Jason Jones - new kings beat writer.

[Section 101]

Here is his last blog on the raiders: http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/raiders/archives/021846.html

See the bolded parts.

As most of you know by now, this is my last day on the Raiders beat. I'll take a week or so off and reappear as a beat writer for the Sacramento Monarchs and Sacramento Kings.

I can't many of the writers I've been around since 2005 who dealt with my Laker fandom, Cal Bear cheering and my love for Dodger blue.

Another bee writer to ignore.

 

[Bricklayer]

Odd choice indeed, and I suppose that means that Amick is gone. Wonder about Melody Guittierez(sp?)?

 

[Löwenherz]

Melody went to Metro

 

[Kingfanpaul]

What happened to Amick???

 

[Rug King]

the way I understand it, Jason replaces Melody. Amick is still there.

 

[LPKingsFan]

the way I understand it, Jason replaces Melody. Amick is still there.

Yep. I wonder what this means they're doing about their Raiders and 49ers coverage. Probably just use someone from the Mercury News or another Bay Area rag under that McClatchy also owns? AP?

But really, Lakers, Dodgers and Cal? That's a bad 0/3 in my book!

 

[VF21]

Another wise choice by Bill Bradley. Wonder what Melody did to pee him off? My guess would be she actually showed some skill at being a beat writer and reporting the news of the team without bias or ingrained hatred. Shame on her... We're so much better off with an admitted Laker fan at the helm.

What a joke.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Another wise choice by Bill Bradley. Wonder what Melody did to pee him off? My guess would be she actually showed some skill at being a beat writer and reporting the news of the team without bias or ingrained hatred. Shame on her... We're so much better off with an admitted Laker fan at the helm.

What a joke.

Maybe Metro really needed her? My guess would be this came from above Bradley's head, but I could be wrong.

 

[VF21]

Let's see - Kreider gone. Scott Howard-Cooper gone. Marty MacNeal gone. Melody Guiterrez moved to Metro. Most of those have Bill Bradley's fingerprints ALL over them.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Let's see - Kreider gone. Scott Howard-Cooper gone. Marty MacNeal gone. Melody Guiterrez moved to Metro. Most of those have Bill Bradley's fingerprints ALL over them.

Kriedler, I'll admit, was unacceptable. But recently, the paper made cuts across the board, and someone in the sports dept had to go. Scoop and Marty made the most sense since Howard-Cooper didn't have his own team to cover, really, and Marty's column was deemed the less valuable of the remaining columns. If you would have rather seen Amick and Voison, for example, go over Marty and Scoop, then that's fine. But I think this has to do with the paper's awful financial straits more than anything. But I could be wrong.

 

[Merdiesel]

A Laker and a Dodger fan... **** this guy.
You're in the wrong town ******bag.

 

[6th]

I am sick sick sick of that bozo, Bradley, choosing Laker/Dodger fans to cover our teams. And worse yet, he actually expects us to like it.

Bill Bradley = stupid idiot

 

[Löwenherz]

Let's see - Kreider gone. Scott Howard-Cooper gone. Marty MacNeal gone. Melody Guiterrez moved to Metro. Most of those have Bill Bradley's fingerprints ALL over them.

Actually, they have little to do with Bradley and almost everything to do with the slow death of print journalism. Keep in mind, the Bee just went through massive layoffs and cut salaries to avoid more layoffs just to stay afloat.

Kriedler and Howard-Cooper are only two of the numerous examples of print sports journalist willingly flocking to cyber-giant ESPN, which can simply outbid the struggling newspapers for their services. They've become the sports journalism equivalent of Wal-Mart squeezing out the mom&pop stores.

MacNeal meanwhile had really been replaced by Amick three years ago and was in a pseudo-retirement position with Marty Mac's World as it was - a luxury which I'm assuming the Bee could simply no longer afford.

And Melody's move to Metro isn't a demotion, banishment or punishment; it's more than likely because she is an insanely talented and versatile writer and reporter and was one of the few (if not only) writers in the sports department who COULD move to another field and in doing so, probably saved the job of one of her co-workers.

As for Mr. Jones, judge the man on his work, not his roots: Most of you I'm betting are already familar with at least one Kings-related article he did:

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/story/1763990.html

If you want to attack his work for being poorly writen, biased, shodily reported, etc, (personally, I thought it was one, if not two, of the three)
that's perfectly fine. It's all fair game and comes with the territory for a professional.

But attacking him for staying true to his fandom is hypocritical of us Kings fans who claim to hate Lakers fans because they're "bandwagoners". I have infinitely more respect for a man who openly admits his loyalties in enemy territory, than one who waffles to appease the mob for personal gain.

 

[One and Done]

All this and Voisin still has a column...is the Bee trying to accelerate its demise?

 

[6th]

But attacking him for staying true to his fandom is hypocritical of us Kings fans who claim to hate Lakers fans because they're "bandwagoners". I have infinitely more respect for a man who openly admits his loyalties in enemy territory, than one who waffles to appease the mob for personal gain.

Who the heck is attacking his fandom? I don't care about that. What I care about is, once again, puting a Laker/Dodger fan as the beat writer for Kings/Monarchs. You know, as well as I do, that a Laker fan is not going to be able to see the Kings in a positive light. And, we all know that any reporter will report with a biased slant. You cannot take their humanity out of them, nor should you try.

No, my irritation/anger is in Bradley assigning him as our beat writer...period.

 

[VF21]

Actually, they have little to do with Bradley and almost everything to do with the slow death of print journalism. Keep in mind, the Bee just went through massive layoffs and cut salaries to avoid more layoffs just to stay afloat.

Kriedler and Howard-Cooper are only two of the numerous examples of print sports journalist willingly flocking to cyber-giant ESPN, which can simply outbid the struggling newspapers for their services. They've become the sports journalism equivalent of Wal-Mart squeezing out the mom&pop stores.

MacNeal meanwhile had really been replaced by Amick three years ago and was in a pseudo-retirement position with Marty Mac's World as it was - a luxury which I'm assuming the Bee could simply no longer afford.

And Melody's move to Metro isn't a demotion, banishment or punishment; it's more than likely because she is an insanely talented and versatile writer and reporter and was one of the few (if not only) writers in the sports department who COULD move to another field and in doing so, probably saved the job of one of her co-workers.

As for Mr. Jones, judge the man on his work, not his roots: Most of you I'm betting are already familar with at least one Kings-related article he did:

http://www.sacbee.com/sports/story/1763990.html

If you want to attack his work for being poorly writen, biased, shodily reported, etc, (personally, I thought it was one, if not two, of the three)
that's perfectly fine. It's all fair game and comes with the territory for a professional.

But attacking him for staying true to his fandom is hypocritical of us Kings fans who claim to hate Lakers fans because they're "bandwagoners". I have infinitely more respect for a man who openly admits his loyalties in enemy territory, than one who waffles to appease the mob for personal gain.

Um, what? I didn't attack him for "staying true to his fandom"... I'm saying I think the SPORTS EDITOR of the Bee is making some poor decisions. Whether he's forced to or not by the economy isn't the point as Kreidler was forced out before the Bee was in this situation.

If he's going to be the beat writer for the Kings, Jason Jones had better learn to be at least impartial. That's what is truly expected of sports writers, or any other reporter for that matter. I know it's a arcane viewpoint, but I expect reporters to report, not to pontificate or try and impose their personal feelings or beliefs on their readers. That's what columnists are for, not beat reporters.

As for Mark Kreidler willingly flocking to cyber-giant ESPN, I don't know where you got your information but Kreidler was slowly but surely forced out at the Bee. His assignments were winnowed down, even though he was highly regarded by a large majority of readers, until there was virtually nothing left for him to do.

 

[VF21]

One more thought about Jones: If that article is typical of the drivel we can expect to read from him on a regular basis, he just might accomplish what not even R.E. Graswich was able to do. He might get me to cancel my subscription to the Bee.

 

[Monty'sBiggestFan]

I may be the only one not to miss Gutierrez, who at best resorted to agenda-laden muckraking instead of reporting during the time she was on the Monarchs beat. I wish the Ms could have Arrington back tho

I don't get the sense that Jones won't be impartial because he's a Laker fan. I've heard him on the weekends on KHTK, he strikes me as pretty honest and impartial in his coverage of the Raiders, which apparently was a team he followed as a kid.


If Amick is still there, I'm guessing it's not for long. I can't believe they flipped him and Jones to move Amick somewhere else.

 

[bajaden]

Kriedler, I'll admit, was unacceptable. But recently, the paper made cuts across the board, and someone in the sports dept had to go. Scoop and Marty made the most sense since Howard-Cooper didn't have his own team to cover, really, and Marty's column was deemed the less valuable of the remaining columns. If you would have rather seen Amick and Voison, for example, go over Marty and Scoop, then that's fine. But I think this has to do with the paper's awful financial straits more than anything. But I could be wrong.

Not having a team to cover means nothing, unless your down to your last dime and trying to make it go as far as possible. There's no doubt that the paper is having financial problems. Most newspapers are having problems, and its not just the economy. There's nothing you can't find out on the internet. That, and along with 24 hour news on CNN, and FOX, advertising on websites like Craigslist and who needs a newspaper?

No offense to Sam, but beat writers are a dime a dozen. After R.E. anyone would have an improvement. Marty was an interesting person, and seemed very likable when heard on the radio, but he was just average as a writer. I like Sam, he's a pretty good writer, and seems to be very dedicated to the job.

But when you pick up a paper, at least when I pick up a paper, and flip to the sports page, I'm not looking for the beat writer. I'm looking for the editoral writers, like Coop, A.V. and Kriedler. There was a time when you read the green sheet in SF just to see what Glen Dickey had to say. Bradley has slowly gotten rid of everyone I enjoyed reading, and in my opinion is doing just the opposite of what he should be doing.

Call me stupid, but isn't the goal of a newspaper to get people to read it? Doesn't that require writers? Wouldn't you rather read good writers that are creative and witty. Writers that possibly make you see something in a different light. Make you think! Most papers will tell you that they make most of their money off of advertisments. All well and good. But, I don't know about you, but I've never gotten up in the morning and rushed out to buy a paper just to read the advertisments

Me thinks its the other way around. If people rush out to buy your paper because they want to read the editorial section or the sports section, its because of the writers that you have. And then it follows that people will advertise in your paper, because a lot of people are reading it. Its not rocket science.

When I still lived in Sacramento, I bought the Bee every morning, but I also bought the Chronicle. Why? Because there were three or four great writers who thoughts I just had to absorb in order to start my day. Your killing me Bradley! And your killing the sports section.

 

[SkinnerBox]

Welcome, dude. Love you on The Daily Show.

 

[bajaden]

One more thought about Jones: If that article is typical of the drivel we can expect to read from him on a regular basis, he just might accomplish what not even R.E. Graswich was able to do. He might get me to cancel my subscription to the Bee.

If R.E. couldn't do it, I doubt anyone could. He was nothing more than a selfserving hack. And, I being kind. And, Your right, Kriedler was slowly forced out. He was my favorite writer. And, I don't think finances had anything to do with Coop suddenly going from being the NBA beat writer, along with a few columns every week to covering the River Cats. Somehow that didn't seem like a promotion to me.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Not having a team to cover means nothing, unless your down to your last dime and trying to make it go as far as possible. There's no doubt that the paper is having financial problems. Most newspapers are having problems, and its not just the economy. There's nothing you can't find out on the internet. That, and along with 24 hour news on CNN, and FOX, advertising on websites like Craigslist and who needs a newspaper?

No offense to Sam, but beat writers are a dime a dozen. After R.E. anyone would have an improvement. Marty was an interesting person, and seemed very likable when heard on the radio, but he was just average as a writer. I like Sam, he's a pretty good writer, and seems to be very dedicated to the job.

But when you pick up a paper, at least when I pick up a paper, and flip to the sports page, I'm not looking for the beat writer. I'm looking for the editoral writers, like Coop, A.V. and Kriedler. There was a time when you read the green sheet in SF just to see what Glen Dickey had to say. Bradley has slowly gotten rid of everyone I enjoyed reading, and in my opinion is doing just the opposite of what he should be doing.

Call me stupid, but isn't the goal of a newspaper to get people to read it? Doesn't that require writers? Wouldn't you rather read good writers that are creative and witty. Writers that possibly make you see something in a different light. Make you think! Most papers will tell you that they make most of their money off of advertisments. All well and good. But, I don't know about you, but I've never gotten up in the morning and rushed out to buy a paper just to read the advertisments

Me thinks its the other way around. If people rush out to buy your paper because they want to read the editorial section or the sports section, its because of the writers that you have. And then it follows that people will advertise in your paper, because a lot of people are reading it. Its not rocket science.

When I still lived in Sacramento, I bought the Bee every morning, but I also bought the Chronicle. Why? Because there were three or four great writers who thoughts I just had to absorb in order to start my day. Your killing me Bradley! And your killing the sports section.

You're preaching to the choir here. I'm just guessing at what the bosses at the Bee are doing, and not saying I agree with it. I do believe newspapers have done a lot to dig their own graves, blaming the Web only goes so far.

 

[D-Rock]

But I think this has to do with the paper's awful financial straits more than anything. But I could be wrong.

The sad thing is how the management at the Bee decided to re-vamp the paper. If I were their consultant, I would have guided them in a much different direction.

Look, I get all that stuff in the A section... online... a day or more before you print it. There is no reason to run a full A page. OK, maybe do it on Sundays.

What they should have done is beefed up their B, C, and D sections. Save money by not printing most of the national stuff and focusing on local news.

 

[TheFifthMookie]

Its only going to take one pro-lakers slanted article by this guy in our Sacramento paper for me decide not to read anything he writes for a long time.

 

[CruzDude]

But really, Lakers, Dodgers and Cal? That's a bad 0/3 in my book!

I donno, for me its Kings (20 yr), Dodgers (38 yr) and USC (well, since waaaaay back in my student days before Apollo landed on the moon).

So a big welcome Jason, there are some of us mixed marriage (sport wise) types hidden around. Don't forget Brian Wheeler of the Kings in the early 90's was a Dodger fan from childhood and still is up in Portland.

 

[rainmaker]

Amick is the only guy I like at the bee. It is getting worse by the month. Why the hell do they keep cycling writers in and out of there? They should have kept Scott H Cooper. Good enough for espn but not for the bee huh? And why get rid of Marty Mac if your going to bring this guy in 2 months later? I didn't always agree with Marty, but he knew the players, fans, and organization very well. If you ask me, the bee has some very incompitent management.

 

[Bricklayer]

Amick is the only guy I like at the bee. It is getting worse by the month. Why the hell do they keep cycling writers in and out of there? They should have kept Scott H Cooper. Good enough for espn but not for the bee huh? And why get rid of Marty Mac if your going to bring this guy in 2 months later? I didn't always agree with Marty, but he knew the players, fans, and organization very well. If you ask me, the bee has some very incompitent management.

Younger writers work cheaper.

 

[kupman]

Why would any self-respecting Kings fan read about the team in the Sac Bee when you have KingsFan.com?

I am being serious here. I could give rats behind who the Sac Bee hires.

 

[theclash4u5]

Why would any self-respecting Kings fan read about the team in the Sac Bee when you have KingsFan.com?

I am being serious here. I could give rats behind who the Sac Bee hires.

That site is still being developed

 

[VF21]

At this point, I'm willing to give him a chance before passing final judgment. I'd just like to see some real reporting for a change. If he can do that, I'll be one very happy Kings fan.