actually happen, or whether you are a slave to an algorithm induced hall of mirrors. note, the senate has been 50-50 for over a decade, its probably the latter
so the only intervention necessary here is on yourself, focusing on things you cant control while delusionally thinking this time will be different, over and over and over again
extracting value from partisan gullibility and pathetic power struggles is unironically the move
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I understand your frustration, but greed? He didn't owe you anything. So what if he cashed out?
His greed? I can't roll my eyes far enough back.
Build the next one yourself, and run it for as long as you want. Problem solved!
Your annoyance is understandable, but it's worth remembering: he is not your slave. He does not exist to do things for you. His providing you with something good for a time does not obligate him to provide it to you forever. Because he is not your slave.
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