We’ve heard the murmurs, the whispers, the rumors. They all well up into a broad statement that pierces the heart of any current or aspiring sportscaster: Sports anchors are becoming dinosaurs.
But it’s easy to incite fear with overarching generalizations that are not factually supported…and it’s working. The Penn State Center for Sports Journalism asked sports guys if they thought “someday sports may not be a part of the local television newscast,” and 55% of the 216 respondents agreed.
Why would the guys (yes, 92% of the respondents were men) think such a thing? It doesn’t help that news directors are seemingly nonchalant about the issue; 43% agreed that “the news director at my station does not put enough value on sports.”
When they look around, sports guys see nothing but shrinking, cutting and downsizing. Some, like former Pittsburgh sports director-turned morning news anchor Andrew Stockey, see the writing on the wall and get out before the buzzer sounds. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, When Stockey started with WTAE in 1995, there were six employees in the sports department. When he switched, there were three. (Check for yourself whether Stockey made a smooth transition.)
To sprinkle a bit of salt on the wound: According to the State of the News Media 2010 annual report, local TV stations cut 450 jobs in 2009, not counting the 1200 lost in 2008. That burns.
Of course, there are numerous factors at play. The "major trends" listed in the News Media report say that today, people are more interested in national and international topics rather than local news. Instead of North Dakotans turning on the nightly news to check in on the Oak Grove Class B boys basketball team, they’re flipping to ESPN to see the latest "Not Top 10".
While some aspects of journalism are shrinking, the analysis and commentary/discussion aspect of news is thriving. For some reason, people really do care what Trent Dilfer and Herm Edwards think about any topic under the sun. When we turn on the TV for news, we’re hearing more and more argumentation and opinions instead of good ol’ information.
And then there’s the internet. According to the Pew Research Center, the internet is making news more portable, personalized, and participatory.
“[People] seem to access news when the spirit moves them or they have a chance to check up on headlines...People’s experience of news, especially on the internet, is becoming a shared social experience as people swap links in emails, post news stories on their social networking site feeds, highlight news stories in their Tweets, and haggle over the meaning of events in discussion threads.”
Your sources are very good and well found. You definitely did your research for this blog entry.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would suggest is don't use so many of them. It gets kind of intense to see all these links. It also makes me want to click on them instead of reading what you have to say.
Try to make the links relatable to the entry. I don't care about seeing David at the Dentist again so I would avoid linking that on your entry.
Also, I would have tried to find a video interview with the guy who made the decision to switch from sports to news. (Although I did like the humor you used to go about wether he made the right choice or not.
Try to included more of your own opinion on the topic. I guess it could be somewhat of an ironic thing that you are talking about how newscast these days are all about opinions and you are giving me straight facts. I, however, want to know how this is affecting you. You are in sports broadcasting at SUTV and this is exactly what you want to get into to. Tell me what you think about it.
A topic in the future that would be related to this is if you think a show like sportscenter is killing the local sportscaster or if you think sportscenter is based too much on entertainment and less on facts.
Overall, I liked all the facts you poured into this. I really never noticed or thought that the sports section of the news on television was in danger. Great heads up for that.
Good job on the your blog this week Matt. I liked your quotes you found and your other sources. One thing I would change right away is your hyperlink color for all your links. Blue text doesn't go well with a black background. It makes it more difficult to read.
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