The 14 year career of Ann Arbor News writer Antoine Pitts is coming to a close, and it sounds like he’s leaving the industry all together.  He called into Andy Evans this morning and reflected on his career, his favorite moments covering hockey & elsewhere, his favorite pieces, on the state of Ann Arbor journalism, and much more: [display_podcast] .

MLive’s Quad Blog seeks talented blogger: MLive.com is seeking a Wolverines blogger to write posts on national and local news and opinion, provide analysis, interact with readers and possibly cover live events for The Diag blog. Candidates must be highly motivated and sports savvy, with a strong passion for anything Wolverines, including recruiting. If you’re interested in sharing your enthusiasm with a large statewide audience and have time and energy to devote several blog posts per week, contact us at wolverines.mlive@gmail.com for more information. One question: why bother following recruiting?  Unless you get an insider, would anyone really come to MLive for recruiting updates?

I feature the occasional wire photo on eBay Watch (scroll down, see the Willis Ward photo below, the Tom Harmon in class, earlier, Yost’s funeral etc).  Does anyone know how that process worked back in the day?  For an pic taken by the Associated Press, did they take the photo, attached a caption and mail that off to certain papers that requested it?  Were many copies made and distributed?  Is there such thing as the “original” wire photo?

Via a Tweet from Tony Dearing, AnnArbor.com is starting to post their job openings and today released the job description for Sports Director.   The full post is here – a snippet for you and a few comments below: Job Title: Sports Director Company: AnnArbor.com Location: Ann Arbor, MI Work Experience: 3 to 5 years Education Level: Bachelor’s degree Date Posted: April 29, 2009 Job Type: Full Time Employee Job Description: The Sports Director is responsible for leading overall sports coverage, and is committed to excellence in coverage of University of Michigan sports and local high school sports. The Sports Director will cover games and produce content, as well as oversee staff journalists and freelancers. This individual should live and breathe the gospel of multi-media and constant updates, and is responsible for making sure that the new U-M sports content pages achieve their full potential. [emphasis mine] Part of the job ‘Duties and Responsibilities’ includes “Establish relationship with bloggers and understand the value of linking to and aggregating blog content” and a ‘Required Qualification and Skill’ is “Ability to develop and maintain relationships with bloggers.”  (Hint: offer tickets to that new Star Trek movie.) Freelancers I’m pleased they plan to use free lancers to support their content.  I’ve done a little work outside this blog for Heritage News, the Ann Arbor…

Local media behemoth John U. Bacon hosted this afternoon’s Big Show on WTKA, and the topic the entire show was the future of local journalism.  A variety a guests joined in on the discussion including co-host Richard Deistch of Sports Illustrated, former AA News columnist Jim Carty, Michigan associate AD Bruce Madej, Brian Cook of mgoblog and batting clean-up: me. Tony Dearing, the man spearheading the AnnArbor.com roll-out, unfortunately didn’t make it into to the discussion but Bacon advised he has an open invitation. As an aside, kindly Bacs let me plug the 2009 JDRF Golf Classic which will be held June 22, and you can find details here.  Please let me know if you have questions or are interested in participating, sponsoring or offering a donation. I joined in the 5 o’clock hour; here’s the audio for those segments: [display_podcast] Synopsis: Segment 1: We talk about the value of newspapers and offer some advice for AnnArbor.com. Segment 2:  Some discussion of how Brian uses and maintains an online community, blogging ethics, building a following, and we take a few calls. Segment 3: A short wrap-up, with a thanks to Deistch for his participation on the show and my advice and outlook for AnnArbor.com, with a plea to Dearing to visit the show. You can always check out the WTKA…

Join MVictors.com at the 2009 JDRF Fore the Kids Golf Classic which returns to Franklin Hills Country Club on Monday, June 22. Scheduled to appear, Channel 7 Sports Director Don Shane and Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz (left)! Save the date, and join JDRF for a fun-filled day of playing the challenging Donald Ross-designed private course. Register early, as a sell out is expected. A hole-in-one and putting contests, along with breakfast, lunch and dinner will be included in the day’s activities. A silent auction with exciting prize opportunities will also be offered.   It’s an outstanding event, join us if you can. For more information, including signing up foursomes or to obtain sponsorship opportunities, please contact Sally Ruterbusch, JDRF at (248) 355-1133 ext. 18 or sruterbusch @ jdrf.org. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide.  The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.   Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.3 billion to diabetes research, including more than $156 million in FY2008. More than 85 percent of JDRF’s expenditures directly support research and research-related education. In FY2008, the Foundation funded more than 1,000 centers,…

John U Bacon joined Andy Evans Friday morning on WTKA 1050AM.  The topic of the behavior of Columbus fans came up in the wake of the incidents following the Red Wings’ game 4 victory.  Buckeye fans tossed junk on the ice after a call in the third period, and someone caught Wings coach Mike Babcock as he was leaving the bench for the postgame handshake: “I wouldn’t call it debris,” Babcock said, rubbing one of his shoulders. “Debris wouldn’t hurt that bad. Whoever was throwing, they’ve got a good arm, better than that guy who threw the octopus on the ice the other night. “For that to happen here tonight, no matter how upset you are, that’s not right. That’s unacceptable behavior.” Here’s the short clip where Bacon both praises and scolds fans in Columbus, see note below: [display_podcast] . Notes: “It was ridiculous.” “I’ve had enough experience with Columbus fans down there.  I’ve given speeches down there on the Bo book and the audiences have been fantastic.  They appreciate the history, they love the rivalry, they know their history—the Bo side, the Woody side, you name it.  Probably more than Michigan fans in many ways.” “But the conduct on the way to the stadium is inexcusable.  When Mary Sue Coleman has to send the Michigan cops down to protect…

Hat tip to UM Hoops and mgoblog, these two cats are sticking around: