Whither Jean-Jacques Taylor?

[Football_Bat]

It appears Jacques may be going the way of Todd Archer. Is the DMN brain drain continuing apace?

Jacques wasn't on his Sunday morning show on the Ticket this morning. His partner, Scot Harrison, mentioned Jacques is pursuing an "offer he couldn't refuse" and Scot later tweeted that the new opportunity means JJT can't be on the Ticket (which partners with the DMN).

That must mean ESPN, which competes with the Ticket on radio and now apparently has designs on the DMN. The Mouse must be really getting serious.

Total speculation at this point, but hey, isn't that what the Internet is for?

 

[shockey]

i get that they're 'America's (most overrated) Team' and all the jazz, but how many reporters does espn.com need to cover them? is that like a 'changing the lightbulb' question? ??? ??? ???

speaking of mickey mouse's favorite operation, have they yet gotten ANYONE to say 'yes' to replacing departing tim graham as its afc east compiler? i've only heard the names of a buncha folks who've just said 'no,' most recently the star-ledger's jenny vrentas (who does a very nice job on the jets' beat, by the way). i know at least one other (and probably more) woman have also turned 'em down. anyone hear anything? ??? ??? ???

 

[Andy_Cunanan]

Wouldn't be suprised if dallasnews.com's sports leadership team contributed to the motivation for any move (in addition to, of course, the better pay and benefits, job stability, company value, etc.)

 

[Football_Bat]

ESPN it is, apparently.

http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2011/07/14/jean-jacques-taylor-and-sam-gwynne-decamp-morning-news/

 

[Mizzougrad96]

The Dallas Morning News just needs to hire a couple of the NFL guys who were cast off from FanHouse and it will be fine.

That's not a knock at Archer, who is great, or anyone else ESPN Dallas has hired (all great hires), but there is plenty of talent out there.

 

[Baba_Booey]

Shockey, I'm curious. Where is Tim Graham going?

 

[steveu]

Unless Belo's fortunes take another drop, it's obvious the bean counters realized they'd trimmed the DMN too far... I can't see too much more happening with this paper. These positions will probably be filled, albeit at a lesser salary...

 

[da man]

JJT hasn't been a Cowboys beat guy for several years. He's been a columnist.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

JJT hasn't been a Cowboys beat guy for several years. He's been a columnist.

Who did Archer replace at the DMN?

 

[shockey]

Shockey, I'm curious. Where is Tim Graham going?

I am not at all sure. just know he will no longer be the afc east blogmeister.

 

[Kid Presentable]

Shockey, I'm curious. Where is Tim Graham going?

I am not at all sure. just know he will no longer be the afc east blogmeister.

Back to the Buffalo News to be a Metro enterprise writer. Great move for Tim, who gets a lot more stability now to raise his two young kids.

And imagine that -- leaving ESPN.com for a newspaper!

 

[shockey]

Shockey, I'm curious. Where is Tim Graham going?

I am not at all sure. just know he will no longer be the afc east blogmeister.

Back to the Buffalo News to be a Metro enterprise writer. Great move for Tim, who gets a lot more stability now to raise his two young kids.

And imagine that -- leaving ESPN.com for a newspaper!

yeah, how 'bout that? also confirms my opinion that these nfl 'division blogs' espn.com isn't a great gig for any experienced person who desires to improve as a writer. among the reasons they've had a hard time filling it; they filled the recently-available nfc east gig with dan graziano, an excellent pickup. but he was coming in from having no gig as a yahoo casualty, so he was more than happy to land with an arm of the 'worldwide leader' for probably not an awful lot once you factor in no benefits.

 

[Football_Bat]

JJT hasn't been a Cowboys beat guy for several years. He's been a columnist.

Who did Archer replace at the DMN?

I think it was Albert Breer, who himself only stayed a year before moving on. JJT was the lead Cowboy writer before that, then he moved to columnist when Blackistone and Fraley left. (Fraley is back now.) The timeline is a little fuzzy.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Those blog jobs are as cush as they get. I interviewed for one a few years ago. I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting it and they hired the right person for it, someone who has done a great job.

Graziano was a great pickup. Not sure I buy that Graham left a cush gig making close to six figures to go back to the Buffalo News, but stranger things have happened.

 

[Kid Presentable]

Those blog jobs are as cush as they get. I interviewed for one a few years ago. I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting it and they hired the right person for it, someone who has done a great job.

Graziano was a great pickup. Not sure I buy that Graham left a cush gig making close to six figures to go back to the Buffalo News, but stranger things have happened.

Those ESPN blogging gigs are hardly cush. You get little-to-no vacation time, no breaks from the 5-blogs-per-day quota, you're not a full-time employee, you write very little original material and spend much of your time re-writing stuff of other beat writers, and you have to play ESPN politics. Not to mention, ESPN could pull the plug on the blog project, and you'd be SOL.

 

[shockey]

Those ESPN blogging gigs are hardly cush. You get little-to-no vacation time, no breaks from the 5-blogs-per-day quota, you're not a full-time employee, you write very little original material and spend much of your time re-writing stuff of other beat writers, and you have to play ESPN politics. Not to mention, ESPN could pull the plug on the blog project, and you'd be SOL.

indeed. they are FAR from cush. espn.com feels like they freakin' owe you. graham is too youn/talented to be happy for long with a gig in which you almost NEVER get to write a story of -- good forbid -- a takeout worth spit. and they don't pay everyone as well as advertized. it's based on how much you're making when they woo you.

with the benefits thing factored in, if you have two young kids, quality of life counts oodles. believe it or no, some folk are very happy living in the buffalo area. i dunno where tim has been based, but it's surely an eye-popping difference between what you get for your buck in the nyc/nj area and western new york. i've never heard jerry sullivan complain about buffalo and he's a tremendously talented writer and seems completely fulfilled.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Those blog jobs are as cush as they get. I interviewed for one a few years ago. I didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting it and they hired the right person for it, someone who has done a great job.

Graziano was a great pickup. Not sure I buy that Graham left a cush gig making close to six figures to go back to the Buffalo News, but stranger things have happened.

Those ESPN blogging gigs are hardly cush. You get little-to-no vacation time, no breaks from the 5-blogs-per-day quota, you're not a full-time employee, you write very little original material and spend much of your time re-writing stuff of other beat writers, and you have to play ESPN politics. Not to mention, ESPN could pull the plug on the blog project, and you'd be SOL.

The no original material complaint is a valid one. Most play ESPN politics by passing anything they find out to the main guys like Clayton, Mort and Schefter. It is not a glamorous job.

I know two of the guys who do it very well and they say it's time consuming, but there is none of the pressure that goes with being a beat writer.

It pays between $80K and $110K and they have some strange way where you're able to purchase benefits through them that is basically the same cost it would be if they worked at a place where regular benefits were offered. Yahoo does the same thing for its "employees"

As far as job security goes, at least when they started this thing, they got three-year contracts. I don't know if that's changed since then, but that's better job security that you're going to get at most places.

 

[steveu]

The snow can be a ***** in the winter, but I've been through Buffalo and it isn't as bad as advertised. Short distance to Niagara Falls, and the areas east of the city seem to be developing decently.

 

[Football_Bat]

In other Metroplex news, just learned today that Anthony Andro — who's been pretty high-profile with the Rangers beat — is leaving the FWST and is joining Fox Sports Southwest.

 

[shockey]

The no original material complaint is a valid one. Most play ESPN politics by passing anything they find out to the main guys like Clayton, Mort and Schefter. It is not a glamorous job.

um, unless you're on the back-nine looking for an unrewarding gig in which you can't develop as a writer, what appeal does it have? you can't 'break news,' further develop your writing skills, it's a glorified re-write job. except for the highest-paid folks, espn.com would seem to have little appeal if you already have a decent-paying newspaper gig. but it's a GREAT landing spot for all the talented folks who have been or will soon be kicked to the street by the biz we love, whether it be by dying newspapers or failing internet startups.