Without Sullivan and Gleason, what's left to read in the Buffalo News?

The news about Bucky Gleason/Jerry Sullivan leaving the Buffalo News is on another thread, but not headlined Buffalo-specific so I almost missed it.

As a long-time reader of the Buffalo News, they were the heart and soul of the sports section. Gleason just had an excellent Q&A with the new UB athletic director which went well beyond the usual softball questions asked of new ADs; he asked hard questions not usually found in such stories.

I never met Sullivan. I met Bucky several years ago when he was on assignment in Oregon. Come to find out we grew up in WNY about the same time, about 15 miles apart and have sons who went to the same university . He was great to talk to, very friendly, etc., even mentioned meeting another Buffalo ex-pat in a column, which I guess for him was a frequent ocurrance.

What's left to read in that paper anymore?

 

Well that’s a ringing endorsement of the journalists that still put forth their best every day.

 

I'm sure they do a fine job. And I'll probably still read it, because it's Buffalo news.

I'm also sure the 1966 Dodgers' pitching rotation would be attractive without Koufax and Drysdale, since Claude O'Steen and Al Downing put forth their very best every day, just like the 1961 Yankees would be great without Maris and Mantle, because Hector Lopez and Moose Skowren tried hard.

 

There are probably some fine journalists left on news side but the Buffalo News sports department took a huge hit in the last two weeks. The losses of Gleason, Sullivan and Sabres beat writer John Vogl to buyouts was enough to pull the plug on a subscription if you're a sports fan. When Gleason and Vogl announced they were leaving that was a huge red flag but the manner in which Sullivan was forced out is really troubling. The bosses took away his column, he said, because he was "bad for business." In Buffalo, that means Sullivan did not play nice with the Pegulas, who own the Bills and Sabres. Their ownership of both teams is shambolic, although there are finally a few signs of progress. Both Gleason and Sullivan took the Pegulas to task regularly and good on them. Unfortunately, this made them unpopular with a certain number of fans in addition to the owners and their sycophants, which may or may not have led to problems with advertisers. Turns out Warren Buffet's newspapers aren't much different than any other newspapers owned by people who put ad revenue above integrity. For the readers, in Buffalo there is little choice for their sports news, at least until The Athletic's drive to spend all its venture capital in the campaign to find a buyer takes a turn into Buffalo.

 

I like your words "heart and soul of the sports section." What bothers Fredrick and makes me rant and rave is the suits (so to speak) don't care about that. They wonder why the companies are going broke when they tear up what made the newspaper the newspaper. These guys bled for the paper and were its heart and soul. That is not important to the suits and corporate folks. They think they can bring in 25 year old consultants and media experts who have NO IDEA what a good sports section is about and they OF COURSE come up with the EASY, LAZY solution -- get rid of the established brands who are making money and draining our budgets. Get read of the geezers. We don't need them. We can hire 2-3 people for what we are paying the geezers. Folks ... you know that's what the 27 year old consultants (who will move on to their next job in 15 months; certainly not in the fishwrap business) are suggesting and what's happening and has happened the last 10 years. Bye bye famous columnists. Take your high salaries and go work for The Undefeated. Turn in your keys and ID and don't let the door hit you on the way out. We're busy hiring 3 20-somethings to replace ya!

 

Frederick, so the suits hold a secret convention where they can scheme to bring down the newspaper industry together, in the exact same fashion across the United States? With sessions on how to keep out any owners who could make it work? Job fairs at which only the most incompetent sales people are allowed?

 

Take a stand at your company @Fredrick so we can give you a pat on the back for showing the suits! Honestly, why are you still working in newspapers? Wife and a kid to pay tuition for or what?

 

Any columnist with the kind of seniority Jerry had (disclosure: consider him a good friend) is at mortal risk every day because of their paycheck. This has been true for some time, as I ought to and do know.

 

Today's sports front: Vic Carucci on Brian Daboll, Stanley Cup gamer by Mike Harrington, prep lacrosse playoffs by Miggy Rodriguez, wire copy on NBA Finals.

(Of note: Field Level Media wire copy, not AP -- they dropped that a year or two ago.)

Yesterday: Cup column by Harrington, prep tennis feature by Bob DiCesare, Jay Skurski on Nathan Peterman. Oh, and a "staff report" on UB rewarding WBB coach Felisha Legette-Jack with a contract extension after making the Sweet 16. Bucky would've been all over that story.

(Also of note: Doesn't appear to be anyone from the News in the press box for the current Bisons homestand.)

They'll still cover Bills and Sabres, I'm sure, and Tim Graham is still there as an enterprise reporter. I doubt I'll see too many visitors from Buffalo on press row at the local college basketball games, though, even after an NCAA tourney appearance last season.

As for columns? Beyond Harrington, your guess is as good as mine.

 

When you asked what's left to read, Vic Carucci was my first thought.

 

How amny staffers are left in sports. It sounds liek the ap

I think that Buffalo is heading where much of the country already is. The link that discussed the News said that there had not been many layoffs recently. The rest of the industry had been downsizing.

I think many papers the size of the Buffalo (circulation just under 100,000) only have one sports columnist. I read the Denver Post (only Kizla is left) and the Sacramento Bee (no columnist). I don't think many papers are staffed to run both high school tennis and high school lacrosse stories by different writers on successive days.

I am sympathetic to anyone who loses a job and do not want to a appear callous. But Buffalo, welcome to sports journalism 2018. God knows what 2019 will look like.