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For Ed Werder and Many Others, an Uncertain Future

Related Topics: Ed Werder, ESPN, Journalist, Layoff

The longtime NFL reporter was among the casualties as ESPN laid off upwards of 100 staffers last week. Now, like many others in the business—or hoping to be—he ponders where sports journalism is headed

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Tough one for Ed Werder last week. Tough two, actually. Laid off by ESPN last Wednesday. Had to put his 12-year-old golden retriever Austin down Friday. Man, that must have been the worst week of your life, someone said.

“Not close, actually,” Werder said.

“It really doesn’t compare to the time the doctor asks you come in during surgery to remove a tumor from your daughter’s brain, and the surgeon saying the computer-guided equipment you use in this operation on Christie had failed, and now they would have to do it the old-fashioned way—by touch and feel.