Good piece on Buffalo News Sports Dept

[TPS]

Buffalo Rumblings has a good piece on "what happened".

 https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2018/6/22/17488972/what-really-happened-buffalo-news-sports-2018-tim-graham-jerry-sullivan-bucky-gleason-john-vogl

 

[Skins Malone]

Just read that myself.  Are they gonna hire new sports writers?  I know alot of people had issues with these guys and i get why but..at least in my case the sports section was the only thing i read in the paper.  Im just not sure this is the best business decision unless they hire some new young talent.

[eball]

“[My meeting] only took about 12 minutes,” Sullivan told Buffalo Rumblings. “It was pretty upsetting, and I started to leave. Mike Connelly led into the big news with a three-pronged discussion about what we needed in the sports department to be better. The message at the end was that my voice had become tired, and he didn’t use the words ‘bad for business,’ but that was clearly the message.”

 

“At one point, [Connelly] told me that even I seemed tired with my column, and I jumped on him for that,” Sullivan added. “Don’t ever put words in my mouth.”

 

 

Umm, yeah, I'd say we weren't the only ones sick of Sully's b.s. 

 

[vorpma]

Never had an issue with any of them, including Sullivan.

[oldmanfan]

It's a tough time to be in the news business, and hard decisions are being made by many papers across the country.

[Mr. WEO]

59 minutes ago, eball said:

“[My meeting] only took about 12 minutes,” Sullivan told Buffalo Rumblings. “It was pretty upsetting, and I started to leave. Mike Connelly led into the big news with a three-pronged discussion about what we needed in the sports department to be better. The message at the end was that my voice had become tired, and he didn’t use the words ‘bad for business,’ but that was clearly the message.”

 

“At one point, [Connelly] told me that even I seemed tired with my column, and I jumped on him for that,” Sullivan added. “Don’t ever put words in my mouth.”

 

 

Umm, yeah, I'd say we weren't the only ones sick of Sully's b.s. 

 

 

 

And yet you read every Sully BS column...as did thousands of others--simply so they could rage at him and start threads about his latest takes.

 

Looks like the people who run the BN don't understand much about selling newspapers.

 

At least one of their clients (FSE) will be pleased.

[HansLanda]

32 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

It's a tough time to be in the news business, and hard decisions are being made by many papers across the country.

 

Except many other news outlets did their transformations (aka deep cuts) about 5-8 years ago. How the TBN brass didn't see this coming YEARS ago is crazy. Putting all eggs in the paywall basket also super dubious. 

[Bobby Hooks]

28 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

And yet you read every Sully BS column...as did thousands of others--simply so they could rage at him and start threads about his latest takes.

 

Looks like the people who run the BN don't understand much about selling newspapers.

 

At least one of their clients (FSE) will be pleased.

I don’t agree with this assessment. I think most people looking at articles from the Buffalo news wanted to read up on their Buffalo Bills & Sabres without having to choke down the visceral disgust Sully splattered over all of his pages. 

 

I get it if it was once once in a while if he truly disagreed with something. But it became old and tired. He bashed things when they stayed the same, he bashed things when they changed. He became the equivalent of the terrible polical uncle you had to ban from Facebook. 

 

Maybe some people still clicked those pages but me and most people I knew saw Sullivan and skipped right by. Wasted paper. He didn’t see a story and think how can I get this to the public, he looked at it and said how can I destroy this and piss people off. 

 

Thats lazy hack writing. He should go to tmz. 

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2018 by Bobby Hooks

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

27 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

And yet you read every Sully BS column...as did thousands of others--simply so they could rage at him and start threads about his latest takes.

 

Looks like the people who run the BN don't understand much about selling newspapers.

 

At least one of their clients (FSE) will be pleased.

 

 

I think many people stopped reading a long time ago. Hence why he’s unemployed. At least Timmah would put out some original, well written articles. I have zero problem with a dissenting opinion, but Sully’s garbage was just lazy. 

[Mr. WEO]

1 minute ago, Bobby Hooks said:

I don’t agree with this assessment. I think most people looking at articles from the Buffalo news wanted to read up on their Buffalo Bills & Sabres without having to choke down the visceral disgust Sully splattered over all of his pages. 

 

I get it if it was once once in a while if he truly disagreed with something. But it became old and tired. He bashed things when they stated the sane, he bashed things when they changed. He became the equivalent of the terrible polical uncle you had to ban from Facebook. 

 

Maybe some people still clicked those pages but me and most people I knew saw Sullivan and skipped right by. Wasted paper. He didn’t see a story and think how can I get this to the public, he looked at it and said how can I destroy this and piss people off. 

 

Thats lazy and hack writing. He should go to tmz. 

 

 

 

 

There's no such thing as bad press and everyone loves to hate the villain.  It's not like all of their columnists had the same takes. 

 

No one had to read Sullivan's articles while flipping the BN pages to get their Sabres and Bills fix in print.  But if you went by this board alone, Sullivan was VERY well read by rabid Bills fans.

 

There si still the option of going to BuffaloBills.com to get your Bills news and "opinion",  you know....

3 minutes ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

 

 

I think many people stopped reading a long time ago. Hence why he’s unemployed. At least Timmah would put out some original, well written articles. I have zero problem with a dissenting opinion, but Sully’s garbage was just lazy. 

 

He decided to take a buyout, that's why he's unemployed.  He could have stayed there without the column.  There was external pressure for the BN to take away his column--that's why he lost his column.

 

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

4 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

There's no such thing as bad press and everyone loves to hate the villain.  It's not like all of their columnists had the same takes. 

 

No one had to read Sullivan's articles while flipping the BN pages to get their Sabres and Bills fix in print.  But if you went by this board alone, Sullivan was VERY well read by rabid Bills fans.

 

There si still the option of going to BuffaloBills.com to get your Bills news and "opinion",  you know....

 

He decided to take a buyout, that's why he's unemployed.  He could have stayed there without the column.  There was external pressure for the BN to take away his column--that's why he lost his column.

 

 

Thanks for the clarification Jerry

[Mr. WEO]

1 minute ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

 

Thanks for the clarification Jerry

 

 

zing

[Bobby Hooks]

8 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

There's no such thing as bad press and everyone loves to hate the villain.  It's not like all of their columnists had the same takes. 

 

No one had to read Sullivan's articles while flipping the BN pages to get their Sabres and Bills fix in print.  But if you went by this board alone, Sullivan was VERY well read by rabid Bills fans.

 

There si still the option of going to BuffaloBills.com to get your Bills news and "opinion",  you know....

 

He decided to take a buyout, that's why he's unemployed.  He could have stayed there without the column.  There was external pressure for the BN to take away his column--that's why he lost his column.

 

“No such thing as bad press?” 

 

Lazy and hackish, no wonder you loved Sully. 

Edited June 24, 2018 by Bobby Hooks

[Mr. WEO]

2 minutes ago, Bobby Hooks said:

“No such thing as bad press?” 

 

Lazy and hackish, no wonder you loved Sully. 

I never read the BN.

 

Every major city newspaper has a guy like Sully writing a column.  He's a guy people love to hate.  They read him so they can tee off on him.  But they read him.

 

What part of that is so hard for you to understand?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Connelly's pep talk / offer to the staffers doesn't seem all that different than his trumpeting to online viewers how much better the digital [BN]competent would be with the redesigned website. Faster loading of tipsy  bar patrons in 'Smiles At' photo galleries and rehashes of news from 1/5/10 years ago.  I'll walk down to the Avondale and pay the $1.30 / $3.40 Sunday and get something I can stuff my work boots with when they get wet.

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

1 hour ago, eball said:

“[My meeting] only took about 12 minutes,” Sullivan told Buffalo Rumblings. “It was pretty upsetting, and I started to leave. Mike Connelly led into the big news with a three-pronged discussion about what we needed in the sports department to be better. The message at the end was that my voice had become tired, and he didn’t use the words ‘bad for business,’ but that was clearly the message.”

 

“At one point, [Connelly] told me that even I seemed tired with my column, and I jumped on him for that,” Sullivan added. “Don’t ever put words in my mouth.”

 

 

Umm, yeah, I'd say we weren't the only ones sick of Sully's b.s. 

 

All I can say on this issue is at least he was honest on what they said to him, and his role in the departure.  He does sound like he's got a major chip on his shoulder, and regardless of who might read his column, that can be a real drag in the workplace. 

[Bobby Hooks]

6 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

I never read the BN.

 

Every major city newspaper has a guy like Sully writing a column.  He's a guy people love to hate.  They read him so they can tee off on him.  But they read him.

 

What part of that is so hard for you to understand?

The opinion part. His opinion was always negative? That’s not a very nuanced villain. 

 

The best villains always have a redeemable quality. Sully was instantly negative about everything. That’s not opinion, that’s schtick. 

 

People saw right through it and were bored of it. 

 

Why does that upset upset you so much? You said yourself you didn’t read it, so it’s good enough for us but not for you? Why do you get a say, how do you even have an opinion on articles you didn’t read? 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2018 by Bobby Hooks

[Chandler#81]

“We would figure out very quickly what worked and what didn’t,” said Connelly, citing digital page view numbers as an example. “It didn’t feel very high stakes because you can ramp something up quickly, and you can ramp something down overnight.”

 

This is the paranoid, self-destructive quote I find disturbing. Like most everyone here -and there, I was pissed when I 1st learned I’d have to pay. As an out-of-towner, I decided to wait til I read posts from here (mostly) regarding the content and satisfaction before subscribing. We had very little dialog before they panicked and chopped the Dept. I wish Buffalo sports fans the best going forward. Interweb sites are my new ‘go to’ now for updates and info.

[Big Turk]

How poorly managed is a company that has their first quartely loss in 40 years and is so panicked by it because they havent done a good job with their finances?? What have they been doing with their quarterly profits for the last 40 years?

 

They were making $1 million a week at one point? Where did the money go?

 

Thats 160 quarters straight where they made money and they literally have so little of that saved they freak out and have to get rid of a bunch of people?

 

Thats terrible management.

Edited June 24, 2018 by matter2003

[Zebrastripes]

44 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

Every major city newspaper has a guy like Sully writing a column.  He's a guy people love to hate.  They read him so they can tee off on him.  But they read him.

If so many people read him  then why did they take his column away?

[dwight in philly]

2 hours ago, TPS said:

Buffalo Rumblings has a good piece on "what happened".

 https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2018/6/22/17488972/what-really-happened-buffalo-news-sports-2018-tim-graham-jerry-sullivan-bucky-gleason-john-vogl

 

Thanks.. good read

[stony]

My biggest takeaway from this piece is how does Connelly still have a job?  Seems he misread multiple situations which led to this "perfect storm" of departures. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Mr. WEO said:

He decided to take a buyout, that's why he's unemployed.  He could have stayed there without the column.  There was external pressure for the BN to take away his column--that's why he lost his column.

 

You know this how?

 

From reading the article, they reassigned a number of people - assistant sports editor to news, another assistant sports editor to part time sports, part time reporter.

They may have decided they didn't want to support full-time columnists and he needed to hit the sports news beat.  They may have decided, based on a survey quoted in the article, that readers didn't like Sully's column.

 

Or they may have succumbed to external pressure.  But from the article, I don't think there's evidence to conclude that.  There was a Fredonia journalism professor who concluded thus and then in a later piece more or less retracted that take - I suck with remembering names.  Elmer Ploetz, that's it.

 

 

[dpberr]

The irony is that in depth exploration of the last days of the sports desk at the news is content I'd pay for. It was unique content, full of detail. Excellent writing.

 

 

[Foxx]

they may not have liked the direction management was taking but they don't have too. the writing has been on the wall for some time now, i give the Buff News credit for at least trying something different before they are completely irrelevant. it probably won't work but at least they are trying.

[Freddie's Dead]

When even your good writers take the buyout, the writing is on the wall.

[eball]

2 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

And yet you read every Sully BS column...as did thousands of others--simply so they could rage at him and start threads about his latest takes.

 

Looks like the people who run the BN don't understand much about selling newspapers.

 

At least one of their clients (FSE) will be pleased.

 

Actually, I haven’t read a Sully column in at least a couple of years, and yet I still knew what he was writing. That’s the definition of “tired.”

[4th&long]

2 hours ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

 

 

I think many people stopped reading a long time ago. Hence why he’s unemployed. At least Timmah would put out some original, well written articles. I have zero problem with a dissenting opinion, but Sully’s garbage was just lazy. 

If you read that article it said sully was still one of the most read columnists at the paper.

Bland and boring is what people want and that is what you will get. Some of the worst sports teams in pro sports over the years. Chris Brown fluff is what pse wanted and that is what they will get. Weather people agreed with all the articles or not the buffalo news had a great sports section, especially for such a small market. Not anymore.

[ALF]

I hope the BN hires Sal to cover the Bills. Hate to see so many jobs gone. 

[4th&long]

1 hour ago, Zebrastripes said:

If so many people read him  then why did they take his column away?

Cause the pegulas pulled $250,000 worth of business from the paper. It was in the article if you read it.

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

You know this how?

 

From reading the article, they reassigned a number of people - assistant sports editor to news, another assistant sports editor to part time sports, part time reporter.

They may have decided they didn't want to support full-time columnists and he needed to hit the sports news beat.  They may have decided, based on a survey quoted in the article, that readers didn't like Sully's column.

 

Or they may have succumbed to external pressure.  But from the article, I don't think there's evidence to conclude that.  There was a Fredonia journalism professor who concluded thus and then in a later piece more or less retracted that take - I suck with remembering names.  Elmer Ploetz, that's it.

 

 

That was in the article.

[Zebrastripes]

45 minutes ago, 4th&long said:

Cause the pegulas pulled $250,000 worth of business from the paper. It was in the article if you read it.

I did read it and also read the part where an independent consulting firm polled people and said a number of them would not subscribe if Sullivan and Gleason continued to write for them.  The idea Pegula pulled 250k from the paper because of Sullivan is just pure speculation.

Edited June 24, 2018 by Zebrastripes

[Mr. WEO]

3 hours ago, Bobby Hooks said:

The opinion part. His opinion was always negative? That’s not a very nuanced villain. 

 

The best villains always have a redeemable quality. Sully was instantly negative about everything. That’s not opinion, that’s schtick. 

 

People saw right through it and were bored of it. 

 

Why does that upset upset you so much? You said yourself you didn’t read it, so it’s good enough for us but not for you? Why do you get a say, how do you even have an opinion on articles you didn’t read? 

 

 

 

I'm not the one who is upset.  I'm commenting on your poor argument.  It should be clear even to a casual visitor such as you that, on this site, Sullivan was heavily read and hotly debated--after nearly every column.

 

 

2 hours ago, Zebrastripes said:

If so many people read him  then why did they take his column away?

 

I think it was one way of getting rid of one of their most expensive staffers.  As you know, a lot of the staff was offered a buyout, to slash costs.  It gets easier to make a guy choose a buyout when you take away a large part of his job.

 

2 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

You know this how?

 

From reading the article, they reassigned a number of people - assistant sports editor to news, another assistant sports editor to part time sports, part time reporter.

They may have decided they didn't want to support full-time columnists and he needed to hit the sports news beat.  They may have decided, based on a survey quoted in the article, that readers didn't like Sully's column.

 

Or they may have succumbed to external pressure.  But from the article, I don't think there's evidence to conclude that.  There was a Fredonia journalism professor who concluded thus and then in a later piece more or less retracted that take - I suck with remembering names.  Elmer Ploetz, that's it.

 

 

 

Possibly from the owners of the teams he kept bashing.  A guy from Buffalo Rumblings this week said on local ESPN that the BN also runs a commercial printing shop and that the Pegulas let it be known that their $250,000 per year contract with the BN printing shop (for Bills printed material) could be pulled.....

1 hour ago, eball said:

 

Actually, I haven’t read a Sully column in at least a couple of years, and yet I still knew what he was writing. That’s the definition of “tired.”

 

 

You knew about it because so many here couldn't stop reading or talking about him.

[Zebrastripes]

4 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

I think it was one way of getting rid of one of their most expensive staffers.  As you know, a lot of the staff was offered a buyout, to slash costs.  It gets easier to make a guy choose a buyout when you take away a large part of his job

I get what your saying.  It's just so hard to speculate anything without knowing the complete details.  

[4th&long]

44 minutes ago, Zebrastripes said:

I did read it and also read the part where an independent consulting firm polled people and said a number of them would not subscribe if Sullivan and Gleason continued to write for them.  The idea Pegula pulled 250k from the paper because of Sullivan is just pure speculation.

So you also read where sully was one of the most read columnists at tbn.

[Zebrastripes]

19 minutes ago, 4th&long said:

So you also read where sully was one of the most read columnists at tbn.

Just because he was one of the most read at TBN doesn't mean alot of people were reading his content.  TBN did their research and realized they were losing subscriptions by having his column published.  If he was making TBN money they wouldn't have cut his column.  He clearly wasn't making them money nor were the others.  Hence the overhaul at TBN.

Edited June 24, 2018 by Zebrastripes

[Rock'em Sock'em]

I just bookmarked https://www.buffalorumblings.com/authors/matt-warren.

 

[transient]

What I took from that is Kimberly Martin was the biggest loss.

[PastaJoe]

17 minutes ago, Zebrastripes said:

Just because he was one of the most read at TBN doesn't mean alot of people were reading his content.  TBN did their research and realized they were losing subscriptions by having his column published.  If he was making TBN money they wouldn't have cut his column.  He clearly wasn't making them money nor were the others.  Hence the overhaul at TBN.

So he was one of the most read, but not a lot of people were reading his content? That means there are other areas of TBN that are doing worse, and he was doing the best job of getting people to read.  And if an estimated 200 subscribers left because of one columnist, it’s more likely they don’t like the paper in general and are using that as an excuse. There’s so much more to a paper’s content than one sports columnist.

[Big Turk]

3 hours ago, stony said:

My biggest takeaway from this piece is how does Connelly still have a job?  Seems he misread multiple situations which led to this "perfect storm" of departures. 

My question is where did the money they made over the past 40 years go??  How can they have so little saved this is such a problem?

[boater]

Implied by the article read as a whole: Sully lost his column because Sully's negative tone did not fit the new business model where most revenue comes from reader subscriptions. The consultants probably made that point very strongly.

 

He was not exactly fired. He just lost his column. Sully is gone by his choice; he accepted the buy out. Admittedly, maybe shaming him into a buyout by killing off his column was the master plan. I wonder what duties they planned for him had he stayed: a new restaurant reviewer?

 

Per the article: the BN was surprised by the number of people taking buy outs. But they stood by their word that buyouts were available to all.

 

Good read from Buffalo Rumbling.