At OMW, we primarily cover the local broadcast media...but we'll post items about the print media if they're significant enough to warrant local attention. This one is.
Long-time Akron Beacon Journal sportswriter Terry Pluto is leaving the newspaper after 22 years to join the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Beacon confirmed the move in an item just posted to Ohio.com.
Rubber City Radio's AkronNewsNow website (WAKR/WQMX/WONE) had first confirmation of the rumor that was bouncing around local media types this morning, with more background from both inside, and outside, the Beacon's East Exchange Street headquarters.
It's actually a return to the hometown paper for native Clevelander Pluto. He was the PD's Indians beat writer in the early 80's before making the move down I-77 to become the Beacon's Cavaliers beat writer. (Well, after a brief stop somewhere in Georgia, at any rate.)
Pluto has been an award-winning columnist for the Beacon since 1993, and has also been writing a column on faith.
The announcement says Pluto will take "a similar position" as a sports columnist for the Plain Dealer.
And in a line surely aimed at questions about the recent upheaval at the Akron paper in the wake of its sale to Black Press, editor Brian Winges notes: "This decision is not about Terry being unhappy at the Beacon Journal. It is more about Terry seeing an opportunity to reach a wider audience, and to reach that audience in the city and region that he knows best."
Winges tells his staff writer that the ABJ will seek a new sports columnist...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
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9 comments:
So much for the ABJ. They continue to be a sinking ship.
Triv had this on the Frantz show this morning. As usual, he was first.
I wonder if the Plain Dealer will allow Terry to continue writing his faith column. I have had the good fortune to have met him a few times, and I can tell by his actions that he is one of the genuine good guys in any media.
It's interesting that if there's a Beacon Journal box and a Plain Dealer box side by side, the Plain Dealer box tends to be the one that doesn't have any papers left. I'm up early enough now so that when the guy from the BJ puts the paper in the box and I go to buy one I notice that at the most there is only 2-4 papers put in the box any more.
Another blow for the Beacon to absorb..and a great pick up for the Plain Dealer.
I'm curious how many members of the Canton Repository sports staff made the walk across the street to the post office in Downtown Canton, resumes in hand and ready to be mailed..
I wonder if the PD will allow Terry to continue to appear on local radio and tv shows. In the past, they have been rather restrictive.
And on the subject of those shows, did I miss something about "Cleveland Rants"? I haven't been seeing them after Tribe games.
No great loss for the Beacon.
Pluto sucked anyways.
You know, I never could get a handle on Mr. Pluto. He was around the station (Wooster) a lot when Roy (Bates) was alive, on his show .. quite a lot. This was .. early to mid 90's. I talked to him. Quite a bit. I could never get a handle on him. He really, really worshipped Roy and Roy was a legend, that much is for sure. For his ON THE FIELD performance. On the air, man .. whew .. I hate saying negative things so I won't. It was just .. harsh, man. Brutal. I'll leave it at that.
This is just one guy I could never get a handle on even though I was around him a good amount. That's very, very odd.
Being an Editor of a paper publication for a little while, and knowing how that works .. this is very simple to figure out. Somebody .. and somebody very, very bad .. buys a paper. Wants it published everyday, same content, same everything .. probably even better ..
.. and then cuts the living heck out of staff and salary.
Well, we all know we get paid nothing to devote our lives to this goofy stuff but .. when you have a leveraged position like Mr. Pluto .. you just say "Uh ... no, I don't so."
Many, many others there just can't do that. And I so feel for them, very much. Double or triple the workload with 24/7 stress, bad diet, little sleep and all they need is more .. more .. more.
And there's rumours more cuts are coming ...
Always those rumours.
It's really a terrible existence and you completely give up your life.
.. and then you get fired in a cost cutting measure ..
.. and this is the life we choose.
So, to Mr. Pluto .. good luck and just remember what you saw happen at The Beacon, even though you are leaving it behind. Those are real people. Remember them.
-DD
I don't see why Pluto couldn't do TV.
Livingston and Shaw do More Sports and Les Levine every Monday, Grossi and Hoynes do weekly Browns and Indians shows (respectively) for TV 3/STO, and Cabot appears frequently for TV 5.
And Cleveland Rants airs from 9:30-10:30 every night regardless if the Indians game is over by then or not.
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