Phawker: Stephen A. Smith loses Inquirer column

This really should be the first of many questions about columnists who whore themselves out to ESPN or freelance for Web sites like FOXSports etc.

 

The fact that you even compare the two shows just how clueless you are... Canzano writes four or five times a week and writes features as well. Stephen A. writes a couple times a month and has been known to go months without a byline. He's also drawing roughly $500K from the WWL...

But good comparison...

 

Amen.

 

He works two jobs, take two paychecks and - if this story's accurate - is having his column pulled for failing to deliver on his expected workload at the newspaper. I can see where the comparison would confuse you.

 

I give Philly a lot of credit for doing this even though they're going to take a PR beating for doing so... His job as columnist had long become secondary to his ESPN work. There are a couple other columnists out there who also fall into that category.

 

You're comparing someone working 10 hours a week on the radio in the city where he works to someone who has to travel the country to cover games for someone else... There's nothing even remotely similar about the two...

 

Yes. Keep telling yourself that.

 

You're so clueless I don't even know how to respond... If you want to rip Canzano, fine... If you want to rip Stephen A., fine... There is no comparison to what both writers are doing. If you want to compare Stephen A to Woody Paige or Dan LeBatard or Jason Whitlock or Michael Wilbon or Tony Kornheiser, that's completely legitimate...

You're comparing doing local radio to traveling around the country to cover sporting events for someone other than your paper...

 

jmacg is not clueless; that much i know. but i understand where mizzou is coming from because 1. stephen a. spends too much time outside of philly, and canzano will still spend his time in portland. 2. espn became stephen a's full-time gig, and i'm giving canzano the benefit of the doubt here, believing that his oregonian job comes first and the radio job second. i can't assume canzano's writing will take a hit.

finally, the canzano debate is centered around who is paying him, not the fact that he is taking on more responsibilities. that's another topic, which also makes for a fine discussion. and i'm firmly on jmacg's side in the canzano debate.

 

This is a practical corollary to the ethical debate about Canzano.

The comparison between Smith and Canzano is fair, and it is this: By taking independent employment outside your newspaper, are you bound to shortchange one employer? The other? Both? Either by the number of hours spent working or by the number of hours spent travelling?





edit: fixed typo

 

In Stephen A. Smith's case, you're 100 percent right. Let's not forget he also has a radio show... His columnist job is probably his third priority behind ESPN and the radio show...

Doing 10 hours of radio a week is nothing...

 

So you only count the time spent on the air? No prep time, no travel time to and from? No meetings with producers or station management? No time spent on the phone talking to them?