Topic: L.A. Kings hire Rich Hammond

[Mr. X]

KINGS NAME LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
HOCKEY WRITER RICH HAMMOND
AS NEW “BEAT WRITER/COLUMNIST”
FOR LAKINGS.COM
HAMMOND TO PROVIDE INDEPENDENT COVERAGE OF THE KINGS

AND THE NHL WHILE RE-CREATING HIS POPULAR “INSIDE THE KINGS”

BLOG ON THE KINGS’ OFFICIAL WEBSITE

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings today announced the appointment of long-time Los Angeles Daily News hockey writer Rich Hammond as beat writer/columnist for LAKings.com, the club’s official website.  Hammond, who will travel with the Kings full-time during the 2009-10 season, will begin providing exclusive content to LAKings.com on October 1.

“In this changing world as it relates to the landscape and consumption of sports news content, we are making an organizational commitment to give our fans one place to go – LAKings.com – to satisfy their appetite for Kings news and information ” said Kings President, Business Operations Luc Robitaille.  “We feel this is a landmark step for us as Rich will have full editorial control in his new position.  Kings fans deserve the best Kings coverage, and we’re excited that LAKings.com will be the new home for Rich’s insightful, objective and thorough reporting and analysis.”

Hammond will cover all Kings games and practices.  He will also provide feature stories, commentaries, video stories and more on the Kings and on the NHL.

Hammond leaves the Daily News after having spent the last 10 years with the paper.  He initially began covering the Kings in 2000 before taking over full-time coverage in 2005.  In October of 2006, Hammond – who also held the title of Deputy Sports Editor at the newspaper – began developing and spearheading the Daily News’ on-line coverage of the Kings.  His “Inside the Kings” blog consistently ranked as the paper’s top pro sports team blog.

Said Hammond, who also covered the Kings on the road for the Daily News briefly during the 2005-06 season: “I’m grateful to the Daily News for allowing me to develop my passion for covering hockey, and I’m excited about the opportunity to bring even better, more comprehensive coverage to Kings fans while maintaining the same journalistic standards.”

Hammond is a Carson native and USC graduate who also has worked for the Orange County Register and the South Bay Daily Breeze.

[Xanadu]

1) Luc Robitaille is my favorite all-time King.

2) “We feel this is a landmark step for us as Rich will have full editorial control in his new position." So does that mean Rich can be critical in anything he writes, or is it just gamers and fluff for a team Web site?

[MileHigh]

Good for him.
The Nuggets recently did this for a former Rocky Mountain News sportswriter.

[HanSenSE]

1) Luc Robitaille is my favorite all-time King.

2) “We feel this is a landmark step for us as Rich will have full editorial control in his new position." So does that mean Rich can be critical in anything he writes, or is it just gamers and fluff for a team Web site?

If the latter is true, what a day. So much to criticize with the Kings ...

[Liut]

Never known Luc to speak with such articulation and eloquence. Not to imply he is inarticulate but not exactly the wordsmith of that quote, either. 

[Xanadu]

Never known Luc to speak with such articulation and eloquence. Not to imply he is inarticulate but not exactly the wordsmith of that quote, either.  

When he was at his peak with L.A., the Kings used him often for between-period pieces, and some of them were really really funny, because he has that kind of personality. For one of them, he played a professor trying to "break down" the chemistry of a power play or some kind of hockey system. Almost 20 years later just thinking about it makes me laugh.

As for the eloquence, I'm thinking a P.R. guy helped Luc with the quotes.

[Screwball]

“We feel this is a landmark step for us as Rich will have full editorial control in his new position." So does that mean Rich can be critical in anything he writes, or is it just gamers and fluff for a team Web site?

This is what Rich wrote on his Daily News blog:

To put it as plainly and simply as possible, I will draw a salary from the Kings, but none of the stories and/or blogs I write will be reviewed for approval by any member of the Kings' staff. Topics will not need approval and interviews will not have any additional supervision. I have been hired to blog, write stories -- including coverage of home and road games -- and produce other content for the website. This is not public relations. I have been told, pointedly, by the highest levels of Kings management, that I should continue to report and write as normal.

Be certain of two things: I will not ``go easy'' on the Kings out of any fear of retribution, just as I will not take gratuitous shots at the team and the organization simply because I have retained the right to be critical. Things will continue on course. Praise and criticism, to the extent I feel either is warranted, will continue to be distributed fairly.

http://www.insidesocal.com/kings/2009/09/an-end-a-beginning-a-new-home.html

[Elliotte Friedman]

Hammond does real, real good work. It's very clear that Dean Lombardi trusts him a great deal. Hopefully, he will be allowed to continue his kind of coverage.

[gutenberg]

Based on what the LADN did when the UCLA beat was open, don't waste your time sending in your clips and resume.

They probably will hire another psycho nowhere near ready for the big leagues.

Gene, grow a sack and don't advertise jobs if you're not going to go through a real hiring process. It's unfair to people who spend the time writing cover letters and mailing their packets to you.

Congrats to Rich (a class guy) for getting out of that hellhole.

[dragonfly]

Wow, bitter much gutenberg?

[Tahoe_Joe]

Having known of Rich for awhile, sure he would not has taken this job if he did not have editorial control.

Is Daily News hiring a hockey writer to replace him?

If that papper such a "hellhole" Gutenburg, then why so bitter you didn't get UCLA job?

[zebracoy]

Having known of Rich for awhile, sure he would not has taken this job if he did not have editorial control.

Is Daily News hiring a hockey writer to replace him?

If that papper such a "hellhole" Gutenburg, then why so bitter you didn't get UCLA job?

Probably finds it too difficult that someone younger than him can be more qualified for a job.

Or, at the very least, that the individual who is younger marketed himself well enough to earn it.

[buckweaver]

Seems like a good move for him. Leaving after 10 years at the LADN.

Team says Hammond will have full and independent "editorial control."

http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/09/kings_hire_their_top_blog.php

Here's Tom Hoffarth's take: http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/2009/09/our-daily-dread-106.html

[Xanadu]

bucky, bucky, bucky ...

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/index.php/topic,73256.0.html

That said, your thread title is much better, so you have that going for you

[Moderator1]

Another team hires a newspaper person isn't a clear headline??

[SoCalDude]

   Third thread on this ... and it's old news. It's also in the running hockey thread.
   But Rich is a good guy, so maybe he is worth multiple listings.

[gutenberg]

Having known of Rich for awhile, sure he would not has taken this job if he did not have editorial control.

Is Daily News hiring a hockey writer to replace him?

If that papper such a "hellhole" Gutenburg, then why so bitter you didn't get UCLA job?

Tahoe, do you know what happens when you assume?

You assume I applied for the UCLA job. Wrong. I do know two people who did send their stuff in and, yes, both of them are bitter than they spent time preparing their entries for what ended up being a sham of a process.

Why advertise a gig if you aren't going to look further than the newspaper playroom?

[Tucsondriver]

   Third thread on this ... and it's old news. It's also in the running hockey thread.
   But Rich is a good guy, so maybe he is worth multiple listings.

The best!

[playthrough]

Threads merged.

[WriteThinking]

Hammond may not "go easy" on the Kings, but the job will be easy, compared to working on the beat for a newspaper.

These opportunities for newspaper people can't help but be so, because, despite the fact that Hammond, or others transitioning into similar such jobs, are said to have editorial independence and control, really, how far can it go?

For example, let's say a coach gets fired, or a player arrested. Who possibly finds out about that before an organizational beat writer? No one, but are the Kings seriously going to allow Hammond to write it up, first and fully, before anyone else, as hard-hitting, pull-no-punches news? And really, is he going to want to? Or be able to, without anyone else looking at it prior to release?

Let's just say I doubt it. 

And if he can/does do that, how easy can getting information get? He works for the Kings. Presumably, that means he will receive company email, and have more "inside" information than anyone, even a well-plugged in newspaper beat person.

The set-up will give him almost automatic first dibs on any announcement coming from the organization. There will hardly be a need to "work sources."

Also, the direct, easy, constant access to sources will make it easy to expand and expound on whatever news comes out.

This arrangement allows reporters to do the best, most interesting and fun parts of the job, all without really having to do actual reporting, and be reporters, when it comes to the hard stuff.

It's the best of both worlds, and makes life easy and stress-free, especially because, really, what competition is there?

In essence, this is a PR job without being an actual PR job, and a reporting job without being an actual reporting job. Why wouldn't a reporter take such a position, especially considering the tenuousness of most actual newspaper jobs these days?

[MileHigh]

PaulO writes twice about this.

http://www.oberjuerge.com/http:/www.oberjuerge.com/la-kings-hire-their-own-reporter-start-of-trend/

http://www.oberjuerge.com/http:/www.oberjuerge.com/kingsreporter-certainly-unusual-at-the-least/

[gutenberg]

Hammond may not "go easy" on the Kings, but the job will be easy, compared to working on the beat for a newspaper.

These opportunities for newspaper people can't help but be so, because, despite the fact that Hammond, or others transitioning into similar such jobs, are said to have editorial independence and control, really, how far can it go?

For example, let's say a coach gets fired, or a player arrested. Who possibly finds out about that before an organizational beat writer? No one, but are the Kings seriously going to allow Hammond to write it up, first and fully, before anyone else, as hard-hitting, pull-no-punches news? And really, is he going to want to? Or be able to, without anyone else looking at it prior to release?

Let's just say I doubt it. 

And if he can/does do that, how easy can getting information get? He works for the Kings. Presumably, that means he will receive company email, and have more "inside" information than anyone, even a well-plugged in newspaper beat person.

The set-up will give him almost automatic first dibs on any announcement coming from the organization. There will hardly be a need to "work sources."

Also, the direct, easy, constant access to sources will make it easy to expand and expound on whatever news comes out.

This arrangement allows reporters to do the best, most interesting and fun parts of the job, all without really having to do actual reporting, and be reporters, when it comes to the hard stuff.

It's the best of both worlds, and makes life easy and stress-free, especially because, really, what competition is there?

In essence, this is a PR job without being an actual PR job, and a reporting job without being an actual reporting job. Why wouldn't a reporter take such a position, especially considering the tenuousness of most actual newspaper jobs these days?

Great points by WriteThinking, who is one of the more astute people posting on this site.

He's someone I would enjoy as a co-worker.

[sportsguydave]

This seems to be a growing trend in our business.

And these jobs probably pay more than newspapers.

But I'm not convinced that these guys will have complete editorial freedom to pursue stories.

[playthrough]

Maybe not, but how many of us would trade an ounce of editorial freedom for a pound of job security?

[Xanadu]

Well, we'll see about the pound of security the first time Rich has to drop an ounce of editorial hammer.