Clarion-Ledger drops Southern Miss beat

It's even worse than it looks on first glance. Hattiesburg's beat writer, Kareem Copeland, moved up to cover Jackson State for the Clarion-Ledger a few months ago - I think October. Instead of consolidating positions then, and Tim keeping the job, Hattiesburg moved a young in-house reporter up and now Gannett has told Tim he's out after Southern Miss' bowl game. Nice. Kick the experienced guy on the beat out and keep the guy with the lower salary, who's been there a couple months.

 

If you were in Tim's shoes, would you stay for the bowl game or head on out now?

I guess there are many people who have enough class and character to show it through the end, even if they're getting kicked in the balls by management.

 

I have heard it suggested that Hattiesburg may be trying to find him a slot, though maybe not in sports.

As SixToe says, this is a test of character for the man.

 

I hate the loss of good reporters but know it's a business.

Most irritating, though, is the loss of the experience, background, sources, knowledge, trust and other things that veterans bring to the table and may be able to pass along to younger staffers. Eliminate that and a newsroom loses more than just a body with a notebook.

 

That would be Tim.

 

Well, and there probably aren't a lot of people who can afford to just forego a couple of paychecks you expected right before Christmas, no matter how much your balls hurt.

 

Might this have something to do with diversity?

I don't know, and I'm not condoning; I'm just asking.

 

Don't think so - the new Southern Miss beat writer and Tim share a majority ethnicity. There's diversity issues in Gannett, certainly, but there's no diversity issues in this decision, unless there's some related move somewhere I don't know about. It might have more to do with keeping a near-entry level salary and dumping the salary of a much more experienced reporter, but that's just me guessing as well.

 

How can dropping an entire beat be a diversity issue? Are there too many minorities at USM?

 

I'd be willing to bet the decision was made on a strictly financial basis. But the question was worth asking.

Thanks for the input.

 

What a wonderfully euphemistic way of saying they're both white.

 

Not that it makes any of this any better, but I'm told Tim will have the chance to "interview" for a job at the Hattiesburg American (He lives in H'burg.) Not a sports job, though.