ESPN has held onto at least one of its reporters. In other news, ESPN’s Ryen Russillo is disputing a report about his future, and the company has laid off NFL reporter Andrew Brandt.
ESPN Keeping At Least One Reporter
- ESPN has reached a multi-year contract extension with reporter Don Van Natta, the company announced Monday. Van Natta will continue in his current roles as an ESPN the Magazine writer and Outside the Lines contributor. His extension comes amidst ESPN’s massive layoffs, which have gutted the network’s reporting ranks. (ESPN Media Zone 5.1)
Russillo Disputes Report
- ESPN’s Ryen Russillo said on his newly eponymous radio show Monday that reports of his taking a “reduced role” as part of ESPN’s layoffs were “not even remotely true” and planted by a former agent. Russillo is under contract through next summer and said will be “working more.” The Hollywood Reporter last week said Russillo, Hannah Storm and Karl Ravech would take reduced roles, but that reporting has not been substantiated. It also retracted a report that John Buccigross had been laid off completely. (Awful Announcing 5.1)
Brandt Laid Off
- ESPN has laid off NFL business analyst Andrew Brandt, the latest prominent name to emerge from the network’s layoffs. Brandt had been with ESPN since February 2011. He joins a laundry list of ESPN reporters and analysts who have lost their jobs in the past week. (Philly.com 5.1)
