Sports director, Detroit Free Press

You forgot News 2000.

 

Anyone hired for this job?

 

Looks like we have a winner.

 

Dang, he looks young. Which just means I'm getting old. Here's wishing him the best.

 

He's probably a great guy but 11 months in Detroit after being preps editor in Knoxville. Well, it's not 1999 anymore .....

 

He is young. Gannett doesn't think anyone over 35 can do anything digital. And it's been that way for at least 5 years.

 

WTF is a “sports director” at a newspaper? Only other one I ever remember seeing was at a paper in Texarkana. Just assumed it was title inflation.

 

Certainly that seems to be the case. I was shocked at some of their editor hires. An assistant Metro editor in Detroit went from there to being editor of one of their decent-size papers.

 

This is a trend, guys. Publications, particularly those owned by Gannett, can't/don't want to pay anyone anything anymore. They've found that they don't have to. That means a lot of younger folks will get opportunities.

Three years ago, for example, USA TODAY hired someone months out of college to be a national college sports writer. From what I know, it was, in part, about money.

This young guy in Detroit is probably just as talented as the next guy. But there are a ton of talented folks out there, and not all are in a position to take, say, $40,000 to $50,000 a year.

 

You will see more "sports directors" than "sports editors" hired in the current era. "Editing" has become somewhat of a dirty word around digital-based newsrooms.

 

Got to know Chris when he was the main preps guy at the Clarion-Ledger. Good guy and did a great job covering preps for the C-L. Whether he's up to the task of shepherding the sports coverage in Detroit remains to be seen, but he's done well every place he's been thus far.