Sad Day in Orlando

[Ace]

The framing of this thread is all wrong, but I do wonder if we can steer the conversation toward how you handle your NBA reporter if there isn't an NBA season?

I guess you lay him off.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I don't think this guy was the lead Magic writer. But I would not be surprised to see NBA writers targeted if there's no season. Newspapers won't want to pay someone's salary if the season winds up being canceled.

 

[SF_Express]

I don't think this guy was the lead Magic writer. But I would not be surprised to see NBA writers targeted if there's no season. Newspapers won't want to pay someone's salary if the season winds up being canceled.

Well it's a good point, but it's not that simple, really.

Unless you have an army covering the NBA and you decide, "Well, even when they return, we're going to cut back anyway," there's a lot of cost to letting somebody go and rehiring when the NBA comes back, so for the most part, I think you simply use him/her somewhere else and have them cover the labor part of it until the NBA returns.

 

[Versatile]

I don't think this guy was the lead Magic writer. But I would not be surprised to see NBA writers targeted if there's no season. Newspapers won't want to pay someone's salary if the season winds up being canceled.

Well it's a good point, but it's not that simple, really.

Unless you have an army covering the NBA and you decide, "Well, even when they return, we're going to cut back anyway," there's a lot of cost to letting somebody go and rehiring when the NBA comes back, so for the most part, I think you simply use him/her somewhere else and have them cover the labor part of it until the NBA returns.

I agree. And at this point, no one has an army covering the NBA. The Washington Post is down to one writer, Michael Lee, who used to cover the league but now covers the Wizards as well. The Boston Globe has Gary Washburn on the NBA and Julian Benbow on the Celtics, but I believe that's it. Los Angeles Times has three NBA writers, if not two, left to cover two teams now that they laid off Heisler. The New York Times hasn't moved to replace Jonathan Abrams, so it's down to Howard Beck and occasionally Harvey Araton. Chicago Tribune has K.C. Johnson and not much help.

You keep the NBA writer and for now ask him to bulk up your NHL or college basketball coverage.

 

[Lynn_Hoppes]

Zach is a great young writer/editor/videographer/social media whiz. He didn't deserve to be let go. If the future of the news business is internet/video/blogging/social media, then I'd think you'd want a person who loves working 24-7 for not a lot of money. But, hey, I no longer work there. Not the choice I would have made.

 

[Joe Williams]

Zach is a great young writer/editor/videographer/social media whiz. He didn't deserve to be let go. If the future of the news business is internet/video/blogging/social media, then I'd think you'd want a person who loves working 24-7 for not a lot of money. But, hey, I no longer work there. Not the choice I would have made.

If this isn't another persuasive scrap of evidence to throw on the mountain of "Get out! Get out now!" I don't know what is.

A person needs to "love" working 24/7 for not a lot of money. And it still might not keep him or her employed. And there are bosses like Hoppes who think all but that last little part is just peachy.

YOU work 24/7 for not a lot of money, ya piece-a. YOU skip supporting a family or owning a home or having a life outside of work, all because some SE or ME thinks you need to do way more for way less.

Zach might realize some day that the layoff is the best thing that ever happened to his career, if he has the good sense to stay away for good. Too many jerks in hiring capacity who think like Hoppes.

 

[Lynn_Hoppes]

you misunderstood my statement. i'm saying he isn't paid a lot of money now. not that he wants to be paid little. but it's not logical to ax someone who has so much potential in this business.

 

[Tarheel316]

Joe, you make some very good points.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

you misunderstood my statement. i'm saying he isn't paid a lot of money now. not that he wants to be paid little. but it's not logical to ax someone who has so much potential in this business.

I would guess logic hasn't been used in about 95 percent of the layoffs this business has had in the last 4+ years.

 

[Raiders]

Sounds like Hoppes' successor is expected to consult him more often.

 

[mediaguy]

Shouldn't Hoppes be giving a Jonas brother a tour of the ESPN3.com studios or something?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I know Hoppes is an easy target here, but trust me when you've lost your job and a former boss reaches out to you and says kind things, it means the world to you...

 

[otownguy]

From what I know, Zach took assignments anywhere they asked him to. I used to see his byline on college football, among other things.

 

[SoCalDude]

The framing of this thread is all wrong, but I do wonder if we can steer the conversation toward how you handle your NBA reporter if there isn't an NBA season?

During the missed hockey season, our hockey writer covered a baseball game now and then and did several obituaries on people who weren't dead yet to have them almost ready to go if the dude died on deadline.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

In 1999, it was a disaster at my paper. The national guy refused to write about anything other than hoops. He wouldn't even help with siders at NFL games. Complete prima donna asshole... Still is...

The beat writer helped out every way they were asked.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

In 1999, it was a disaster at my paper. The national guy refused to write about anything other than hoops. He wouldn't even help with siders at NFL games. Complete prima donna asshole... Still is...

The beat writer helped out every way they were asked.

Is the national guy still there? That's the kind of **** that should put these prima donnas at the very top of the layoff list.

 

[otownguy]

Unfortunately the quality and quantity of your work doesn't matter any more, no rhyme nor reason to who gets ax'd. In the case of Zach at the Sentinel, his byline was everywhere in many sports from prep to pro. He built up a following in his chats and gave a shot in the arm to the blog. Sentinel got it wrong.

 

[Fran Curci]

Did other people in sports get laid off?

 

[BDC99]

Zach is a great young writer/editor/videographer/social media whiz. He didn't deserve to be let go. If the future of the news business is internet/video/blogging/social media, then I'd think you'd want a person who loves working 24-7 for not a lot of money. But, hey, I no longer work there. Not the choice I would have made.

If this isn't another persuasive scrap of evidence to throw on the mountain of "Get out! Get out now!" I don't know what is.

A person needs to "love" working 24/7 for not a lot of money. And it still might not keep him or her employed. And there are bosses like Hoppes who think all but that last little part is just peachy.

YOU work 24/7 for not a lot of money, ya piece-a. YOU skip supporting a family or owning a home or having a life outside of work, all because some SE or ME thinks you need to do way more for way less.

Zach might realize some day that the layoff is the best thing that ever happened to his career, if he has the good sense to stay away for good. Too many jerks in hiring capacity who think like Hoppes.

I don't think this is fair. I completely understand what you are saying. But the point seemd to be that the kid was busting his ass for peanuts and should have been rewarded for that. You know, like the way it used to be in this business. I'm sure glad I came up when I did, when this was still the case. Well, I actually wish I had come up about 10 years prior, when working at a major metro was something you could/would aspire to.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Unfortunately the quality and quantity of your work doesn't matter any more, no rhyme nor reason to who gets ax'd. In the case of Zach at the Sentinel, his byline was everywhere in many sports from prep to pro. He built up a following in his chats and gave a shot in the arm to the blog. Sentinel got it wrong.

A lot of times it's not personal. Corporate eliminates a position and that person is the one who is gone. It's idiotic, but that's the way they do it. God forbid they shuffle people around or get rid of someone who is close to retirement or something like that.