Kyle Scott, editor and founder of CrossingBroad.com, has been making all the right moves to succeed in the competitive world of blogs.
When Kyle Scott ’01 posted a video of a Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver at a concert in the summer of 2013, he thought it would just get some publicity in Philadelphia. He figured it would bring his blog a few new readers. He never thought he would be receiving calls from ESPN within a few hours after posting the video of Riley Cooper using a racial slur at a concert.
While the Riley Cooper post brought a lot of readers to the site, it is Scott’s creativity, passion, and business skills that have kept readers coming back. Topics on the website include Philly sports, Philly pop culture, and whatever may be in the news that day.
Scott wants to post things that both he and the readers enjoy. For example, on March 12 when the Eagles signed running back DeMarco Murray, the site provided updates on Murray’s flight from Texas to Philly.
“It was ridiculous, but it was fun. I was having fun and I could tell readers were having fun. Traffic on the website was good,” said Scott. “It’s so irrational, but we were celebrating with the readers – Something regular journalists can’t do.”
If Scott was at a Philadelphia sports game, most likely, no one would recognize him as the editor of “Philly’s Most Irreverent Sports Blog.” He is a humble and unassuming person who blends into a crowd at a sports bar. He has not applied for media credentials because he has no interest in writing typical game recaps and previews. Although he may not be standing out physically, he is standing out online.
Scott attended Malvern from 1997 to 2001, where he was known as Kyle Laskowski. (He uses his middle name as his surname online). Scott is grateful for his experience at Malvern and he said most of his best friends today are classmates from Malvern. He fondly remembers teachers such as Mr. Dougherty, Ms. Lohse, Mr. Stewart, and Mr. Driscoll.
Scott went on to obtain a communications degree from Villanova and a minor in political science. He advises Malvern students to “keep an open mind” in college. He sat through classes in college that he felt were meaningless at the time, but he now appreciates the chance he had to diversify himself.
“Certain things you do will really stick with you,” he said. If he makes a reference to something from his Russian history class on the site and someone gets it, his day is made. Additionally, he suggests to “get involved with anything you enjoy. You get to meet people and learn things you will not learn in the classroom.”
Scott went on to work at four different jobs before Crossing Broad became his full-time work, at well-known businesses such as GSI Commerce and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He gained the unique experience with online marketing and business while at these jobs that has allowed him to run his site as a profitable full-time job.
Scott is fluent in the language of advertising and sales. His jobs taught him “how to approach advertisers and tell them what they want to know.” CrossingBroad has expanded to even sell tee shirts. Scott has learned how to make profit off of a website.
At one point during his employment at GSI Commerce, Scott was in charge of updating the Phillies’ online store the night the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. Scott was understandably upset he had to work on a possibly historic night for the city. He wanted to be with his friends celebrating so he found the only bar in the city with Wi-Fi. As Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske to secure the title for the Phillies, Scott was sitting in the middle of the loud bar working on his laptop with his hoodie up while beer was being thrown. “Everyone was celebrating and people were asking ‘why do you have your laptop? The Phillies just won the World Series’”. His “busy work” during a time of euphoria helped us all buy our celebratory shirts and hats.
The site CrossingBroad is truly a unique blog. When comparing his site to the popular sports blog Barstool, he said that “CrossingBroad is more serious.” According to Scott’s LinkedIn page, the site receives over one million monthly impressions from 300,000 readers. CrossingBroad is a local site so Scott is able to write about things that are unique to a Philly sports fan. One recent post described his experience with the new hot dogs being offered at Citizens Bank Park. The story detailed the food, the long walk across the stadium (something everyone can relate to), and even dealing with a grumpy vendor.
Scott has published a variety of different stories on the website. He says the site “does not pull any punches” in stories that can mock and rip others, but in a May 2014 Philly Magazine profile he admitted “I don’t always feel good” about stories like that. One of his favorite stories was when he found and posted a high definition video of an attack on a New York Rangers fan at Geno’s Steaks. The piece helped the police and led to an arrest.
Scott has appeared on Comcast Sportsnet, Fox 29, 97.5 the Fanatic, and 94 WIP. You can read Scott’s work daily at CrossingBroad.com and find him on twitter at @CrossingBroad.
