Mike Downey leaving Trib

If David Haugh gets the job, he deserves it. He is a fine journalist, and he did some amazing columns during his time in South Bend.
If the Trib hires Mariotti, as I've thought they'd do all along, then so be it.

 

If this is how the sports editor feels (as excerpted from above memo), then the only way Mariotti is hired is over this guy's dead body, right? Makes you wonder how much a say the SE had in the discussions before the Sun-Times decided to enforce its non-compete clause.

 

I agree screwball. The SE will have nothing to do with the hire of cliche Jay. It would totally come from above. I'm sure the owner cares not about what the SE thinks. If they negotiated with cliche Jay before that means he is heavy on their radar.

 

I think Haugh is a fantastic nuts-and-bolts writer, but I have yet to see him have an opinion at the Trib that is anything but vanilla. I didn't see any of his work in South Bend, though.

 

Wouldnt be the first time that a columnist hire comes from above the SE's paygrade...

 

You have to remember that Bill Adee, who is now McGrath's boss at the Tribune, used to be the SE at the Sun-Times.

If Jay ends up at the Tribune, Adee is the reason why.

 

ACCguy, you sure about who reports to whom?

Adee formerly reported to McGrath and later moved out of sports.

Unless something changed just lately, Adee is associate managing editor for innovation, AKA the Internet guy.

 

A tree falls in an empty forest.

Pray it isn't Eddie. But, you know, it . . .

 

This job is Mariotti's. It will be huge for the Tribune.

 

Loved Downey in LA. Hated Downey in Chicago.

I have no explanation. I thought it was a great hire when it happened.

 

Downey never seemed comfortable in Chicago.
Hard to explain, just seemed that way to me.

 

In his infinite defense, it can be very, very difficult to be a one-beat columnist. You are so wiring into the nuts and bolts of the team, and writing so often, that it becomes difficult to step back and pen big-picture columns.

Of course, I'm guessing the same was true of his role in South Bend,