Chick Ludwig losing his job

[TJJackson]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/s...wn_is_like.html

(it's at the very, very end of the entry)

[gregstephens]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/s...wn_is_like.html

(it's at the very, very end of the entry)

wow--at least the end of ONE Bengals' era is upon us. How do we scale down SoP?

[GregCook]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/s...wn_is_like.html

(it's at the very, very end of the entry)

wow--at least the end of ONE Bengals' era is upon us. How do we scale down SoP?

I give Chick credit for using radio, web and those newspapers slipping into obsolescence to get his words out. I also credit him to ask "unpopular" questions and challenge Marvin. Nearly all sports writers have to suck up to the powers in order to get access.

But I don't read that Chick is losing his job, just the job of covering the Bengals 24x7. I call that a career promotion.

Looks like the economics is really changing fast in the sports world. Layoffs, media outlets in the crapper whether its TV or print, can a team failing be far behind?

[gregstephens]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/s...wn_is_like.html

(it's at the very, very end of the entry)

wow--at least the end of ONE Bengals' era is upon us. How do we scale down SoP?

I give Chick credit for using radio, web and those newspapers slipping into obsolescence to get his words out. I also credit him to ask "unpopular" questions and challenge Marvin. Nearly all sports writers have to suck up to the powers in order to get access.

But I don't read that Chick is losing his job, just the job of covering the Bengals 24x7. I call that a career promotion.

Looks like the economics is really changing fast in the sports world. Layoffs, media outlets in the crapper whether its TV or print, can a team failing be far behind?

Yeah, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying anything about Chick's work. He's generally easier to read than Butch or even Doc, but it's ironic that in an organization that needs so much change from the top down, this is the best we can expect.

Speaking of the economics, even though it seems the NFL structure would be relatively economy proof due to revenue sharing, you never know. I saw where the NFL office was cutting some staff because of the economy. I also saw where the AFL, for undisclosed reasons at this point, is most likely not going to operate a 2009 season.

Could an NFL contraction be out of the question? Absolutely not. Teams like Detroit and Cincy might actually be in trouble.

[GregCook]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/s...wn_is_like.html

(it's at the very, very end of the entry)

wow--at least the end of ONE Bengals' era is upon us. How do we scale down SoP?

I give Chick credit for using radio, web and those newspapers slipping into obsolescence to get his words out. I also credit him to ask "unpopular" questions and challenge Marvin. Nearly all sports writers have to suck up to the powers in order to get access.

But I don't read that Chick is losing his job, just the job of covering the Bengals 24x7. I call that a career promotion.

Looks like the economics is really changing fast in the sports world. Layoffs, media outlets in the crapper whether its TV or print, can a team failing be far behind?

Yeah, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying anything about Chick's work. He's generally easier to read than Butch or even Doc, but it's ironic that in an organization that needs so much change from the top down, this is the best we can expect.

Speaking of the economics, even though it seems the NFL structure would be relatively economy proof due to revenue sharing, you never know. I saw where the NFL office was cutting some staff because of the economy. I also saw where the AFL, for undisclosed reasons at this point, is most likely not going to operate a 2009 season.

Could an NFL contraction be out of the question? Absolutely not. Teams like Detroit and Cincy might actually be in trouble.

TV revenue floats the NFL's boat, I wonder how well Fox, CBS, and ESPN are doing selling commerical time for their NFL games? They signed their NFL contracts when times were hot, can they deliver the NFL's cash now that we're entering a once in 50 years economic downturn? Teams could go bankrupt, especially when the business is founded on paying 21 and 22 year old guys millions of dollars per year for work they've never performed.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Local sports coverage is simply going away, instead opting for national outlets like Yahoo, NFL.com and ESPN, and regional or national feeds. 1530homer seems to be a bit ahead of the curve with blogging talk show hosts and their own in-house beat writer. About the best you're going to get from now on.

[GregCook]

Local sports coverage is simply going away, instead opting for national outlets like Yahoo, NFL.com and ESPN, and regional or national feeds. 1530homer seems to be a bit ahead of the curve with blogging talk show hosts and their own in-house beat writer. About the best you're going to get from now on.

That might not be so bad either. Its not like the local beat writers break many stories, usually its the national outlets that do it. The locals were there to be boosters for the pro teams, like the Bengals. They really didn't serve to break "news".

It might start to hurt pro sports teams if local coverage goes away though. Out of sight, out of mind.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

TV revenue floats the NFL's boat, I wonder how well Fox, CBS, and ESPN are doing selling commerical time for their NFL games? They signed their NFL contracts when times were hot, can they deliver the NFL's cash now that we're entering a once in 50 years economic downturn? Teams could go bankrupt, especially when the business is founded on paying 21 and 22 year old guys millions of dollars per year for work they've never performed.

I don't see many of them going under because they're all pretty diversified and have strong corporate parents. Rupert Murdoch owns Fox, Disney owns ESPN, GE owns NBC.

However, CBS is publicly traded by themselves, so there'd be no parent company to bail them out, and they're fully advertising based. Also, their biggest investor/CEO/chairman is getting soaked right now with some of his other investments, and would be hard pressed to help out if bad times came. I believe he's been selling CBS stock as it is.

That said, the NFL is a valuable property and I have no doubt that other networks would line up for the chance to carry it. Worst case scenario would be the NFL network carrying CBS's slate of games (for instance) and negotiating something with Comcast to ensure everybody carries it. They'd lose some money, but it wouldn't be disastrous.

In the absolute worst case, the league and union would have to negotiate contracts downward to prevent contracting franchises. Sort of like the UAW, except the auto workers might be able to get other jobs (even if it means moving), whereas exactly 0 of the star players could make half of what they are now away from football. Most would be lucky to make 1/10 or even 1/100. They don't want to see those jobs lost.