Thriving in the now-dynamic world of sports journalism will require hard work, accuracy, good sourcing – the old chestnuts of good reporting. But it will also demand its practitioners be open to new ideas, to new tools for and methods of reporting, as well as a shift in thinking about how to deliver news to readers.
That was one of the primary messages in a panel discussion entitled “Sports Journalism: Where is it going?” held Monday night that included leading members of the Associated Press Sports Editors. The panel was held on the IUPUI campus and hosted by the National Sports Journalism Center as part of APSE’s yearly judging conference.
Everyone in sports journalism, they said, must be flexible and willing to try any new reporting tools or methods offered to them. But the industry itself must also be able to adapt to different systems of delivery, as social media and new technology offer different ways to bring news to consumers.
“There’s no one who doesn’t touch another platform,” USA Today Managing Editor for Sports Monte Lorell said of his staff.
Lorell said his organization is constantly trying to be innovative when it comes to using digital methods of reporting, and several panelists mentioned the growing prevalence of tablets and iPads, which can change that delivery system.
Mary Byrne, deputy sports editor for The Associated Press, agreed, pointing to the fact that new methods of news consumption – tablets, Twitter, Facebook – have diversified readership. It’s now the job of any news organization not just to offer the news, but to be able to tailor it to as many different methods of delivery as possible.
“They want it in the form that they want it,” Byrne said of potential consumers.
One way of diversifying those options, according to Garry D. Howard, editor-in-chief of the Sporting News, is in the formation of partnerships within the business.
Responding to a question about many recent content-sharing agreements between news organizations, Howard said “alliances” – not the least of which being the Sporting News’ new relationship with AOL FanHouse – are “the future right now.”
Speaking to an audience made up at least in part of undergraduate and graduate journalism students, all the panelists encouraged young journalists not just to be versatile, but also willing to take on any work or responsibility offered to them, and not pigeonhole themselves in any way.
“You’re going to have to be very versatile,” said Phil Kaplan, sports editor at the Knoxville News-Sentinel and president of APSE. “When you go out to cover these things, it’s just storytelling. It doesn’t matter so much about the sport, it’s only a story.”
Another topic discussed at length was the potential damage done to journalistic credibility by both the so-called “citizen” journalist, and also news outlets like Deadspin and TMZ, which are willing to bend certain ethical rules to find a quicker route to a story.
Gerry Ahern, managing editor for colleges/investigative at Yahoo! Sports and Rivals, said he thinks it’s important to hold true to the ethics and practices that have guided the industry for generations. He said he believes consumers can and do recognize a difference in quality between mainstream news organizations and outlets like Deadspin, and that that difference will guide readers back to the best outlets the industry can offer.
“People seek out quality, people seek out trust and people seek out accuracy,” Ahern said. “If we deliver that, we’re going to be in good shape.”
