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WTSP cuts sports reporter© St. Petersburg Times, published January 23, 2001 When WTSP-Ch. 10 sports reporter Jerry Johnson showed up for work Monday, he had a hazy idea of what he might do for the station's Super Bowl coverage -- maybe a live report at 5 p.m. or a story for the 11 p.m. broadcast. Instead, Johnson went home early. He was told that after 19 years, he'd have to leave the CBS affiliate for good March 31. He is the latest casualty in a restructuring of the station's sports department that has also claimed sports director Al Keck, who leaves WTSP in early March after 12 years. Weekend sports anchor Dave Wirth may also depart within months. He couldn't be reached for comment, and a station official declined to say how long he might be working there. For Johnson, 44, the most perplexing aspect of his dismissal may be its timing: six days before the Super Bowl brings Tampa its biggest sports story of the past 10 years. "If I was making these decisions, I'm not sure I'd be making them around the Super Bowl," he said, explaining that WTSP officials exercised a 60-day window in his two-year contract, telling him they planned to cut his position. Johnson said the station's news director promised he might be moved to the news department if sports was radically reconfigured. But he said: "I was pretty surprised by this . . . It would be a sad day if Channel 10 didn't have a sports department, or didn't do sports in the way we're accustomed to." Jim Church, news director at WTSP, declined to comment directly on Johnson's situation, saying the changes are part of an effort to redefine how WTSP offers sports. "The goal here is to make sure we're telling stories that haven't been broadcast on every TV station in town," added Church. He denied he was eliminating experienced, expensive sports reporters -- together, Keck, Wirth and Johnson have nearly 50 years' tenure at WTSP -- to hire less expensive, younger talent. Last year, the station eliminated regular sports reports in its 5 p.m and 5:30 p.m. newscasts. This week, the station presents a week's worth of coverage from a custom-built set at the NFL Experience, culminating with CBS's Super Bowl telecast Sunday. But Church has continually emphasized the events surrounding the game in coverage. "(With) traditional sports . . . there's no unique storytelling," he added. "If you look at what makes sports columnists unique, it's their storytelling." And how will this new philosophy translate into television? Church said he won't know until Keck's replacement is hired. Already, Keck's role seems to have been reduced as rival stations beef up their sports anchors' profiles. News anchor Reginald Roundtree and weather forecaster Dick Fletcher appear this week on CBS's The Early Show, but Keck does not. Johnson said he'll concentrate on doing his job through the Super Bowl and beyond. "I feel like it's my job to serve the public," he said.
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