OT: Rob Parker, OUT!
Rob Parker takes a jab at Marinelli, gets demoted from "Columnist" to Sports Reporter. Now, it appears Parker has resigned from the News.
http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/01/06/rob-parker-resigns/
January 7th, 2009 at 12:03 AM ^
He worked for the Detroit News.
January 7th, 2009 at 12:15 AM ^
He also did a crappy local sports show on Sunday nights (for WDIV, I believe). I wonder if they'll get rid of him, too? He always talked about his "moles" telling him things, which invariably were not true.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:33 AM ^
All his antics this year finally caught up with him. The false accusations, the disrespect and generally poor journalism got him fired, not just this one incident. He was NOT funny!
January 7th, 2009 at 9:17 AM ^
I actually know Rob personally. He is not a bad guy, he just made a really bad decision that he DOES feel was bad timing and wording. I just think that people have been on him SO hard for this therefore he won't be able to put this behind him. He's not really an ass. I mean he's no Drew Sharp whom I cannot stand!!!
Hopefully Rob lands on his feet. He just had lunch with Stephen A. Smith so hopefully he can learn from his mistakes and get a bone thrown his way.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:16 AM ^
Time wounds all heels.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:51 AM ^
should seek advice from Jim Rome about how to resurrect a career.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:54 AM ^
The problem with Parker was that he always felt like a second-rate journalist, even though I'm sure he was not that bad. I remember listening to his show with Mark Wilson on 97.1 and thinking he barely knew more about the teams he covered than the average fan. Most of his "scoops" were things already discussed on blogs or in the local papers, and while I'm sure he is a decent guy, he also came across as kind of a jerk. Sure, he's no Drew Sharp, but unless you bring something original to the table you do don't have much leeway when you screw up like Parker did with his comments.
Sorry to see anyone lose his job in this economy, but I suspect he'll land somewhere - maybe AOL or FoxSports?
January 7th, 2009 at 11:07 AM ^
with the argument you just made is that the vast majority of blogs specialize in one single topic. we discussed this in one of my higher level journalism classes last semester. blogging has changed the way journalism is approached. specialists, like brian, are able to create quick information on a particular subject. with rob parker for example, he had to wait until his show came on the air or until his next article was written. (not exactly easy to bring info ASAP that way.) Don't forget as well, a great deal of people still don't read blogs. There are PLENTY of people who still get a lot of information from listening to shows like Valenti and Foster (the best talk show in Detroit, IMO). However, this is not to defend Rob, as I still dislike him greatly.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:22 PM ^
I agree that the average beat writer usually cannot compete with the specialized blogs like MGoBlog for information, but I remember a number of Parker's "scoops" on the Tigers, Lions, etc. were found on places like mlive, Free Press/Detroit News sites, and even some general blogs (like thebiglead.com and the Fan House) a couple of days earlier. I actually like listening to Parker when he just riffed with Wilson, or when he just provided his opinion on various topics. I was just never blown away by his ability to unearth new, useful information about the teams he covered.