Pat's Staying

As it turns out, Akron Beacon Journal sports columnist Pat McManamon has dodged the Layoff Reaper - again.

An OMW reader points us to Tuesday's entry in Pat's "Beside the Point" blog:

First, a personal note: The Akron Beacon Journal taketh away and the Akron Beacon Journal giveth. I was informed this week that the layoff notice presented a few weeks ago has been rescinded. Thus I will stay with the Beacon Journal, at least until they get this layoff bug up their hind end again.

This may please some of you, and anger or disappoint others.

To those who wrote and offered support, I offer my heartfelt thanks and appreciation. It meant a lot.

McManamon informed readers a month ago in that same blog that he'd been given a 60 day layoff notice.

And it's not even Pat's first time dodging the layoff bullet at the Beacon Journal.

As OMW reported earlier, he managed to hold onto his job on East Exchange Street in August 2006, when new ABJ owner Black Press launched its first layoff series - with 40 employees out the door.

At the time, McManamon was the paper's Cleveland Browns beat reporter, but he later took the sports columnist role vacated when ABJ veteran Terry Pluto was hired by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

And speaking of that other newspaper, our reader wonders if Brian Windhorst's exit to the PD this month paved the way for the Beacon to hang onto McManamon...again.

While we're Talking Print, in our search for information about Windhorst, we overlooked a very detailed article on Rubber City Radio's AkronNewsNow about the Cleveland Cavaliers beat writer being one of 18 ABJ employees taking the latest buyout offer, and his move north to the PD.

The ANN piece by Tina Kaufmann is worth a look even now, as the list of those taking the buyout includes some very big names at the Beacon, including columnist David Giffels, reporter Carl Chancellor, photographers Lew Stamp and Ken Love, and editorial cartoonist Chip Bok.

The complete list comes courtesy of the BJ Retirees (now BJ Alums) Blog Wall of Honor, in case you're wondering what happened to your favorite ABJ writer or other staffer.

The ANN article notes that Giffels is heading for a job at the University of Akron.

It also notes that the union covering Beacon Journal employees will have "under 70" workers in its ranks after these buyouts take hold.

There's no word if McManamon will have to help cover Akron City Council meetings, or write obituaries, in addition to his sports duties...or if George M. Thomas will be called on to edit the movie listings on days the Cavaliers don't play...

(Yes, it's a joke. We think...we hope...)