Michael Russo leaving Star Tribune

[Vanimal46]

Michael Russo announced via Twitter he's leaving the Star Tribune for another opportunity.

 

He did not say in his statement whether or not he will continue being the beat writer for the Minnesota Wild.

 

Regardless, this is a huge blow for the Star Tribune. Russo is one of the most respected beat reporters in the NHL, if not all of sports beat reporting. If he's no longer covering the Wild, he will be sorely missed.

[Mr. Brooks]

Good for him. Selfishly sucks for me.

Best best writer in town by a mile.

[SF Twins Fan]

Definitely sucks for the fans of the Minnesota Wild as like others have said he is such a quality beat writer.  The most thorough coverage for any writer across MN sports.  There have been rumors he's going to The Athletic and if this is true hopefully he'll still be covering MN Wild.

[Yoke]

That's a big loss for the Strib. Russo is a hell of a writer.

 

I was thinking after I read his announcement that maybe he's starting a Twin Cities part of The Athletic. I'd definitely be spending the $5 a month or whatever for that. Not only to get Russo, but also Justin Bourne's hockey columns and Ken Rosenthal's baseball writing.

[Intramural Legend]

 

That's a big loss for the Strib. Russo is a hell of a writer.

 

I was thinking after I read his announcement that maybe he's starting a Twin Cities part of The Athletic. I'd definitely be spending the $5 a month or whatever for that. Not only to get Russo, but also Justin Bourne's hockey columns and Ken Rosenthal's baseball writing.

 

The rumor I heard is he is joining the Athletic.  I haven't heard if it is going to be him leading a MN chapter though.

[Vanimal46]

Never heard of the Athletic prior to yesterday afternoon. Now they landed 2 big hires in Rosenthal and Russo. Both with a huge number of twitter followers. I don't know if I'll ever subscribe to the website, but I like what they're doing so far. 

[Vanimal46]

 

The rumor I heard is he is joining the Athletic.  I haven't heard if it is going to be him leading a MN chapter though.

 

That would be nice if it were the case. But I'm sure they're going to have him write national stories as he's one of the most plugged in reporters in the sport. 

[bighat]

 

Never heard of the Athletic prior to yesterday afternoon. Now they landed 2 big hires in Rosenthal and Russo. Both with a huge number of twitter followers. I don't know if I'll ever subscribe to the website, but I like what they're doing so far. 

 

I just heard of The Athletic this morning, as Rosenthal's article on the Twins appeared on my Google News feed. Liked the look of it.

[USNMCPO]

I heard about The Athletic when Rosenthal moved there. It appears to be an outlet for writers to actually write about sports. The Fox Sports websites going all video and the four letter behemoth adding more video and cutting writers seems to be a big catalyst. I am old school and much prefer to read and digest information than having it visually displayed and partially discussed. I am not against videos, but prefer reading. The Athletic is amassing a great deal of talent and I will probably subscribe. I am getting the feeling that Russo will be staying here as the Wild's reporter.

[Yoke]

I heard of it a few months ago, but it was Toronto, so I didn't really care.

 

Then a few weeks back Justin Bourne came back to writing (he wrote for Yahoo, then The Score, then he joined the Toronto Marlies as a video coach). That about pushed me into a subscription, but not quite. His system posts are really informative, and he comes at a lot of things from a players perspective.

 

Then Rosenthal, who is  one of my favorite baseball writers joined, and I about jumped in.

 

If Russo went there, I'd probably sign up no matter what. I'd definitely prefer it if he was Wild focused, though. I don't even know who the Pioneer Press uses for Wild coverage anymore, and I can't imagine the replacement at the Strib will be great (I'll give them a chance though).

 

I like to read about sports. That's why I come to this site, that's why I follow hockey writers on Twitter. I want to read interesting things. Video doesn't really do much for me. I watched the games. Unless your breaking down something on video that will explain a play or a player, I don't care. I'm not trying to watch videos of people talking about sports. If I wanted that, I'd watch ESPN (I don't watch any debate shows).

 

 

 

This post went on far longer than I anticipated. I like hockey. Is it hockey time yet?

[Vanimal46]

 

I like to read about sports. That's why I come to this site, that's why I follow hockey writers on Twitter. I want to read interesting things. Video doesn't really do much for me. I watched the games. Unless your breaking down something on video that will explain a play or a player, I don't care. I'm not trying to watch videos of people talking about sports. If I wanted that, I'd watch ESPN (I don't watch any debate shows).

 

Couldn't agree more. I don't watch sports as much as I used to, but I still enjoy reading about it. It sounds like the Athletic is making an ideal website.... All articles, no videos, no ads, no fluff. 

 

This concept makes so much sense for people in the newspaper industry. I don't know why the big players in that industry don't combine efforts since their industry is dying off. 

[drjim]

 

Couldn't agree more. I don't watch sports as much as I used to, but I still enjoy reading about it. It sounds like the Athletic is making an ideal website.... All articles, no videos, no ads, no fluff. 

 

This concept makes so much sense for people in the newspaper industry. I don't know why the big players in that industry don't combine efforts since their industry is dying off. 

 

It's not clear that this model is financially viable. Let's hope so.

 

The newspaper industry prints paper. It might make sense as a media model, new technology always leads to upheaval.  I do think they are trying to do it right. High quality, some free articles, then a subscription. 

[Pardon My Dinger]

I don't think it's been confirmed where he's going, but I can't make any sense of why Russo would leave this job to write at a startup, and I can't imagine why they'd have any desire hire someone of Russo's stature away to provide small market regional hockey coverage for them.

 

I'm usually wrong about stuff, and I know he said he wouldn't do it, but until it's confirmed, I have to believe this has something to do with Vegas.

[Yoke]

 

I don't think it's been confirmed where he's going, but I can't make any sense of why Russo would leave this job to write at a startup, and I can't imagine why they'd have any desire hire someone of Russo's stature away to provide small market regional hockey coverage for them.

I'm usually wrong about stuff, and I know he said he wouldn't do it, but until it's confirmed, I have to believe this has something to do with Vegas.

I don't know, they did hire Aaron Portzline to cover the Columbus Blue Jackets, so it's possible they get him to start up a Minneapolis division.

 

I hope it's not a specific team. I don't know that I'd follow him on Twitter if it was all updates on some team I don't care about. If he was national, I'd stick around.

[Vanimal46]

 

I don't think it's been confirmed where he's going, but I can't make any sense of why Russo would leave this job to write at a startup, and I can't imagine why they'd have any desire hire someone of Russo's stature away to provide small market regional hockey coverage for them.

I'm usually wrong about stuff, and I know he said he wouldn't do it, but until it's confirmed, I have to believe this has something to do with Vegas.

 

My brother was listening to KFAN yesterday while Lavelle E Neal was on the radio. Lavelle spoiled it by saying Russo was heading to the Athletic. 

[Pardon My Dinger]

My brother was listening to KFAN yesterday while Lavelle E Neal was on the radio. Lavelle spoiled it by saying Russo was heading to the Athletic.

Ah. Ok, then.

[Vanimal46]

 

Ah. Ok, then.

 

As far as your other quesiton why Russo would join a start up.... I'm assuming this website has heavy backing from the owners, or other investors around the country. They already have some heavy hitters on staff, namely former SI folks who made the transition after SI went with mostly videos and other crap.

 

Also, I'm assuming that he's going to have a big role either starting a Minneapolis branch, or covering the NHL on a national level. 

[Yoke]

Pierre LeBrun just joined up with The Athletic.

 

If this thing stays at $50 a year, I think it's a steal. (Annual buying is $4 a month, or you can do monthly for $8)

[twinsnorth49]

Pierre LeBrun just joined up with The Athletic.

 

If this thing stays at $50 a year, I think it's a steal. (Annual buying is $4 a month, or you can do monthly for $8)

LeBrun alone is worth $4.00 a month for hockey coverage.