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In this day and age, every sports fan wants fast and efficient updates on his or her favorite sports team.
The Internet makes this possible, but with the decline of print journalism and the expansion of online sports coverage, the days of true analytical articles may be long gone.
Print journalism is definitely hurting. HBO's Frank Deford said during a September episode of "Real Sports" that the Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post Intelligencer shut down print operations. He added that other big print publications like the Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News are in big trouble.
Deford then concluded that if newspapers die out, that could put an end to sports coverage as well. He said the main reason why is because readers pay for print journalism and no one would want to pay to read articles online and it would be more difficult to generate revenue.
As much as I like online sports coverage and watching multimedia highlights of sports games, the last thing I want is online sports coverage to be in trouble because of lack of revenue.
Also with the Internet, blog postings and tweets are more common and some sports journalists do not agree with the notion of any average Joe having the ability to post a blog.
Alan Drooz, principal content producer and columnist for SignOnSanDiego, said blog postings and tweets have diluted the public's respect for news reporting because of the fact anyone can log onto Twitter and post fast information without having a journalism credential.
"They want their news fast, but they also want meat on the bones," Drooz said. "I had an editor who used to call that 'putting a tuxedo on a skeleton.'"
FanHouse.com's Jay Mariotti said in a September 2009 article from Sports Business Daily that sports are "made for the Internet."
"It's made for the guy who wants to dissect that game he just watched. It's not made to wait 12, 13 hours. By then there's a new cycle of news," Mariotti said.
These days seem grim and dark for print journalism.
Antonio Harvey, sports correspondent for Associated Press, said the Internet helps with keeping up-to-date with how teams and players are doing that can benefit print coverage.
"Everyone wants fast coverage," Harvey said. "With the Internet though, there are so many resources that I can use to stay updated and write accurate articles."
Harvey said one specific way he stays updated with his sports beat accurately on a statistical standpoint is by following Fantasy Sports leagues.
"Sports fantasy teams help with coverage because the updates are accurate and I can easily report on the players and teams that I am following accurately," Harvey said.
Drooz was also optimistic about print journalism staying afloat in this day and age of online coverage.
He said although the general economy of the newspaper business is hurting sports journalism and journalism in general, the quality of the reporting is still there.
"There are less beat report
With sports journalists adjusting to the online movement, the typical analytical article might slowly disappear from print news sources since the online source would have it uploaded first. With the advances of technology making it easier to stay updated on sports, it's not just about who puts out quality sports coverage, but who can cover it the quickest.
Nick Hunte can be reached at nhunte@statehornet.com
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