NY Times hires Draper as sports business reporter

Deadspin’s Kevin Draper has been hired by The New York Times as a sports business reporter, reports Andrew Bucholtz of AwfulAnnouncing.com.

Bucholtz writes, “Hiring Draper is an interesting move for the NYT, and one that could make a lot of sense. Draper’s reporting at Deadspin has earned plenty of praise, especially for his sports media scoops, and the Times hasn’t been doing a ton on that front since Richard Sandomir left the beat in December after 25 years to move to the obituary section. Sports business and sports media beats aren’t identical, of course, but there’s often plenty of overlap between them, and Draper’s sources and knowledge of the media side should be an asset in this new role.

“Draper also joins a couple of other prominent Deadspin alums at the Times (although not in sports) in media reporter John Koblin (seen at center above) and David Carr fellow Greg Howard (seen at right above). Both proved their ability to cover sports media at Deadspin, with Koblin breaking tons of stories about ESPN (especially the 2013 layoffs of hundreds of employees) and Howard providing essential coverage of Jason Whitlock’s failed efforts to lead The Undefeated. While sports media news wasn’t the only thing they covered at Deadspin (in particular, Koblin also wrote some great historical features and Howard penned interesting columns on sports, race and culture) and isn’t a key part of their current jobs, the sports media reporting ability both showed at Deadspin was important to their landing at the NYT. And the success both have found in their new roles may have helped further sell NYT execs on Draper.”

Read more here.