Last week, we ran a post about how Yahoo Sports made two new hires, and were on the verge of a third. Well that third writer, Steve Politi of the Newark Star-Ledger, surprised many folks by turning down the job. We decided to ask him about his decision. He obliged. (If you’re wondering what this photo is, it’s a chart from 2006 of shrinking newspaper circulations.)

Q: You had an offer from Yahoo last week. You turned it down. Care to talk to us about how you came to this decision?

Let me say this first: Yahoo is building something that’s going to outclass ESPN.com on a daily basis, and they’re doing it in a way any journalist has to respect. They’re putting their focus on content first, hiring excellent writers and reporters and letting them do what they do best. The idea of being on the same staff with guys like Dan Wetzel, Adrian Wojnarowski, Jeff Passan and Tim Brown was extremely appealing. It’s the core of a sportswriting dream team.

But I love my job. I love that I’m the sports columnist at the newspaper I delivered as a kid. I love that my neighbors, my parents and virtually all of my friends get the paper dropped off in their driveway every day.

I love knowing that I’m the third sports columnist this newspaper has had over the last 50 years, and the other two are Jerry Izenberg, one of the greatest of all time, and Mike Vaccaro, my friend and mentor. I love that I have a relationship with the readers that you’ll never get at a place with a national focus. Does The Star-Ledger reach as many people as Yahoo? No. But this newspaper is still very influential in this community, and I can make an impact here.

Q: Do you find it difficult for the Star-Ledger to compete with the big NY papers? Or is it silly to even use the word compete?

Silly? Tell that to Dave Hutchinson — any Jets fan knows that Hutch has owned that beat for years. Mike Garafolo, our Giants guy, is one of the best young beat reporters in the NFL. Dave D’Alessandro is one of the most respected NBA writers in the country, and Kevin Manahan is one of the best writers, period. We’ve been staffing both New York baseball teams with two beat writers all season. I could keep going. The people who work at this newspaper are not quivering every time they see “New York Times” on a credential. We have one of the best sports sections in the country, and the players, team officials and readers in this area recognize that. We ARE a big New York paper, we just happen to be in New Jersey.

Q: Do you think coaches/GMs/agents/players are more or less likely to talk to someone at a newspaper as opposed to speaking with someone from a website? Why?

It doesn’t matter where you work. It’s about the relationships you build and how you treat people. It’s about resourcefulness and hard work and protecting your sources. GMs aren’t talking to a newspaper or a Web site — they’re talking to another human being. If you do this long enough, you’ll get blown off by athletes or agents more times that you can count, but I’ve never heard of anybody getting dissed because they didn’t have the “.com” written on their credential.

Q: Papers are filed with yesterday’s news; most/all of which is online the night before. Why should we pick up a paper when we can get to our desk and read it online?

Papers are also filled with interesting stories written by some of the most creative, industrious and talented people you’ll ever meet, people who are trusted around the communities and teams they cover. Our newspaper just did a 15-part series linking a convicted serial killer to a string of unsolved murders — it generated more than 3,000 e-mails and might prevent the killer from being released from prison. Tell me where else I can find something that good in this community, because I’d love to subscribe to that, too.

Besides, is your desk on a train? In your bathroom? I still like to read the Sunday paper on the porch with my coffee in the morning. And I still think the worst newspapers present and display news better than the best Web sites, even if they ink rubs off on your fingertips.

Look, we have to change the way we do things. We have to put an emphasis on analysis and enterprise, and we need to expand our Web presence to enhance what we’re giving people in print. But as long as there are trees to chop down (sorry, Al Gore), there will be newspapers to read.

Q: In general, the thought that if writers like to see their picture or byline in the paper, then perhaps they would also like to … see themselves on TV. How much of an advantage does ESPN have when it approaches potential hires and uses TV as a selling point?

I’m sure appearing on television is a fine selling point for some people with ESPN, but I’m guessing the big bags of money the network is tossing at its talent doesn’t hurt, either. But I’m not really the best person to ask about this: My big bald head reflects the glare from the cameras.