By T.J. Simers
First reports have the LA Times taking 300 disgruntled phone calls Sunday after the sports section went magazine style and lost box scores. The sports editor Iliana Romero suggested folks should go to latimes.com to get box scores, but the staff forgot to post them.
I couldn’t find Sunday’s box scores Monday morning on the website, so this is your new LA Times.
I’d suggest calling Iliana Romero but she’s on an all-expenses paid junket to Las Vegas where she intends to buy dinner on the Times’ credit card tonight for at least five former Times’ sports executives. That’s probably the equivalent of a salary for a copy editor laid off two weeks ago.
I’d suggest reaching out to No. 2 in sports, but ever since he was hired he has remained in Portland. I guess he’s afraid of Los Angeles traffic.
It’s a little surprising the No. 2 hasn’t been invited to Las Vegas for the Associated Press Sports Editor convention; three of the freeloaders dining with Iliana in Vegas tonight were former No. 2s at the Times.
Maybe they don’t want him networking for a new job. I hear the New York Times has openings.
The lack of Times’ leadership, of course, goes all the way up to editor Kevin Merida who is allowing all this on his watch.
The Times has already busted the 3 pm set-in-stone deadline for writers, allowing coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open in Monday’s paper and the drafting of Paul Skenes which both happened after 3.
However, there was no mention of Skenes, the No. 1 player selected in the MLB Draft, growing up in Lake Forest or going to school at El Toro High School. The Times spelled his name, “PaulSkenes,” in the newspaper; I’m sure family and friends loved that. I think I hear the circulation department’s phone ringing.
Next week features on soccer players Ali Riley and Alyssa Thompson are planned.
I just got an update, despite the suggestion that latimes.com will give you everything you can’t get in the newspaper, box scores will not be run online. As far as the Times is concerned, they no longer exist.
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The New York Times is closing down its sports department. They got rid of box scores a long time ago.
They bought the sports writing site, the “Athletic,” for $550 million and will be using the Athletic’s content to present sports in the newspaper and online. The Athletic publishes more than 100 sports stories a day. The Times says the Athletic has 400 journalists covering 200 professional teams around the world.
Instant information via social media has doomed newspapers. A 3 pm deadline, which the Times just instituted, drives that point home when subscribers open their newspapers 15 to 16 hours later.