Jim Wyatt leaving Tennessean

[LanceyHoward]

Aw, poor $44 million a year Roger lost his pension. Heartbreaking.

I didn't want to threadjack but it does say a lot about Goodell's view on life. I am doing all this from memory but of the $44 million about $13 million was for his retirement. The official's pension plan was costing about eight million a year.

 

[HejiraHenry]

I do not know Jim Wyatt, but the potential for certainty over uncertainty in one's working conditions is an issue most of us have to grapple with at some point.
My old colleagues who drifted into college or Olympic SID jobs certainly were looking for improvements in their working conditions while keeping a hand in the game.
My old colleagues who chased Internet boom dollars once upon a time to get out of the weekly newspaper game had a different sort of experience.
I used to have a short list of papers - where I might have once worked or had once wished to work - where I could have been persuaded to work under the right set of circumstances, and there's not a damned one of them I'd risk moving to now. Which is sad, but part of the biz.

 

[Dr. Howard]

Does the NFL still provide pensions to staff members? I thought one reason for the officials strike was that the the league wanted to take away thier pensions. I remember reading Goodell explaining that it was only fair to stop the officials retirement plan because NFL office workers had lost thier pensions, including him.

I believe most teams are out of the NFL pension plan and using a 401(k).

 

[Alma]

Also, don't forget Gannett is happy to see him go. They don't give a frick about quality. No newspaper does anymore. They just want to pay little to no money.

This isn't...quite right.

Gannett suspects, perhaps accurately, that it can get away with paying on the cheap, and still get decent quality. Not Jim Wyatt quality, but not bad. For half or a third of the price.

There's good stuff on SB Nation and Bleacher Report, and some of those folks are paid for shirt, or not at all.

Part of how we got here is a whole underclass of writers, irritated by the objectivity and relatively dispassionate approach to the business, writing their own stuff for free, gaining a following, and trading the warm ego fuzzies of "exposure" for actual dollars. Then they go on local radio shows - also for free - and yarble on there for a 20-minute segment. As good as their content might be, written or spoken, they've done for the pleasure of doing it and a proverbial pat on the head, and it has killed the business. Killed it.

 

[WriteThinking]

The even more telling thing, and even worse for journalism, than moving from a newspaper to a team web site for job security is, frankly, job ease.

A well-sourced reporter no longer has to fight for and with those sources. No one will say it, but that's what gets even more attractive to former journalists by a certain point in their careers. It's much easier and simpler to be a sought-out publicity person for an organization than a watchdog perceived as a constant pain in the neck, or even a threat, to one. Switching sides will un-complicate your life like nothing else.

 

[Fredrick]

This isn't...quite right.

Gannett suspects, perhaps accurately, that it can get away with paying on the cheap, and still get decent quality. Not Jim Wyatt quality, but not bad. For half or a third of the price.

There's good stuff on SB Nation and Bleacher Report, and some of those folks are paid for shirt, or not at all.

Part of how we got here is a whole underclass of writers, irritated by the objectivity and relatively dispassionate approach to the business, writing their own stuff for free, gaining a following, and trading the warm ego fuzzies of "exposure" for actual dollars. Then they go on local radio shows - also for free - and yarble on there for a 20-minute segment. As good as their content might be, written or spoken, they've done for the pleasure of doing it and a proverbial pat on the head, and it has killed the business. Killed it.

Congratulations and thanks to the NFL for hiring so many print reporters from newspapers! They recognize the "name" reporters are fricking SPECIAL, unlike the newspapers glad to see these "name" reporters go.

I don't understand your point. Dozens, hundreds of newspapers have forced out their "name" writers in order to get rid of their salaries. Companies like Gannett truly do not value the "name" writers. They see no difference between a name writer and somebody right out of college. Thus they get rid of the name writer. As far as the writers who do it for free ... yeah they are a problem but I don't think they killed the business. The business was killed long ago when newspapers decided the Internet was the only way to go and gave away their product for free for years. Newspapers had a real advantage in that they had the best reporters and writers and unique content. There's no more unique content. Enjoy your 3 minute scoops on Twitter, managing editors. Nobody cares. They used to care that you had a special piece on your scoop in the newspaper when nobody else even had the information. Newspapers killed themselves.

Newspapers rejoice when these name writers go to the NFL sites by the way. They get rid of a salary! In reality, the newspapers should be embarrassed that the NFL raided obviously one of their best reporters. Sickening.

 

[Ace]

Congratulations and thanks to the NFL for hiring so many print reporters from newspapers! They recognize the "name" reporters are fricking SPECIAL, unlike the newspapers glad to see these "name" reporters go.

I don't understand your point. Dozens, hundreds of newspapers have forced out their "name" writers in order to get rid of their salaries. Companies like Gannett truly do not value the "name" writers. They see no difference between a name writer and somebody right out of college. Thus they get rid of the name writer. As far as the writers who do it for free ... yeah they are a problem but I don't think they killed the business. The business was killed long ago when newspapers decided the Internet was the only way to go and gave away their product for free for years. Newspapers had a real advantage in that they had the best reporters and writers and unique content. There's no more unique content. Enjoy your 3 minute scoops on Twitter, managing editors. Nobody cares. They used to care that you had a special piece on your scoop in the newspaper when nobody else even had the information. Newspapers killed themselves.

Newspapers rejoice when these name writers go to the NFL sites by the way. They get rid of a salary! In reality, the newspapers should be embarrassed that the NFL raided obviously one of their best reporters. Sickening.

When you say Newspapers rejoice, Fred, who do you mean?

Probably not the Sports Editor (or Sports Coach or Whatever).

Probably not the rest of the Sports department.

The executive editor is happy he gets to dump a salary? Probably not, unless he has a complete toadie.

Perhaps the bean counters and corporate execs who siphon off money in the form of salaries and bonuses are happy. They aren't the Newspaper, though.

 

[Fredrick]

When you say Newspapers rejoice, Fred, who do you mean?

Probably not the Sports Editor (or Sports Coach or Whatever).

Probably not the rest of the Sports department.

The executive editor is happy he gets to dump a salary? Probably not, unless he has a complete toadie.

Perhaps the bean counters and corporate execs who siphon off money in the form of salaries and bonuses are happy. They aren't the Newspaper, though.

Good question. Well, considering the newspaper industry has had all these rounds of layoffs, furloughs, buyouts of mostly veteran reporters, I would say it is a GOAL of a newspaper to get rid of anybody on the editorial side making a buck. This is contrary to good business, by the way, in which most businesses love to have highly competent employees, many considered the best in the industry. Pretty much only a newspaper has a goal of getting rid of their most-respected employees in the industry. Most companies enjoy having award winning type employees on their payroll. Not newspapers, but I digress.

So considering it is the goal of Gannett and other companies to rid themselves of talented, respected, POPULAR writers, I would say the people who rejoice are the publishers, the managing editors, the bean counters, the HR people for sure! The ones who do not rejoice are the sports editors and sports staffers BUT their emotions are soon replaced at HAPPINESS for the veteran reporter who gets to move on and continue his expertise for an outlet besides an unappreciative, furlough-driven, disgustingly run newspaper.

 

[EddieM]

You do realize Gregg Doyel works for a Gannett paper, right? I'm all for criticizing the company, but to say they have unilaterally snuffed out big names is false.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I'll go out on a limb and say there's not a single person at that paper, in or out of the newsroom, who is remotely happy about having to scramble to replace a respected NFL writer with tons of experience, with training camp days away.

No one.

 

[Fredrick]

I'll go out on a limb and say there's not a single person at that paper, in or out of the newsroom, who is remotely happy about having to scramble to replace a respected NFL writer with tons of experience, with training camp days away.

No one.

Then why is this so commonplace in newspapers today? Did you hear about the Detroit News Hall of Famer forced out? Have you heard about all the famous (in their communities) writers and columnists forced out? Give me a break, please.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I'll go out on a limb and say there's not a single person at that paper, in or out of the newsroom, who is remotely happy about having to scramble to replace a respected NFL writer with tons of experience, with training camp days away.

No one.

But how much of that unhappiness is due to losing a respected writer with tons of experience and how much of it is the timing of the departure?

The ones who care about the former have a legitimate gripe. The ones who are upset about the latter have nothing to be upset about.

To answer Fredrick's question, it's happening because 1. Newspapers are dying anyway and are hemorranging money, and 2. Corporate is trying to suck every last dollar out before they jump out with their golden parachutes. The people in the trenches care about the quality of the paper. The people in the faraway offices don't.

Oh, and as for as Doyel goes, I seem to recall on here some posters were surprised that Gannett was so willing to pay for someone of his caliber when he joined Indy. Their surprise said it all about the industry, and the company. Time was, nobody would have been surprised.