Miami Herald to potentially cut Florida Panthers coverage?
by Donny Rivette on Mar 10, 2009 8:08 AM EDT
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The Herald unceremoniously winds up on a list of ten major national newspapers which are/will be consolidating their departments in an effort drastically cut costs, go web-only, or fold altogether.
From Mike Chen's Hockey Blog:
"Same goes for George Richards; I know the Panthers aren’t exactly the biggest hub of hockey but Richards treats it as such and always provides insider info. These (beat reporters) aren’t just following the team around to get quotes from game recap story anymore; they’re our direct line to the players and the team’s management."
This is a scary development, though hardly surprising in light of current economic conditions.
In southern Florida, hockey fans have been spoiled with the coverage Richards has provided; not a day goes by without some form of informative shout to Panthers fans.
Indeed: where would the blogosphere be without these folks to "borrow" from, be it quotes, breaking stories, or simply keeping up with your club? They've got access the rest of us wish we had. And for that reason they are invaluable.
If the Herald dumps the local hockey beat, this market is left with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: a single point of information for mainstream fans. Albeit a very good one (Steve Gorten is as entertaining a writer as is out there), but everyone loses when the choices are limited.
The Palm Beach Post already opted out of the daily Panthers beat back in late September, citing, well, nothing, since the paper decided not to address it. Emails I sent to former beat writer Brian Biggane, the Post's sports editor, Panthers president and COO Michael Yormark, and vice president of broadcasting Randy ("I draw dingdongs on people") Moller asking for comment produced zippo. Not one of them responded. Granted, this was back in my salad days at Blogspot, but still.
One of your product's three local news outlets cancels it's coverage. Must not be important. Hockey-mad Broward puck fans will look elsewhere.
(In the Post's defense, Biggane appears to be back on the beat, at least semi-regularly. None of this was his fault, in any case...he's as solid as Richards and Gorten.)
In any event, losing continuing coverage by Richards and el Herald is yet more ammunition for the folks who live to bombard South Florida as a lousy market. Let's hope the situation can be solved in all of our favor.
Big thanks to Mike Chen's Hockey Blog via Kukla's Korner.
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I love Richards – it’d be a damn shame to lose his coverage.
Funny, but some of the teams I find least personally interesting (which is really not meant as a slight) have some of the best beat bloggers, when you look at guys like Richards, Portzline (CBJ), Hammond (LAK) and Russo (MIN).
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I thought the same thing while putting this together, Jon. Russo’s still a figurehead down here.
by Donny Rivette on Mar 10, 2009 9:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Hear hear. I’m always pleasantly surprised to find how intensely those you mentioned cover their teams. Without the gossip-drama that comes in a hyper-competitive market (Toronto), it’s almost like they’re in a sweet spot where they can just talk, well, hockey.
Lighthouse Hockey: SBN's New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Yep. It really must be a dream gig for the few we’ve got covering the organization.
by Donny Rivette on Mar 10, 2009 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions
YES!
That is definitely a big deal. There is so much in-fighting and sniping in Toronto.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
This is actually pretty devastating. Richards has been incredible in his daily update, always the first to inform us, and always accurate and providing unique points of view while keeping opinion mostly out of it. Gorten… is infrequent and breif… that’s really as much as I can say. He did nail a big one a couple weeks ago with the Boynton interview and I was shocked that he got it and blogged about it, but other than that, I don’t rely on him at all.
Looking forward to the game tonight… Go Panthers.
Two different styles: Gorten is less frequent, but as you stated MJ, when he hits, he hits hard. Richards is a rock and ultra-consistent.
by Donny Rivette on Mar 10, 2009 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Brutal
Richards is a really great guy to have covering the team.
Are any of you guys local? I wonder if there is an opportunity to get credentialed.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
I’m a bit too far on the outskirts to make daily use, but DolPhanDave makes it to quite a few games, and he’s got, um, connections.
But I wouldn’t turn down the real deal if offered.
by Donny Rivette on Mar 10, 2009 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions
You guys should e-mail Tyler to see if there’s anything SBN can help to get DolPhanDave and you in there when possible.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Nice bit, Whale
Hope those fears don’t come true.
Lovely cheeky link for “back on the beat,” too. Guffaw.
Lighthouse Hockey: SBN's New York Islanders blog with hip issues.
Hasn’t been an easy truce with The Post.
by Donny Rivette on Mar 10, 2009 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions
That could be another sign that the newspaper industry will go down hard and ugly.
Thankfully, though, Whale, you’ll still be around.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!
For the record, that list of 10 papers is absolute BS. The Philadelphia Daily News tops the list and it’s far from in danger. There has been outside speculation that they’d shut the paper, but it still makes plenty of money and the publisher has said numerous times that the DN won’t shut its doors as long as he’s running things.
The only upside to shutting the DN would be that all the readership would go to the Inquirer, which would help their struggling bottom line. The Daily News is a very strong paper right now, though.
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