The newspaper industry is having problems.
I’ll let that shocking news sink in for a moment…ok good. It really is a strange time to be covering sports in any capacity. On one end of the spectrum, you have writers like Jay Mariotti, Tim Cowlishaw, Woody Paige and J.A. Adande getting all kinds of attention and publicity because of shows like Around The Horn and other ESPN features. On the opposite end, are smaller market newspaper reporters that are being let go due to budget restrictions. Waiting For Next Year has received multiple inquiries from sports journalists wanting to know if we are hiring. (The answer to that question by the way is no, and these inquiries have come from writers at publications that we have never heard of, just to end any speculation.)
There are obviously those that have found fame and fortune using their unique talents on internet sites. Will Leitch turned his skills into a ‘real’ job, and plenty of bloggers and net savvy writers are at least able to supplement income through their writing. I could name 50 bloggers off the top of my head that would love to have the opportunity and access to cover the Cavaliers for the Plain Dealer. It appears that former Plain Dealer beat writer Branson Wright wanted to have his cake and eat it at the same time. According to Clevescene, Branson was shown the door for double dipping.
To everyone’s surprise, however, Wright was in fact writing a game story that night — for The Washington Times. When the Times’ beat reporter couldn’t make it to the game, Wright apparently saw an opportunity for some extra cash. He filed the story, “Wizards Off Mark on Final Chance,” under the very clandestine byline “B.R. Wright.”
There is more, much more to the story, so click the link and read.
