Darin Gantt no longer covering Panthers

[Marguide]

Going to miss Darin. Hopefully he lands on his feet quickly and can look forward to bigger and better gigs down the road.

This really sucks.

[Mr. Scot]

He's not out of a job. Just isn't covering the Panthers any longer.

From what he posted, and what Meat heard, it's just an economic decision.

Sadly for him, he'll no longer be doing something he clearly loves to do.

Joe Person will be the Observer's main guy for Panthers news now.

[Sam Mills Fan]

I don't buy the "financial reasons" argument. Panthers news is what drives charlotteobserver.com and I assume it drives the paper as well. It has to be one of the only parts of the entire paper that's actually making money.

[ammofan]

Whatttttt? Terrible news...

[frash.exe]

Gantt was good at getting quick insider info relative to the other writers, but as far as insight goes he was pretty ordinary. I guess that would make him the best of the bunch because the others were worse.

Joe person sounds like the name of a sample driver's license in a manual

[Mr. Scot]

As I understand it, even over the past season Gantt's primary employment would likely still have been the Herald, not the Observer. McClatchy just used him in the Observer as well. The Winthrop assignment is closer to home for the Herald.

He really only appeared under the Observer byline for a single season, so he hadn't been there as long as others (with the exception of Person).

Not saying it doesn't suck - no offense to Person - but I don't think it's as draconian as folks make it sound.

I wonder if the Herald will even have its own Panthers news anymore. My guess is they'll just reprint the Observer's articles.

[Tarheels23]

[Zod]

Purely an economic decision. Newspapers are going the way of the dodo. have been for years. The sports sections are next in line to be downsized to nothingness as the interweb has pretty much taken over 99% of the sports news. The result? Fewer sports reporters with a larger reach.

[Fiz]

Purely an economic decision. Newspapers are going the way of the dodo. have been for years. The sports sections are next in line to be downsized to nothingness as the interweb has pretty much taken over 99% of the sports news. The result? Fewer sports reporters with a larger reach.

kinda hard to buy it was an economic decision when they hired his replacement months in advance.

[Mr. Scot]

Purely an economic decision. Newspapers are going the way of the dodo. have been for years. The sports sections are next in line to be downsized to nothingness as the interweb has pretty much taken over 99% of the sports news. The result? Fewer sports reporters with a larger reach.

I wonder how many will start to follow the Times example and charge for online content.

I expect the printed paper will be gone entirely somewhere down the road.

[CRA]

kinda hard to buy it was an economic decision when they hired his replacement months in advance.

is his replacement purely a Carolina beat writer? or does he cover a broader range of things?

Gantt's reassignment was simply Winthrop. I didn't say just Winthrop sports. The Herald could figure the Observer could handle that role and they could cut that from their budget.

[g5jamz]

Gantt gets Rosinskied.

He'll be a better man because of it.

[Mr. Scot]

is his replacement purely a Carolina beat writer? or does he cover a broader range of things?

Gantt's reassignment was simply Winthrop. I didn't say just Winthrop sports. The Herald could figure the Observer could handle that role and they could cut that from their budget.

Person covers only the Panthers, from what I've seen.

I expect the Herald will now just reprint the Observer's Panthers coverage rather than assigning someone else.

(they've already been pretty much doing that with Gantt there anyway)

[Darth Bobo]

Regarding Panthers involvement in his reassignment, I think that can be shelved right from the bat. He's accused (unfairly, IMHO) by several here of being a mouthpiece for the Panthers. If that had any substance to it, then the Panthers would injure their advocate by encouraging his replacement. In other words, if the Panthers felt he was in their pocket, then it would not be in their best interest to undermine a reporter who doesn't critique every decision they make, to guess their next moves, and to speculate on dramas that didn't happen. Now, in terms of what we might hear in the future, all bets are off.

As it is for fans, Darin's leaving is a bad thing for the Panthers organization too.