Basketball reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, who leads Yahoo Sports' new basketball-centric site The Vertical, "is one of the few reporters in the business with the name recognition to pull off a high-profile branded site," according to Ed Sherman in a special to POYNTER. When the Suns fired coach Jeff Hornacek, the story Wojnarowski broke "proved to be the perfect vehicle to display the capabilities of The Vertical." Wojnarowski said, "It's an example of what we can do. Our goal is to break the news and then surround the news with analysis ... How it happened and why it happened are very important for us. Those stories resonate and separate you from everyone else." Sherman writes unlike The MMQB's Peter King and Grantland Founder Bill Simmons, Wojnarowski "doesn’t fit into the same high-profile mold," and his rise "shows the premium on exclusive information during the digital age." While Wojnarowski and Yahoo Sports VP/Sports Media Bob Condor "stress that the site is about more than one person, The Vertical probably doesn't happen without the 'with Woj' part of the title." Condor said, "There’s no question his name adds credibility to the site." Sherman notes that ultimately, there "is another factor that will determine the success of the site." Wojnarowski said that he has "spent a fair amount of time with Yahoo's sale force and with sponsors." State Farm has "signed on as a presenting sponsor of The Vertical." Wojnarowski said, "I want this site to be sustainable over time. We need to have a business model. I have no illusions that if we're not making a profit, we will be putting ourselves in peril" (POYNTER.org, 2/11).
