Talk about a Woj Bomb.
Do you know what that is? If you’re a sports fan, particularly a fan of the NBA, you know all about Woj Bombs. They are breaking basketball news reports from ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. During the NBA season, they show up regularly — at all hours of the day and night — on X, and the ticker across the bottom of your screen while you’re watching ESPN.
On Wednesday, Wojnarowski dropped the biggest Woj Bomb of all. He announced he is stepping away from his high-profile and highly lucrative job at ESPN.
One of sports journalism’s biggest stars is taking back his life.
In his post on X, Wojnarowski wrote, “The craft transformed my life, but I’ve decided to retire from ESPN and the news industry. I understand the commitment required in my role, and it’s an investment that I’m no longer driven to make. Time isn’t in endless supply and I want to spend mine in ways that are more personally meaningful.”
Wojnarowski, 55, isn’t retiring altogether. He’s taking a job in the athletic department of his alma mater, St. Bonaventure University.
But he is walking away from ESPN with three years and $20 million left on his contract. Yes, you read that right: $20 million. Many, including ESPN, would argue that he is worth every penny of the $7 million a year he was making.
Why walk away from that kind of dough?
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, Richard Deitsch, C.J. Moore and Alex Andrejev wrote, “Wojnarowski told his bosses that with the NBA season around the corner, the thought of only having three hours of sleep per night to keep up with the latest transactions and information was unappealing. He thought he could have gone on for one more season, but the St. Bonaventure job excited him in a way that news breaking no longer did.”
Stepping away also will allow him to have something that resembles a normal life. Like many of ESPN’s insiders, Wojnarowski worked around the clock. He was on call 24/7, rarely taking time off and earning the reputation of one of the hardest-working reporters in the business.
Even those in sports media marveled at Wojnarowski’s relentless work ethic, and many (including this former sportswriter) wondered how sustainable it was.
The Washington Post’s Ben Strauss wrote, “Wojnarowski helped shape the landscape of sports media in the digital age. With the explosion of Twitter nearly two decades ago, every NBA reporter could suddenly compete for every piece of news — and Wojnarowski excelled at delivering those nuggets to fans. He turned those scoops into an enormous influence on league business. His reports helped set the league’s agenda, and owners asked his advice on hires. Wojnarowski was often described by people across the NBA as one of the most powerful people in the league because of his access to information and his ability to horse trade with it.”
Strauss added, “While Wojnarowski’s influence is unquestioned, he could be a polarizing figure. Admirers marveled at his work ethic, his relationship-building and his seeming monopoly on breaking news. … Critics — including other reporters — accused him of favoring and protecting his best sources in exchange for information.”
Wojnarowski’s work wasn’t limited to just Woj Bombs in tweets to his 6.5 million X followers. He wrote detailed stories and was a regular on TV during the season, as well as the NBA Draft.
ESPN was surprised by Wojnarowski’s sudden announcement, according to The Athletic. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said, “While we will miss his daily output, we completely understand his decision to make a lifestyle change and slow down a bit.”
It really is a major blow to ESPN.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith tweeted, “Devastated! What a loss for us here at ESPN. The absolute best in the business, my man @wojespn. I’m gonna miss you, Buddy!”
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg tweeted, “No one ever has or ever could do a job in this industry better than our dear friend. Congratulations on one of the great runs of all time, and very best wishes for good luck in this exciting new chapter.”
And there’s no one who can relate more to Wojnarowski than ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, who is the NFL version of, well, Wojnarowski.
Appearing on ESPN “NBA Today,” Schefter said, “He wanted his life back. He didn’t want to have to work on holidays. He didn’t want to be away from more family gatherings. He didn’t want to have to … take a shower with your phone up against the shower door so you can see a text that’s coming in or take your phone with you to the urinal and hold it in one hand while you take care of your business in the other. That’s the life that we live. And that was the life that we chose not to do any longer because it takes over your life.”
So where does ESPN go from here? Wojnarowski’s chief competitor has been Shams Charania, who has deals with The Athletic, Stadium and FanDuel. The New York Post’s Ryan Glasspiegel reported earlier this summer that Charania’s deals with those outlets were almost up and that he would become a free agent.
According to his sources, Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy reported that ESPN will likely talk with Charania and former ESPNer Chris Haynes.
But the NBA season won’t be the same without the Woj Bombs.
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Superb reporting
A church sign is seen at the House of Prayer near the First Haitian Church and community center in Springfield, Ohio, last Saturday. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
This pets-being-eaten story in Springfield, Ohio, has gone from ridiculous to outright dangerous.
It’s a completely false rumor that has spiraled out of control because it is being amplified by two men who are running for president and vice president of the United States.
During his recent presidential debate against Kamala Harris, Donald Trump practically yelled, “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
His running mate, JD Vance, was the first to start spreading this baseless claim, and has continuously doubled down on it in speeches and interviews. Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” last Sunday, Vance even said, “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Vance tried to defend the use of the word “create,” but new reporting by The Wall Street Journal shows the Trump/Vance campaign ran with this bogus story even after they were told it was not true.
The Journal’s Kris Maher, Valerie Bauerlein and Tawnell D. Hobbs reported Wednesday that a Vance staffer called the Springfield city manager on Sept. 9 to ask about the rumor that Haitian immigrants were eating pets there.
The city manager, Bryan Heck, told the Journal, “He asked point-blank, ‘Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?’ I told him no. There was no verifiable evidence or reports to show this was true. I told them these claims were baseless.”
Yet, despite repeated assurances from local authorities that there is absolutely no evidence that this is happening, the Trump campaign isn’t letting up.
The Journal reports, “The Trump campaign continues to run hard at the controversy. Trump last Friday said he planned ‘large deportations’ from Springfield—whose Haitian community is overwhelmingly in the country legally. Trump campaign surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy plans to host a town hall in Springfield this Thursday. Vance said on Tuesday that Trump would like to visit Springfield, too, at some point.”
And then the Journal reports the problem with all of this: “Attempts to contain the damage in Springfield were quickly overwhelmed despite city leaders’ racing from meeting to meeting trying to stem the tide. The Ohio state police were called in to protect local children as they returned to school. A security tower with cameras was erected outside City Hall. Thirty-six bomb threats had been logged as of Tuesday evening.”
Heck told the Journal, “It induces panic and fear and depletes resources. We’re living the danger that misinformation and created stories leads to.”
Be sure to check the deeply reported and responsible story by the Journal.
As Media Matters Matthew Gertz tweeted, “Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance told reporters that it was their job — not his — to fact-check his claim that Haitians were stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Then the Wall Street Journal did just that.”
Meanwhile, during an interview on Tuesday at a session of the National Association of Black Journalists, Harris called the Trump campaign attacks on Haitians in Springfield “hateful” and “exhausting,” adding, “It’s a crying shame. I mean, my heart breaks for this community.”
A brilliant response
Since we’re talking about Vance’s absurd comments about creating stories, Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri wrote this in a very clever column:
Every time JD Vance opens his mouth, a sinkhole opens and swallows 30 people whole. I haven’t seen the people myself, but I know that something like this is happening. I keep getting calls from all kinds of people, all of them frantic, begging me to do anything I can to keep this story out there. I never get their names; it seems rude to inquire too minutely at such a stressful moment.
I think this is my duty. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the volume of sinkholes opened daily by the words of JD Vance, then, by God, I will invent them. Some of the details might not be exactly accurate. The part about the sinkhole, or the number of people who fall into it. But I know that JD Vance opens his mouth and bad things follow, and it is my responsibility to make a story about that.
Media tidbits
- The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin with “TelevisaUnivision Considers Removing C.E.O. Who Knit Company Together.”
- For Nieman Lab, Gregory P. Perreault with “We know why journalists leave the profession. A new study looks at why they stay.”
- Hillary Clinton will be a guest on this morning’s “Morning Joe” on MSNBC.
- Mediaite’s David Gilmour with “Fox News Contributor Calls Brutally Violent Jan 6. Attack That Wounded 120 Police Officers ‘An Inconvenience.’”
- CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon with “In Venezuela, AI news anchors aren’t replacing journalists. They’re protecting them.”
- Chuck Todd’s latest for NBC News: “What if we can’t unite?”
- The New York Times is opening a breaking news hub for London. Here are the details.
Hot type
- Who doesn’t love actress Kathryn Hahn? The Ringer’s Alan Siegel writes about her in “The Season of the Witch.”
- And speaking of actresses, GQ’s Raymond Ang with “Maggie Cheung Walked Away From Acting 20 Years Ago, but Her Legend Endures.”
- The New York Times’ Ezra Klein interviews author Zadie Smith. You can listen to the podcast or read the transcript.
More resources for journalists
- Understand critical aspects of the swiftly evolving AI landscape at Level Up.
- Free webinar: The journalists’ guide to debunking health misinformation
- It’s time to apply for the Leadership Academy for Women in Media
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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