OT: Mick McCabe Leaving the Free Press

Submitted by BursleyHall82 on

Longtime Detroit Free Press prep sports writer Mick McCabe is leaving the Free Press, according to Crain's Detroit Business. Lots of other Free Press and News staffers are also leaving - forced out by newsroom buyouts. News sports editor Phil Laciura is also leaving. See the story here.

McCabe is the self-proclaimed "Son of Swami," and has been there forever. Don't know what you all think about him, but he went after John U. Bacon pretty hard when Bacon revealed the Freep's ineptitude and bias regarding stretchgate in "Three and Out."

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carolina blue

December 9th, 2016 at 5:30 PM ^

Wow. Why the hate? He's actually been more journalist-like than a lot of the FP. He went inside the program and gave an honest account of what was going on. The FP produced a couple of hit pieces on Michigan clearly designed to drive traffic, and nothing else, solely because bashing Michigan will increase viewership. Facts be damned.



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Brandywine

December 9th, 2016 at 5:43 PM ^

I certainly don't hate JUB, as he's proven himself to be intelligent, insightful and highly plugged in.

But I must say he projects himself as a very "I told you so/look how smart I am" kind of guy and his lack of cadence/rhythm while speaking makes him an annoying listen. It sounds like everything he says, he's said a hundred times and just wants finish the sentence as quickly as possible.




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translator82

December 9th, 2016 at 6:09 PM ^

I remember reading the Freep and Detroit News were offering buyouts to everyone in the newsroom to meet 2017 budgets. Such a mess.

Being a former journalist, I have friends and family that keep asking me, "don't you want to work at the Freep or Detroit News? You'd be back local and close to family and could do journalism." I then politely try to explain how the business of journalism (and the media for that matter) has been in a downward spiral for the past decade and remind them that I had to take three weeks of furloughs over a two-year period at USA TODAY (not to mention see plenty of good editors and writers lose their jobs unceremoniously because of budget cuts around this time of year).

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JTrain

December 9th, 2016 at 6:19 PM ^

Yea. The news industry has changed so much since I was a kid. Reading the paper used to be a daily, and big time Sunday event. Now, we have all the info on our phones...with a notification....written by who knows who. I can see where it's hard to police journalism in this day and age. Every 5 minutes there's another article being posted by someone.
BTW, pardon my poor grammar and punctuation as I've mostly forgotten proper English due to my impatience with this tiny keyboard I type on.



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xxxxNateDaGreat

December 10th, 2016 at 8:57 AM ^

To be fair, the newspapers and old school reporters did this to themselves. They became the very thing that they used to mock when they should have been holding themselves to the higher standards that they love to boast about. I, for one, am glad that we have blogs and forum members who will go out of their way to show you just how fabricated a typical news story is, like for example, a Drew Sharp "feel good" piece.

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1974

December 9th, 2016 at 6:26 PM ^

John U. Bacon aside, I recall McCabe taking an unprovoked shot at Michigan during the RichRod years. Why? I suppose they had the wagons circled there.

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True Blue Grit

December 9th, 2016 at 6:44 PM ^

player evaluations for many years, going back to the 80's and maybe beyond that. He was arguably the main source of information on Michigan HS football and basketball talent in the pre-Internet era.  So, for that I am very grateful to him.  I wish him the best of luck.

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DT76

December 9th, 2016 at 10:06 PM ^

McCabe graduated from Cabrini High class of 67 with my brother. My brother turns 68 in a couple weeks. Sounds like retirement time for Mick. Good for him.

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oldblue

December 9th, 2016 at 11:19 PM ^

Those who do exactly as he wants, he writes nice things about. Those who have the audacity not to bow down to his greatness get unfairly picked on time and again. He abuses the platform the Free Press has given him. Good riddance.

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uminks

December 10th, 2016 at 12:59 AM ^

When Downey left for LA back in '82, But those were the days when all your sports info was gotten through both Freep and News. Now I will not even go on the Freep site.

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megaswami

December 10th, 2016 at 7:20 AM ^

Losing Markowski and now McCabe will be devastating to HS Sports coverage. Both were great journalists who were at the top of their game. Sports coverage has gotten worse, not better, over the last 5 years.



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