TPS Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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 2
Skins Malone Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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 Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 “[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. 1 3
vorpma Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 Never had an issue with any of them, including Sullivan. 2
oldmanfan Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 It's a tough time to be in the news business, and hard decisions are being made by many papers across the country. 1
Mr. WEO Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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. 1
HansLanda Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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. 3
Bobby Hooks Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) 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 2 4
billsfanmiami(oh) Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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 Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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) Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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 1
Mr. WEO Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 1 minute ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said: Thanks for the clarification Jerry zing
Bobby Hooks Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) 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 Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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 Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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 Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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. 2
Bobby Hooks Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) 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 1 1
Chandler#81 Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 “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 Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) 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 1
Zebrastripes Posted June 24, 2018 Posted June 24, 2018 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?
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