Jump to content

Baltimore Sun beat writers also not traveling with team to Oakland


Going Underground

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, JimGinSP said:

No truth to the rumor that The Nashville Tennessean has a reporter on the trip.  
They could afford it, Nashville Tennessean daily circulation is 95,311.  Sun 43,000. Merle Haggard sang “big city turn me loose and set me free”.  Which is “big city”?

The Sun is not much of a newspaper now.In 2002 they had 400 reporters ,now 70. Many reporters have taken buyouts and went to other papers. The new online Baltimore Banner is starting up in the summer.Many of the best Sun reporters have gone there,including Justin Fenton.He wrote the book and soon HBO series, We Own This City.The Sun probably won't be doing print soon  They also moved their printing to Delaware.  They almost became a nonprofit run by Stewart Bainum but the deal fell through at the last minute and Bainum started the Baltimore Banner 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As an aside, I recently took a Sun promotion offering their online paper for 10 cents per week for 12 weeks.   I figured unlimited reading of Nathan Ruiz for three months was worth $1.20.

Well, now I can’t get the danged thing to work.  I’m getting locked out because it says I’ve reached my limit of five free articles.  When I try to log in, it tells me to use a social media button that doesn’t exist.   I called them and they said it would be fixed in 48 hours, but it’s been 10 days and still not fixed.

Meanwhile, the Sun is sending me 3-4 emails a day with links to articles I can’t read and don’t care about.

Now the question is: how much trouble will I go to in order to have them fix this or refund my precious $1.20?  One thing is certain: I’ve marked my calendar to make sure I discontinue my subscription before the regular price kicks in.

 

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Frobby said:

As an aside, I recently took a Sun promotion offering their online paper for 10 cents per week for 12 weeks.   I figured unlimited reading of Nathan Ruiz for three months was worth $1.20.

Well, now I can’t get the danged thing to work.  I’m getting locked out because it says I’ve reached my limit of five free articles.  When I try to log in, it tells me to use a social media button that doesn’t exist.   I called them and they said it would be fixed in 48 hours, but it’s been 10 days and still not fixed.

Meanwhile, the Sun is sending me 3-4 emails a day with links to articles I can’t read and don’t care about.

Now the question is: how much trouble will I go to in order to have them fix this or refund my precious $1.20?  One thing is certain: I’ve marked my calendar to make sure I discontinue my subscription before the regular price kicks in.

 

 

Good luck with talking to someone overseas. I would call the Main number of the Sun and ask for the manager of Digital  Sales and Operations  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Going Underground said:

But most of the announcers are not from Baltimore, except for two I think.So don't they still have to fly them to Baltimore and put them up at hotels. Granted not flying to each city but still have to get them to Baltimore. 

Announcers typically fly on the same charters as the team. Basically you just got to put them up in hotel rooms and give them per diem. It's chump change to Billionaires, but any way they can save a buck they will. To hell with the fans. Who cares if the announcers can't get flyball calls right and are little bit behind the action on some plays, right? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

As an aside, I recently took a Sun promotion offering their online paper for 10 cents per week for 12 weeks.   I figured unlimited reading of Nathan Ruiz for three months was worth $1.20.

Well, now I can’t get the danged thing to work.  I’m getting locked out because it says I’ve reached my limit of five free articles.  When I try to log in, it tells me to use a social media button that doesn’t exist.   I called them and they said it would be fixed in 48 hours, but it’s been 10 days and still not fixed.

Meanwhile, the Sun is sending me 3-4 emails a day with links to articles I can’t read and don’t care about.

Now the question is: how much trouble will I go to in order to have them fix this or refund my precious $1.20?  One thing is certain: I’ve marked my calendar to make sure I discontinue my subscription before the regular price kicks in.

 

 

I only miss the sports coverage of the Sun, but I wouldn't give them a dime if I found it on the streets. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, JimGinSP said:

No truth to the rumor that The Nashville Tennessean has a reporter on the trip.  
They could afford it, Nashville Tennessean daily circulation is 95,311.  Sun 43,000. Merle Haggard sang “big city turn me loose and set me free”.  Which is “big city”?

Nashville is a growing city while Baltimore remains a dying one unfortunately. Baltimore survives on it's surrounding county citizens, but many of them have stopped going into the city due to it's out of control crime and violence problems. 

I used to love the city. Now I only go in when I absolutely have to. Went to Nashville back in 2020 and walked around freely and never felt unsafe. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Baltimore Sun is owned now by a hedge fund as part of a conglomeration of other newspapers (this has been true for a while, just the hedge fund has changed). They are uninterested in reporting or covering local news or paying reporters, but instead in the value of the assets - which they will sell off. Subscriptions and readership make money - they just don't make a newspaper as much money, so if all you care about is maximizing profits for shareholders, then you don't pay reporters (it's the difference between caring about net profits vs gross profits). There have been several stories about it. As previously mentioned a new Baltimore paper, the Baltimore banner, is in the process of being launched with a different funding/profit model.

The Angelos' don't own the Sun, and they don't pay the salaries of Sun employees. Fundamentally, the Sun - or any other independent media, covering a team is different then the team paying for its coverage ie masn. 

(as an aside, Nashville's crime rate is above the national avg, but if you're a tourist visiting a city you go to the tourist areas, and aren't watching the daily news about a place. You're also perfectly safe walking around the Baltimore Harbor or Harbor East) 

https://247wallst.com/city/nashville-tn-is-among-the-most-dangerous-us-metro-areas/#:~:text=Up 8% from 2019%2C the,nearly 29% year over year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, O-The-Memories said:

I don't know how the Baltimore Sun stays in business. They had so many layoffs and their subscriber base is way down too. Online subscriptions can't make that much money, so I understand why they might make concessions.

Angelos however, has more than enough money to send an announcing crew to follow the team. The cost over the course of a season to send guys on the road, put them up in hotels, and pay for food can't be more than a couple million dollars a year. That would make a lot of us happier, and ticking off an already small fanbase isn't a good idea. I despise having to listen to the B-crew on audio when I can't even stream the Orioles in Southern Maryland without being blacked out of the video feed. Sign one less Jordan Lyles and you pay for a few years of good audio. It's indefensible. 

It’s no where near a couple million. 
 

season is 6 months = 24 weeks / 2 = 12 weeks on the road. The commentators can use the team charter that is already an allocated cost. 
 

a non smoking king in almost any much Hilton Garden or Marriott Courtyard Is less than $200. Add a food stipend of $100 per day. 96 days X 2 would be $57,000. Even if add 2 camera/producer guys that still only $114,000. If you double that to cover a rental car and any other travel incidentals your still under a quarter million.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, JimGinSP said:

No truth to the rumor that The Nashville Tennessean has a reporter on the trip.  
They could afford it, Nashville Tennessean daily circulation is 95,311.  Sun 43,000. Merle Haggard sang “big city turn me loose and set me free”.  Which is “big city”?

Didn't you learn in school not to trust Wikipedia for facts, or to at least click through to the source to make sure it was accurate? That 95,311 figure is extremely outdated, while the Sun's 43,000 figure is as of 2021.

The Tennessean's daily circulation has plummeted in recent years, and they recently announced that they were going stop publishing a Saturday edition. The most recent daily circulation that I can find is this November 2019 article puts it at 35,560. I would be surprised if it hadn't dropped since then, given that they are planning to stop publishing a Saturday edition.

All newspapers are in trouble, but The Tennessean is in worse shape than the Sun.

  • Upvote 1
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, seak05 said:

The Baltimore Sun is owned now by a hedge fund as part of a conglomeration of other newspapers (this has been true for a while, just the hedge fund has changed). They are uninterested in reporting or covering local news or paying reporters, but instead in the value of the assets - which they will sell off. Subscriptions and readership make money - they just don't make a newspaper as much money, so if all you care about is maximizing profits for shareholders, then you don't pay reporters (it's the difference between caring about net profits vs gross profits). There have been several stories about it. As previously mentioned a new Baltimore paper, the Baltimore banner, is in the process of being launched with a different funding/profit model.

The Angelos' don't own the Sun, and they don't pay the salaries of Sun employees. Fundamentally, the Sun - or any other independent media, covering a team is different then the team paying for its coverage ie masn. 

(as an aside, Nashville's crime rate is above the national avg, but if you're a tourist visiting a city you go to the tourist areas, and aren't watching the daily news about a place. You're also perfectly safe walking around the Baltimore Harbor or Harbor East) 

https://247wallst.com/city/nashville-tn-is-among-the-most-dangerous-us-metro-areas/#:~:text=Up 8% from 2019%2C the,nearly 29% year over year.

 I understand that the Sun has to authorize to send reporters to travel with the team. I was just saying it is sad that the Orioles go to the West Coast and one local reporter is witn the team,from MASN. I know people say who cares but many stories have been broken traveling with the team and many books written.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

Didn't you learn in school not to trust Wikipedia for facts, or to at least click through to the source to make sure it was accurate? That 95,311 figure is extremely outdated, while the Sun's 43,000 figure is as of 2021.

The Tennessean's daily circulation has plummeted in recent years, and they recently announced that they were going stop publishing a Saturday edition. The most recent daily circulation that I can find is this November 2019 article puts it at 35,560. I would be surprised if it hadn't dropped since then, given that they are planning to stop publishing a Saturday edition.

All newspapers are in trouble, but The Tennessean is in worse shape than the Sun.

Not sure in worse shape but as you said most newspapers are in trouble and many stopping  print editions ,some days a week or totally.

Heard rumors the Sun might stop their print edition on Saturday and looking at another day.Also the Baltimore Banner will give them competition  with a very rich owner willing to put alot of money into it  Be it only an online newspaper.Heard they are still trying to get Jon Meoli,former Oriole beat writer for the Sun to join them 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Announcers typically fly on the same charters as the team. Basically you just got to put them up in hotel rooms and give them per diem. i's chump change to Billionaires, but any way they can save a buck they will. To hell with the fans. Who cares if the announcers can't get flyball calls right and are little bit behind the action on some plays, right? 

I'm just asking... is there more than sending the announcers on the road than just the announcers?   Does a producer have to go with them?   Is there equipment that the visiting team brings into the booth or do they just use what's there?   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, SteveA said:

I'm just asking... is there more than sending the announcers on the road than just the announcers?   Does a producer have to go with them?   Is there equipment that the visiting team brings into the booth or do they just use what's there?   

The producer does typically go as well, but not sure about equipment. I would imagine they have to bring their own and the producer does most of that stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...