Shakeup at the AJC?

Any word on who is leaving sports in the ATL?

 

Romenesko has a memo with all the names. It breaks it down by editing and reporting and photo, but not by section. So if you know specfic names, there you go.

 

Ron Martz, who was imbedded in Iraq but used to cover the Tampa Bay Bucs for St. Pete before moving on to Atlanta, is on that list. Good guy.

 

Don Boykin was an AME with oversight over sports, and sometime before that sports editor.

Ed Gaulin and Jedwin Smith were longtime newsside desk guys who came up to sports about three years ago, IIRC.

And Ron Martz's stuff from Iraq was tremendous.

 

Sad to see a group of veteran and skilled newspaper people leave ANY organization.

I don't know what it's like where you all work, but I'm often surrounded by news-side people with no experience. They suck suck suck. They have to suck. They're 23 years old. I had an older guy kinda shepherd me when I started. I'm not sure there will be any shepherds soon. Really sets shit back.

OK. That's enough.

 

I love these sentences:

Before they leave -- and before those who stay possibly change assignments -- Tom Baxter and Keith Graham will lead an effort to collect and share our deep well of institutional knowledge. They will chair a task force that will work with Mike Lupo to compile a substantial source list with names and phones numbers that can be used to aid the newsgathering process by all.


Thanks for all your hard work over the years, now get out, but before you do, give us everything you know and tell us how to do things since you won't be able to cover us anymore.

 

An acquaintance retired early from a company he co-owns. He was telling some of us that the company spent the money to create a thing called "The Legends," retired people who were big names in his line of work, they hold a fancy dinner monthly and once a year the company flies them and their wives to someplace warm for a week, just so they can pick their brains. The old guys apparently love feeling useful and seeing old friends and rivals, and the company basically gets consultants who really know what they're talking about at a fraction of the cost. And I thought, what a great idea. Are they using these people? I don't know -- sounds like a good deal for everyone.

 

Shrewd and honorary all at once.