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McAdam finally jumps ship

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by bob, Sep 26, 2008.

  1. bob

    bob Member

    http://shots.bostonsportsmedia.com/

    Heading to the Herald
     
  2. apseloser

    apseloser Member

    A great get. Terrific reporter. Writer, not so much. But he'll get them some scoops — and ones that are actually true, unlike the Patriots coverage.
     
  3. gosox

    gosox New Member

    I'd take Borges/McAdam over Felger/Mazz any day of the week.
     
  4. Here here gosox. Borges and McAdam understand what it is to establish sources and report a story, unlike the other two who are totally reactionary.

    And yeah, someone's gonna bring up Borges and plagiarism; fair enough. He was lazy and screwed up, it's ground we've all been over. Nonetheless, the guy can write and has a better Rolodex than 90% of guys in the biz. And McAdam's not too shabby either.
     
  5. money graf, literally and figuratively:

    1. glad to see some wonk up on high come down on this.

    2. mcadam often was the best part of the big show on weei when he was on. so the listeners really lost out. (this explains why lou merloni has been on there a lot recenty.)

    3. i wouldn't say mazz is reactionary, sg -- he's a damn good writer, and a guy i've respected for a long time. felger, you may be on to something there.
     
  6. Me too. I never understood how this was permitted, especially when these guys are appear live on the air to analyze trades, injuries, roster moves, especially on the road where they have access that the studio monkeys do not. I mean, aren't these guys on the newspaper's dime, especially on the road? EEI isn't paying for the airfare to Cleveland on trade deadline day. Why should the radio get the writer's insight first?? Shouldn't that insight--assuming it's essentially what the guy would be writing--be put in print first?

    I know I'm being idealistic, but the ProJo apparently had enough of this.

    And after a while, the marketing value on these appearances has to wane if you're the ProJo, Herald etc.
     
  7. actually was using some blue font there, sg. i think mcadam got screwed. especially a guy of his stature...he always treated the paper as the first priority, even though he did work for espn.com and weei. it's almost as if they were trying to find a way to push him out the door, and by god, they did.
     
  8. Fine, but ProJo paid the bills and the big salary and benefits I'd assume. He got screwed outta more money, sure, but I think it's a thin line they all skate.
     
  9. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    Double- and triple-dipping ought to have gotten more people called out in the past. Now, that toothpaste is out of the tube and down the drain, and newspapers that threaten your job security and freeze wages should expect widespread moonlighting.

    That said, I think the promo value of such stuff is grossly overrated. There are likely just as many potential ProJo customers who knew they could get McAdams' takes in the other media as there were who saw or heard him and said, "Damn, I've got to go buy that paper or visit its Web site now."

    Business stiffs and newsroom managers who like to tout their favorites get all excited about the multimedia presence, but I doubt any of them has ever done a cost/benefit analysis to see what the gains and losses are, or how much the writer shaves from his newspaper responsibilities and availability to squeeze more side jobs into his day. Or, most of all, how a select few in the (cough) team world of a sports department affect morale when they keep enriching themselves while worker bees do the heavy lifting.

    If deskers resent beat writers for their airline miles and hotel points, you can be sure that the deskers and the beat writers will resent a few stars who show up on the air for cash just because the paper put them in that position. First order of business: Those fortunate folks have to make sure they work as hard or harder for the paper than the others. If McAdams did that, then yeah, he got screwed. But he also got a nice new job out of it.
     
  10. terrier

    terrier Well-Known Member

    McAdam's departure comes the day after the ProJo laid off all its news part-timers and five full-timers (while advertising was spared).
    The ProJo forced out its only remaining sportswriter who had a presence in the Boston market.
    Sounds like one of the fat cats in the exec suite got a little cheesed that Sean one of the peasants was able to hustle up a few extra bucks in this economy.
    With Steve Krasner having just taken the buyout, the ProJo's Sox coverage takes one in the nads at playoff time.
     
  11. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    I'll add to my above position with this: I think the greatest value to a newspaper of some staffer's side gigs is, they keep the staffer happier. Some more money, a higher profile in the market, a little extra respect, those are all good things. It might keep someone good from jumping ship if he can carve out a nice living with his current employer even in tough times and it might keep them working hard at the day job to keep the freelance tap flowing. Just so corners don't get cut.

    That beats any vague, assumed, maybe non-existent promo value to the paper's bottom line.
     
  12. awriter

    awriter Active Member

    I have a hard time blaming people for double-dipping when, even in the best of times, we're getting paid little more than the guy flipping burgers. And now, when people are being laid off and reassigned because of staff cuts, I have even less of a problem with it.
     
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