My friend and co-worker, David Brazeal, is leaving Learfield. After 17 years. He has two kids and he doesn’t have another job lined up. David is casting his fate to the digital winds (and his wife has a good job) and I admire him greatly for taking the leap.

David has been spending nights and weekends covering Republic Tiger Sports (the local high school). He’s built a strong following (blog and facebook) and wants to turn it into a real business if he can. I’m betting he’ll be successful. David is very good at this kind of stuff. It’s what he now does for Learfield clients.

This is happening all over the country. What was once the exclusive turf of the local newspaper and radio station is being invaded by bloggers and podcasters who operate with virtually no overhead and –more importantly– no legacy media baggage to weigh them down.

Another Learfield alum, Chuck Zimmerman (and his wife Cindy), have built a very successful business built around event blogging and “new” media consultation.

David is one of the most creative people I know. He’s quick and smart and way too funny for the job he’s leaving. He’ll be able to give full vent to his creativity in his new venture and I’m looking forward to watching. I won’t miss David because we’ll be as connected as ever.