It’s been over five months since the last time NBCUniversal made sweeping cuts to their digital sites and RSN’s. Sadly, the trend of having layoffs in sports media has continued into 2021 as a few top Chicago sportswriters from NBC Sports Chicago announced they are out.
Bears reporters JJ Stankevitz and Cam Ellis, along with Blackhawks reporter Scott King, tweeted that they are no longer with NBC Sports Chicago and their last day was Thursday. The Chicago Tribune noted that “NBC Sports Group declined comment” and it’s “not clear” if this is an indication of layoffs at other NBC Sports RSN’s or even if more people in Chicago are on their way out but letting go three notable people on the same day is cause for concern.
Along with covering the Bears, Stankevitz hosted the Under Center Podcast that also included Ellis. Stankevitz was with the company since 2010 and previously covered Notre Dame before switching over to cover the Bears. Ellis had been covering the Bears since 2018 and was previously at NBC Sports Washington while King joined the company in 2019 after covering the Blackhawks elsewhere since 2013.
Today was my last day at NBC Sports Chicago.
I’m so grateful for my 11 years there, starting as a college intern in 2010. It’s literally the only place I’ve ever worked.
I don’t know what’s next but I couldn’t have asked for better people to work with over the years.
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) January 21, 2021
And to @thetonygill for making us sound great on the Under Center Podcast and @strobes312 & @pauleaspan for heading up some great Bears coverage. I’ll miss that place dearly but excited and hopeful for whatever is next.
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) January 21, 2021
today was also my last day at nbc. working there was fun as hell and i owe like three thousand people for that. nothing left to do but smile
— cam ellis (@KingsleyEllis) January 22, 2021
Want to thank @CRoumeliotis and @BoyleNBCS for being beyond supportive teammates who set a high bar and @mikedyce for the opportunity.
— Scott King (@ScottKingMedia) January 21, 2021
Stankevitz and Ellis in particular were highly complimentary of each other as they both faced the same fate.
The person y’all need to hire is Cam. Not only is he a great teammate and extremely talented writer but he’s also one heck of a dude. Any shop will be lucky to have him. https://t.co/uBhIFM3uqS
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) January 22, 2021
it's impossible to overstate how good @JJStankevitz is at literally every part of his job. it'd actually be annoying if he wasn't the nicest human being on the planet. when someone hires him they're going to be blown away
— cam ellis (@KingsleyEllis) January 21, 2021
Like so many others in this industry, these three people are looking forward to what’s in store in the future. Hopefully that takes place sooner rather than later.
About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
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