The JS Sports Staff [Latest: Witrado leaves for Sporting News, replaced by Todd Rosiak]

[SoCalBrewfan]

Mel Hall was a decent platoon player in the OF not that long ago. OK, twenty years ago. And yeah, it was mostly a decent batting average that was a bit too empty for a corner OF spot. Kinda makes a guy feel old to remember that.

 

Isn't Mel Hall in jail or something? Yikes, as I google it, he's not a guy you'd like to be mistaken for...

 

I still have trouble getting the first name right for the Gross we had recently...I keep thinking of Wayne or Greg. I guess it's a common affliction amongst the older set...

[lcbj68c]

Did you say affliction? Somewhere, Ryan Braun is smiling.

[hawing]

Did you say affliction? Somewhere, Ryan Braun is smiling.

Yeah, except he didn't capitalize it. Almost the same...not quite. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[brucrustu]

Brewers vs. Braves, Game 2

By Anthony Witrado of the Journal Sentinel

July 25, 2009

 

9th inning: Trevor Hoffman came on to nail down Gallardo's victory, his first of the month in five starts.

 

Brewers 4, Braves 0.

 

 

From last nights jsonline blog.

Sad thing is this is "fixed", last night it said Hoffman got the save too.

I know it's a game log on a blog, but cripes you're getting paid, right?

[Invader3K]

Yeah, I can't believe it's the next morning and it hasn't actually been fixed completely yet. Witrado gets ripped a lot on that blog, and maybe rightfully so.

[trwi7]

I don't even know why they let Witrado do the game blog. This is pretty much what it consists of.

 

Braves don't score.

 

Neither do the Brewers.

 

Braves still haven't scored.

 

Brewers score two.

 

You can just follow a box score on Yahoo or ESPN and get something more in-depth than that.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, it's about the level of work you'd expect from a college intern.

[endaround]

No college interns tend to care because they need recommendations to get future jobs. A job at the JS sports department might as well be lifetime tenure. As I've said before, Gary Howard is a terrible editor.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, I get your point. I used to think the peopled that ragged on Witrado in that blog were being silly, but more and more I'm seeing that most of them are basically correct about the quality of work he routinely puts in.

[hawing]

I don't even know why they let Witrado do the game blog. This is pretty much what it consists of.

 

Braves don't score.

 

Neither do the Brewers.

 

Braves still haven't scored.

 

Brewers score two.

 

You can just follow a box score on Yahoo or ESPN and get something more in-depth than that.

You could get more information from our IGTs, and most likely even the correct pitchers.

[brucrustu]

In the comments section someone lamented that it was too bad there is nowhere else to talk Brewers baseball on the web. "This is THE brewers blog" he comments. "a monopoly" even.

 

Google much dude?

 

Many of those posters would have a hard time fitting in here with the lame jokes, way over the top sarcasm, tolling, and total sky is falling mentality. But many of them would have something to add to the igt and if here isn't right for you then there's got to be 2 or 3 other game threads going, sports bubbler, and bcb come to mind.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, I'm sorely tempted to post a link, but I'd fear some of the posters that might show up here.

[phxMILWfan]

I hate that I read some of the posts on jsonline but I get sucked in. The blair guy with his puns and play on the players names, could not be more annoying. I kind of like them staying there.

[lcbj68c]

Just to complain about bad journalism, Yahoo Sports successfully got me to click on the link to this story today "Cubs 3B Ramirez gets shot in Shoulder"

 

No...not by a gun as one might think...he just simply received an injection. :Sigh:

Not that I want anything bad to happen to Ramirez, I just don't think that is the best headline to describe the story.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

FWIW I've blasted Kane via e-mail numerous times and he always responds to me. Always.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Oh...and on the subject of Witrado, I'm speaking as someone who knew most of the JS staff and left journalism for greener pastures, but there's not a lot of good things I can say about Witrado. If anyone cares you can PM me. Fans don't really understand the stress and hectic schedule those guys are under - and they're not getting paid well - but TH is professional. McGinn and Silverstein are as good as you're going to find.

 

Their sports page is among the best in the country. I'm sure you're all rolling your eyes, but every city's fans hate their own paper. People around here don't understand how lucky they are with the Packers coverage, and they do a pretty good job with the Brewers - usually.

[Godspeed]

McGinn and Silverstein are as good as you're going to find.

 

I agree on Bob McGinn. That guy is a journalistic god. He defines the J-S's Packer coverage. Haudricourt's knowledge and etiquette are sometimes lacking, but he doesn't embarrass himself that often from a content standpoint. Witrado though, ugh.

 

Their sports page is among the best in the country. I'm sure you're all rolling your eyes, but every city's fans hate their own paper. People around here don't understand how lucky they are with the Packers coverage, and they do a pretty good job with the Brewers - usually.

 

For the J-S sports page to be among the best in the country, which they may be from a reporting standpoint (Witrado notwithstanding), they have to do better than Michael Hunt as a columnist.

[iluvlamp]

I always hear about sports writers complaining about their compensation. (not really). Tom and Anthony are paid respectable wages and do not pay for their lodging, food, and airfare. You are ridiculous. If it was so bad they would not pursue their chosen profession. Beat writers whine all the time, but they like it. They may hate deadlines and the long games but they always brag about how they travel and eat every cities great food. And how they like to see the sites and meet up with old friends.

 

Spare me. Most of us work in jobs that don't create any access to anything remotely as cool as what they do.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Ah, I love when people who have no idea what they're talking about post stuff like this.

 

Being a beat writer is not eating $50 meals, staying at the Hyatt in every city, going to clubs and getting autographs from all your favorite stars. You want to know what it really is? Being berated by players and coaches who hate you for doing your job, tearing down PR wall after PR wall to get three minutes with the star player who A) Usually can't sand you B)Doesn't have anything interesting to say, and C) is a jerk. And if Prince Fielder wakes up cranky and doesn't want to talk to you, guess who pays for it? You, when your six-figure salaried editor complains that you're not getting the scoop.

 

What's more, having to deal with fans, some of whom will e-mail you 3-4 times a day and then harass you at the stadium and threaten to kill you in the parking lot because you wrote FACTS about their favorite player struggling - no, I'm not exaggerating.

 

Due to the current state of that industry, (yes I know the economy is bad, but no one has it worse than that field right now) guys like Tom H. who have 20+ years of service can wake up tomorrow and be shoved out the door.

 

If you think Anthony Witrado makes a "respectable wage," I urge you to do some research. He may be making enough to live, but I can guarantee you anyone here working in a field that's profitable in any way is making well more than him, and their job is likely far safer than his. And I don't even like his work.

 

I haven't even gotten into the schedule some of them are on, which goes far beyond "deadlines and long games." Do you know what it's like to go eight months a year and barely EVER see your family beyond spending five hours a few nights a week - if you're lucky - sleeping next to your wife? Because I can tell you that's what it's like for a lot of these guys, for more than half the year there is almost no real contact with your spouse or children, and that doesn't even count all the offseason meetings and random odd jobs you get thrown into during the offseason. "Hey, it's your editor, I know this is your off time, but since we just fired Bob, how'd you feel about spending the weekend three hours away in Stevens Point covering Division 3 women's softball?"

 

If being a beat writer was what you're making it out to be, I would still be one. And I covered D1 programs and NFL football, and I left that for what I'm doing now. I work 9-4, my job is safer, I make more money, I see my family, and I'm a helluva lot happier. So don't be dismissive and call me "ridiculous" when I've been on both sides of the fence, because you clearly haven't.

 

If you pursue that career, even if you end up working at a large paper like those mentioned above, you are sacrificing a ton. And you can give up any dreams of living some place nice unless you're a trust fund baby or marry a doctor. I don't know what your definition of "respectable wage" is, but anything above $40,000 is "making it big" in journalism. Expect 19k after college, and consider yourself one of the lucky ones if you ever make more than a teacher.

 

One last point that on the ignorance of your post:

 

"If it was so bad they would not pursue their chosen profession."

 

False. Because when most of the JS sports staff chose that profession, it was the mid-80s when papers were thriving and it was far easier to break in. Witrado is an extremely rare exception, but that fiasco is an entirely different story. I know for a fact that many of those guys will tell you if they could go back they would not do it again. And that's why J-schools across the country are hurting and people are running to PR and communications faster than ever before.

 

Rant is over, but please, I really wish people would not speak on things they know absolutely nothing about. This is tantamount to me walking into Ryan Braun's house tomorrow and telling him how to raise his BA.

[CWSOmaha]

Please explain the comment..."consider yourself one of the lucky ones if you ever make more than a teacher". I didn't realize teaching is such a money making profession. Sounds like you've mastered life, good for you.

[iluvlamp]

Why do the beats brag about it then? And since when is making forty grand a bad job when all ameneties are paid for. Tom does not make 40 Grand. Are you kidding me? Dealing with fans and/or nonfans? Get over it. It is a part of your job. Writers can be criticized. If they can't take it, well so what. Tom seems to deal with it. Also who cares if the players are asses? Then tell the public that they are being reclusive and unwilling to give their perspective. If they continue to not speak to to you, so what? You can draw conclusions from their attitude, on the field demeanor, responses to other reporters. Reporters are not supposed to be liked. That is a bygone era nowadays.

 

I won't comment on your specific job because it isn't relevant. I don't know you. Tom and Anthony are not starving and they also get paid for appearances on radio. They are not hurting. Maybe you are. They aren't.

[TooLiveBrew]

I guess after reading through OldSchool's well thought out & well-written response, I have no idea why you'd still try to tell him you know what you're talking about, lamp. It really isn't hard to conceive that the salary isn't quite what you're expecting, given that it's not really a year-round job... and if I had to bet on who knows more about the situation, I really have to go with OldSchool. So you heard a beat writer or two brag about something? So what?

 

 

Dealing with fans and/or nonfans? Get over it. It is a part of your job.

 

Death threats aren't part of my job. Maybe they're part of yours.

[bobskube]

Witrado probably makes peanuts~35k or so. Our other buddy (TH) with seniority probably only doubles that. This is not facts, but a hypothesis from people I know who do that.

 

Glad I picked BA in Communications (Marketing-Minor) instead of Journalism even though my parents thought I was nuts back in 92. Journalism has negative growth-not good.

[1992casey]

... You are ridiculous....

 

Spare me....

Those two ditties are way over the condescension line, and they certainly don't strengthen one's position in a debate.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Menance,

 

Rivals and BA compared to newspapers are two totally different animals. Rivals and Scout are thriving; newspapers are dying. And when I say this I'm not ripping on what those guys do, but the affiliates for Rivals, the guys who cover each team, have more a "fanboy" role than the average beat writer for a paper. Totally different markets, totally different job.

 

"I realize college football is different than covering a MLB team but to assume they make 30k a year after several years of experience is ridiculous at this point."

 

No it's not. The guys covering teams for major metros, are making 30-70, depending on where they are working, what size the paper is, etc. However, in that industry, it is highly unlikely you ever end up at a major metro. The more likely gig is that you start very small out of school, at a 5,000 circ like Lake Geneva, Manitowoc, etc., making 20k. Then you'll probably work your way to Waukesha, Janesville, maybe a place like Green Bay if you're lucky. The sad reality is that you'll be stuck there for the rest of your career unless you leave or get fired, and your salary will likely top out at a rather depressing mark. Most guys who stay in that field are the beat writer for Podunk State's football team and Podunk High School for their entire career. That's reality.

 

My point is that guys like TH and myself were lucky enough to get big opportunities. TH may love his job more than anything in the world, but I can tell you the press boxes at any big league sporting event are full of a lot of poor, miserable people who second guess their career everyday and would do anything to have the stability and salary of a 9-5.

 

 

"Please explain the comment..."consider yourself one of the lucky ones if you ever make more than a teacher". I didn't realize teaching is such a money making profession. Sounds like you've mastered life, good for you."

 

I don't really get what you're saying. I was saying consider yourself a very lucky journalist if you ever make more than the average teacher ... meaning set your salary expectations very low. I don't know where you're going with the mastering life comment.