You're comparing apples and oranges mikey. Reiss and Tomase (ugh) and Solomon are being paid to be reporters - i.e. report the news with little opinion save that based on professional insight. Borges, Cafardo, and now Felger are being paid as columnists - i.e. to write opinion pieces based either on professional insight or personal opinion and, if they choose, written merely to advance a contrarian view or opinion (or in extreme cases agenda).
Reporters are expected to maintain or expand readership based on the quality and reliability of their reporting, and Reiss has managed to accomplish that for a paper that had marginalized itself of late in the Patriots football news department. Columnists are expected to maintain or expand readership based on the quality of their prose or the insightful or provocative nature of their commentary. Will McDonough couldn't write to save his life, but the provocative insider nature of his columns and his opinion drew readers like moths to a flame. Harder to do these days with the proliferation of information outlets and the internet, although that is the territory Borges has attempted to maintain his foothold in. Unfortunately he has so alienated himself with the local franchise he has virtually no insight into what they are doing so he functions more as the NFL insider.
In Boston there are too many cross over columnists with too little real insight beyond their own often surprisingly uninformed opinion. Cafardo falls into that group. Short of disgruntled players and some limited (although also shrinking) insider league sources, Nick is more often than not guessing based on nothing more than his own personal opinion. That becomes alarmingly evident when he appears on the air and can't defend his position when challenged to.
I'm more bothered by seeing the reporters gradually crossing the line in part fed by the lucrative outside market (radio, TV) for their opinions. A market that expands in direct relation to the individuals ability to behave in an opinionated manner. I believe that's what resulted in Tomase not only shifting papers but having to shift sports. He alienated too many baseball people to continue functioning effectively as a viable baseball reporter. I think at times Curren careens in that direction on air, as Felger is doing daily now to push ratings on his radio show.
I read or listen to each of them with a big grain of salt as a result. Like many here I'm not looking for them to entertain me or to spin me, rather to inform me. I prefer to shape my own opinions.
