Jets Beat Has One Less Rollerderbying Reporter Than Yesterday
Yesterday our friend at The Journal News, Jane McManus announced that she has decided to move on to other projects.
I will admit I was a little nervous about writing a blog. They demand constant feeding and attention, and frankly there are not a lot of women blogging pro sports. I wasn’t sure if I’d spend a lot of days deleting profanities.
That didn’t happen.
I have really enjoyed reading your comments and insight about the team, and more than once followed up with a coach or player to see if there was more to it. I can’t tell you how much I will miss the give and take with you.
Thanks for making this worth the nights and weekends, the 1 a.m. phone call with Mike Tannenbaum to announce Favre’s arrival. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.
When we first starting corresponding with Jane, she was a DOE-eyed reporter (OK, no not really but it sounds good, right?) when it came to the hardscrabble NFL world and specifically the Jets. We talked some and I gave her some pointers (those that one can learn sitting behind a desk 200 miles from the Jets practice facility) and since then she dove into the beat full on and has done a fantastic job.
It’s been great to watch her push her beatwriting brethren to Twitter, add multimedia elements — in other words, to be innovative. While she always carried the stories of the day, she also took the time to find other stories and work to uncover facts that might not have otherwise made it to light about some of the fringe players on the team too.
She’s been graceful, irreverent and has been more comfortable in a firmly entrenched boy’s club — more so than we would be. She’s also a roller-derby diva, which lowers her pencil-pusher quotient dramatically while raising her street cred inordinately.
In all seriousnes, we appreciate all the hard work, fun and fresh perspective that Jane brought to the Jets beat for The Journal News and know her work will be missed — it is already. Jane made our job here at TJB much more fun and that’s one of the best complements we can think to give.
Jane was always willing to help us out here when we needed it, and meant a lot to the success of this blog. Jane is an extremely talented writer, and we know she’ll resurface in the media (MSM or otherwise) rather shortly and whatever she covers, we’ll be sure to read it.
Say goodbye to Jane as a Jets beatwriter here. Say hello to Jane McManus as Twittering maven (if you haven’t already) here.
16 Responses to Jets Beat Has One Less Rollerderbying Reporter Than Yesterday
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Bent says: Good luck, Jane!
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Really? says:
DOE-eyed! DOE-eyed!!
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The Ed(itor) says:
As most newspapers in the US will go out of bisiness in the next several years (please God make the NY Times next), there will be fewer and fewer beat writers covering sports teams. Kim Jones moved from The Star Ledger to YES. The Star Ledger still has Hutch, but his newspaper does not have long to live as it is all ads and AP articles. So get used to less beat writersas they go the way of the dinosaur.
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oscarfactor says:
Jane is/was a good one. Sorry to see her go. Please let us know where you land so if it is a writing/blogging gig, we can check it out.
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Bent says:
I think she said she is going back to being an architect, but might do a roller derby blog too.
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Not only was she great at reporting Jets news…. I had a little crush on her….
Good luck Jane
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Jane McManus says:
The architecture thing was just a Seinfeld reference. Vandalay Industries? I will actually be taking a brief vacation and then freelancing and looking for other sportswriting gigs.
(And, of course, knocking people down on my skates.)
Like Ed(itor) said, TJN wasn’t planning to continue to cover the NFL, which prompted the decision.
Don’t worry, I’ll still be reading this blog every day. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the nice things you all have emailed/Tweeted/posted in the last few days. Makes for a nice cushion on a hard day.
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DSmizzle says:
Jane:
Will miss the insight, and hope to continue to read your work.
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Bent says:
Ah, okay, sorry…I heard that 2nd hand, hence the confusion.
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BubbyBrister/shovelpass says:
All the best to you, Jane, on your next “adventure”. Hope to read your writing again real soon….
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Mad Dog Mo says:
Roller Derby Chicks are HOT!
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Mars says:
Off topic but it looks like Clowney was finally named to the 1st team supplanting Stuckey…source is Newark-Start Ledger
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BigKatFan says:
Roller derby used to be such an awesome sport. i dont know what happened to it…
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Rich F says:
Was always nice to me when i covered the team last season. And I always loved her tenacity or sniffing out stories and being one of the few that would challenge Mangini on his non-answers. Her prose will be missed on Gang Green. Hopefully, someone will smarten up and grab her for a beat job again.
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JetOrange says:
Jane always gave the Jets a different shade of Green, she was certainly over qualified to be a beat writer, but her fans benefited from her talent. If you were looking for insight or a different point of view, Jane was the one. I read her because she wrote on players like DeVito and Rhodes, rather than just QB’s. A huge multi Tasker,always outworking everyone else, maybe Jane can take a breath, check out the landscape, and take her career to another level.
Bristol, is not that far, she was outstanding in a Podcast with Ernie ( the Giant beat writer, also sacked)
IMHO ESPN would be perfect, I would suggest that those ESPN executives scoop her up now before she recognizes that she can do other things.
Jane, we will miss you.
Jane, sorry to see you go.. You did a great job covering the Jets, and i know you’ll be great with whatever you get yourself into next!