Hartford Courant slashes sports section, answers readers

"Sports Editor Jeff Otterbein explained to those who e-mailed and called that "when making choices of what to cut out of the Sports section, we were faced with a big challenge. We needed to cut the equivalent of one-half to two-thirds of a page each day. Something had to give.

• "Part of the reason we cut out what we did is because we wanted to keep content that is special to The Courant, from our coverage of high schools to UConn to other state colleges to the Patriots, Giants, Yankees, Red Sox, Wolf Pack, golf, auto racing, Connecticut Sun. And we still do provide coverage of the NBA and NHL, from columns and features to nightly roundups."

Otterbein assured that baseball box scores will be in the newspaper. He also said that the NHL and NBA box scores will return for the playoffs. The cuts will be re-evaluated next season, although Otterbein said he could not offer guarantees.

• "It is indicative of what appears to be a wholesale diminution of sports coverage," Jay Sicklick of Farmington wrote. "But I suppose this is merely another example of the eradication of the newspaper's infrastructure, something your parent company has become quite adept at over the past several years. The paper still toils without a political columnist since Michele Jacklin's departure.

"I find it ironic that The Courant continues to trumpet Hartford and the region as a `major league' player and advocates for the addition of significant cultural and sporting venues and attractions while simultaneously reducing the quality of its own product to a `minor league' venture. ...

• In an age where the print media is fighting to remain relevant and viable, The Courant appears to be doing everything it can to declare its irrelevance." "

From Hartford Courant article by Karen Hunter, 1/21/07, via Romenesko/Poynter.org

• 'La de da, la de da, la la...' from the movie, Annie Hall

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