David Sell leaves the CS Gazette

David Sell is a good guy. I had the pleasure talking to him some time back about an opening. Best of luck to him in Philly.

And, yes, Jim O'Connell is still there.

 

I interviewed for the sports design job a few years back and had a great experience with David. Didn't get the job but I've since talked with David a few times to seek advice, and he's always been able to take a few minutes to talk shop.

Best of luck in Philly.

 

I interviewed with him on a little over three years ago and he was class all the way. I bet he wishes he was back in his old Caps beat about now.

 

Good question someone mentioned above: What will Dave do in Philadelphia?

 

Sell is going to do special projects. I don't know what that means and neither did the person who told me. I do know the Gazette has been good at enterprise.

I'm sure somebody out there has more knowledge of "special projects" than I do.

 

It's encouraging that the Inquirer is making a hire, given the environment there and everywhere.

 

Hi,
This is Dave. Thank you for the kind words earlier in this thread.
My family and I have enjoyed our time in Colorado Springs and my time at The Gazette has been great.
I was fortunate to have three options at the same time:
A) Remain as sports editor.
B) Accept an offer for a newsroom-wide management job in a reorganized Gazette newsroom.
C) Accept The Inquirer’s offer to be sports projects editor.
I was ready for the right new challenge, so it was either B or C.
I accepted Jim Cohen’s gracious offer to join The Inquirer because I enjoy helping reporters produce great enterprise and my wife and I have family on the East Coast.
As a visiting reporter for The Washington Post, I learned first-hand that any barstool discussion of great American sports cities has to include Philadelphia. Indeed, any discussion of great American cities has to include Philadelphia.
The Inquirer has wonderful history. Going forward, I hope to help reporters produce quality enterprise and projects as many days of the year as possible.
If you’re a designer or copy editor or reporter or columnist and you think you have the ability to thrive in the intense and competitive environment of Philadelphia, send your stuff to Jim Cohen.
I’m grateful to the good and talented people at The Gazette. We’ve all experienced or heard of people leaving jobs because they didn’t like their supervisor. (A few probably left The Gazette because they didn’t like me.) Gazette editor Jeff Thomas and Managing Editor Larry Ryckman are good people and good journalists. They were reasons to stay. Likewise, folks in Sports were great to work with. I’m confident they will continue to do great things because they have enough talent and pride to do so regardless of how many are in the department or the level of resources.
The Gazette is not exempt from the newspaper industry problems of declining advertising revenue. We had a round of layoffs on Monday. Being laid off is almost never a good thing. One exception was in Sports. One of our talented and veteran copy editors was interested in retiring. We told him he had a job if he wanted it, but the severance allowed him to move home to Texas and start retirement a bit early. For the lawyers reading, it was severance, not early retirement. The important issue is that he is happy. We wish him well.
Milo Bryant did excellent work for The Gazette, as a sports columnist and a fitness columnist for our Life section, bringing readers to both. He was an APSE winner as a columnist and his explanatory story entry was judged No. 1 for 2007 in our circulation group. After covering the Olympics, Milo will try his hand as a full-time, money-making fitness consultant. My nickel says he succeeds and I wish him well.
Current deputy sports editors Jim O’Connell and Nathan Van Dyne probably will run the Sports department in some combination. They are good people and good journalists.
If you’re a designer or copy editor or reporter or columnist and you think you have the ability to thrive at The Gazette (while living in a breathtakingly beautiful place), send your stuff to Jim and Nathan.
Thanks.

Dave Sell

 

Best of luck, Dave.

 

So the Gazette is actually replacing those positions?

 

Sounds like just a move up internally. Be hard to justify hiring after they just laid off nine people.