Jay Mariotti To The Chicago Tribune? Maybe Kinda Not As Crazy As It Sounds
Hey, Jay Mariotti news is back! Last we heard (and by “heard,” I mean “made up in the last 10 seconds”) Jay was sitting in his basement in Vernon Hills, writing password-protected posts on Blogger about how much the Bears ruled on Sunday night and how, despite all odds, the Bears embody Chicago’s hardworking, blue-collar spirit more than ever before. (Saturday, he was writing about how much Lovie Smith needs to be fired. Hey, a guy can quit, but he can’t lose that windsocky touch that makes him so overwhelmingly popular. Duh!)
Rest assured, Jay-Jay is actively seeking a new job. Where will it be? His renowned “Web sites?” New York, a “market that competes?” Or will he pull the most shocking move of all — going across town to his longtime rival, the Chicago Tribune? At least one blog hears things that way, so you know it’s definitely, 100 percent happening:
Sources tell Chi-ball that Jay Mariotti has had talks with the Chicago Tribune. Mariotti, can (sic) not write for another newspaper until his contract runs out with the Chicago Sun-Times. There is nothing however stopping the Trib from hiring the controversial Mariotti to be strictly an internet columnist. According to the source, this would not be a popular move within the Tribune staff.
Having been in the blog game for a little while, you can rest assured that this “source” is likely a friend — or former fellow journalism school attendee, or a father — that works in the Tribune newsroom and is gossiping with little recourse. That’s assuming there is a source. Not to doubt Chi Ball (nothing but love for those young blog hustlers) but as there’s absolutely no way to find out if this is true or not until it happens, and it’s sort of insane to think about, there’s not much else to say.
The notion that Mariotti would take a job at the paper that so mercilessly destroyed him even while he was still at the Sun-Times is the very definition of far-fetched. Surely the paper’s employees — who hate Mariotti like Sarah Palin hates interviews — would revolt. Surely this could never work.
Except — what if this isn’t that crazy? What if this could actually work?
Here’s the breakdown: If the Tribune does hire Mariotti as an online-only columnist, they’d immediately get a boost to their sports desk’s national profile. They’d also add an incredibly strong, provocative voice to their commentary, which, despite David Haugh’s analytical strengths, can sometimes be stodgy and boring.
The Tribune would also boost its Web site. Say Mariotti blogs all day, or writes short takes once a morning. He wouldn’t be stealing column inches from Rick Morrissey or Mike Downey, and his name would grab big eyeballs from piqued fans and bloggers in search of something to eviscerate. Tangible business benefits like that aren’t easy to find.
There are obvious downsides. Mariotti, obviously, is not well-liked, and would eventually want to be part of the newsroom, and that sounds like a recipe for revolt. It’s hard to imagine his first day in the office — steely eyes glaring over cubicle walls, etc. What’s more, hiring an expensive firebrand like Mariotti after the recent buyouts of respected senior sportswriters like Skip Myslenski borders on the obscene.
So, Tribune, if you want to make a move for Mariotti, you need to do something revolutionary. Don’t just hire him — make him the city’s first online-only columnist. Let him write from home. Build your Web presence. Attract eyeballs. Make more money. And whatever you do, keep him away from the newsroom.
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Glad we were able to find room for the Mouthpiece Blog's obligatory liberal interjection here in an article about Jay Mariotti.
Not sure if I should be impressed or just begrudgingly settle in as this is the content we will see in the future?
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