Another good print guy heads online...

Bob McClellan, formerly of the Tennessean, now works for Rivals.

These guys must have grown weary of those annual COL raises. The money is online.

 

Not arguing, but is it really? Is Rivals really going to pay this guy more than the Tennessean? I find that hard to believe based on what I know the Rivals guys for the local Division I teams make.

 

Another question ... What does the Tennessean do now?

Low was one of the few reasons to read that rag. Climer is really good, Wyatt is pretty good, and ......?

Is the notoriously tight-fisted Tennessean going to shell out the $$ to hire somebody who's going to compete with Low and the rest of the media in Knoxville? Doubtful.

 

Depends on the site and the guy's qualifications. For a kid coming out of j school or a fan "living the dream", the entry-level money isn't all that great (although likely on par with what an entry-level print guy makes). Also, if you're covering Iowa State, you're probably not going to pull dollars like the guy covering Texas. For an established guy like Low working in a market like the one he's in, I'd guess he's looking at a 30-40 percent raise -- at least. Not sure if there's a benefit package involved, but I'm sure the hike in pay will more than take care of private coverage.

Some of these sites are doing more than $1 million per year in revenues. Even if the UT site is doing more like 600K, what's 80K (just a guess, btw) for a guy like Low? That's called re-investing in the product; a fleeting concept on the print side.

 

Just a guess: Staffer Bryan Mullen slides in there. Outside: Maybe Gentry Estes from the 'Nooga?

 

I have heard rumors that a LOT of beat guys may be making similar moves to rivals.com with a possible merger/buyout with an established sports online site that would then try to make a real run at espn.com in terms of content.


Just a note from the IJAG pipeline.

 

Hey, stay on topic. And happy Brock Lesnar day.

And Low seems as good a person as he is a journalist, from the couple of times I've talked to him.

 

Echoing the good guy comment, Chris was the architect of a fund raising drive for Gary Lundy's kid back when Lundy passed.

 

Wasn't Yahoo! going to buy Rivals, or did that fall through?

 

The FuerteJ pipeline is saying the same thing. not that that means a lick to anyone or anything. Hell.

 

I don't really have a pipeline, but if Rivals is really going to make a run at ESPN/Fox Sports/Yahoo, this move would make sense. It HAS to be part of something bigger. And given the reach Rivals has now, so national and so local, at the same time, it is already what ESPN is pretending to be. A national "newspaper" with beat writers everywhere. It had to be only a matter of time before they put it all together, get organized, and try to do more.

As for the Tennessean, it's possible that because it's Gannett, they won't hire anyone, well, ever. But Mullen came off the Vandy beat and was happy to. I doubt he goes back on full-time, especially when it's to compete with Chris.
And the guy who takes Chris job: Man, that sucks. Not only take over for one of the best in the business, but then have to compete with him, too. With the Gannett reputation, I doubt candidates'll be lining up for this job, regardless of how high-profile it is.

 

FuerteJ has a pipeline?