AJC Changes for Hawks beat?

[macdaddy]

I noticed today that Chris Vivlamore's picture as now showing on the AJC site as the Hawks beat writer. It may just be that Michael Cunningham is on vacation or something i don't know. His twitter feed https://twitter.com/ajchawks is still there and has recent stuff. Anyone heard anything?

Edited September 24, 2012 by macdaddy

[lethalweapon3]

C-Viv may just be filling in. MC's Tweet re: the Falcons' running back situation doesn't make it appear he's got designs on going back to football (he covered the Dolphins in SoFla before coming here).~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

And on that note, C-Viv's report on the NEW hawksprdude (or whatever his Twitter handle will be):

http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2012/09/24/atlanta-hawks-narain-named-vp-of-public-relations/

The Hawks named Garin Narain as Vice President of Public Relations, the team announced Monday.

Narain joins the Hawks after spending the past nine years in the basketball communications department of the Cavaliers, most recently as director of basketball communications.

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Narain attended the University of Florida.

Looks like Ferry likes his old colleagues. Not sure how long he headed the Cavs, but anybody in that PR office who survived The Decision aftermath must have something positive going for them.

~lw3

[MaceCase]

Super-Slueth Machttp://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2012/09/24/handing-off/MC has moved on to a corner office at the AJC.

[macdaddy]

Super-Slueth Mac http://blogs.ajc.com...24/handing-off/ MC has moved on to a corner office at the AJC.

Ah ha. Thanks for finding that. Something looked up. Change is good.

[MaceCase]

Yea, good heads up on that, Mac. When I saw it confirmed I was wondering out loud "wow, just how much power did they give Ferry?"I feel like he has a hand in everything Hawk related. Sekou had the inside sources, MC was great with stats and knowledge of the CBA so it remains to be seen what Vivlamore will bring although MC claims he'll still have a hand in Hawks coverage.

[PSSSHHHRRR87]

Per MC:

Whenever I’m asked why I call my blog people “my blog people” I always think back to something I wrote when I started the Hawks beat for the AJC.

“I care that you care. It’s my job to give you your Hawks fix and I take that responsibility seriously, but I hope we can have some fun along the way. My aim is to be informative, entertaining, fair, interesting and, above all else, honest.”

Now that I’m (sort of) moving on my hope is that, on balance, I’ve met those goals more often than not.

I’ve moved to a new role as a general assignment sports reporter for the AJC. Chris Vivlamore is now the AJC’s Hawks beat writer. He’s a real pro and I’m sure he will do good work giving you your Hawks fix.

In my new role I will be covering all of the teams we follow at the AJC. That means you’ll still see my byline on Hawks stories and on the blog, but you’ll also see it lots of other places in the newspaper and at ajc.com.

I sincerely appreciate my blog people for giving me an audience for the past 900-odd blog posts and who-knows-how-many tweets. When fellow beat hacks disparage Atlanta fans for not supporting the Hawks, I often remind them that there is a smart and passionate group of fans who love the team and the game.

Hopefully, I’ve enhanced your ability to do both.

Edited September 25, 2012 by PSSSHHHRRR87

[Swatguy]

Super-Slueth Mac http://blogs.ajc.com...24/handing-off/ MC has moved on to a corner office at the AJC.

I don't think it was a promotion for MC.

[Guest]

Chris Vivlamore sucks. He might be a nice guy, but there is absolutely nothing he brings to the table from a beat writer perspective. Sekou had great connections with the players and MC put a statistical twist as well as actually taking time to understand the CBA. Vivlamore was most recently the Thrashers beat writer. Thrashers! I am thoroughly disappointed in this move. It has almost made a blog or message board completely pointless as there is no information that we as fans can observe. If we do not have any information, we just have our thumbs up our ass talking about fantasy trades. That is what realgm is for.Sorry for the cranky post, I should probably have something to eat before I squawk.

[frosgrim]

I can say that MC's Falcons reporting is already significantly better than Ledbetter (who is by far the worst of the AJC beat writters). Hopefully MC can keep bringing it with the Hawks, but now he has the freedom to go deeper on some stories than he couldn't as a beat guy. CV was OK wih the Thrashers, but he's no MC or DOB (if you don't read the Braves beat, you should Dave O'Brien is very good).

Edited September 26, 2012 by frosgrim

[Colin]

Does anyone know how I would go about getting a job at AJC? I wouldn't mind being the new Hawks beat writer

[lethalweapon3]

Chris Vivlamore sucks. He might be a nice guy, but there is absolutely nothing he brings to the table from a beat writer perspective. Sekou had great connections with the players and MC put a statistical twist as well as actually taking time to understand the CBA. Vivlamore was most recently the Thrashers beat writer. Thrashers! I am thoroughly disappointed in this move. It has almost made a blog or message board completely pointless as there is no information that we as fans can observe. If we do not have any information, we just have our thumbs up our ass talking about fantasy trades. That is what realgm is for. Sorry for the cranky post, I should probably have something to eat before I squawk.

Hope you had a good lunch! I understand your frustrations with the move to the guy who was supposed to be the local hockey expert. But C-Viv's done OK when he's had to fill in for MC last year. I'd say give him some more time to hit his stride with the writeups and beat reports on a fulltime basis before going in on him. ~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

Just for kicks and giggles, a post I had back in May when the wheels were squeaking (to me, anyway) that MC might be looking for an out, based on the way he was going ham on Josephat Johnson...

http://hawksquawk.net/community/topic/368035-mc-vs-jjwhat-happened/#entry552298

At the risk of foolishly acting like I know MC's career arc, it appears to me that MC is coming to accept that his lot in life, for at least the next four years, involves extracting "mumble-mayne" quotes from Joe Johnson and somehow finding a way to give them substance. Mind you, it's not exactly the path to a Pulitzer. "Covering Dixie Like the Dew" is beginning to gnaw at him, and he's taking it out on #2, especially whenever he is playing like "Number Two."

He recognizes the workday for him would be far different had he remained with a newsrag somewhere in South Florida (take your pick: the Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, or the Sun-Sentinel that he left). Thanks to The Decision, he'd still be hanging out with Ira Winderman and company covering the Heat's annual quests for not-one-not-two NBA titles. Or, he could have sought a bigger media market with multiple sportswriting options and wound up covering the Lake Show, LOB-FLOP CITY, Da Bulls, Jay-Z's path (train?) to Brooklyn, or the continuing Melo-Drama that is the New York Knicks.

MC instead elected to follow a pathway to the center of the Q-Dawg Universe. Alas, the water-treading Hawks and the AJC are all we've got to offer here. Like many fans, he's acknowledging that Joe's contract (through no fault of Joe's) has us wed to him. And the economy probably has him (MC) wed to AJC. It's like suffering from Buyer's Remorse without actually having bought anything. I think he'd hand this duty over to Mr. Thrasher (C-Viv) in a heartbeat if he could find something better. His lament was dripping with this tweet yesterday:

@jonesy2x4 Joe is a good player but I watch D-Wade, Kobe, and even Melo do things he just can't do. Even old Pierce is still better

It's professional remorse, projected onto the charisma-challenged man he will have to interview, report on, and cover for his foreseeable future.

~lw3