Paul O back in the LANG fold

http://www.dailynews.com/olympics/ci_10271432

He's not really back in the family, but he is the only body the Los Angeles Newspaper Group has in China for the Olympics. He covered the BMX final as well.
Discuss.

 

He's also writing for:

- <a href="http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/08/19/sports/olympics/z9c9fc426f1b76f6f882574aa0078010c.txt">The North County Times</a> (and <a href="http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/08/18/sports/olympics/zdceb3d656e2186fe882574a90068f057.txt">The Californian</a>)
- <a href="http://www.avpress.com/n/19/0819_s10.hts">The AV Press</a>
- <a href="http://www.pe.com/sports/special/2008/olympics/stories/PE_spts_olympics_20080820_craig.16945498.html">The P-E</a>

And <a href="http://www.oberjuerge.com">blogging</a> multiple times every day from Beijing.

Suck it, LANG.

 

We were wondering how PaulO managed to keep his credential while not working for anybody. Wasn't his credential issued to him through the SB Sun? Somebody said, "I'd be afraid to go over there under those circumstances. The Chinese government might shoot you."
The stuff he has filed for newspapers has been good. But his blog, oh well, it's a blog. Who cares about having to run to get on a bus, or that some Romanian TV guys took up two seats with their equipment.
Oh yeah, and beach volleyball is ... FUN. Didn't need to go to China to figure out that one.

 

Might want to check back in with that blog after all: Journalism Carnage Hits Home at Beijing

 

socal, i wondered that myself...maybe his lang byline is his payment for use of his credential?

does anyone know if he was gonna have to pay his way to beijing if he still had been employed by san bernadino? i would think singleton would be one of the first to chop olympics coverage.

 

Paul's paid his own way to the Olympics and World Cup before, so it wouldn't surprise me if LANG wasn't footing the whole bill even if he wasn't laid off earlier this year. I have to think he was prepared for that.

As for his credential, the man's covered something like 13 Olympics. Safe to say he knows enough people at the USOC (or IOC) to figure out a way to get to China even after being laid off. I imagine he got those freelance contracts lined up pretty quickly and made it clear that he'd still be working when he was in Beijing.

 

thanks, buckweaver. amazes me that the guy would pay his own way over there, even though he probably wasn't making big coin under the singleton regime.

 

Actually, no. For a big event like the Olympics, he would have applied for a credential as a representative of LANG, not The Sun -- and, of course, he could claim to be writing for eight papers, not one. Which was true, and in a pinch might help his cause to secure a credential (not that he would ever be denied, because he's been around for 32 years.)

One of the (few) "benefits," I guess, of working for a chain with so many shared entities. They spread the money around to keep everybody in the black and get what they need. The Sun on its own couldn't afford to send a writer to the Olympics -- nor would Dean allow it -- but LANG could. That's how it works.

 

I did see that entry. It was the most compelling thing he has written from China. That was too good for a blog item.

 

hell, even if you're making $80k a year, it's still not big money out there.

(as for singleton's picayuneness, i'm basing that on what he's paying out east at some of his properties, even papers with circulations larger than 40k.)

 

Well, that's why I said I have to believe he was prepared for that. Besides, he's done it before so maybe I'm just not "amazed" by the idea that he would pay his way to go cover something he loves to cover. To each his own.