Posts Tagged ‘los angeles times’
Friday, December 12th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
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.
.jpg) 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.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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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
Posted in Industry, Racing Media, bloodhorse, thoroughbred times | 13 Comments »
Sunday, July 20th, 2008
Saratoga typically dominates the racing scene in late July and August, so it was good news for Del Mar that the West Coast track had its opening a week earlier than the Spa this year, putting it in the national spotlight at least for a few days.
And a very good debut it was, with the largest opening-day crowd in history – despite an increase in parking and admission prices, soaring gasoline prices and a spiraling economy. A stubborn TVG (do they have any friends left in the industry?) continues to make it difficult for fans to wager online, and that factor had to contribute to a 10% drop in handle.
Last year’s problems with the newly installed Polytrack (the afternoon heat softened the wax, making it more like mushytrack) seem to have been corrected, and the race times in the afternoon are several seconds faster than they were in 2007. Just as important, the track is safe – so far. But horseplayers can’t be blamed for holding back a bit on their Del Mar wagers if they’re uncertain about the kind of track they’ll be getting. More closers than front-runners seem to be winning, but the track is playing fair.
Speaking of playing fair (or not), why did the controlling members of the Breeders’ Cup board of members and trustees gang up to keep NetJets founder Richard Santulli off the 14-member operating board of directors in a recent election? Santulli is a highly respected businessman who brings everything to the table you’d think the Breeders’ Cup board needs. Apparently, however, he lacked the one thing the controlling members wanted: a nodding head.
One fellow the controlling board members favor is Terry Finley, the founder and president of West Point Thoroughbreds, a successful racing partnership. The week after Finley was re-elected to the Breeders’ Cup board, the organization teamed up with West Point in a creative promotion for the popular ESPY Awards on ESPN that gave all the participating celebrities and athletes the opportunity to redeem a free share in a West Point horse and enjoy a free, VIP trip to the Breeders’ Cup championships. West Point in turn would be able to promote the celebrity/athletes as a West Point partner. No matter how innocent the choice of West Point may have been, it’s amazing no one within the Breeders’ Cup saw the potential to read this as another good ol’ boy deal of “we’ll scratch your back if you scratch ours.”
A guest editorial submitted to the Paulick Report by Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield is sure to have heads shaking with disagreement in some corners over Whitfield’s proposal to amend the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 to address some of the issues the industry is struggling with, including medication. Kentucky’s newly configured racing commission and the California Horse Racing Board took steps this past week to regulate anabolic steroids, and that’s a good thing, but Whitfield’s efforts may be gaining momentum in Congress.
A Paulick Report reader called it typical for the “land of fruits and nuts” when Calilfornia Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed former actress Bo Derek to the California Horse Racing Board, but what’s wrong with having someone whose life is largely committed to the protection of animals (horses in particular) on a governmental board that regulates horse racing? We weren’t the only one to call the appointment a “10.”
Interesting that on the same day the Paulick Report was writing about the death of print coverage of horse racing (at least in the Los Angeles Times, the nation’s fourth-largest newspaper that axed its two racing writers) , Jess Jackson was stimulating interest with an online poll asking the public to help him guide Curlin through the rest of his racing career. Sure, it’s a gimmick, but it’s a smart one that got a lot of people talking about racing’s biggest star instead of racing’s biggest problems. Within a couple of days, more than 10,000 people had voted in the poll. Go here to vote or see the current results of the poll.
Anyone else wondering what’s up at the Downs? Churchill Downs, the publicly traded company cut a couple of dozen jobs this past week in the wake of a falling share price. CEO Bob Evans hasn’t pulled a rabbit out of his hat yet, and neither has the team of techies he put together in California’s Silicon Valley to develop new products and ideas. Confrontations with horsemen over distribution of account wagering revenue haven’t been productive to Churchill Downs or the industry.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, bo derek, bob evans, Breeders' Cup, breeders' cup board, California Horse Racing Board, churchill downs, Curlin, Del Mar, ed whitfield, espy awards, interstate horse racing act, jess jackson, los angeles times, Paulick Report, polytrack, Ray Paulick, richard santulli, saratoga, Terry Finley, west point thoroughbreds
Posted in Week in Review | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
The two full-time horse racing writers at the Los Angeles Times, Larry Stewart and Bob Mieszerski, were among the 150 editorial employees of the struggling paper to be terminated on Monday.
Times publisher David Hiller also was axed, the paper reported on Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Times has the fourth-largest circulation among daily papers in the United States, with circulation of over one million. Like many mainstream media print publications, however, the Times has fallen on hard times and has gone through several rounds of staff and budget cuts. The Times is owned by the Tribune Co. of Chicago, which also owns the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and eight other newspapers. The editor of the Chicago Tribune also resigned Monday, suggesting turmoil at that paper, too.
News of the terminations of Stewart and Mieszerski was first reported at www.sportsjournalists.com and picked up on a fan’s forum on the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s Web site. The Paulick Report confirmed the terminations through sources.
The loss of the two full-time racing writers came just before the opening of the Del Mar meeting on Wednesday and three months before the Breeders’ Cup comes to Santa Anita Park in the Los Angeles area. It remains to be seen whether anyone will replace Stewart and Mieszerski, who both were longtime employees of the paper. Stewart was a media critic before moving to the horse racing beat about a year ago (following the retirement of full-time racing writer Bill Christine, who took an early buyout). Mieszerski reported on racing and was a handicapper for the paper, making selections and a graded morning line for the Southern California tracks.
There are no longer any writers working full-time on horse racing at California daily newspapers, with the exception of those employed by Daily Racing Form. There are only a handful of full-time racing writers working at papers in the U.S.
UPDATE: In Wednesday’s San Diego County edition of the LA Times, there was no reference to opening day at Del Mar, and no listing of entries or handicapping selections. The LA Times apparently has completely dropped its horse racing coverage. This doesn’t bode well for the Breeders’ Cup later this year.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: bill christine, bob mieszerski, chicago tribune, larry stewart, los angeles times, Paulick Report, Racing Media, Ray Paulick, tribune company, www.dmtc.com/forum, www.sportsjournalists.com
Posted in Racing Media | 4 Comments »
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