UPDATED: BLOODHORSE STAFF CUT 10%; WAPO DROPS RACING COVERAGE
The news just keeps getting worse for print publications and horse racing journalists who work for them. During the same week the company that owns the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun declared bankruptcy, my old employer, the Bloodhorse, initiated its third round of job cuts in the past year and the Washington Post notified its full-time turf writer, John Scheinman, that it will no longer cover horse racing, and he will be out of a job Jan. 1.
These are tough times for newspapers and magazines, which are struggling to adapt to different readership habits, are faced with new online competition, and are suffering from the economic crisis that has affected nearly every business and industry in the United States.
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Bloodhorse, whose weekly magazine has been steadily losing advertising market share to its chief rival, Thoroughbred Times, since former NTRA Purchasing chief Joe Morris was hired as Times publisher in mid-2007, notified employees in several departments this week that their positions are being eliminated. In a letter to advertisers, Bloodhorse president Stacy Bearse (pictured, left) said the company is trying to reduce expenses by $1.5 million, will eliminate unprofitable products and cut its staff by 10%. This comes after two earlier rounds of multi-departmental firings. The Thoroughbred Times has thus far been able to avoid layoffs, probably the result of its market share gains against the Bloodhorse, in both the weekly magazine and the annual stallion book that each publication produces.
Bloodhorse announced recently that it is cutting advertising rates by 5%, less than three months after notifying advertisers that rates were being increased for what I believe was the sixth consecutive year.
On a personal note, it’s sad for me to see some very good people and dedicated employees lose their jobs. Among those terminated were individuals who have been with the Bloodhorse for decades, and whose contributions led to its position as the market leader. The circumstances that led to the company’s downhill slide were not their fault, though they were the ones who ultimately paid the price.
The same can be said of the Washington Post’s John Scheinman, who has provided racing coverage with great enthusiasm and insight for the past eight years for the nation’s fifth-largest paper. Scheinman took over the racing beat when Andy Beyer retired from full-time duties. This will mark the end of 130 years of horse racing coverage in the Post, Scheinman said.
In a note to friends and family, Scheinman wrote: “
The professional love of my life, journalism, is in grave peril these days, a peril I believe is not just the result of a changing world and depressed economy. Much is self-inflicted as those in charge are not minding the foundation of the store during complex changes that are altering the dynamics of the industry.”Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times (fourth largest in the country) eliminated its racing coverage and fired its two horse racing writers and handicappers (though after reader protests it brought back limited coverage). So did the Philadelphia Inquirer, the nation’s eighth-largest paper, which terminated its racing writer in late summer.
UPDATE: Neil Milbert, the veteran turf writer for the now-bankrupt Chicago Tribune, was a victim in the latest round of newsroom cuts at the Chicago Tribune last week, according to published reports. The Trib used to employ two full-time turf writers; now, apparently, there are none.
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Tags: blood-horse, bloodhorse, joe morris, john scheinman, journalism, los angeles times, ntra purchasing, Paulick Report, philadlephia inquirer, Ray Paulick, stacy bearse, thoroughbred media, thoroughbred times, thoroughbred trade magazines
December 12th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
And yet Greg Avioli, Peggy Hendershot and Keith Chamblin - all in leadership roles in the NTRA and now Breeders’ Cup for more than 10 years - are still receiving fat paychecks! Who ever said life was fair?
December 12th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
As far as I’m concerned, racing coverage at the Post as been gone solidly for over five years. Like I said before, they spend more paper print on high school sports(who gives a rat’s patoot…save for Mom and Dad) in one day than they did on Curlin, BC, KD, TC and issues facing racing combined for many months.
Short sided, stock ticker tracking, and Brittney, Angelina rabid yahoos. BTW, I’ve tried to cancel my Post subscription twice for poor service and lack of content. It will be official this weekend. The recycling bin where I drop my newspapers off is becoming less and less full with each drop off; not just me, everyone is buying print press less and less.
December 12th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
What is fair about Thoroughbred Racing , period? Every program is for everything but the horses who make it all happen for everyone. Yet they are hauled off to slaughter to dispose of when they can’t compete.
December 13th, 2008 at 1:11 am
it wasn’t that long ago that i couldn’t wait for the blood-horse to arrive in the mail even though it took forever to get to california. now i rarely open it after having read the tdn, paulick report and other sites. this is probably my last year as a subscriber after many years. good bye old friend.
December 13th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Isn’t it ironic that the Baltimore Sun has knocked racing for years and the fact that it is a dying sport. Well look who is dying now. Ha Ha
December 13th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I read John Scheinman’s good-bye on the Paulick Report. He made some very good observations and pronouncements. I loved reading his op-pieces in the WASHPost and Andy’s too. 6 football journalists?…now tell me where the money is being wasted at WAPooo?
Best wishes sir… thanks for your insight and I hope you frequent the Paulick Report more than once in awhile with a feature/Op-Ed piece. And while I get the BH (it was a gift), I prefer the TBTimes…much success for you there too. Look forward to you contributions.
December 13th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Re Baltimore Sun
Like so many ‘news rooms’ they start off with their opinion and work backwards i.e. they choose to ’see’ facts and third party opinion that fit their agenda. It’s all perfectly legitimate journalism. They are not in a court of law - they don’t have to tell the whole truth about anything. This makes it a wonderful profession for political activists. No wonder they are going out of business.
December 13th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Thanks for the kind words, Denise, even though I never wrote op-ed pieces in the Post.
Some of the reactions I read here, I’m reading way too much everywhere: People gleefully saying ‘good riddance’ to newspapers. Anyone who uses the term “dead tree” and wishes newspapers gone, to me, is part of the problem. Newspapers need all the support they can get. I’m sorry I was laid off, but I wish newspapers nothing but the best because, again, they are critical to the well being of our society. Do not take them for granted. Read them, learn from them, argue with them, disagree with them, praise them, correct them, but don’t ignore them. Tell them what you want to see. They are supposed to be working for you. They are your eyes. Keep them open.
– John S
December 14th, 2008 at 1:53 am
I’ve been a newspaper junkie all my life and, in fact, my first job was as a sportswriter for a small town weekly, but the newspaper business has disturbed me for a long time. When you attend a sporting event, witness a play that decides the game’s outcome, and then don’t see it mentioned in media accounts, you have to wonder about the coverage of news items. Contemporary newspaper writers might have all kinds of credits from journalism school but how many of them have paid their dues working their way through a newsroom and how many of them actually have an extensive knowledge of the subjects they’re covering? It’s disheartening to see the devolution of coverage and writing technique but hopefully newspapers will survive in some form.
December 14th, 2008 at 6:31 am
John…when I used the term “op-ed” piece, I was using it in a very general way. I wasn’t using it in the traditional journalistic sense. Of course what you wrote isn’t the same as that “hallowed page” the WP Editors control…..my bad.
You’re features in the Sports Section do have allot of your interpretation and insight in them (e.g. assessment of a race, matchups, industry, research and reporting, etc).
You are very correct. The print press is a vital part of our information process in this democracy. As I said, so much I see or hear on TV/Radio news comes (lifted) from the reporters in the print press. So the print press must be doing something right.
Again, best of luck…I know we will be hearing from you soon, back on the trackbeat. With racing as screwed up as it is now, you’ll be busy for a long time.
December 14th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I cancelled my Blood-Horse subscription over a year ago. The magazine was always coming late, sometimes 10-14 days AFTER the date on the cover. Whenever I would sign up for a subscription extension, I would get a SECOND issue of the magazine instead of an expiration date for the current subscription farther into the future. Quality was going down there long before the current cutbacks.
December 14th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
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December 16th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
[...] According to our friends at the Paulick Report (here), the Washington Post has decided that it will no longer cover horse [...]