ESPN Senior VP & Dir of News VINCE DORIA is retiring Friday after 23 years, and the net has been paying a "subtle tribute" to him this week, according to Tom Hoffarth of the L.A. DAILY NEWS. ESPN has "pulled out some of the 'This is SportsCenter' commercials where Doria appeared as himself." Doria's "most noteworthy contributions were in setting the tone" for "OUTSIDE THE LINES," making sure ESPNews "did what it was supposed to do, and then, for the last 15 years, steer news coverage." At a time when ESPN’s "longtime heavyweight" execs in VP/Talent Negotiation & Production Recruitment AL JAFFE and Exec VP & Exec Editor JOHN WALSH "have also recently retired, Doria’s departure signals another time to wonder where the network will go from here" (INSIDESOCAL.com, 2/26).
FOR THE BIRDS: In a special to POYNTER, Ed Sherman noted despite being "at the forefront of the new media," Doria "never has posted a tweet." He is on Twitter under the handle @VinceDoria, but Doria "didn’t set up the account." His colleagues "did it for him in the hopes that he might share some of his thoughts." Doria "gets that it’s part of the job these days, but he simply is adhering to the age-old doctrine that journalists should remain objective." Doria: “I just never felt it was good to do it in my current role. No matter how you cut it, Twitter turns out to be a platform for opinion" (POYNTER.org, 2/26).
A DAY IN THE LIFE: Doria on his last day appeared on ESPN2’s “MIKE AND MIKE” and spoke about his various roles at ESPN, “For the past 23 years, it’s been a good ride.” Doria said he joined the company in ’92 to work on ESPN2 when “four people were watching it at the time.” Doria said of making guest appearances in ESPN films such as “A SEASON ON THE BRINK” and “HUSTLE,” as well as being featured in eight "This is SportsCenter" spots, "(Former ESPN Exec VP/Programming & Production) MARK SHAPIRO ... was desperate to put me in movies so I did a few of those. Got a call one day on the commercials from an executive in the marketing department ... (who said), ‘We have a role for an executive. We would love for you to do it. Would you do it?’ I said, ‘Sure, why not.’ After that, they started calling me every three months to do things.” Doria said in his career at ESPN, the “work we’ve done on concussions I’ve been very proud of.” Doria: “We were in the forefront. If you go back, we started doing stories on this 12 years ago and obviously, it’s become a seminal issue in the National Football League." Doria said, “All I brought here was a set of standards and principles." ESPN’s Adnan Virk noted Walsh and Jaffe did not “get this kind of tribute” on “Mike & Mike,” so “you’ve got bragging rights along with the impressive credentials.” Doria: “I have certain on-air skills that others don’t possess” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN2, 2/27).
