Barnhart takes buyout

It's a loss but I'm sure he's be in there on Friday nights.

 

Two on high schools isn't enough. I think you can replace that word "two" with any number under "ten" and still have a true sentence. OTOH, we've got a lot of part-timers who cover high schools (including a guy named Todd Holcomb whose talent is definitely full-time), and the editor in charge of high school coverage, Tim Ellerbee, has a ton of experience at bringing things together. I wouldn't bet against Tim.

We also use part-timers in other areas (eg. Rick Minter on NASCAR).

Darryl has been editing high schools for several years, but old guys like me recall he also has covered Tech, the Braves and other beats during his career at the AJC. Anybody who has read his high school predictions columns knows he has a great voice as a writer. That voice and his varied background should make him thrive in a destinations job, where the idea is to create stuff readers will turn to on a regular basis (kind of like that predictions column, which has been a big reason some people buy the paper and read ajc.com).

I don't know our plans for outdoors coverage. Our golf coverage isn't changing immediately; Stan stays on through the Tour Championship. After that, I don't know the details. We always have thrown a team of people at our Masters and Tour Championship coverage, and I'm sure that will continue. (Atlanta has lost the AT&T Classic.)

 

Just awoke from an extended summer slumber. What happened to Carter Strickland?

 

You missed my point. My full quote was "as relevant as it once was." You may still have talented writers, but if you lose someone who had a great connection with your readers then - in this age of the internet - that's one less reason for them to read.

Edit to add: The AJC is obviously not the only one in this situation, and that wasn't my implication.

 

Not sure I'd say army. Phalanx is the word I was thinking of.

 

I don't think I missed your point. I got your point. Losing good people is bad. It's bad for the quality of the section, bad for the readers, bad for the staffers who remain.

My point is that "as relevant as it once was" is not a very, um, "relevant" measure of a 21st century sports section. In fact, it wasn't so relevant in the 20th century. And big names departing from sports staffs isn't exactly a new phenomenon. The big difference these days is the reduction in the size of the staffs, the size of the newsholes and the size of the travel budgets.

When I was in college, many, many years ago, I had the good fortune to have the Boston Globe delivered to the door of my dorm room, just in time for me to read it before I went to sleep in the morning. I got to read Michael Madden, Leigh Montville, Will McDonough, Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan, a young woman named Jackie MacMullan just getting started as a sports writer, a young man named Ian Thomsen covering college football, an experienced guy named Joe Concannon who was one of the kindest gentlemen in the history of the planet, ...

The Globe changed. It continued to be — and continues to be — a must read. Given my choice of having the 1981-85 Boston Globe staff and newshole available to me on a daily basis or the 2008 Boston Globe staff and newshole ... well, I'm not given that choice (and not just because I can't bring back the dead). Would more people read the Globe if that choice were available? Not enough to sustain the costs (and I'm not talking about the reviving the dead stuff).

BTW, I also got to read SportsJournalists.com contributor Michael Gee in the Phoenix.

 

Aren't you splitting hairs a little bit? Barnhardt's not leaving just because, he's leaving because of a buyout, which is representative of everything you mention in bold.

We're pretty much on the same page.

 

Atlanta has a hockey team?

 

When I was in college, many, many years ago, I had the good fortune to have the Boston Globe delivered to the door of my dorm room, just in time for me to read it before I went to sleep in the morning. I got to read Michael Madden, Leigh Montville, Will McDonough, Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan, a young woman named Jackie MacMullan just getting started as a sports writer, a young man named Ian Thomsen covering college football, an experienced guy named Joe Concannon who was one of the kindest gentlemen in the history of the planet, ...
[/quote]

That's a Hall of Fame staff right there. Whole bunch of 500 homer/300 win writers. I remember reading the Globe when my folks would go back to Boston on vacation. My uncle worked there, in prepress or whatever they called it then.
Anyway, back to the AJC. Though the ATL has lost the BellSouth, there's still the Tour Championship, the LPGA is coming back, Atlanta Athletic Club was talking about trying to get the U.S. Open some years ago and then there's a member-guest in Richmond County every April.
I'm sure whoever they slide into Stan's spot will stay busy.

 

The AJC cut way back on its circulation area about six months ago, so presumably the number of high schools they have to cover has gone down as well. And their high school coverage has never been as extensive as some other large papers (Dallas Morning News and the Oklahoman, off the top of my head)