Newsday eliminates Powell, Howard

Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.

The single most infuriating mistake of the past decade, to me, that many newspapers inflicted upon themselves (often with the help of "consultants"). Keep telling the reader what you do is irrelevant, and they will eventually believe you.



I'm shocked by this news, but then again, I'm not. My best to Powell and Howard. You've got everyone's support here.

 

horrifying

 

Man, I've come to expect the unexpected. But I'm certainly shocked by this news, with no equivocation. No sports columnists. At Newsday.

Unbelievable.

 

Howard and Powell will both wind up at another paper or magazine. Both are established enough that their careers aren't over the same way they are for probably 90 percent of the Gannett casualties.

That doesn't make it any less shocking. I wasn't a huge fan of Powell (he's obviously good), but Howard was one of the best in the business. It seems like more often than not I would wind up reading her when it came to Wimbledon and some of the other bigger international events that she always seemed to wind up.

Incredible writer.

 

I hope Neil Best decides this is worth his media column. You could do something pretty meaty on the state of the industry given this news.

 

I wonder if Neil Best is considered a "columnist?"

Hope not ....

 

There is no better, more dedicated, and more valuable sports columnist in America than Johnette Howard. Nobody. No place.
Newsday, with which I had an extended and bizarre courtship back in the late 1980's which leads me to endorse everything that Jeff wrote about the place, can pretty much blow me now.

 

Like the Gannett casualties I know personally, the only message to derive from this is that the newspaper doesn't care about the product it distributes tomorrow and beyond. That's it. That's really fucking smart.

 

In Long Island and beyond, where you have a choice of three tabs (plus the NYT) at the news stand, this is a disastrous move. Especially since these are damn good columnists.

 

terrible. Powell is great. His piece on his brother after 9/11 is one of the best and most heartbreaking things I've ever read.

on a gallows humor note, maybe they would have had a higher opinion of the position if Ray Barone had done some work once in a while ...

 

I find it hard not to wonder, given Jim's media tactics with the Knicks, if the Dolans take some personal enjoyment in eliminating sports columnists.

 

Doesn't the hatchet come down at SI this week,too?
Anyone know what's up there?