Tom Friend -- What happened?

Does anybody know what happened to ESPN the Magazine senior writer Tom Friend? I've noticed it's been ages since he had a story in the magazine. Then, over the weekend, I got my new issue in the mail (college football preview) and his name isn't even on the masthead anymore?

I wonder if he left?

 

Isn't he the editor of espnlosangeles.com or whatever it's called?

 

He just had a huge story on Gasol.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=friend_tom&page=drgasol-100806

 

The Gasol article lists him as a senior writer for ESPN.com (doesn't mention ESPN the magazine). Maybe they simply moved him over to full-time Web and TV.

 

The Gasol story was a great read. Friend really needs to do more work, he's excellent.

 

How often do those ESPN writers write?

I know, I know, gotta be a big variance between the magazine folks vs. the dot.commers. But still, we're not talking local beat coverage. What's the byline count for a guy like Friend in a given year?

 

Well if Jones was not run off, he would be a great person to ask.

 

Before you guys ask bylines counts, you should take a look at that Pau Gasol package.
It was a multi-platform, bilingual package. This wasn't a 25" feature story.
Point being, you don't hire Tom Friend, Chris Jones or J.R. Moehringer if you're looking for two features and five notebooks a week.

 

No criticism or "jealousy" (this board seems to wallow in charges of that) implicit in my question that quantity is what matters and that ESPN writers, if they don't crank out large numbers of bylined stories, somehow are lacking or living on E-Z street.

I do think, however, that some of the specialness with which some writers are regarded is self-fulfilling. If you have to produce 10-15 stories a year, you have the opportunity to be good in ways that many talented folks cranking 250 stories a year do not. And while there's pressure to "hit a home run" each time you produce something in a low-volume job, it's still just sportswriting pressure, not heart surgeon or air traffic controller pressure.

But fishwrapper, there's no reason why someone can't ask for # of bylines, as informational thing about those types of jobs, AND take a look at the Pau Gasol package.

 

Ok. Fair enough.
But, you'll have to admit, the question usually comes from one place.

 

Both of you make good points. I have always felt byline counts are way overrated. An enterprise piece involving many sources that takes a lot of work is just not the same as calling a coach for a quick advance that might take 15 minutes to write.