Phawker: Stephen A. Smith loses Inquirer column

Most of us who've done that aren't making top dollar at either job. SAS was making top dollar at both. That's why my heart bleeds for him.

 

Agree completely. Can't count Canzano. Wilbon would be the more appropriate connection because of his TV work ... Woody Paige, too.

 

How come this wasn't being asked of Canzano when he had his earlier radio show gig? He's been churning out great columns for how many years now, while doing both jobs?

 

Because if you can't do your newspaper job and 10 hours of radio a week you're a total hack... ;D

Doing a radio show, flying around the country to cover the NBA and writing a column... A completely different story...

 

Wilbon and TK are the most obvious culprits, but it's not their fault that the WP wants to continue to pay them insane salaries to do next to nothing for the paper... Both have tried unsuccessfully to quit in the past year... LeBatard is the other one, but he still gets more than his share of Herald bylines...

 

I get the larger point about big shots flying around the country and mailing in columns. Don't think Canzano fits here. Did he have a radio show last year? And if so, what about from 2002-2005? Someone in Portland can answer. Here are the APSE results from last year ... below are more details on awards he has won.

COLUMNS 250k>
1. Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times
2. John Canzano, The Oregonian
3. Selena Roberts, New York Times
4. Harvey Araton, New York Times
5. Thomas Boswell, Washington Post

from Canzano's wiki:

In his career, Canzano has won numerous writing awards including Associated Press Sports Editors awards in column and enterprise writing. In 2007, The Associated Press named Canzano the nation's No. 2 sports columnist. He was recognized by The Press Club of Atlantic City as national sportswriter of the year in 2004.

In 2002, Canzano was named the nation's top investigative sports writer by the Associated Press News Executives Council for his enterprise piece on Carlos Rodriguez, a 21-year old Dominican basketball star who was masquerading as a 17-year old high school basketball player.

Canzano has also been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary three times and was named Oregon Sportswriter of the Year in 2005 and 2006. On July 7, 2007, the Portland Beavers' Triple-A baseball team held "John Canzano Bobblehead Night."

 

Yeah, but we all know he's really an unethical hack... ;D

 

I'm agreeing with Zeke on this one. The burden here is on the employer, not on the employee. Apparently, Philly wasn't satisfied with its end of the bargain, which is fine. Other employers are satisfied for whatever reasons.

There are a lot of factors involved, quality of work being high among them, of course, but not the only one. If a writer feels he can do justice to more than one gig (it is his/her rep on the line afterall), good for him. I don't see any reason why journalists should begrudge another the opportunity to earn some more money.

Good for Canzano, by the way. I don't read his stuff a lot but I know he seems pretty earnest about what he does and that he's highly respected.

 

Exactly...

 

Simply having a second job isn't a breach. If it were, I'd have been in big trouble earlier this year when I pulled two gigs at the same time.

Passing yourself off as a columnist for your local big city paper while you have competing full-time gigs elsewhere around the country, thus shortchanging your "first" job, is a problem. If SAS's columns suffered as the result of the ESPN and the radio gigs, then that's where the line should have been drawn.

Come to mention it, Tony should cut the cord at the Grahams' shop...

 

TK tried to quit when he started doing MNF. Wilbon tried to quit when he signed his latest ESPN deal... I know both are beloved in Washington, but they'd probably be better off letting them go and then spending the $1 million or so that they spend on their (combined) salaries (I'm guessing, but I've read that TK makes $500K from the WP) on someone else...