Alan Robinson

[nietsroob17]

Pardon if I missed something, but what happened with Alan Robinson in the Pittsburgh AP bureau? I've been seeing stringer bylines and Chris Adamski on the Steelers stories this week, and today it's Barry Wilner and Genaro Armas.

Last time I saw Robinson's name was a Penguins game Tuesday night. Not sure if he had a pre-arranged vacation, or he quit, or there's some other backstory, but I figure the AFC title game is something he wouldn't want to miss, nor the AP want him to miss.

 

[Mike Nadel]

I heard he quit in a huff. He had threatened to quit many times over the years -- including once back in my AP days while working the '91 Stanley Cup Finals with me -- but this time the company took him up on it.

I'm sure some AP and/or Pittsburgh types will give more details. That's all I've got.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

As recently as two weeks ago he was one of the guys Bob Ley was Interviewing on Outside the Lines on the Pitt football head coach situation.

 

[MileHigh]

Job posted.

https://careers.ap.org/viewjob.html?optlink-view=view-20243&ERFormID=newjoblist&ERFormCode=any

 

[Moderator1]

A very reliable Pipeline Practioner has sent this along:

Robinson resigned in a huff after the Ravens/Steelers game. He filled his story with a lead that the NY Sports Desk didn't like. They demanded he rewrite his lead. He refused and left the press box without filing his final story. He turned in his resignation letter and it was accepted on the following Monday.

He pulled the exact same stunt after the Olympic gold medal game but they begged him to come back and he did.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Is he old enough to retire? Close? I don't think I know the guy, but I know he covered the Pittsburgh drug trials and that was '85, so he's been around a while.

If he's not old enough to walk away free and clear, it's not the smartest thing to let a pissing contest with the desk escalate into quitting a job in this market.

 

[MightyMouse]

Is he old enough to retire? Close? I don't think I know the guy, but I know he covered the Pittsburgh drug trials and that was '85, so he's been around a while.

If he's not old enough to walk away free and clear, it's not the smartest thing to let a pissing contest with the desk escalate into quitting a job in this market.

It's possible he overestimated his value.

 

[MileHigh]

Guessing it wasn't his first pissing contest with them and they probably just tired of it all. Pure speculation, of course.

 

[Stitch]

Is he old enough to retire? Close? I don't think I know the guy, but I know he covered the Pittsburgh drug trials and that was '85, so he's been around a while.

If he's not old enough to walk away free and clear, it's not the smartest thing to let a pissing contest with the desk escalate into quitting a job in this market.

It's possible he overestimated his value.

Isn't that all of us who try to get raise and don't get it. I'm betting Oprah thought her network would have more viewers than it does.

 

[BYH]

Is he old enough to retire? Close? I don't think I know the guy, but I know he covered the Pittsburgh drug trials and that was '85, so he's been around a while.

If he's not old enough to walk away free and clear, it's not the smartest thing to let a pissing contest with the desk escalate into quitting a job in this market.

It's possible he overestimated his value.

Isn't that all of us who try to get raise and don't get it. I'm betting Oprah thought her network would have more viewers than it does.

Has no idea what you are talking about:

 

[dooley_womack1]

Guessing it wasn't his first pissing contest with them and they probably just tired of it all. Pure speculation, of course.

I guess his SAR (stories above replacement writer) wasn't up to snuff.

 

[MightyMouse]

Is he old enough to retire? Close? I don't think I know the guy, but I know he covered the Pittsburgh drug trials and that was '85, so he's been around a while.

If he's not old enough to walk away free and clear, it's not the smartest thing to let a pissing contest with the desk escalate into quitting a job in this market.

It's possible he overestimated his value.

Isn't that all of us who try to get raise and don't get it. I'm betting Oprah thought her network would have more viewers than it does.

It is, but you also have to be prepared for the boss to call your bluff. I just hope he had a Plan B in mind when he walked.

 

[Joe Williams]

That's the beauty of having F.U. money. You can quit in huffs as often as you like.

Getting and maintaining F.U. money is the tricky part.

Knowing the temperament of so many newsies, this might be part of the reason this business pays so low. There'd be hotheads quitting in huffs all the time if they actually could afford it.

 

[podunk press]

I'm shocked he cared that much.

When the Podunk editor comes over and asks me to change a lede he doesn't like, I ALWAYS change it.

I mean, seriously. It's just one freaking story.

 

[slappy4428]

I'm shocked he cared that much.

When the Podunk editor comes over and asks me to change a lede he doesn't like, I ALWAYS change it.

I mean, seriously. It's just one freaking story.

On the other hand, it could have been the 300th-straight paper cut... one sucks, but you deal with it. Two cuts deeper, but you go on. After a while, it starts to make an impact.

 

[Gonna Buy me a Dog]

Anybody who's ever dealt with AP new york can completely empathize.

They are ... clueless.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Paper cuts.

I remember when I'd hear that term and think of it only in the way slappy intended.

 

[sportseditorbob]

I've known Robinson for quite a few years and this didn't ring true with me so out of curiosity I did some checking and learned this wasn't the case. He filed his initial story (the one that moves within minutes upon the conclusion of the game) but instead of allowing him to continue writing the story, the AP's sports editor took over the rewriting of the story and moved a rewrite under his name. He left the press box hours after the game ended and only after being told by a supervisor (NOT the sports editor) that he was no longer involved in the writing process. I believe a similar incident occurred during the Winter Olympics (I recall there was a hockey story he apparently didn't write, but carried his name, that was much maligned on this website).

All I can say is that while all of us have our moments in this profession, I don't know of anyone in western Pennsylvania who hasn't been helped by this guy over the years. He worked tirelessly and, from what my night desk editor tells me, was the most prolific AP sports writer in the country. I know we'll miss his work.

A very reliable Pipeline Practioner has sent this along:

Robinson resigned in a huff after the Ravens/Steelers game. He filled his story with a lead that the NY Sports Desk didn't like. They demanded he rewrite his lead. He refused and left the press box without filing his final story. He turned in his resignation letter and it was accepted on the following Monday.

He pulled the exact same stunt after the Olympic gold medal game but they begged him to come back and he did.

 

[cranberry]

I've known Robinson for quite a few years and this didn't ring true with me so out of curiosity I did some checking and learned this wasn't the case. He filed his initial story (the one that moves within minutes upon the conclusion of the game) but instead of allowing him to continue writing the story, the AP's sports editor took over the rewriting of the story and moved a rewrite under his name. He left the press box hours after the game ended and only after being told by a supervisor (NOT the sports editor) that he was no longer involved in the writing process. I believe a similar incident occurred during the Winter Olympics (I recall there was a hockey story he apparently didn't write, but carried his name, that was much maligned on this website).

All I can say is that while all of us have our moments in this profession, I don't know of anyone in western Pennsylvania who hasn't been helped by this guy over the years. He worked tirelessly and, from what my night desk editor tells me, was the most prolific AP sports writer in the country. I know we'll miss his work.

A very reliable Pipeline Practioner has sent this along:

Robinson resigned in a huff after the Ravens/Steelers game. He filled his story with a lead that the NY Sports Desk didn't like. They demanded he rewrite his lead. He refused and left the press box without filing his final story. He turned in his resignation letter and it was accepted on the following Monday.

He pulled the exact same stunt after the Olympic gold medal game but they begged him to come back and he did.

I agree. Robinson was always very prolific. The re-write story seems a little odd. I've worked both sides -- as a desk supervisor in AP New York and as a line reporter/sports writer in a bureau. Typically, the lede on a gamer or deadline story would be rewritten (EDITED?) in New York and wouldn't be returned to a reporter, at least that's the way it used to work. If we didn't like a lede, we changed it -- not the reporter's call nor did would reporters consider it their call.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

I've known Robinson for quite a few years and this didn't ring true with me so out of curiosity I did some checking and learned this wasn't the case. He filed his initial story (the one that moves within minutes upon the conclusion of the game) but instead of allowing him to continue writing the story, the AP's sports editor took over the rewriting of the story and moved a rewrite under his name. He left the press box hours after the game ended and only after being told by a supervisor (NOT the sports editor) that he was no longer involved in the writing process. I believe a similar incident occurred during the Winter Olympics (I recall there was a hockey story he apparently didn't write, but carried his name, that was much maligned on this website).

All I can say is that while all of us have our moments in this profession, I don't know of anyone in western Pennsylvania who hasn't been helped by this guy over the years. He worked tirelessly and, from what my night desk editor tells me, was the most prolific AP sports writer in the country. I know we'll miss his work.

A very reliable Pipeline Practioner has sent this along:

Robinson resigned in a huff after the Ravens/Steelers game. He filled his story with a lead that the NY Sports Desk didn't like. They demanded he rewrite his lead. He refused and left the press box without filing his final story. He turned in his resignation letter and it was accepted on the following Monday.

He pulled the exact same stunt after the Olympic gold medal game but they begged him to come back and he did.

That is a shame!
Al was/is a great AP writer for Pittsburgh.
I recall the hockey story. I was one of the ones who pointed out the lede.
That's a shame, but I certainly can't blame him for leaving.
He was a multi-award winning writer and served the Pittsburgh bureau well. He's skills will certainly be missed by this long time reader of many things Pittsburgh.