The Extinction of the Sports Guy

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.”

 The web’s instantaneous, at-your-fingertips approach is captivating people.  Meanwhile, the local sports guys have a few options: Sit at the anchor desk, waiting for 6:23 to come so he can finally do his own captivating…or go back to the drawing board.

Madden's Minions

GOOD NEWS!!  Now, NFL fans don’t need to suffer through seasons of injuries to star players, off-field drama involving past-their-prime quarterbacks, or even collapsing stadiums.

EA's simulation picked the Pack back in September

No more! That's because technology and new media are minimizing the game...and deflating the egos of sports broadcasters everywhere.  You see, the genius publishers of the Madden NFL video games can now predict the winner of the Superbowl before the season even begins, so there is no longer any need to actually play the NFL season...or for sportscasters to wretchedly attempt to make their own, human predictions of the outcomes of sporting events.

You see, back in September EA simulated the upcoming 2010 NFL season.  Eric Malinowski of Wired. com explained the results last fall:

Brett Favre may still be gunslinging up in Minnesota, but it’ll be his longtime fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin, that will celebrate a Super Bowl win this February, according to Electronic Arts. 

“We wanted to give it a shot,” Phil Frazier, senior producer of the Madden franchise, told Wired.com. “There are a lot of variables at play with multiple teams, but we wanted to see how we do this year. It was one sim, and we let the chips fall where they may.

The chips fell, to say the least.  In fact, when making its prediction before the big game, EA's chips have fallen in the perfect place six times in the past eight years. 

To be fair, there are some caveats.  First, while EA correctly picked the Packers back in September, after their more recent simulation of Super Bowl XLV, EA pulled a Brett Favre, waffling and picking the Steelers to take the cake.

Plus, EA’s 6-2 record in predicting NFL champs is based on the predictions made just before the Super Bowl is played.  We all know it’s easier to pick correctly between two teams than between 32.  But hey, 6-2 still isn’t too shabby.

We sports junkies usually turn to John Clayton or our favorite human NFL expert for pre-season predictions.  But should we now rely on Madden’s robots instead?  Maybe. Before the season began, the ESPN guys published their picks on ESPN.com and only four of the 16 correctly picked Green Bay.

Peter King, the senior NFL writer for Sports Illustrated deserves a shout-out: In September's issue he foresaw a Steelers-Packers Super Bowl…but picked the black and yellow over the cheeseheads, 33-27.  Close only counts in horseshoes.  Turns out he's a mere mortal as well, just like the rest of us.

Football is a beautiful game.  Picking the Super Bowl winner in September is a beautiful thing.  Computers predicting the outcome of entire sporting seasons months before they actually occur (stealing the thunder of sportscasters like Clayton): not so beautiful.

(Instant) Fame and (BAD) Fortune?

It’s true.  It’s not common…and it’s not likely.  But at times, it’s true: Youtube = instant fame. 

Williams before fame struck
http://mantoos.com

Just ask Antoine Dodson.  Or Susan Boyle.  And now, Ted Williams. 

No, not the legendary Red Sox Hall of Fame, 19-time All-Star left fielder.  There’s not much Youtube coverage of him… 

I’m talking about Ted Williams, the straggly looking man with the silky baritone who is the latest overnight Youtube sensation.  Surprisingly, the ‘Youtube = instant fame’ bug doesn’t only apply to musicians and child prodigies.  Now, it’s infiltrated the sports and sports media world as well.    

I’ll admit, the 53-year-old Williams’ story is certainly a tear-jerker.  The man went to school for voice-acting and even held a position with a radio station in Columbus, Ohio in the ‘90s before drug and alcohol abuse derailed his life and his career.  After nearly 15 years of homelessness and poverty, Williams was recorded earlier this month by a videographer from the Columbus Dispatch who then posted the video of Williams (and his undoubtedly impressive and powerful, yet soothing radio voice) on Youtube:  

You know how the rest goes.  Matt and Meredith, Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, even Dr. Phil.  Williams made an appearance with each.  Now, job offers are rolling in.  He’s already promoted macaroni and cheese for Kraft, a commercial that now has over a million Youtube hits.  On the sports side, the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA want Williams for TV, radio and Web voiceovers, and NFL Films is looking into his services as well.

Since finding fame overnight,
Williams is trying to clean up his act
http://www.lex18.com

A man who, less than a month ago, had nothing, now has the world (or at least any job he’d like) at his fingertips.  Thank you, Youtube.

Sorry to interrupt the emotional music, but is this really a fairytale?  Will Ted Williams live happily ever after?

The same media industry that has instantly made him famous can just as easily guide him toward his demise.  In his appearance with Dr. Phil, Williams had a reunion-turned-intervention with some members of his large family (Williams has nine adult children).  Williams is an alcoholic.  He claims he’s been clean for over two years. His daughter, fresh off a recent altercation in which she claims her father punched her, says he’s a liar.  He checked into rehab a few weeks ago, only to check himself out of it…against the advice of medical professionals.  Dr. Phil loves it.

The point is this: Fame isn’t as easy as it looks…especially for a man with a history of drug and alcohol addiction.  Psychologist Dale Atkins agrees. 

 “Indeed, sudden stardom is overwhelming in every sense of the word. Williams never had a moment to take it all in, process what was happening, and reflect, revitalize and restore himself.      

 He was suddenly faced with televised reunions with family members, appearance after appearance after appearance, contemplation of various job offers, little or no sleep. In these situations, parties and celebrations become the norm. How does someone adjust to all of these changes when all around him are lights, cameras and too much action?... People want to see a positive outcome. But instant fame doesn't usually come with the ingredients to ensure that will happen. Privacy, respect, preservation of dignity and concern for the person's welfare seem to be less important than making the most of the moment.”

 Hear that, Dr. Phil?

So while Quicken Loans Arena, home of the Cavs, beautifully offers to pay the mortgage of a home for Williams  as part of their full-time job offer, Cavs officials (and the world) better wait and watch Williams either unravel before our eyes or ride off into the sunset. 

Meanwhile, I need to go record a video of myself doing play-by-play of a televised college basketball game in my living room and then post it to Youtube.  I should have a prominent sports broadcasting job by tomorrow...       

Moving from behind the desk and out of the newsroom

Peters recently joined the legion of
"former" sports broadcasters
http://www.kmot.com/

If you sit down and have a heart-to-heart with somebody who is currently in the sports journalism profession, it seems as though many are Debbie Downers, with mostly negative things to say about it.  Crappy hours, bad pay, poor equipment…

The Fargo-area sports broadcasting pool has even taken a hit lately, with both the sports director (Scott Peters) and weekend sports anchor (Brian Shawn) at KVLY recently (and quietly) announcing their resignation.

So let’s face it; the broadcasting/journalism business (the sports side in particular) is tough.  And new media isn’t making things any easier on the traditionalists (the local TV/newspaper guys)…  Or you could say that new media IS making things easier…for those willing to forge new territory.  

Brown is forging new territory in the
sports journalism world
http://www.marcmine.com/
orangebloods.com-chip-brown

For example, take the story of Chip Brown.  Brown currently works for orangebloods.com, a fan-based Web site that predominately covers Texas Longhorns football.  He is now known as one of the first journalists to break a national sports story on a fan-based site because of his work covering the potential realignment of college football’s Big 12 conference this past summer. 

The point is that Brown had previously worked for the Associated Press and The Dallas Morning News for 20 years as a reporter.  He was well established in his career, to say the least.    

But Brown evidently saw an opening.  One created by new media. 

Instead of being restricted by the traditional boundaries of television and print, Brown took his journalistic skills and 20 years of experience to the web and just started digging, as every journalist must do.  In the process he out-performed ESPN and every other prestigious radio and print journalistic entity in breaking a story with definite national interest.  All while working for orangebloods.com.

Byers has found his niche
as multimedia coordinator for
the NDSU Bison
http://www.gobison.com

More locally, Kasey Byers, the multimedia coordinator for NDSU Athletics, serves as another example. Byers, like Brown, had dabbled in the “conventional” sports journalism world…and hated it.  He, too, turned to new media.  Now, he covers all things Bison for gobison.com.

Byers has found freedom.  Not only can he get the game’s best plays available online for the world hours before the evening news will go on the air in its limited market, but he is not confined to a four minute time slot in which he has to jam highlights from six different games.  On the web, he can post whatever he thinks is necessary to a seemingly limitless audience, even adding artistic flair.  Check out his work: 

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.  During the development of the Big 12 story, Brown made seven appearances on ESPN and did 70 radio interviews, according to SI.com.  Subscribers on his Web site increased seven percent while more and more people tuned in to his Twitter account for updates.     

Because of the ever-growing prevalence of the Web, guys like Peters can attest to the fact that success in the sports journalism industry no longer necessarily means you have to wear a suit and tie while sitting behind an anchor’s desk or write for a prevalent newspaper or sports magazine.  All you really need is an internet connection...and a healthy dose of ambition.       

Allow me to introduce myself...

For this blog throughout the semester I am going to examine how new media is affecting the sports journalism/sports broadcasting industry.

And for your reading pleasure, here's my life in 1 minute, 4 seconds:

My name is Matthew Kurtz.  I was born and raised in good ol' Bismarck, ND and am currently a junior at NDSU majoring in Journalism/TV Broadcasting.  I am a sports anchor for NDSU's student-run campus news station, 'SU TV News.  You haven't seen 'SU TV News?!??!?  Well, here you go!

I also write for Bison Illustrated magazine as well as lead a men's Bible study on campus through the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).  I love sports (especially the Minnesota Vikings) and my faith is very important to me.  Here's a quote I really enjoy, and I found it fitting for this class:

"Make time for quiet moments, as God whispers and the world is loud."
-Unknown

Here's to a great semester!  GO BISON!