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What’s a Newspaper to Do?

October 20, 2009

America’s daily newspapers are struggling to stay in business. Some have been reduced in size; some in frequency. Some have ceased print versions and are only found online; some have ceased to exist altogether. Personally, my newspaper stock has tanked.

Those who study and comment on the media mourn the loss of in-depth investigative reporting, which may now fall almost exclusively to magazines – and the less frequently published, the more detailed the treatment. There appears to be little market for daily media between these periodicals and the near instantaneous communications of electronic media.

Even Google was too slow with the news when the airliner landed in the Hudson River. Twitter had the story a half-hour sooner.

So . . . what might this mean for high school sports?

Several things . . . some good; some not so good.  But in the interest of brevity that is the most obvious feature of the newest of modern media, I suggest only this one positive effect.

To succeed again, local daily newspapers must provide what the national media and the instant sources do not do and perhaps cannot do as well:  cover local events.  And give us lots of local names.  And connect local advertisers to local causes, including our schools and their teams, clubs, plays and concerts.  In other words, go back to the way community newspapers began! 

The Lansing State Journal is now a slim, trim version of its former self.  While it continues to publish daily, it’s in the new online features where readers (and now viewers) within the community are becoming increasingly engaged.

After 174 years of publishing daily, late last July the Ann Arbor News was transformed into AnnArbor.com with only Thursday and Sunday print editions, and the publishing objective to become “hyperlocal.”  New technology for an old approach to community news.

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Comments

Adam
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 4:58 PM
Like everybody else's local paper, mine has gone through tough times. In some ways, I question whether they've learned from it, though. Their website is extraordinarily cumbersome to use. And it still doesn't have the sports information I necessarily want (relevant in this context). It's easy to find Football scores and standings on the web; there are many comprehensive sources for such information regarding Michigan teams alone. What's hard is to find detailed game recaps or standings for, say, Soccer, or Volleyball (or, heaven forbid, Cross Country or Golf or Tennis). That's what would bring me back to my paper's online sports page every day.
Rick
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:53 AM
I have more than 20 years of experience in print journalism. With budgets being slashed, those still in the print business have their backs up against the wall. Like most professions, it's a case of one person doing the work of three or four people. I went from having my full-time writing job eliminated, to having my freelance work with a daily slashed to virtually nothing. Neither are the fault of the people I worked for - it's just the industry.

I have created a website to cover the prep sports in my area (www.allsportsdownriver.com). There is indeed a market for it - we are getting nearly 5,000 hits a week. And as a one-person staff, I try to cover all that I can, although I know that is a tall order sometimes.

I guess all I can say is this is a time of flux. Who could have seen the newspaper industry taking such a dive? I do ask that coaches and ADs be patient with this situation. Everyone is doing their best to cover what they can. I am able to see the majority of people come to our site to see the big sports (i.e. football), but the ability to get things online quickly is what is driving folks to read about the cross country, soccer and swimming, too. If anyone has suggestions on how to make it easier to get information out for the masses to read about, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks!

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About the Author

Jack Roberts

Jack Roberts has been at the helm of the MHSAA as its Executive Director since 1986, implementing programs and overseeing tournament administration and regulations for the Association which boasts 1,600 member schools, 13,000 registered officials and 13,000 head coaches.

During the last 38 years, Roberts has spoken to educator and athletic groups, business leaders and civic groups in more that 40 states and five Canadian provinces as one of the nation's most articulate advocates for school sports.

Roberts has served on several national association boards and is board president for the Refugee Development Center, chair elect for the board of directors of the Michigan Society of Association Executives, and head of the East Lansing Arts Festival  50th Anniversary Celebration.

He is a 1970 graduate of Dartmouth College, where he was a three-year starter for the Ivy League's winningest football team during that span.

His wife, Peggy is coordinator of the Power of We Consortium. They are passionate world travelers and have two grown sons: John, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in education policy at Harvard; and Luke, who - with his wife, Alison - are teaching in China.