Sharks’ beat writers lose jobs
I know we whine about the coverage here in the Detroit area, but at least we have beat writers from both major newspapers here in Detroit.
According to PJ @ the wonderful San Jose Sharks blog, Sharkspage, two papers have laid off their Sharks’ beat writers among other positions. The world of mass media is rapidly changing with the advances in the internet and blogging. Newspapers are struggling to maintain circulation numbers and advertising revenue in this world resulting in the shrinking size of staff. Unfortunately, one of the first sports to lose their beat writers tend to be the NHL and other “less popular” sports.
Confirmed a few minutes ago: The San Francisco Chronicle laid off Sharks beat writer Ross Mckeon, who has been covering the team since 1991. Also, Sharks beat writer Victor Chi is on the list of 31 San Jose Mercury News employees who were laid off on Monday. Fifteen others, including soccer and boxing reporter Dylan Hernandez and photographer Meri Simon, voluntarily resigned.
It is a paradigm shift for local sports reporting, and for coverage of the San Jose Sharks. The San Francisco Chronicle, the largest newspaper in the Bay Area, is expected to cut approximately 100 of its 400 editorial positions. The San Jose Mercury News, founded in 1851, lost 50% of its staff from a high of 400 only a few years ago.
As PJ also mentions, the Washington Post and New York Times lost their beat writers last year, but have not forgotten the NHL in their sports coverage.
This post last August detailed what was expected to be reduced NHL coverage in the Washington Post, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times. The Washington Post did a complete 180, and it has moved into a position of leadership online (if not with its hockey coverage). The New York Times adapted on the fly and published several long personal interest stories, and several extensive reports about different issues facing the league instead of regular game reports. The Los Angeles Times was effected by default, as the Anaheim Ducks made a long playoff run to a Stanley Cup Championship.
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