Lupica is laid off

Wayne Coffey was maybe the best pure writer in the department and heck of a nice guy. I'm sure he will find a good place to land.

 

I can't believe that sports desk had a staff much above 20. Assumming 20 a third are gone. I wonder how many of the cuts are permanent and how many will be repalced by younger, cheaper staff.

How many were let go through out the entire paper?

 

"And now Boom sat in the front row at the new Yankee Stadium, which has never quite rocked like the old place across the street but is still the best place to be on an October night in the Bronx, and he thought back to all of those great moments he'd seen. He thought about Reggie and Catfish and the guy they called Lightning and the great Mariano and you better believe he thought about a couple of captains named Thurman and Derek. But nothing made him smile like hearing the news of..."

This is awful, and I agree with gingerbread about it being best sports section anywhere. Gamers, columns, investigations, deadline work, enterprise work, it had it all. (and on the design side, I just preferred its look compared to the Post). And I do include Lupica in that, even with everything that's been discussed time and again. I still loved reading him on big moments. (although Deitsch tweeted that he heard it might not be a done deal for Lupica being gone). But losing all of those people, what a blow. I'll still probably pick up a copy each day for now, but we'll see how long it's worth it.

 

Fully agree with you about Coffey. He's irreplaceable. I'm not sure sure he'll get hired elsewhere, given his age. (Hiring never has to do with talent and experience anymore, does it?) I certainly hope I'm wrong. Until then, I'll definitely miss those warm eyes and white mustache.

Shocked about Thompson, too. She's whip-smart.

Lupica, I'm not worried about. At all.

 

Was in golf media centers with Gola about 50 times. Class act.

 

Stephen Lorenzo, who Tweeted the News is his first job, was also laid off. Also believe the great cartoonist Ed Murawinski lost his job. I haven't seen a story confirming it, but he's not denying it on his Twitter. There's talk of at least one other writer being let go but I can't find confirmation of it so I won't put down a name.

It's an absolute bloodletting. Not only did they shed centuries of institutional knowledge and the faces of the sports section, but they gutted the blood and guts of the paper. Lorenzo and Rubin were terrific jack-of-all-trades guys. Rubin has been a year-round plug-and-play guy for decades. You could plop Coffey down in any situation and have him write a great takeout for the Sunday paper. Gola has been a solid two-sport guy forever. Bondy was an excellent general columnist. If you are of a certain age, you still picked up the paper to see Murawinski's back pages.

It was a terrible day for anyone who reads or works in New York sports. And I suspect we'll look back on yesterday as the day the News began transitioning to a web-only operation specializing in click bait. The site is borderline unreadable as it is.

 

The features desk is gone and me with it. I got the news four hours ago, but I kind of expected it. My first inkling was when I arrived at work yesterday and saw Teri's office being cleared out. Really, I think Mort has given this his best shot and anyone who thinks they could play this hand as owner better than he has is posing. It's been good to have a second stint here, unusual having weekends off, and I have to say that I feel for the sports guys most because they've all been here so long.

 

Sorry to hear, Frank. A friend of mine told me this afternoon that a buddy of his had also been laid off in features so figured it was going to be widespread.

 

Poin Files stuff, just like anywhere else.

 

The Daily News website is incredible. I finally saw a story awhile back that the guy who was running the Daily Mail's site took over the News'. Which makes sense because the layout is the same now, as is the focus. Every day, without fail, stories like these will be the most read. I'm sure that will continue. There was story today in the Post that they might go to print product three times a week, plus Sunday. Honestly, not sure how No. 6 on this slipped in there.

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So sorry, Frank. Hope you land somewhere good and soon.