By now I’m sure you’ve heard all about the Baltimore Sun slashing jobs in the sports section. 61 positions were cut including some of their popular sports writers Ray Frager, Rick Maese, and David Steele.
Now it looks like Roch Kubatko left there just in time to blog for MASNSports.com.
My opinion on sports is often challenged here at BSR and I love that, but aside from my knowledge of Baltimore’s teams I think I know a little something about the media business as well.
Mark my words, if the Sun doesn’t adapt to the times they will go by the wayside. It’s a terrible economy and newspapers didn’t evolve when they should have, now it’s catching up to them and talented writers like Frager, Maese, and Steele are left looking for work.
The world doesn’t want to pick up a physical newspaper anymore. They expect content immediately and the internet provides that to them. I’m sorry that advertisers are jumping, but please satisfy to the demands of your readers.
The Sun should focus more of it’s time and energy into blogs like The Toy Department and Medium Well, than knocking on my door two days a week to convince me to subscribe. I don’t want to read about yesterday’s news when and if a paper boy delivers it, I want it now.
It’s pathetic that the rich executives who are in charge of newspapers fail to see this and even worse that a recession is what was required to change the medium. The newspaper industry has no one to blame but themselves, all that was required was adapting to the times and they’ve been playing catch up way too long.
They had every chance in the world to deliver sports the way sports fans want it delivered. If the Sun won’t cover the Orioles the way sports fans want then they’ll jump over to CamdenChat.com instead. If they fail to cover the Ravens then there’s ProFootball24x7.com. And tons of other options (wink, wink).
I believe these layoffs marked the begin of the end for the Sun. It’s only a matter of days until sports sections are only available online or not available entirely.
Great post. It’s hard to see how newspapers will survive when anyone can get on the internet and get the news instantly. I will miss Frager, Steele and Maese-they were three of the better writers the Sun had on staff. I may not have always agreed with their viewpoints, but I kept reading them anyway.
I’m the same exact way. Frager often irritated me, but I always looked at his content to see his opinion. Newspapers are going in the crapper and have no one to blame but themselves.
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Thanks for the link, this issue gets me fired up. I just really think that newspapers had every opportunity in the world to provide news the way readers want it and they have failed. If they go under they have no one to blame but themselves.
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No problem. Your post gave me the idea to write mine. Just wanted to share the inspiration. And I do agree with your position.
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OMG! This is such a tragic situation, I feel so bad for some of these guys, they were always helpful to (me and) us “little people” when I was on assignments or doing a job.
I was a person who once swore she would never, ever get all of her news from the internet and is now doing just that. I need that paper in hand to get all my stories. But they are falling apart and it is really getting uglier.
Magazines are the same way. I’ve had a subscription to Sports Illustrated since like 1993 and am not renewing. Why would I waste the dough?
Although we still do get the Sun, it is only b/c of my hubby- he reads every day. I have resorted to looking at it on Sunday, and that is if I have time. Otherwise it is burn material or a crab feast waiting to happen.
The mass exodus is only turing these writers out of work….
Oy vay.
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I feel the same way. I could never imagine not reading the newspaper everyday. Now, I hardly pick the thing up. Our local paper serves more of a purpose for my wife than me. I’ll glance at it in the morning before I go to work and then I’ll see it again when it’s time to do the recycling.
I have an subscription to ESPN the magazine, but I hardly even read it. I think I just get it for the Insider access at ESPN.com.
It’s a shame that newspapers are struggling so, but they can’t put the genie back in the bottle and charge for their online content, can they?
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LOL I see we were on the same wave length when we did our blogs LOL. I still read the online paper and go to sports sites. But there are so many reasons why papers are on the decline. Advertising fees are sky high, and folks look for other options. Folks read online.. And of course, blogging (hence my new topic sorry LOL).
I have a friend that actually like real papers still, but she’s the only one in my age group that I know, who still does. My parents still like the old fashioned paper, but I think from my generation on, we don’t have a need for it like they did
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I sadly agree with all of this (and I love the Star Democrat). Just this month I let my Sun subscription expire but still get The Capital. I normally open it and flip through as we’re making dinner/feeding the baby. I also have a sub to ESPN mag and it’s also for the Insider access. The magazines I read aren’t for current news but stories I don’t feel like reading on the web (normally longer pieces). As much as I love the instant feeling of web news, too much just burns my retinas so I think there is definitely a spot for papers in my life. I have a feeling most of the people reading this head to the Sun’s website every morning to catch up on Bmore happenings so by the time you get home, the paper is already old news.
Sad to see those guys go though.
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Hey no problem. I don’t have exclusive access to the topic LOL. I liked your post too.
If you haven’t read The NFL Chick’s take on the topic, check it out:
http://www.thenflchick.com/2009/05/sports-blogging-fubu-of-journalism.html
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I think I might write about this now too
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Go for it! And I’ll definitely be reading it.
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Not sure how I missed this post with that brazen headline up there. OUCH.
People, good people, are losing work and I don’t like it. And this issue gets me fired up too.
Sam Zell, owner of Tribune who owns the Sun has no idea how/why to run a paper. He knows how to strip businesses down and sell them as pieces. And make money and ride his Harley. Quite often the publishers/owner of papers seemed too arrogant to keep them abreast of change. Still, though, I don’t know that anyone could have predicted this kind of change this fast.
No matter where I get my information, I’m rooting for the Sun to survive simply because it is the PAPER OF RECORD for our area.
Forget sports for a second, but my god, what do we have if we don’t have a paper of record.
Just because the business asses of these big corporations failed to see what was coming (as did so many), doesn’t mean us in the blogosphere need to jump on the bandwagon of wishing them dead. You know? There has to be some balance as both sides could benefit from one another.
Just my take is all….
Not at all. You’re absolutely right Molly. I don’t want to see the Baltimore Sun die. In fact it would be tragic because it’s such a historical icon.
I just feel that if they don’t change they can’t blame anyone else but themselves. I hope like hell they do everything in their power to make it work. Just don’t blame a poor economy for things not going the right way.
So with all this media talk, today I took a look at the paper.
I see all new writers…don’t know any of the sports writers. Hemsley was the one and only name I recognized.
Mark Cuban owner of the Mavericks does a blog and he did a real interesting post about the media a couple months back. I’m going to see if I can find that link, you would like it.
Hey Molly! Now you can post the video right here! How cool is that?…I'm excited about our new comment layout.