Mariotti finally sees the future

[NYWarrior]

sports journalism is a Web business......no kidding.  and is this such a bad thing, Jay?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-27-mariotti-jayaug27,0,609457.story

[mwbauer7]

Odds he ends up at the following places:

ESPN.com -  1 : 2
CNNSI.com - 2 : 1
FOXsports.com - 4 : 1

[NYWarrior]

add Yahoo! to that list....they just signed Gordon Edes away from the Boston Globe

[RJax55]

Great day here in Chicago!

Mariotti was horrible. A constant cynic always pointing out or trying to the find the negative in a situtation. The ultimate flip-flopper, who's opinions changed daily.

White Sox fans must be thrilled. Mariotti has a personal vendetta against all things Sox the past couple of years. During the spring, it seemed like of Jay's 6 columns a week, 5 were negative pieces that ripped into Jerry Reinsdorf, Kenny Williams and/or Ozzie Guillen.

[reinko]

What is this interwebs that you speak of?

I heard it's made up of a series of tubes and lasers.

[shaquilvaine]

The Sun Times was going into the tank laying off people left and right this past year including one of my relatives.  I'm not surprised Jay is leaving.  That paper is dead.

[Cooby Snacks]

When I saw his reasoning for leaving the Sun-Times, I called BS. 

This is more like it: http://deadspin.com/5042479/thats-it-world-you-have-disrespected-jay-mariotti-for-the-final-time

Ozzie was right.

[Rollout-the-Barrel]

I heard he needed more time to get his makeup on before Around the Horn tapings...
His act is getting old.

[Pakuni]

The Sun Times was going into the tank laying off people left and right this past year including one of my relatives.  I'm not surprised Jay is leaving.  That paper is dead.

Not so much dead, but rather reeling from a perfect storm of significant business model changes for the industry combined with executive corruption combined with corporate malfeasance combined with a major economic downturn in newspapers' key advertisers, i.e. autos and homes. Any one of the four would have led to financial hardship for the company. All four at about the same time have left them in a very bad place.
That said, their revenues are actually doing better than they were a year or two ago and its circulation is consistent. In fact, they recently found enough money to give Jay a big, fat raise.
Believe me, this resignation had very little if anything to do with the death of the newspaper or the web-iness of sports. It's about Jay and his exceptional hubris.

And, fwiw, the Sun-Times editor seems to have a great sense of humor.
From his statement on Mariotti's departure:

"We wish Jay well and will miss him -- not personally, of course -- but in the sense of noticing he is no longer here, at least for a few days."

[ChicosBailBonds]

Not so much dead, but rather reeling from a perfect storm of significant business model changes for the industry combined with executive corruption combined with corporate malfeasance combined with a major economic downturn in newspapers' key advertisers, i.e. autos and homes. Any one of the four would have led to financial hardship for the company. All four at about the same time have left them in a very bad place.
That said, their revenues are actually doing better than they were a year or two ago and its circulation is consistent. In fact, they recently found enough money to give Jay a big, fat raise.
Believe me, this resignation had very little if anything to do with the death of the newspaper or the web-iness of sports. It's about Jay and his exceptional hubris.

And, fwiw, the Sun-Times editor seems to have a great sense of humor.
From his statement on Mariotti's departure:

"We wish Jay well and will miss him -- not personally, of course -- but in the sense of noticing he is no longer here, at least for a few days."

SOME revenues are better.  The NY Times continues to tank with revenues WAY WAY down again this past quarter.   I'm just surprised that someone wanted to write an article on B.O.  I mean, it's not like the guy is getting any press, one more article certainly was warranted.   

As for the executive corruption and corporate malfeasance, well to what extent, if any, has that played in the newspaper business decline?  Exactly what are your referencing anyway?

In your analysis, do you think the latest poll of the US citizenry that states that a resounding 19% believe the media is trustworthy.  Another 24% said they believe little or nothing the media states and 55% said they only believed some of what the media says.  With consumers feeling that way, I think the perfect storm you talk about (which is certainly PART of the equation) missed a key component.   CITIZENS AREN'T BUYING THE CRAP that papers and the media are putting out there.  Not like they used to.  They can get news from other sources, they can seek it on their own, with their preferred slant if they wish. 

Or maybe everyone's just going green and would like to stop killing trees.      Anyway you cut it, Mariotti is a prick but he'll still make a good buck doing something in the field. 

[Pakuni]

As for the executive corruption and corporate malfeasance, well to what extent, if any, has that played in the newspaper business decline?  Exactly what are your referencing anyway?

1. I'm referencing Conrad Black's rape of the company, for which he is now serving 78 months in prison, and the company's false inflation of circulation numbers, which caused them to refund and/or comp advertisers millions of dollars.

2. As for the rest, fish ain't biting. Been down that road too many times already.

[ChicosBailBonds]

1. I'm referencing Conrad Black's rape of the company, for which he is now serving 78 months in prison, and the company's false inflation of circulation numbers, which caused them to refund and/or comp advertisers millions of dollars.

2. As for the rest, fish ain't biting. Been down that road too many times already.

I understand the Conrad Black issue, but how does that effect industry as a whole (take the Sun-Times out of the equation).  As a whole, the industry is in the tank (pun intended).

And the fish don't have to be biting.  My former boss just became the CEO of the LA Times last week.  Trust me, people are bailing on newspapers and the media because they don't want to pay for something they don't believe it or don't trust.  You can deny it all you want, that's what they're own data says.  I have a lot of friends that work at the Times in their data and Retention department.  They survey customers on why they leave.  It is what it is.  Believe what you want, I'll go with the data.


Here's more on Mariotti



White Sox, Sun-Times Not Saddened By Mariotti Resignation

Teams, Colleagues Pleased
By Mariotti's Resignation
When news of former Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti's resignation reached the White Sox clubhouse Tuesday night, "the reaction could be heard outside," according to Chris De Luca of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen: "He was not asking just for my job, he was asking for thousands and thousands of people's jobs over the years. I'm not going to say I will get the last laugh because I will get fired from this job. ... Am I enjoying this? Yes, because he tried to make my life miserable." White Sox TV announcer Hawk Harrelson: "It's about time. I know one thing, when he got that (contract) extension, ... he wouldn't have signed that extension if the things he's saying about the Sun-Times now were true. So he's spinning it again." DeLuca writes Mariotti "depicted the Sun-Times as the Titantic, and it was clear the self-proclaimed tough guy was knocking over the old women and children to be the first to jump ship." DeLuca: "Not once in the last eight years can I recall seeing Mariotti in the Cubs' or Sox' clubhouse." Guillen: "I think people stopped believing what he was writing because we let the fans know what the real situation was and how he was dealing with the athletes." Sun-Times Editor Michael Cooke in a release said, "We wish Jay well and will miss him -- not personally, of course -- but in the sense of noticing he is no longer here, at least for a few days. A paper, like a sports franchise, is something that moves into the future." Mariotti said that the newspaper market "has gone soft." De Luca: "If that's true, he played as big a role in the softening as anyone else" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/28). In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal notes Mariotti "would not comment" on a rumor that "had him bound for Boston and an array of multimedia opportunities." Rosenthal: "How he would find flaws in a city with defending champs in basketball and baseball is anyone's guess" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/28).

NOT SHEDDING ANY TEARS: Cooke said that he "learned of Mariotti's resignation in an e-mail, that said, simply: 'I quit.'" Cooke, in an e-mail, said of Mariotti's comments, "That's typical of Jay to throw a bomb on the way out of a place that cared for him, nurtured him, paid him well for 17 years." Cooke: "I am not hearing from grief-stricken fans" (CBS2CHICAGO.com, 8/27). Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander, who reportedly has feuded with Mariotti in the past, said, "If he's gone, I don't even know how to describe it. I am reborn." Telander said there was "no unity" with Mariotti on the Sun-Times staff (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/28). On Long Island, Neil Best wrote, "At last, some good news for the ailing newspaper industry: Jay Mariotti has left it!" (NEWSDAY.com, 8/27). SPORTINGNEWS.com's Chris Mottram wrote Mariotti's departure "is as shocking as it is pleasing." Though Mariotti does not have "a clear future," in the "short run he can continue to milk ESPN for appearance fees" on "Around The Horn" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 8/27).

IN THE MINORITY: EDITOR & PUBLISHER's Mark Fitzgerald wrote, "Maybe I'm a majority of one, but I gotta say I'm going to miss him." Mariotti's volume was "always turned up to 11, but that made for rollicking reading perfectly appropriate for a scrappy tabloid like the Sun-Times." Fitzgerald: "I loved his column, too, for its constant little failures, like the antic nicknames he tried to ... hang on athletes that almost never caught on with Chicagoans" (EDITORANDPUBLISHER.com, 8/27).

CLOUDY FORECAST: The CHICAGO TRIBUNE's Rosenthal reports the Sun-Times newsroom "is bracing for another round of cuts," and union sources said that "the full effect of Mariotti's resignation, taking a six-figure salary off the books, was not immediately clear." Rosenthal wrote Cooke's statement concerning Mariotti's exit, which came after 17 years and less than three months after extending his contract into 2011, was "a decidedly unsentimental statement." Mariotti said in an e-mail, "They're mad because I went on the radio today and honestly answered questions about the weak health of the paper" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/28). Crain's Chicago Business media writer Ann Saphir said of the impact on the Sun-Times, "I don't think it necessarily spells the end of the Sun-Times. ... But given everything that's happening in the industry, the Sun-Times is on the edge" (CBS2CHICAGO.com, 8/27).

[Pakuni]

Right wing fantasies notwithstanding, none of the major studies on the newspaper industry and its readership have pointed to this as a significant, or even insignificant, cause of the industry's current struggles. Rather, it is a combination of distribution, content (and not in the sense you claim) and, most recently, an economic downturn for the industry's major advertisers.

If you really wish to devote some time to the subject, read the links below for a thorough and mostly accurate analysis of the industry's woes. I think in some instances he exaggerates a few things to enhance his argument, but by-and-large he's dead-on when describing newspapers' problems. Stunningly, being too liberal or untrustworthy is not high on his list. (FWIW, a 2007 Pew poll found that a large majorty of Americans, i.e. more than 70 percent, have a favorable opinion of their daily newspaper).

http://www.digitaldeliverance.com/blog/2008/08/transforming_american_newspape.html

http://www.digitaldeliverance.com/blog/2008/08/transforming_american_newspape_1.html

But you know somebody who just started a job with a newspaper, so clearly you know more about the industry than the people who have been in it for years, if not decades.
Seriously, how would you respond if a plumber who frequents this site started telling you what's what regarding the dynamics of the satellite television industry? I suspect you wouldn't find them particularly credible.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Right wing fantasies notwithstanding, none of the major studies on the newspaper industry and its readership have pointed to this as a significant, or even insignificant, cause of the industry's current struggles. Rather, it is a combination of distribution, content (and not in the sense you claim) and, most recently, an economic downturn for the industry's major advertisers.

If you really wish to devote some time to the subject, read the links below for a thorough and mostly accurate analysis of the industry's woes. I think in some instances he exaggerates a few things to enhance his argument, but by-and-large he's dead-on when describing newspapers' problems. Stunningly, being too liberal or untrustworthy is not high on his list. (FWIW, a 2007 Pew poll found that a large majorty of Americans, i.e. more than 70 percent, have a favorable opinion of their daily newspaper).

http://www.digitaldeliverance.com/blog/2008/08/transforming_american_newspape.html

http://www.digitaldeliverance.com/blog/2008/08/transforming_american_newspape_1.html

But you know somebody who just started a job with a newspaper, so clearly you know more about the industry than the people who have been in it for years, if not decades.
Seriously, how would you respond if a plumber who frequents this site started telling you what's what regarding the dynamics of the satellite television industry? I suspect you wouldn't find them particularly credible.

I'll state it again as clearly as I can for you.  The folks I know at the LA Times run focus groups, surveys, etc on why people have left.  A very large number has to do with the very thing the national surveys are saying.  MISTRUST of the press.  BIAS by the press.  Etc.  The customer doesn't want to pay money for that.  It's right there in THEIR results.  The data is the data, no right wing surveys...this is THEIR DATA.  They have worked there for years...it just so happens my former boss is now the CEO there, but the people I was referencing have been there for years.  Do you expect the studies you presented for them to come forth and say "yeah we're bias and untrustworthy and that's why people have stopped buying the paper and reading it"?  Of course not.  And of course that's not the only reason, but it's one that resonated in their focuse groups A LOT.

[Marquette Gyros]

Sun-Times Editor Michael Cooke in a release said, "We wish Jay well and will miss him -- not personally, of course -- but in the sense of noticing he is no longer here, at least for a few days. A paper, like a sports franchise, is something that moves into the future."

That is just fantastic.

[Pakuni]

I'll state it again as clearly as I can for you.  The folks I know at the LA Times run focus groups, surveys, etc on why people have left.  A very large number has to do with the very thing the national surveys are saying.  MISTRUST of the press.  BIAS by the press.  Etc.  The customer doesn't want to pay money for that.  It's right there in THEIR results.  The data is the data, no right wing surveys...this is THEIR DATA.  They have worked there for years...it just so happens my former boss is now the CEO there, but the people I was referencing have been there for years.  Do you expect the studies you presented for them to come forth and say "yeah we're bias and untrustworthy and that's why people have stopped buying the paper and reading it"?  Of course not.  And of course that's not the only reason, but it's one that resonated in their focuse groups A LOT.

Ah ... so anecdotal evidence provided by people you know at one particular outlet trump industry-wide, scientific studies conducted by independent organizations.
I see.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Ah ... so anecdotal evidence provided by people you know at one particular outlet trump industry-wide, scientific studies conducted by independent organizations.
I see.

Wow.  That's really all I can say...wow.  What is "anecdotal" when this is data they get from their customers in post churn focus groups?  There is nothing anecdotal at all about it.

I'll also ask again, do you think industry wide studies are going to publish something that puts them in such a negative light?

I call my guys over there every few months to see how things are going as some used to work with or for me.  "So John (made up name to protect the innocent), I see subscriptions are down again...you doing ok?"

"Yeah, we're hanging on.  Tough enviornment"

"So what's the main reason people are leaving...can't be price as the paper is dirt cheap"

"No, the top 3 reasons are:  competition from other sources (internet, tv, radio), people claiming liberal bias with the paper, people stating they don't find the paper worthy of trust (too many errors, too many factual inaccuracies)"



Now Pakuni, you can take it or leave it, I don't particularly care but I've known these guys for years, I know the work they do (one is a PhD from MIT), they are smart and they know their stuff.  It's what they do for a living.  That's what their data from THEIR former subscribers are telling them.

And hey, guess what...they're taking ACTION on that data.  Why do you think Sam Zell (the new owner) hired Eddy Hartenstein to begin with?  Why do you think their new editor has added a conservative in the editorial column there for the first time in over a decade?  Because they felt like it?  Or because they're reacting to what their former readers have told them?

I'll let you decide

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-publisher16-2008aug16,0,6915781.story

[Rollout-the-Barrel]

Two thumbs down from Roger Ebert.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-jay-mariotti-roger-ebert-080828,1,1455757.story

[PJDunn]

Pakuni,
Please quit baiting our little Joseph Goebbels. 
Thanks!!

[ChicosBailBonds]

Warsaw, IN still hating on a Friday night.