LA Times' Shaikin on MLB.com, dearth of newspaper beat writers

I thought this was really good, and probably could have been expanded to a longer feature. I didn't post it to start a MLB.com bash, but it's an interesting prism to view the industry.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-shaikin4-2009oct04,0,1393575,full.story

 

Really, really good ... until the ending, which sort of reads like a house ad for the Times:

``We want to serve the casual fans, the ones that just want to know if Ramirez hit a home run last night, and the devoted fans, the ones that want to know whether Robb Quinlan will make the Angels playoff roster.

We know a good idea for a story can come from anywhere -- from a clubhouse conversation, a statistical analysis or a fan blog. We would like to help inform your opinions as you help inform ours.

We are still trying to figure all this out, so let us know how we can provide better coverage and maintain that independent voice on your behalf.

See you in the playoffs.''

 

I didn't see that as much as a plug as it was some balance. After all, he did mention his two largest (at least in terms of SoCal circulation) competitors in the Register and the Daily News.

 

This thread reads like the baseball version of the changing NHL coverage thread/link we had on here not too long ago (which I can't seem to find).

 

Here's the passage that absolutely terrified me for the future:

When Lyle Spencer, who covers the Angels for mlb.com, broke the story of the Scott Kazmir trade, the Tampa Bay Rays saw the story and incorrectly assumed the Angels had tipped Spencer. The Rays were enraged because they had not yet told Kazmir, and all of a sudden mlb.com reported the trade had "fallen through," when it had not.

 

I looked up the story, to see what Shaikin meant by "mlb.com reported" and it looks like it was just a non-bylined blurb. I'm sure Spencer was pleased about that. The MLB.com story here was posted around 9 p.m., the trade was officially official the next morning/afternoon. Spencer had reported it the previous afternoon.

http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090828&content_id=6663260&vkey=news_ana&fext=.jsp&c_id=ana

 

Reader to LA Times: Stop wasting what's left of your space with whining about BLOGS! and give me a good product.

 

TMR: Spencer's story was taken down and replaced by the non-bylined blurb, presumably at the Rays' insistence.

 

you thought that was "whining"? idiot.

 

This was interesting to me, but for the average reader I wonder if it was a little too much insider baseball (so to speak).

 

Yes. Whining. And pathetic, too. Please read our newspaper! We're cutting staff and the news hole but we've got one of those Web site things! You need us! We're independent! Please read us!

We're trying. We've got a newspaper, a website, a Dodgers blog, an Angels blog and a Fabulous Forum sports blog, and two of the country's best beat writers in Mike DiGiovanna and Dylan Hernandez.

We want to serve the casual fans, the ones that just want to know if Ramirez hit a home run last night, and the devoted fans, the ones that want to know whether Robb Quinlan will make the Angels playoff roster.

We know a good idea for a story can come from anywhere -- from a clubhouse conversation, a statistical analysis or a fan blog. We would like to help inform your opinions as you help inform ours.

We are still trying to figure all this out, so let us know how we can provide better coverage and maintain that independent voice on your behalf.