More Chicago Tribune changes

Long shot, in my view. The Rose story isn't going to have many facets once he's back on the court and he's certainly not going to fill up notebooks or camcorders with quotes. Occasional air-drop work by a second writer, maybe. But the Bulls' primary storyline is going to be about Rose, so one good beat person could handle it. And Johnson is certainly that.

 

Yeah, Rose coming back isn't going to make a paper feel the need to beef up its coverage the way it would when LeBron went to Miami or when Jordan went to the Wizards...

 

That doesn't happen all the time. Not at a paper that large in a market that large on a beat that important.

Really? A Bears beat writer for the Chicago Tribune who's also the Illinois football beat writer? That's ridiculous.

 

Agreed. This is unheard of for a major metro newspaper (in good economic times or bad, past or present).

Now, it's one thing to pitch in on coverage of an Illinois game and then do a Bears game the next day. Sure, that's fine. But to say one is the Bears beat writer AND the Illinois football beat writer for the Chicago Tribune? Sorry, don't buy it.

 

"NBA interest in Chicago doesn't rank high enough to devote two people to the beat."

Reallly? Have you spent a lot of time in Chicago during the NBA season?

 

Yes, Fran, I have. Both metros add personnel for the postseason but during the season, it's a 1-beat person job.

I think both the Tribune and the Sun-Times were better off when they had national writers in addition to their Bulls beat guys -- Sam Smith at the Tribune and Lacy Banks at the Sun-Times. But that's going back a half-dozen years or so. The Bears and the combo of the Cubs/White Sox demand 2-3 (or more) reporters per beat but the Bulls haven't, at least since the Jordan era.

 

I think with increased demand for blogs, video, chats, you could easily justify two on the Bulls. You could get away with less, but going with two would be wise.

 

According to APSE's Twitter, Minneapolis Star-Trib Vikings writer Dan Wiederer is moving from the Twin Cities to the Windy City

 

Which could create a STrib opening, even if it's in another beat... ah, the lovely dominoes keep falling.

 

Whaaaaaaaa?

 

Hopefully you get to replace him.