If the New York Times can fold sports inside another section, what's next?

http://www.observer.com/2008/media/times-announce-section-consolidation

Media Mob has learned that The New York Times will make an announcement later today that it plans to cut the number of sections it has in the paper during some days of the week and it will fold in the Metro Section and Sports section into other sections of the newspaper.

According to newsroom sources, the Metro Section is moving into the A-section and the Sports section will move into the Business section for some portion of the week.

The move is being made to save money on printing. According to one newsroom source, neither metro editor Joe Sexton nor sports editor Tom Jolly was "thrilled with the decision, but they understood."

According to the source, no content will be lost in either section. And though the placement of both Metro and Sports will be affected, the section consolidation will apparently allow for later deadlines for some days, and allow for the possibility of more breaking news in the paper.

 

Sports is already in Metro four days a week, right? The Saturday (national) paper is only two sections, too, I think.

Horrible.

 

The New York Times has a separate sports section?

 

Doesn't affect me. My edition always has a deadline so early that anything from the night before never made it, making the section itself two pages and inside another.

 

I have never seen a separate NYT sports section other than Sunday or Monday.

 

In the aftermath of 9-11 they needed an extra section (press configurations problem) and they ran the sports cover on the back of another section (metro or business, can't remember). So it wasn't inside. It was either the front or the back page depending on how you held it.

 

Isn't sports always inside of C or something like that?

 

This is a sign of things to come boys and girls. Once the Times does something, you know other papers follow its lead.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003846659

 

The national edition doesn't have a standalone sports section except for Sundays and Mondays.
This affects only the City edition, which has its own section every day -- at least until October.

 

I suspect its only matter of time. Look, there used to be a time when there were no ads on section fronts. That changed. There used to be a time when there were no ads on the front page. That changed.
Is see it as an evolution of the industry and an unfortunate one at that.

 

mrscottnewman will not be pleased.

 

Is he ever pleased?