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Published on 07/19/2010 at Mon Jul 19 11:32.
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Another Broncos beat bites the dust

Posted Mon Jul 19th by

It wasn’t two years ago that the Rocky Mountain News closed its doors, making Denver a one-paper town, and leaving the Denver Broncos with only the Denver Post and the Colorado Springs Gazette to provide independent Broncos coverage.

Today, the struggling newspaper industry claimed another piece of Denver’s mainstream media pie.

Frank Schwab, the Gazette’s Broncos beat writer, announced via Twitter today that the CSG will be closing its Broncos beat. Schwab will remain with the paper but move over to cover the Air Force beat.

Schwab, who has covered the Broncos since 2003, served as the AP’s Denver-based NFL awards voter (for honors such as MVP and all-pro), meaning the committee will have to select a new representative in 2011.

It’s a curious decision by the bigwigs at CSG. The Gazette’s online Broncos coverage tops its sports page views, and one would assume it does its fair share in the hard copies. If a beat had to go, why cut your paper’s most popular?

And rather than simply sending that question out into the void, we’ll pose it to the guys in charge. According to its online directory, the Gazette’s executive editor is Jeff Thomas (jeff.thomas@gazette.com) and its sports editor is Jim O’Connell (jim.oconnell@gazette.com). We’re writing them an email asking them to explain why they cut the Broncos beat, and to, frankly (pun not intended), complain. We invite you to respectfully do the same. Broncos fans deserve answers, and those in charge deserve to know their fans aren’t happy with the decision.

  • http://broncoszone.blogspot.com/ Jon

    I emailed them days ago, never got back to me. Looks like our only hope now is the 'Post — although, I'm sure Andrew Mason could single-handily keep us updated over at MaxDenver.com.

    This is really sad, I love Frank's stuff, he helped me with a lot of stuff, and always answered my pesty Bronco questions. Poor move by the Gazette.

  • http://broncoszone.blogspot.com/ Jon

    BroncoMadness.com also died this month, I haven't heard from Garrett since May, and the site isn't up anymore. Really sad.

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    I read on The Huffington Post that newspapers are expected to be extinct by 2050 (that far away?) and I can tell you working as the Director of Marketing for multiple companies most companies want to be online. It's just too easy for me to be able to say 7,433 people clicked on your ad, of those people 27% converted. You can't do that with papers…

    I never once purchased CSG, but I visited the site a hell of a lot. Frank posted on the site an awful lot and no, I can't say that I clicked on the ads, but is that Frank's fault or sales?

    Do you really need a $15 CPM for online? Take $2 from relevant advertisers and tax the non-relevant advertisers that $15 CPM (the ones from outside the market, trying to take business from the local guys) bring in more page views via social media and calls to action via local contests, radio stations and the actual paper.

    None of these factors happen to be the talents fault and it's very sad to see the end of my favorite Broncos' writer (next to Woody Paige, Josh Temple and HorvilTiki) writing as a Bronco writer. Frank there will always be room for you hear and Kyle, Danh and I will always have a spot for you on the Broncos Nation Podcasts.

    Good luck to Air Force (but not too much, still a Wyoming fan) and hope that our paths cross soon! For all we know Frank may have wanted more time with his family and requested the move. Maybe that's just my hurt hoping.

  • Jackfnburton

    Eh, the Broncos are just a fad. This “NFL” craze will pass. Probably a good idea. In a year there will probably be no such thing as “football”

    Hey wait…that might actually be TRUE! LOL

  • Nisse

    The Wire mentions newspapers firing alot of writers, and also shows the danger with it.
    a whole newspaper closing makes this easy for the other newspaper.
    in sweden we actuelly have a welfare system for this, the smaller of the 2 bigest newspapers in any town/part of the country gets money from the government, which makes it harder for a newspaper to get monopoly on a market, and start to make unnecessary draw backs.

  • Igored

    It is really sad that good journalists like Frank have to suffer for the weaknesses of the other areas in the company. Broncos beat was very good. When I lived in the CS area, I got the Ga on a regular basis.

    It would help the newspapers if they actually practiced journalism instead of just telling what they are told to tell. The recent story about newspapers and magazines like The Baltimore Sun, Huffington Post, ET AL teaming up to stop all negative stories during the last election regarding Obama just shows why newspapers and mags are dying. No real journalism, no real stories, no “Watergate” journalism exposing the truth. Reporters now do not work, just print what they are told.

  • Igored

    It is really sad that good journalists like Frank have to suffer for the weaknesses of the other areas in the company. Broncos beat was very good. When I lived in the CS area, I got the Ga on a regular basis.

    It would help the newspapers if they actually practiced journalism instead of just telling what they are told to tell. The recent story about newspapers and magazines like The Baltimore Sun, Huffington Post, ET AL teaming up to stop all negative stories during the last election regarding Obama just shows why newspapers and mags are dying. No real journalism, no real stories, no “Watergate” journalism exposing the truth. Reporters now do not work, just print what they are told.