It’s highly unusual to see a layoff reversed. But that seems to be what’s happened in the case of Jack Harris, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ beat writer for The Los Angeles Times. On January 23, the Times laid off 115 staffers, and Harris (who had also previously covered MLB’s Angels and the NHL’s Kings for the paper) tweeted that he was amongst those laid off. But on Sunday, almost two weeks later, Harris tweeted that he will remain with the paper covering the Dodgers:
So … an update: Turns out, I’m keeping my job at the LA Times covering the Dodgers
The last two weeks, as you might guess, have been a rollercoaster. I’m just grateful to be continuing on the beat after all
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) February 4, 2024
It’s not clear at all what happened there. However, from the outside, the Times layoffs did appear more indiscriminate than even the norm in wide-ranging layoffs, especially when it came to beat writers. The layoffs hit at least three beat writers (Harris, Los Angeles Clippers beat writer Andrew Grief, and Los Angeles Angels beat writer Sarah Valenzuela), and that left the paper without travelling beat writers for at least nine prominent teams in its area.
Of course, we do sometimes see that with layoffs, especially in a team’s offseason. One strategy seen there from a variety of media outlets has been to cut experienced writers and replace them with less-experienced voices willing to take the job for a lower rate. So a layoff of a Dodgers’ beat writer does not necessarily mean the paper is eliminating that role. But it is unusual and interesting to see a publication return to the same person who previously held the role.
One previous case where something somewhat similar happened was at Sports Illustrated, several controversies ago for that publication at this point. After famed soccer writer Grant Wahl criticized SI and publishing parent TheMaven (now The Arena Group) for layoffs in 2019 and 2020, the company fired him with no severance. But they brought him back later in 2020 (after undergoing a CEO change) for three final longform stories.
But the Times move with Harris is perhaps even more significant. This looks like reinstating him to his old role, rather than bringing him in for a specific number of further stories. (Although, it’s far from clear if he’s returning at his old rate of pay or not). And that looks like a rare at-least-somewhat-admission from a company that they erred with their layoffs.
It was obvious that the Times was not going to go into the 2024 MLB season without a Dodgers’ beat writer. And that was even more true following their December signing of two-way star Shohei Ohtani. But it’s quite notable that they returned to a proven figure in Harris who was already doing that job for them rather than bringing in a new figure. And that could be a benefit for Dodgers’ fans, with Harris already having built relationships in that clubhouse that a new hire from outside wouldn’t have.
[Jack Harris on Twitter/X; top photo from a CNN International World Sport interview with Harris after Ohtani’s December signing]
