Buyouts in Newport News

Used to live in the News and this is sad to see.

For those of you worried, I'd recommend looking for another career soon. I had to make that unfortunate career shift, but the consolation is I still get to do stringer work and still see my son every night. That makes up for having to leave the business.

 

i wonder if you "ain't speakin' the gospel" every day on my drive into work. i mean that.

 

I hate encouraging others to get out of the business because it is one fantastic business and one which sustained me for close to 15 years of my adult life. But when other things intrude -- mortgage, caring for a child, etc. -- it's tough to keep saying with a straight face, I'll do this job no matter what.

 

I don't think it says that anywhere. It says the buyouts won't match that...not all of them. You have to have worked there at least 26 years to get a full year's salary in the buyout.

 

I know entry-level salaries there are pretty low for a paper of its size -- a girl with whom I once worked at another daily got $28,000/yr to go there after one year. Not that a person with one year of experience at a small daily should be getting Brinks truck money, but still.

There's no deadwood in the sports department there that I know of; most are young, and the older guys are well worth the price of admission.

 

I had the pleasure of being in charge of the DP sports department from March 1989 until April 1997. I cut my teeth there as a sports editor and it certainly served me well throughout my career. It's a wonderful paper with a lot of really great people in and out of sports. The Three Daves -- Teel, Fairbank and Johnson -- are terrific writers and columnists. Sonny Dearth on the copy desk is as dedicated a guy as I know. I don't know if Lynn Burke is still in Sports, but he is such a good guy I really can't describe what he meant to me when I was a rookie sports editor there and needed a veteran hand. He saved me more than he knows. I hired Jenny Williams and Mario Orlikoff while I was there. And Doug Roberson, who I got to know over the years after I left the DP, is a top-notch guy. A first-rate sports editor. Wow, this is a stunner. These are all good people and journalists. And if I can be of any help, they know where to find me.

 

Micco,

I've got to agree with you. The DP is by far the best place I've ever worked (although my experience spans just three papers). From top to bottom, every person on this staff actually cares (they're not just drawing checks) about the product, which seems to make everyone bust ass to do great work. Doug, the Daves, Jen, Lynn B., Norm, J. Jordan, Sonny...all great people. Tonight, they're all in my prayers.

 

Mario Orlikoff is a good, good guy. Spent 20 minutes talking to me about opportunities there five years ago, simply because a former co-worker of his in Orlando dropped my name to him.

Hope he escapes this.

 

Kudos to Micco for extolling the virtues of the Three Daves, all of whom are outstanding credits to our profession.
To borrow from The Smiths, I hope they don't "Hang the DJ."

 

i saw mario just this morning.