Some more DMN stuff

Here’s some more reliably sourced nuggets regarding the DMN’s downsizing:

Newsroom staff of just over 400 is supposed to be pared down by at least 100 through buyouts. By the end of the month, Belo will announce if the buyouts will include one week or two weeks salary for each year of service.

DMN sports could lose around 20. That’s on top of the 25 or so who were cut loose in the last purge about a two years ago. The problem this time around is that there aren’t a lot of “old timers” remaining who might be enticed to take the buyout. (FYI, DMN is facing two age-discrimination lawsuits from the axe-swinging from two years ago.)

NFL national beat (Rick Gosselin) will remain. National baseball beat is basically a full-page Sunday notes package produced by Fraley. If Jean Jacques Taylor leaves for Memphis, NBA national writer David Moore could be switched to Cowboys beat. Golf writer Bill Nichols likely will only cover 2 DFW tour stops, won’t do any majors. Auto racing writer Terry Blount also won’t travel much.

Understandably, the morale in sports and at the paper in general is at an all-time low. Resumes are being produced and escape routes planned. But, of course, nobody will probably get cut until all the football section has been produced.

And here are some thoughts:

Can the DMN still be considered one of the nation’s top sports sections if it is pulling in its horns, totally ignoring the rest of the sports world? DMN hasn’t staffed a national regular-season college football game in 2 years. This year it didn’t cover Wimbledon, hasn’t sent a writer to either of the last 2 U.S. Opens. At the very least, DMN has to now rank (far) behind the NYT, Boston Globe, Washington Post and L.A. Times.

Sunday’s DMN carried Part Two of the public masturbation known as 25 years of SportsDay. Considering all the cutbacks, showing a world map with all the places its writers have filed from is kinda ironic.

 

I think you could put it behind a helluva lot of other papers as well, including its rival, perhaps.

 

Sad, sad, sad to hear.

I hate to see anything like this happen.

And I won't get into a debate over whether the S-T is better than the DMN. Really doesn't concern me. Lots I like about both sections, and their writers. I just feel for the guys at the DMN.

 

Here's from a DMN sty Saturday:

When SportsDay was founded in 1981, Tom Landry's Cowboys were still reeling from "The Catch" and SMU was a football powerhouse. The Mavericks were an upstart expansion franchise and no one was even talking about an NHL team or a NASCAR track.


Sad: SportsDay started in August 81, catch was 1/10/82.

 

Oldhack, I noticed that also. I think that story (and mistake) was written by a Younghack.

 

What an awful mistake.

 

I'd like to congratulate Belo on it's total destruction of what was once the best sports section in America. What a fucking joke this paper is becoming. And all because a bunch of greedy fucks in the boardroom decided to fuck with the distribution numbers.

Nice work boys. You should be proud.

 

I second that. The DMN sports section now will be like a lot of other sports sections in the country. BLAND.

Belo, ever thought about selling? Might be time for you to get the heck outta the business too.

 

So if they cut the sports staff by 20, that leaves what, about 70-80 staffers in sports? That is still quite large by most major metro standards.

 

Is their sports staff about 100 right now? Anybody know how many of those are reporters or desk guys?

 

70-80 staffers to fill eight pages? (Which was what today's section was, not counting two full-page ads which inflated the section to 10 total.)

Granted it was a Monday paper, but their newshole has gotten smaller and smaller.

And about the DMN football preview section ... High school section was all of 22 pages, college section all of 18 last year. Both full of a few short features and lots of thumbnails. Big drop-off from years previous.

 

A market that size shouldn't have eight full pages. The minimum should be at least 10-12 on slow days. There's enough stuff going on. I remember just a few years ago, it wasn't uncommon for SportsDay to be split in two sections and have about 32 pages. And that was at mid-week.

I remember a couple years ago... the football preview came out on a Thursday. That day's paper was approximately 180-200 pages, and I think 100 of that was the fb section. The readers ate that shit up.

This is sad if it comes to pass. A great sports section may have been destroyed. Are the couple extra profit-margin points worth it, Belo?