Chris Harry to Fanhouse

From Chris's Facebook page...

"After 26-plus years in the newspaper business, I'm leaving the Orlando Sentinel at month's end for Fanhouse.com, AOL's hot sports site, to cover the NFL and write feature stories. Gave notice today and start Jan. 4. I will miss the print side -- it's been my career; my adult life, really -- but I'm looking forward to venturing into the World of Web"

Harry's excellent - big loss for the Sentinel.

 

Congrats to Chris, one of the good guys in our biz. Hate to see him leave newspapers but I'm happy to see him getting out on his terms and moving to another good gig.

 

I concur, Rusty. A good guy and a ridiculous talent.

rb

 

Chris is one of the most passionate journalists I know.
He has great ideas and he knows how to execute them.
I'm really happy for him and I wish him well.

 

For reasons only known inside the Orlando Sentinel, they took one of the better NFL columnists and turned him into someone focused on high school kids and the recruiting stories associated with them.

I'm sure high school sports and recruiting is important in local areas. However, the NFL is a much bigger deal. The Sentinel had a huge asset there and wasted it.

I have already made a note to myself to go to Fanhouse on 4 Jan to find Chris Harry and bookmark his columns.

By the way David Whitley - - late of the Orlando Sentinel - - is also on Fanhouse.

 

Congrats and best of luck to Chris. He is one of the best and most passionate journalists I've ever met and a really funny guy. Newspapers will miss him but AOL snagged a good one.

 

While on the topic, don't know if you guys have checked lately, but FanHouse relaunched with a new design a couple weeks ago. It's a million times better.

(Full disclosure: I'm a FanHouse writer.)

 

Best UF writer they've ever had and they've had some great ones.

Hell of a NFL writer as well.

 

As Spurrier would say: "Chris Harry, hairy Chris!"

 

Chris is an excellent writer, and he will be tremendous online. Having worked with him, I can tell you that he challenged the desk as often as he challenged a coach -- and I mean that in a positive way. When we called him to discuss a story, he was always looking for ways to improve it, even if he thought it was good enough when he turned it in. It was that give-and-take that was so rewarding. And when Chris had a scoop, the gleam in his eye was awesome. If the Internet had been this interactive 15-20 years ago, he would have had a lot more, because he was great at breaking stories. When Chris left Tampa it was a terrible day. Looking forward to his new stuff.

 

I always thought he was the most underrated writer on their staff. I was always surprised the Sentinel was able to hang on to him as long as it did. Tremendous writer. Good guy too...