Another good print guy heads online...

[Omar_dont_scare]

Volquest, the Rivals.com site that covers Tennessee, has announced that Chris Low is leaving the Tennessean to join their staff full time.

Low's got quite a track record, and he broke the Spurrier to South Carolina story among other things.

Discuss.

 

[Chi City 81]

Wow, that's a major coup for that part of the country. Low did a pretty damned good job on that beat.

 

[Omar_dont_scare]

Be interesting to see who takes the position. I know the Tennessean's been getting squeezed hard lately regarding both budget and news hole.

 

[Left_Coast]

Everyone has.

 

[Hammer Pants]

That makes four guys on the Volquest staff. Any other Rivals' sites have that many?

I'm still stunned about this.

 

[The Rules of Golf]

Man, this shocks the hell out of me. Chris Low is as good as it gets.

Good for him. I assume the coin is a major improvement over The Tennessean.

 

[HEST]

Also on the horizon: Chase Goodbread -- prep editor and Florida Times-Union employee for the past 14 years -- will be joining Rivals' Alabama site in the next few weeks.

 

[Moland Spring]

Wow. I am completely stunned. Chris literally owns his beat like few of us could dream. Man. To Rivals?? Everyone is stealing print guys nowadays...

 

[spinning27]

Very surprised.

I could have seen Low going to Yahoo or something like that as an SEC writer. But Rivals? Interesting move.

 

[friend of a friend]

If I'm not mistaken, one of the top editors at Rivals used to work at the Tennessean. His name escapes me.

 

[Moland Spring]

If that's true about the editor, that would make sense. Yeah, him leaving for a national Web site -- given his profile and work for ESPN.com, etc. -- would make sense. This makes little. Wow. I repeat, there are more jobs than ever out there. They are just coming from different places.

 

[The Rules of Golf]

So when Vol Player X gets arrested, will Low still have the scoop?

 

[HEST]

If I'm not mistaken, one of the top editors at Rivals used to work at the Tennessean. His name escapes me.

Bob McClellan, formerly of the Tennessean, now works for Rivals.

These guys must have grown weary of those annual COL raises. The money is online.

 

[zagoshe]

The money is online.

Not arguing, but is it really? Is Rivals really going to pay this guy more than the Tennessean? I find that hard to believe based on what I know the Rivals guys for the local Division I teams make.

 

[spinning27]

Another question ... What does the Tennessean do now?

Low was one of the few reasons to read that rag. Climer is really good, Wyatt is pretty good, and ......?

Is the notoriously tight-fisted Tennessean going to shell out the $$ to hire somebody who's going to compete with Low and the rest of the media in Knoxville? Doubtful.

 

[HEST]

The money is online.

Not arguing, but is it really? Is Rivals really going to pay this guy more than the Tennessean? I find that hard to believe based on what I know the Rivals guys for the local Division I teams make.

Depends on the site and the guy's qualifications. For a kid coming out of j school or a fan "living the dream", the entry-level money isn't all that great (although likely on par with what an entry-level print guy makes). Also, if you're covering Iowa State, you're probably not going to pull dollars like the guy covering Texas. For an established guy like Low working in a market like the one he's in, I'd guess he's looking at a 30-40 percent raise -- at least. Not sure if there's a benefit package involved, but I'm sure the hike in pay will more than take care of private coverage.

Some of these sites are doing more than $1 million per year in revenues. Even if the UT site is doing more like 600K, what's 80K (just a guess, btw) for a guy like Low? That's called re-investing in the product; a fleeting concept on the print side.

 

[HEST]

Another question ... What does the Tennessean do now?

Low was one of the few reasons to read that rag. Climer is really good, Wyatt is pretty good, and ......?

Is the notoriously tight-fisted Tennessean going to shell out the $$ to hire somebody who's going to compete with Low and the rest of the media in Knoxville? Doubtful.

Just a guess: Staffer Bryan Mullen slides in there. Outside: Maybe Gentry Estes from the 'Nooga?

 

[imjustagirl2]

I have heard rumors that a LOT of beat guys may be making similar moves to rivals.com with a possible merger/buyout with an established sports online site that would then try to make a real run at espn.com in terms of content.


Just a note from the IJAG pipeline.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Hey, stay on topic. And happy Brock Lesnar day.

And Low seems as good a person as he is a journalist, from the couple of times I've talked to him.

 

[Omar_dont_scare]

Echoing the good guy comment, Chris was the architect of a fund raising drive for Gary Lundy's kid back when Lundy passed.