Tim Brown Leaving L.A. Times for Yahoo

[LazyReporter]

A not-so-lazy reporter friend of mine at The L.A. Times tells me that cyberspace has stolen one of the top baseball writers in the country. Top writers of any sort, for that matter.

As if we needed another reminder of the direction our business is heading.

Now who will cover baseball for The Times? There is a hiring freeze there, no?

 

[hypocritealert]

Thanks for checking in Tim.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

And not a bad WR in his day, either.

 

[write then drink]

do you guys just live to make stupid jokes in every thread?

 

[Football_Bat]

It's baseball.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Who the hell wouldn't leave the LA Times?

 

[ogre]

Tim is very good. He will be tough to replace, but the Times will just shuffle the deck.

 

[brettwatson]

In the broader spectrum, what is Yahoo aiming for -- global domination?

Is their strategy to hire all of the talent they can possibly afford, throw it all out there and drive enough people to their site to run everyone else out of business?

 

[Double Down]

I didn't read much of his baseball stuff, but the year (or two?) he was covering the Lakers, I absolutely loved his gamers and features. He was a daily must read. Brown is one of those writers whose style I have tried, and failed, to emulate for much of my career.

And oh how I wish this really was Tim Brown, checking in. Sadly, it's just me.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

do you guys just live to make stupid jokes in every thread?

No, it's just one of the perks here.

 

[Almost_Famous]

I didn't read much of his baseball stuff, but the year (or two?) he was covering the Lakers, I absolutely loved his gamers and features. He was a daily must read. Brown is one of those writers whose style I have tried, and failed, to emulate for much of my career.

And oh how I wish this really was Tim Brown, checking in. Sadly, it's just me.

Dame here. Brown was incredible on the lakers. Thought, at the time, he was the best beat writer in any sport. He's one of the few sports writes who, If i see his byline, im reading it.

 

[Ledbetter]

In the broader spectrum, what is Yahoo aiming for -- global domination?

Is their strategy to hire all of the talent they can possibly afford, throw it all out there and drive enough people to their site to run everyone else out of business?

That's the American way.

 

[SoCalScribe]

Quite a lineup they're assembling over there...personally I think it's quite exciting that a new-media company is so willing to find and reward quality writers.

 

[BYH]

You know, old media companies could try and keep pace with the newbies by...ramping...up...their...hiring...

Nah.

 

[Tracy Ringolsby]

Hopefully this isn't a remake of what Fox did to some quality writers a few years ago when it claimed it was beefing up its internet and then shut it down as quickly as it built it up.

 

[Scribbled_Notz]

Great hire. I'm not big on baseball, but I used to read Brown religiously when he covered the Lakers. I was bummed when he moved over to the national MLB beat. Huge loss for the LA Times. On the heels of Alan Abrahamson's defection to NBC Sports, the Times finally seems to be dying just like the rest of us.

That said, I'm really excited to see how Yahoo's staff develops. From the standpoint of the five big sports, it's loaded (except for the hockey coverage, which stinks). And didn't someone say in a past thread that they were supposed to be finishing off a redesign over the summer? What ever happened to that? Did they ditch that idea?

I hope they didn't. Because other than the archaic look, this site might be on its way to becoming the best pound-for-pound sports website out there. I hate seeing newspapers decline. But I like the idea that there are still some places that still value - and reward - good journalists.

 

[Scribbled_Notz]

Hopefully this isn't a remake of what Fox did to some quality writers a few years ago when it claimed it was beefing up its internet and then shut it down as quickly as it built it up.

This has been brought up before, but it seems to me that the web has gotten over that. I know this: Fox overpaid for a ton of writers in a 12 month span and didn't seem to have a plan. But a lot of websites are being more selective in their choices while also developing their identity. Yahoo, Sportsline and NBC Sports are adding good talent and building the right way. And now they are starting to add good, old-school investigative journalism to the frills and analysis. Yahoo's stuff on the Reggie Bush thing, and the instant replay fiasco in college are two that come to mind.

A year ago, I thought anyone who left a newspaper job for a place like Yahoo was slipping a noose around their own necks. But as I've seen our own staff shrink and cut travel and space, I don't think that way anymore. I think we're evolving. While newspapers are crashing, sports websites seem to be generating staffs that are heavy in substance.

 

[ned racine]

also a good running back with Phillyin the 60's and played Spearchucker Jones in M*A*S*H.......a fine Ball State alum like Whitlock

 

[OTD]

Hopefully this isn't a remake of what Fox did to some quality writers a few years ago when it claimed it was beefing up its internet and then shut it down as quickly as it built it up.

Dave Morgan at Yahoo had a pretty good look at what happened at Fox Sports, as many of their guys came from the Times, and he's not likely to repeat their mistakes.

This is a huge loss for the Times.

 

[da man]

also a good running back with Phillyin the 60's and played Spearchucker Jones in M*A*S*H.......a fine Ball State alum like Whitlock

WTF?? Fred ``The Hammer'' Williamson, Chiefs DB, played Spearchucker.

Just occurred to me ... you meant the TV show.