Boston's Rapaport to NFL Network

[Rockbottom]

Sources close to the RB Pipeline report that former Boston Herald/Birmingham News/Jackson Clarion-Ledger "young stud" Ian R. Rapaport has accepted a new position with the NFL Network.

rb

 

[Drip]

Will the last person leaving turn out the light?

 

[Versatile]

Will the last person leaving turn out the light?

Not the Globe, the Herald. Your point stands, though.

 

[FootballScribe]

Curious what NFL Network's long term plan is. Seems they are loading up for something, wondering if they are considering following the ESPN model of covering divisions with a couple of all encompassing info guys.

With Breer, Darlington and now Rapaport, they'v assembled a talented young group to complement Wyche and LaCanfora.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Rapaport did a very good job at the Herald. Too bad for my alma mater they lost him.

 

[Moderator1]

Not NFL Network but NFL related - is ESPN bulking up its list of NFL bloggers? One per team?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Dave Kindred thinks he might be good someday.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

And great hire by the way...

 

[FootballScribe]

Not NFL Network but NFL related - is ESPN bulking up its list of NFL bloggers? One per team?

Not that I'm aware of but I suppose that'd be the next logical step. Though it would be a bit confusing in cities where they have ESPN sub sites like Chicago, Boston, Dallas, etc.

 

[Double Down]

Rapaport did a very good job at the Herald. Too bad for my alma mater they lost him.

Is there a single newspaper doing anything to keep the talent they have? I ask in all seriousness. Obviously someone like Rappaport would be crazy to stay, but I get the sense that newspapers are driving their young people to look hard at other options just by being incapable of being anything other than dinosaurs.

Ian is great. Happy for him.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Rapaport did a very good job at the Herald. Too bad for my alma mater they lost him.

Is there a single newspaper doing anything to keep the talent they have? I ask in all seriousness. Obviously someone like Rappaport would be crazy to stay, but I get the sense that newspapers are driving their young people to look hard at other options just by being incapable of being anything other than dinosaurs.

Ian is great. Happy for him.

Unfortunately, keeping that kind of talent -- and paying more to do it, as usually happened when a talented employee received an offer from elsewhere -- simply does not measure out on the bottom line anymore. NFL Network is insulated from that trouble, and for the most part I think the places that are connected to the TV networks are as well (ESPN, Fox and the regional sports network web sites).

But I wouldn't be surprised to see the reckoning come online soon enough. We already have seen it with AOL. And Yahoo's CEO said yesterday that his company was going to lay off thousands of people. Is a news operation that has questionable financial value beyond the fantasy sports revenue going to be immune from that?

 

[henryhenry]

Does NFL Network do real journalism?

how much autonomy does it have?

when these talented people go to work for the leagues do they risk being perceived as part of the publicity machine?

and if that is so, is their increased visibility mitigated by less credibility?

 

[WriteThinking]

Does NFL Network do real journalism?

how much autonomy does it have?

when these talented people go to work for the leagues do they risk being perceived as part of the publicity machine?

and if that is so, is their increased visibility mitigated by less credibility?

Does autonomy matter?

If someone has decided to work for an entity, well, then that's who/what they work for.

A writer does risk being seen as part of a publicity machine, but he or she also won't care, because that's who they work for. They've gone over to that side -- whatever side it is -- as it were. That decision has been made.

Ditto for increased visibility/less credibility. It all depends on your point of view. By going to NFL Network, Ian Rapaport's point of view has/will change in accordance with his new employer. Whether that is good or bad also depends on your point of view.

Whether the NFL Network does "real" journalism, or not, also doesn't matter. It will cover the league as it sees fit...just as a newspaper would provide the coverage that it sees fit.

The differences -- whatever they may be -- have more to do with the employer than they do the employee, even if he's a good, strong, principled "young stud."

 

[Mizzougrad96]

In this day and age autonomy can be sacrificed a bit for real job security. There are great stories on NFL.com.

 

[geddymurphy]

Rapaport did a very good job at the Herald. Too bad for my alma mater they lost him.

Is there a single newspaper doing anything to keep the talent they have? I ask in all seriousness. Obviously someone like Rappaport would be crazy to stay, but I get the sense that newspapers are driving their young people to look hard at other options just by being incapable of being anything other than dinosaurs.

Was it Emilio at the Washington Post who said that when ESPN came calling for one of his reporters, the only thing he could ask was, "What kind of cake do you want at your farewell?"

 

[SixToe]

Is there a single newspaper doing anything to keep the talent they have?

If there is, it might be the Lone Ranger.

 

[FootballScribe]

Does NFL Network do real journalism?

how much autonomy does it have?

when these talented people go to work for the leagues do they risk being perceived as part of the publicity machine?

and if that is so, is their increased visibility mitigated by less credibility?

When it first started I thought the credibility thing was going to be the case. I remember thinking that the reason Schefter broke everything was because the league handed it to him on a silver platter. But it's become quite evident to me, especially since Schefter left, that these guys still have to bust their hump to get stories and compete with everyone. The Network and NFL.com report on everything that everyone else does. And they chase down stories as much as anyone else. Schefter still breaks a ton at ESPN because he's just that damn good. Same with Mort. NFL Network took a hit when Schefter left and La Canfora took over as the main info guy.

That said, there are a few NFL controlled things that get teed up for the Network because of the affiliation. For instance, Albert Breer (who I think is very good) was all over the lockout stuff last year. A big reason for that is that he was basically the only reporter allowed in the court rooms and privy to those meetings.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Yeah, Schefter is a beast. A very tiny beast, but a beast nonetheless.

He's not the writer that LaCanfora is, but LaCanfora couldn't break anywhere close to the number of stories Schefter did. Working for NFL.com does give you an advantage over the rest of the pack, but I don't think it's the advantage that some think it is.

When you have young blood like Darlington and Ian at NFL Network, you're going to get great reporting. Whether they have to back off on some stories remains to be seen. If that's been the case, it hasn't been obvious.

 

[RustyHampton]

Congrats to Ian. To think, I knew him way back when he was a little guy looking for a job. Now he's a little guy with a big-guy job.
Well-deserved. Keep up the hard work, Ian.

 

[slappy4428]

Give me one Ian Rapaport over a dozen Adam ****fers any day...