Zell whacks 25 percent of Allentown newsroom

As a complete aside, I had to fire a guy who walked to work that day because his car broke down -- in Florida, in the summer. But at least I did it before the shift started.

Gordie, don't know you, but know of you, and the way they're doing this is getting more unbelievable by the day. No class, no ethics, nothing good about any of it.

I wish you the best.

 

Got him a ride, as I recall.

 

Besides Gordie, the other Allentown sports casualties:
Beth Hudson
Bob Flexer
Don Bostrom
Source says Bostrom answered the call for volunteers to be bought out.
Carry on.

 

Yeah, Boz took the buyout, and was quite prepared to go. Good man. Possibly one of the more upbeat people I have ever had the privilege of meeting in the newspaper bidness.

Beth was a big loss. She served as the second person on Penn State football, and covered wrestling -- which is, of course, huge in the Lehigh Valley. She also did a lot of general assignment stuff. Not an easy thing, replacing someone as willing (and able) to cover so many different things.

I have a hard time seeing the logic in the cuts, and none of the management types revealed anything, no doubt for legal reasons.

 

Don Bostrom used to do freelance/camp/some kind of work for whatever paper I was at back in the day. Wish I could remember which. Did he cover the Phillies?

 

Yeah, he covered the Phils for a long time.

 

I dealt with Boz a handful of times, not that he'd remember me. Flex was always a cool guy with me, a dry wit to him and a good guy to sit down and have a beer with.

When they announced the closing of the Lehighton bureau, I was wondering if his name was on the list. I was desperately hoping to be wrong; I dearly wish I was.

Best of luck to all of you guys. May you land someplace that appreciates its workforce.

 

The Morning Call should be ashamed.

"Let's save money and axe our best writer! Yeah, that's the ticket!"

This is absolute bullshit. If I wasn't absolutely trapped by a good health insurance plan, I would have left the biz years ago.

And I bet I'm not the only one in that boat . . .

 

One of the pleasures of covering the Philadelphia Eagles over the last several years has been the presence of the Morning Call's beat writer, Larry O'Rourke, and its columnist, Gordie. They are diligent workers, terrific writers and better people. Now, Larry, as many of you know, is courageously covering the Birds each day despite recently being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease, and Gordie--the best writer at the paper, let alone the sports section--has been fired. Over the phone.

Full disclosure: I used to work at the Morning Call. I have good friends there--among them Beth Hudson, who did a fine job covering Penn State and was also undeservedly told to take a hike. But because I've seen how laziness, mediocrity and backward thinking have been tolerated from too much of that department for too long, and because I expressed those sentiments to the paper's editors before I left, I can say this: The only surprising thing about Gordie's and Beth's dismissals is that those clueless cowards didn't fire Larry, too. Because, really, who needs a beat writer who has to walk with a cane?

Shameful isn't a strong enough word to describe this.

 

Oh my God. I didn't know that. Larry is a terrific guy and such a total pro.

 

Yeah, I've known that for a few months. He was one of the best interns we ever had, and one of the most likeable people I've ever come across in the business.