Indy Star major shakeup...

[vonnegutnaked2]

I know this came up on the job board, but figured it was worth a thread here.

Pacers beat writer Mike Wells is going to the Colts beat as the lead guy. Mike Chappell is being dropped to the No. 2 guy on that.

David Woods is off the Butler beat. Terry Hutchens is off the IU beat. Both have been reassigned.

Haven't heard word on guys like Phillip B. Wilson.

Anyone have any more information or any other insight.

I worked for four years just south of Indy and crossed paths with a lot of these guys at various events. Since leaving the business, I still check out the Star every day. I have a lot of respect for the work of those aforementioned guys and those guys always seemed to own their beats.

Very intrigued to watch all of this play out.

 

[dragonzo]

Hutchens will apparently be covering recruiting and Woods will still be covering Olympic sports, I believe. Other than that, sounds like they'll be hiring from outside for IU, Butler and Pacers beats.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Why?

 

[dragonzo]

Not sure, that's just what I've heard second-hand.

 

[Versatile]

Wasn't it George Solomon who advocated switching up beat reporters every few years? That seems insane now, as personal branding and deep sourcing has become so much more relevant than good game stories.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Wasn't it George Solomon who advocated switching up beat reporters every few years? That seems insane now, as personal branding and deep sourcing has become so much more relevant than good game stories.

That might be the case if Chappell was being reassigned to IU or the Pacers. But sounds like he's just being demoted. And Hutchens has been on IU for about 15 years, I believe.

 

[Versatile]

True, but the sports department is under new management, which could mean new priorities. Maybe the second Colts position is now the more traditional one, and the lead will be more Web-focused. It's foolish to jump to judgments without a full explanation.

 

[dragonzo]

So much for my knowledge. Per Twitter, Star has promoted online guy Zak Keefer to cover Butler.

 

[playthrough]

True, but the sports department is under new management, which could mean new priorities. Maybe the second Colts position is now the more traditional one, and the lead will be more Web-focused. It's foolish to jump to judgments without a full explanation.

I think the full explanation is "more Gannett crap." I'm an IU grad and was a longtime Indy resident/Star reader, and Hutchens was outstanding on that beat. He posted all the above moves on his Facebook last night and took the high road, but for him to be put on recruiting while they pull in some outsider for a beat that he owned is asinine.

Chappell has been covering the Colts forever, unless he asked to slow down a little I can't imagine why he'd be sent to No. 2, to be replaced by a guy who was entrenched with an up-and-coming Pacers team. Lemme take a flying guess that the new IU and Pacers hires won't exactly get top dollar. And I'll be very surprised if when the musical chairs stop, there aren't enough chairs for everyone.

Sorry for the pessimism and I guess I could be wrong, but I've watched that paper decline for years. And its call center still hollers at me once a year to renew my home delivery, never mind the fact that I've been in Florida since 2010.

 

[Versatile]

Which newspaper hasn't declined for years?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I have a really hard time believing this is anything other than a straight demotion. As pointed out, it'd be one thing if they moved him to the Pacers or IU, but taking a guy who is widely considered the be the go-to-guy for Colts news for well over a decade, there's something going on here.

I haven't read Chappell as much as I used to when I was still covering the NFL, but I always thought he did a great job.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

True, but the sports department is under new management, which could mean new priorities. Maybe the second Colts position is now the more traditional one, and the lead will be more Web-focused. It's foolish to jump to judgments without a full explanation.

True. Maybe they're just adding a second person to the beat. There are a lot of papers who have 2-3 writers on NFL beats and none are really considered backups.

 

[Versatile]

True, but the sports department is under new management, which could mean new priorities. Maybe the second Colts position is now the more traditional one, and the lead will be more Web-focused. It's foolish to jump to judgments without a full explanation.

True. Maybe they're just adding a second person to the beat. There are a lot of papers who have 2-3 writers on NFL beats and none are really considered backups.

When Jason LaCanfora left The Washington Post, Jason Reid slid over to his position as Redskins Insider and Rick Maese took Reid's job as the traditional beat reporter. I don't think anyone viewed it as Reid getting a promotion or Maese being second to Reid on the beat.

 

[Scoop returns]

These are great moves. Chappell is a great dude but it was time for change. Just because you have covered a beat forever doesn't mean you should continue to. Time for new challenges. Hutchens came back from the dead to do a credible job on IU and he should do fine on recruiting which is becoming huge for newspapers across the country. Phillip B. Wilson will also end up just fine. He always has. I like Mike Wells on the Colts as a new challenge for him. He will do well. Give the Indy Star credit for making some bold moves during these trying times.

 

[Fran Curci]

"they'll be hiring from outside for IU, Butler and Pacers beats ..........."

Hard to believe anyone is hiring from the outside to fill two or three beats unless two or three people left the newspaper.

 

[vonnegutnaked2]

They are staying in house for the Butler beat. Zak Keefer takes over that one.

Mike Wells and Terry Hutchens have both said publically there will be outside hires for their beats, Pacers and IU respectively.

Still can't recall ever seeing damn near every beat getting new blood all at once.

EDIT: Zak Keefer, not high school Mr. Basketball Zak Irvin taking over Butler beat.

 

[Dick Whitman]

It seems to me that they are doing a major disservice to the new people on the beats by keeping the demoted former beat writers in the co-pilot's chair. It'd be like firing a coach and keeping him on as offensive or defensive coordinator for the next guy.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

It seems to me that they are doing a major disservice to the new people on the beats by keeping the demoted former beat writers in the co-pilot's chair. It'd be like firing a coach and keeping him on as offensive or defensive coordinator for the next guy.

There are so many different ways papers handle having multiple NFL writers. The Journal Sentinel has Bob McGinn and Tom Silverstein. Is either a backup? Hell no... The Denver Post has Mike Klis and Jeff Legwold, neither is a "backup" There are about a zillion similar examples...

Some places always assume that whoever writes the gamer is the lead guy. It is not always the case.

 

[Matt1735]

Story from the Indy Biz Journal on the shakeup:

http://www.ibj.com/the-score-2013-06-27-indianapolis-star-sports-department-getting-major-overhaul/PARAMS/post/42175

From the article: Very telling quote from Hutch from his FB page:

“It has been a long couple of days here but I think it’s time to share with you, my friends, the shakeup this week in the Indianapolis Star Sports Department,” Hutchens wrote on his Facebook page. “Bottom line for me: As of Monday, I am no longer the Indiana University beat writer for The Star. After 15 years on the beat, I was informed that management has decided to go another direction."

Hutchens called the reorganization “a blow to a lot of good people who have done some great work as the top guys on their respective beats.”

“I’m not really sure what to say and in trying to take the high road through all of this I’ll continue to keep my deepest feelings to myself,” Hutchens wrote. “To say I'm disappointed would be a huge understatement though.”

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I had a SE who came in and talked about how he was going to shake up all the major beats. He went on and on about how nobody should ever be on a beat for more than 3-5 years and at the time, all of the pro beat writers had held their jobs for longer than that. People started freaking the **** out.

When the SE left four years later, he hadn't moved anybody.