Phawker: Stephen A. Smith loses Inquirer column

And still no explanation of why a reasonable defense of seniority is a bad thing.

 

Actually, jgmacg, the guild whiffed on the seniority thing. That list of management-dictated exceptions was so long and so easily manipulated, it badly weakened seniority as a protection. I don't think the guild leadership fully grasped the impact of that concession until the layoffs actually came.

 

They knew. They just didn't know what to do.

 

Thanks for the insight, Zeemer.

It just seemed to me that "seniority" was being broadly condemned as a bad attribute of standard union practice. While you certainly don't want a situation in which the elder deadwood is allowed to remain untouched, there has to be some respect paid to productive employees of long standing.

And as a passing comment, the phrase "last hired, first fired" is universal, and expresses no preference as to race or gender.

 

The company fucked over a lot of people. The Guild may not have done as good a job as you would have liked or imagined it could given the situation. But let's be clear: the union didn't fire anyone or take their jobs away. That was always the company's prerogative. Seniority is typically the only fair way to handle mass layoffs, by the way, otherwise it's open season for wholesale vindictiveness and other forms of treachery.

 

I love how many of you question the work ethic of SAS. God forbid he make the move to ESPN and bring not only himself but the Inquirer more notoriety. Did you all forget about that guy Tony Kornheiser of the Wash Post? He chopped down his columns to a mere 300 words and hasn't written a column of substance in months. He lives on ESPN and is a fixture upon MNF. But we give Tony a pass? It's a shame that SAS lost his column. Is SAS a nuisance at times? Of course he is. But to strip his column because the Inquirer feels like they are "second fiddle to ESPN". Please that's a damn joke. But all will be fine and I'm sure some other major metro newspaper will pick up SAS. He certainly won't miss a meal as an ESPN employee.

 

Were the seven prior mentions of Mr. Kornheiser in this thread insufficient?

 

Tony Kornheiser rarely gets a free pass. Of course, he'd have to write more often for his work to praised/criticized.

 

Cut the crap. I don't see The Washington Post Co. lopping off bodies left and right the way they did in Philly.

 

Increase his pay . . . for what? Flung-out, tossed-salad, Blackberried submissions which drive the copydesk denizens to AA
meetings?

Stop the insanity.

The idea of the NY Times hiring the guy is hysterical.

It'd still be hysterical, if they hired him, tomorrow.

 

Is the Hungry Horse News still looking for people? SAS in Hungry Horse sounds like a sitcom idea to me.

Can we get the people from the CW Network on the horn?

 

I heard SAS is the front-runner in Martinsville. And Roswell.