News from Chicago

[sptwri]

Skip is probably the best friend I ever made in this business. He'll be fine because he's Skip. Or as the kid in Cuba called him "Senor Skip".

Mike DeArmond
The Kansas City Star

[GuessWho]

Skip is probably the best friend I ever made in this business. He'll be fine because he's Skip. Or as the kid in Cuba called him "Senor Skip".

Mike DeArmond
The Kansas City Star

Ah, Havana 1991. "Una mas Hatuey, por favor." Skip was in good form there, too . . . Good times. 

[Joe Williams]

To Moddy and others making the distinction between buyouts and layoffs, between voluntary departures and involuntary departures:

I know you're doing it to calm those worried about the people whose names have come out. I know that involuntary always is worse (unless maybe it's a wake-up call to someone with modest experience who hasn't completely dug into this career, with time to switch to something better.)

Still, with all due respect, to me it's the difference between miserable and horrible. I've said it before in these parts, the velvet envelope you get in a buyout often is delivered by an iron nudge, with either the threat of layoff (non-union shop) or the hint of really unwelcome duty (union shop).

Ten, 15 or 20 years ago, none of these people would have walked out the door, even with the parting check, before their times. The state of the business and the devolution of ownership from newspaper folks to corporations to private equity to profane, disrespectful lunatics like Zell and his Clear Channel boys has made accepting a buyout the lesser of two really sinister evils.

Sticking around for a retirement lunch, when you leave on your own timeline without the extra pay, always was preferable to this crap.

So I feel bad for all of them.

[MMatt60]

The state of the business has provided this irony:

There really is no dishonor in being fired.

[sptwri]

apparently, word went out at The Trib that buyouts and severence packages after this round were a thing of the past.

[Sly]

So no more golf or college basketball coverage in the Trib?  My dad almost blew a gasket when they ran an AP story from the NBA Finals. I imagine this'll be the straw that pushes him over the edge to canceling the paper.

[Joe Williams]

So no more golf or college basketball coverage in the Trib?  My dad almost blew a gasket when they ran an AP story from the NBA Finals. I imagine this'll be the straw that pushes him over the edge to canceling the paper.

Half a dozen family members have gone to Sundays only or no paper at all. Nice job by the town's franchise paper.

[JBHawkEye]

I was forced to go to no Trib at all (now having to read it online) when they quit delivering around the Midwest.

Read it when I was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. I miss picking it up in the morning, but now that all of the big names are going, I doubt if I'll read it online, either.

With the Trib buyouts, and the Sun-Times being a shell of its former self, it continues to be a sad time for Chicago newspapers.

[joe]

Another in a long line of corporate suits cutting off their faces to spite their noses.

[JBHawkEye]

Here's a partial list, posted by the Tribune's religion writer online:

Hanke Gratteau, Mike Tackett, Tim McNulty, Vanessa Bauza, Joe Sjostrom, Jack Pointer, Barbara Rose, Dan Gibbard, Ernie Torriero, Wendy White, Hung Vu, Marsha Peters, Brenda Kilianski, Barry Temkin, Alan Sutton, Skip Myslenski, Mark Shapiro and Ed Sherman, Heather Stone, Charles Osgood, John Schmeltzer, Steve Franklin, Glenn Jeffers, and Maurice Possley.

and the link to her blog, which contains unedited comments from Randy Michaels and Le Abrams:

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker/2008/08/tisha-bav-at-th.html

A few more names have popped up in an updated list.

No sports names added. One of the news names I saw was Kirsten Scharnberg, who did some outstanding stuff from Iraq in the first year of the war, and was one of their national correspondents.

Again, explain how buying out talent makes you a better newspaper.

[Joe Williams]

The Tribune, in the wake of these and previous buyouts, will be a lesser paper in the most important ways. And since they aren't renegotiating their rates downward -- for readers and, I presume, for advertisers -- they are unilaterally changing the terms of customers' deals with them.

If their only competition for eyeballs was the Sun-Times, they might be able to get away with it. But with the interwebs, cable TV and all the rest, there is no reason for people to put up with this less-with-less nonsense.

Most incredible thing about buyouts is, these papers spend years and decades cultivating and occasionally hyping these people as experts. Then they shed them and expect readers to not notice the loss.

[steveu]

They're getting to the point where some of the suburban dailies are looking just as appealing as the Trib. Daily Herald and NW Herald are looking pretty good lately.

[MMatt60]

I believe that Steve Franklin is the brother of Baltimore Sun executive editor Tim Franklin.

[Dickens Cider]

They're getting to the point where some of the suburban dailies are looking just as appealing as the Trib. Daily Herald and NW Herald are looking pretty good lately.

False. Neither one covers any of Chicago's pro teams on the road (with few exceptions). The only advantage either has is preps.

[Mizzougrad96]

Skip is a tremendous loss...

[Bruce Miles]

They're getting to the point where some of the suburban dailies are looking just as appealing as the Trib. Daily Herald and NW Herald are looking pretty good lately.

False. Neither one covers any of Chicago's pro teams on the road (with few exceptions). The only advantage either has is preps.

Actually, the Daily Herald covers the vast majority of the game's of Chicago's pro teams on the road. I've been on the Cubs beat since 1998, and I've missed a grand total of about 10 road games, and at five of those, we hired a local writer to cover them. We cover most of the White Sox' road schedule, and more than half, probably two-thirds of Bulls and Blackhawks road games. We've cut back a bit in recent years but the statement above is the one that's false.

[Dickens Cider]

They're getting to the point where some of the suburban dailies are looking just as appealing as the Trib. Daily Herald and NW Herald are looking pretty good lately.

False. Neither one covers any of Chicago's pro teams on the road (with few exceptions). The only advantage either has is preps.

Actually, the Daily Herald covers the vast majority of the game's of Chicago's pro teams on the road. I've been on the Cubs beat since 1998, and I've missed a grand total of about 10 road games, and at five of those, we hired a local writer to cover them. We cover most of the White Sox' road schedule, and more than half, probably two-thirds of Bulls and Blackhawks road games. We've cut back a bit in recent years but the statement above is the one that's false.

Hence the "with few exceptions" caveat I added. I'm well aware you cover the Cubs on the road, Bruce. I read your paper daily for more than a decade when I still lived in the area. I'm sure you know better than I do regarding the Bulls and Hawks, but it seemed like I saw an AP byline a lot more often than I saw one for McGraw or Sassone when they were on the road. Perhaps it's changed since I left the area.

EDIT: Upon further reflection, I suppose I used the wrong adjective when I said rarely. But it can't possibly be argued that the Daily Herald covers the Chicago pro scene more in-depth than the Trib. Therefore, unless you're really into preps, I can't see what appeal the DH would have over the Trib. The Sun-Times ... that's a different story. Hell, I think they used AP for some Hawks home games in recent years. That paper hasn't been the same since Conrad Black and the audit.

[Simon_Cowbell]

Skip is a tremendous loss...

When I would talk to Ed Hinton in a past life, his quote/possible slight paraphrase to me about covering Daytona: Give me Skip Myslenski and Rich Biebrich, and we will be just fine. I don't need Orlando's 10 golf writers asking me what a restrictor plate is.

Now, in a span of less than a year, none works at Tribune anymore.

[Joe Williams]

Skip is a tremendous loss...

When I would talk to Ed Hinton in a past life, his quote/possible slight paraphrase to me about covering Daytona: Give me Skip Myslenski and Rich Biebrich, and we will be just fine. I don't need Orlando's 10 golf writers asking me what a restrictor plate is.

Now, in a span of less than a year, none works at Tribune anymore.

...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...   ...




(The sound of Sam Zell, Randy Michaels and Lee Abrams shrugging. They're not running a newspaper museum, damnit!)

[Jesus_Muscatel]

It's gotten so bad that I don't wanna click on the journalism topics anymore.

You know this is coming. You know there's more.

Fuck.

[fleaflicker]

Skip ruled. Long live Mt. Nakiska and the NCAA convention in Nashville...

 _ an old sharer of the foxholes of the business

[Joe Williams]

It's gotten so bad that I don't wanna click on the journalism topics anymore.

You know this is coming. You know there's more.

Ain't that the truth.

[NISB35]

As a young prep writer, I'm sorry to see Temkin and Sutton go. I have enjoyed reading Temkin's columns each week as he is one of my influences in this biz.

[Football_Bat]

Any SEs been laid off anywhere yet?

Just wondering..

[Ben_Hecht]

Here's a partial list, posted by the Tribune's religion writer online:

Hanke Gratteau, Mike Tackett, Tim McNulty, Vanessa Bauza, Joe Sjostrom, Jack Pointer, Barbara Rose, Dan Gibbard, Ernie Torriero, Wendy White, Hung Vu, Marsha Peters, Brenda Kilianski, Barry Temkin, Alan Sutton, Skip Myslenski, Mark Shapiro and Ed Sherman, Heather Stone, Charles Osgood, John Schmeltzer, Steve Franklin, Glenn Jeffers, and Maurice Possley.

and the link to her blog, which contains unedited comments from Randy Michaels and Le Abrams:

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker/2008/08/tisha-bav-at-th.html

A few more names have popped up in an updated list.

No sports names added. One of the news names I saw was Kirsten Scharnberg, who did some outstanding stuff from Iraq in the first year of the war, and was one of their national correspondents.

Again, explain how buying out talent makes you a better newspaper.

Hanke Gratteau.

Royko weeps.