Dodgers: One beat writer left

[boxand1]

Diamond and Tony are great guys and great reporters. I'll second what was said earlier about Tony being incredibly hard-working. And such a nice guy, too. Diamond is great. The Dodgers crew was one of the best traveling groups of press for any MLB team I've been around.

 

[cubman]

RayKinsella: MLB.com writers don't travel with the team. It's not 1960 anymore.

For what teams? I still read Carrie Muskat stories (as little as possible) from Cubs road games, and Alyson Footer is with the Astros in Atlanta.

 

[da man]

I think he meant they don't physically travel with the teams. They make their own arrangements just like newspaper beat guys.

And MLB.com beat writers travel to some games but not all of them. I know MLB.com uses local freelancers to cover visiting teams for a significant number of games.

 

[BYH]

I think he meant they don't physically travel with the teams. They make their own arrangements just like newspaper beat guys.

And MLB.com beat writers travel to some games but not all of them. I know MLB.com uses local freelancers to cover visiting teams for a significant number of games.

not anymore. They got rid of freelancers this year. [blue]****ing economy.[/blue]

 

[da man]

I think he meant they don't physically travel with the teams. They make their own arrangements just like newspaper beat guys.

And MLB.com beat writers travel to some games but not all of them. I know MLB.com uses local freelancers to cover visiting teams for a significant number of games.

not anymore. They got rid of freelancers this year. [blue]****ing economy.[/blue]

Not true. I know of one they're using in our city right now and the regional boss told me he's looking for another.

 

[Tucsondriver]

Early part of this decade the Daily News put out a perennial Top 10 AP sports section. Until just a few years ago they advertised "Best Preps Coverage" on the sports masthead. The paper had a mission as an alternative to the LA Times even though it was never a credible competitor. These days, there's barely more editorial content in the Daily News than in Auto Trader. Local coverage is all freelance. And now no Dodgers writer? How would you sell ads for this paper?

 

[BYH]

I think he meant they don't physically travel with the teams. They make their own arrangements just like newspaper beat guys.

And MLB.com beat writers travel to some games but not all of them. I know MLB.com uses local freelancers to cover visiting teams for a significant number of games.

not anymore. They got rid of freelancers this year. [blue]****ing economy.[/blue]

Not true. I know of one they're using in our city right now and the regional boss told me he's looking for another.

Well then they were full of **** again a few months ago. the mlb.commers I know are working stupid hours to make up for the home office's pathetic cheapness.

 

[Editude]

There aren't that many ads anymore. It's a race to the bottom, a circle of sorts back to the Valley Green Sheet.
Dodgers aside: A veteran writer, who worked for the combined Ontario and Pomona products before they became officially combined, used to drive to Dodger Stadium each home game to grab a free meal in the press box and drive back. And not write a word.

 

[da man]

I think he meant they don't physically travel with the teams. They make their own arrangements just like newspaper beat guys.

And MLB.com beat writers travel to some games but not all of them. I know MLB.com uses local freelancers to cover visiting teams for a significant number of games.

not anymore. They got rid of freelancers this year. [blue]****ing economy.[/blue]

Not true. I know of one they're using in our city right now and the regional boss told me he's looking for another.

Well then they were full of **** again a few months ago. the mlb.commers I know are working stupid hours to make up for the home office's pathetic cheapness.

Just did a google search for "special to mlb.com" and came up with quite a number of freelance efforts from this season.

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

mlb.com absolutely still uses freelancers. it's not an urban myth. they stopped paying interns. big difference.

 

[SoCalDude]

There aren't that many ads anymore. It's a race to the bottom, a circle of sorts back to the Valley Green Sheet.
Dodgers aside: A veteran writer, who worked for the combined Ontario and Pomona products before they became officially combined, used to drive to Dodger Stadium each home game to grab a free meal in the press box and drive back. And not write a word.

I know of whom you speak. And I know there were times when he ate TWICE.
He would show up right when the dining room opened at 5 p.m. or so and eat, then go out to the press box and read the paper or use the phone, then a little while before the game started at about 7 p.m or so, he would go back in for a second meal.
And I can confirm, he never wrote one word.

 

[fishwrapper]

They would call him the "Double Dip."
Mud -- who, um, was ok with dining -- told a great story about him.

 

[Screwball]

Was this the same guy who made everyone watch him brush his teeth in the men's room?

 

[SoCalDude]

He also got re-assigned to agate and dropped his SE with one punch.

 

[buckweaver]

The classy Tom Hoffarth, in before lock:

http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/2009/05/our-daily-dread-29.html

(And I'll cut and paste the relevant passages, in case LANG really does delete this blog entry):

It gets tougher and tougher, and sadder and sadder, each day to love something that doesn't want to seem to love you back.
Or to even accept emails from those like the ones above without wanting to fire something right back, return the punch. As if it will make things better.
You take a deep breath, scratch your head, consider the source, and move forward.
Or try to, at least.

Those of us left paddling in a circle, as it sometimes feel, feel like our lifejackets keep slipping off our shoulders. We huddle up, as a good team does, and try to figure out how to tie a rope to each other and make survival last a few more weeks. Because no matter when you think that last tidal wave has come, there's another on the horizon.
Meanwhile, don't miss deadline, find something interesting to write about, and get those photo assignments in a timely manner -- granted, if there are photographers left who can work with you on that story.

Our jobs aren't that much different from yours, really. Hopefully, you still have one. If not, we feel your pain, anguish, fears and frustration.
Those of us still working for the sports section are here because we want to be. And we'd have wanted it more if those who we worked with on a regular basis were able to stay as well.

The sports section is very much a team project. We help each other with resources, bounce ideas off each other, argue, agree, argue more, see something that's a great story and try to figure out how, as a group, we can cover it best.
When those pieces of the team continue to leave -- either voluntarily, because it's just too hard to take another punch in the but, or by reason of financial reality -- it makes the team project even tougher to commit to. Team players, whose who are willing to do more than just cover one beat that they were hired to do in the first place, become those asked to stay, for their versatility.
Because, for example, they can copy edit one day, write another, and help try to console departed members the next.

***********************

We grew up reading the newspaper sports section for all it had to offer. We see it now, and while it can still serve up some great information, opinions and basic information, all of which can also be found on the Internet for less than 50 cents a read, we try to understand, as a co-reader, why this doesn't make sense.
We're not good business people. We're sports writers. We accept the rather low pay (despite what you may think) and what few perks there are (again, despite what you may think) for the fun of working for the reader.
What does the reader want? We don't think of you as the consumer, or "what will sell" (again, despite what some may want you to think). We want to write about things you'd enjoy reading about.
If you see it in the newspaper, great. If you find it on the website and are able to link to more resources, even better.
If we could figure a way to do that, and keep our jobs, even better.

Because as soon as another one of us is told by someone in the management position that, unfortunately, we can't afford to have you on our team any more, we go back to becoming just a reader instead of a contributor. And, as a reader, we also wish we could read more and find better stories to entertain and inform us. Just as we remember back in the days when we'd look forward to the newspaper arriving on our driveway with a thump.
The internet, and blogging, is an amazing resource to keep people informed as quickly as possible. The newspaper's sports page can be the place for stories that compliment and suppliment that immediate medium of transferring information. But not if we don't have enough players left on the team.
We'll keep trying. Believe us. We're in this for the good, as well as the bad.
We love this job. We keep grinding and try not to whine so much.

It's just tougher, every day, to feel like we're spending most of our energy and focus on things that just shouldn't be stuff you need or care to worry about.
We're not going down without a fight. We care about it too much at this point to throw up our hands and just walk away.
Just so you know ... or is that too much information?

Comment here or at [email protected].

 

[dragonfly]

So what if local coverage is freelance? At least there is local coverage.

 

[fishwrapper]

Well, because there is a question of quality, oversight and continuity. With fewer editors and more freelancers there's an intrinsic loss.
Everytime they look to trim costs, before they look to staff and travel, guess which budget gets immediate scrutiny?

 

[rpmmutant]

So what if local coverage is freelance? At least there is local coverage.

I resemble that remark these days. The real question is how many more opportunities will there be for local freelancers like myself.

 

[Claws for Concern]

The classy Tom Hoffarth, in before lock:

http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/2009/05/our-daily-dread-29.html

(And I'll cut and paste the relevant passages, in case LANG really does delete this blog entry):

It gets tougher and tougher, and sadder and sadder, each day to love something that doesn't want to seem to love you back.
Or to even accept emails from those like the ones above without wanting to fire something right back, return the punch. As if it will make things better.
You take a deep breath, scratch your head, consider the source, and move forward.
Or try to, at least.

Those of us left paddling in a circle, as it sometimes feel, feel like our lifejackets keep slipping off our shoulders. We huddle up, as a good team does, and try to figure out how to tie a rope to each other and make survival last a few more weeks. Because no matter when you think that last tidal wave has come, there's another on the horizon.
Meanwhile, don't miss deadline, find something interesting to write about, and get those photo assignments in a timely manner -- granted, if there are photographers left who can work with you on that story.

Our jobs aren't that much different from yours, really. Hopefully, you still have one. If not, we feel your pain, anguish, fears and frustration.
Those of us still working for the sports section are here because we want to be. And we'd have wanted it more if those who we worked with on a regular basis were able to stay as well.

The sports section is very much a team project. We help each other with resources, bounce ideas off each other, argue, agree, argue more, see something that's a great story and try to figure out how, as a group, we can cover it best.
When those pieces of the team continue to leave -- either voluntarily, because it's just too hard to take another punch in the but, or by reason of financial reality -- it makes the team project even tougher to commit to. Team players, whose who are willing to do more than just cover one beat that they were hired to do in the first place, become those asked to stay, for their versatility.
Because, for example, they can copy edit one day, write another, and help try to console departed members the next.

***********************

We grew up reading the newspaper sports section for all it had to offer. We see it now, and while it can still serve up some great information, opinions and basic information, all of which can also be found on the Internet for less than 50 cents a read, we try to understand, as a co-reader, why this doesn't make sense.
We're not good business people. We're sports writers. We accept the rather low pay (despite what you may think) and what few perks there are (again, despite what you may think) for the fun of working for the reader.
What does the reader want? We don't think of you as the consumer, or "what will sell" (again, despite what some may want you to think). We want to write about things you'd enjoy reading about.
If you see it in the newspaper, great. If you find it on the website and are able to link to more resources, even better.
If we could figure a way to do that, and keep our jobs, even better.

Because as soon as another one of us is told by someone in the management position that, unfortunately, we can't afford to have you on our team any more, we go back to becoming just a reader instead of a contributor. And, as a reader, we also wish we could read more and find better stories to entertain and inform us. Just as we remember back in the days when we'd look forward to the newspaper arriving on our driveway with a thump.
The internet, and blogging, is an amazing resource to keep people informed as quickly as possible. The newspaper's sports page can be the place for stories that compliment and suppliment that immediate medium of transferring information. But not if we don't have enough players left on the team.
We'll keep trying. Believe us. We're in this for the good, as well as the bad.
We love this job. We keep grinding and try not to whine so much.

It's just tougher, every day, to feel like we're spending most of our energy and focus on things that just shouldn't be stuff you need or care to worry about.
We're not going down without a fight. We care about it too much at this point to throw up our hands and just walk away.
Just so you know ... or is that too much information?

Comment here or at [email protected].

Tom Hoffarth is DEFINITELY one of the great ones at the DN. Always has and always will. Great writing on a tough subject.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

As the Singleton Turns:

Heard that the Long Beach paper had its sports freelance budget eliminated recently.

Likely not alone in the group.