1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Wilbon leaving Washington Post

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by MileHigh, Nov 18, 2010.

  1. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    At no point did I say Web. I was thinking more along the lines of magazines and television. Mostly magazines, although Wilbon is television.

    More importantly, to characterize what those writers do as "rambl(ing) on and on" is a serious insult to what they do - and a gross mischaracterization. There is a place for short newspaper stories. Of course there is. Not everyone city council meeting needs 5,000 words. Not every gamer needs to be 5,000 words. Not every story in the New York Times off of a Supreme Court decisions needs to be 5,000 words. But sometimes, a story and a writer need space to develop and breathe. This isn't "rambl(ing)." It's writing.

    I stand by the proposition that most extremely talented writers would not want to work at a newspaper. And that's why newspapers do their best to hang onto those people when they have them, including making concessions that get under the skin of a lot of people here, who want newspapers to preserve their dignity by dumping him before he dumps her.

    Of course that's not what I'm saying.

    Of course there are talented writers working in newspapers. Lots of them. Because there are a lot of people working in newspapers.

    Of course there are talented teachers. Lots of them. Because there are a lot of teachers.

    Of course there are talented public interest lawyers. Because are lots of lawyers.

    Of course there are talented doctors working in the inner-city emergency room or the heart of darkness in some African outpost. Because there are lots of doctors.

    But as a whole, talented people gravitate toward tangible compensation.
     
  2. jackfinarelli

    jackfinarelli Well-Known Member


    What are the chances that the Post's next hire in sports will be as good as Wilbon has been for those 32 years?
     
  3. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    Is Wilbon going to write columns for ESPN dot com?
     
  4. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    This could come down to a dad realizing that his kid is growing up, and he might be missing a lot of it.

    He made a comment on PTI recently that playing with his kid now is more fun than covering a big time event.

    I think this is just subtracting from his plate to make room for the kid. TV probably pays better and takes less time to do.
     
  5. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    Not quite that much, but I did get paid $560 each to write conference preview stories for a major national college football/basketball magazine. 800 words. Maybe took me three hours to research and write considering I'm well versed in the subject matter. No complaints here.

    On Wilbon, as DD pointed out earlier, he wouldn't know me from anyone. But early in my career, I shared an elevator with him at Sun Devil Stadium during a Redskins-Cardinals game and we chatted and he had good advice for a young pup reporter. Couldn't have been nicer. Small sample, yes, but a good impression. He's obviously a guy I grew up reading, and was happy to find out he wasn't a big-timing jerk like some of the others I had met. He'll thrive at ESPN full-time because he's charismatic, does his research and is very engaging.
     
  6. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    Love Wilbon as a person and have immense respect for his columns, work ethic and collegiality.

    Do feel that his work on TV with the NBA in particular, and pretty much overall, has led him to pull punches in his opinions on athletes he covers. Either that or, as he's gotten a little older and become more of a star himself, he IDs more with them. But you can count on him to go easy on most athletes in most sports, NBA especially. Even as Kornheiser starts to criticize a guy, you can see Mike start to wince, smile and shrug.

    Also find myself wondering, during those NBA panel discussions, if the average fan views Wilbon as loftily as we do. Many probably don't know his resume, and he doesn't serve as the newsy/scoops guy to reflect his journalism background. It's just commentary without the ex-player "cred."
     
  7. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    I do totally agree with you on this. He's not quite a LeBatard level suck up, but he nearly always gives the benefit of the doubt to the athlete.
     
  8. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    Mike is one of the best guys I met in the sportswriting game, and I think we all agree he was a really really good columnist. And as noted, his work ethic is irreproachable.
    Therefore, I suggest it is possible HE made the choice newspapers won't and decided he couldn't serve two masters and give them both his best effort. If so, ESPN is the choice anyone would make, due to the money involved.
     
  9. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    To what extent do you think this was driven by ESPN who wanted Wilpon as ESPN's, rather than WaPo's?
     
  10. Cousin Jeffrey

    Cousin Jeffrey Active Member

    The Kissing Suzy Kolber guys do a good Wilbon.

    http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2007/11/ask-michael-wilbon.html
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page