The news from Hartford

how big was the sports staff before this latest round of layoffs/buyouts?

 

Start calling us "sportsjournalistsalumni.com"

 

In its era, the Hartford Courant offered scope and unmatched ambition for its size. It set a standard for medium-plus sized papers.

 

In the times I've been back to CT in the past year, it's seemed like more state sports stories were making their front page, beyond just UConn.

The guys still there will put out good stuff, but losing the talent they did is a huge blow to a great sports section.

 

As I've said before, I subscribe, but outside of Shawn Courchesne covering motorsports and UConn football, I don't read the sports section much anymore. Gave it a year, but not my teams, particularly since I'm a lifelong Mets fan and they have been getting the kind of treatment the Sox and Yanks will be getting. As for preps, it just isn't as important to people here compared to what I'm used to, with the sometimes exception of hoops. But that's not my sport either. I mean, seriously, I am stunned at how little high schools coverage there was already.

So I really don't have a take on the quality of the section over what it was four years ago when I moved here, but it sure does seem thinner. And I am not happy with this "more with less" mantra, because I know the truth.

It's going to be a very good time to be a crooked cop, politician, coach, booster or athlete in the state of Connecticut.

Good luck to all those affected.

 

As a reader of the Courant off and on for two decades, I have a ton of respect for the crew that puts out this section. It has endured cuts before but has never failed to be anything but sophisticated.

Today is an absolute gut punch.
My sincere best wishes to the people forced to leave.

 

hahaha awesome

 

That's pretty much true for the other 49 states, too.

 

the BLOGS! will flush them out.

 

Yep, I think the Courant was known for keeping an eye on the higher ups.

I don't know if it was the sports or the news folks, but any number of scandals and mini-scandals have been thoroughly brought to light by that paper, am I right?

The one I'm thinking of involved car deals for all the UConn coaches.

 

The Courant used to be an incredible paper.

 

I believe this info to be accurate

Post-purge staffing

SE: 1
ASE: 3
Copy editors: 8 (incl. slot/layout types)
Writers: 9 (incl. one columnist)

In case anyone thinks I lost a digit somewhere, this is indeed a .75:1 writer-editor ratio (and no, there was no numerical anomaly in recent cuts to skew the current staffing numbers).

I suppose it's just a matter of time before there are something:0 ratios about the business, but is the current mix a bit off? This once-glorious paper also had two MEs until the recent buyout.