The Sad, Sorry State of Sports Reporting
There’s a company named Narrative Science that can take a box score from any sort of sporting event—major league, minor league or little league—and using their proprietary algorithms and software, produce a column describing the game. Reading it, you couldn’t tell the difference between the computer-written piece and one produced by a genuine "sports reporter." In essence, Narrative Science has rendered sports reporting obsolete.
Think about that.
What does a sports reporter do? He or she reports on a game just played. But do sports fans even need that anymore? A smartphone app does it in a heartbeat, complete with live, in-game video.
Yet there aren’t fewer sports reporters; there’s more now than ever.
Every newspaper (what few remain) offers a sports section. Every local news TV and radio station employs a sports "anchor" or two. Nationwide, sports radio stations staffed with a small army of hosts have sprung up in every city with a major league team or major college program. And that's not counting the likes of ESPN, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, NBCSN and on and on and on.
The problem with having all of these outlets is that they all demand content. Constant content. But there are only so many games and events to cover. And only so many ways in which to cover them. What, then, can be used to fill in the gaps between games?
The answer has become opinion. Lots and lots of opinion.
Oh, sure, this is the opinion of "experts." Longtime sportswriters turned talking heads accompanied by ex-coaches and professional athletes who can dissect a game by explaining the inner workings of each and every sport. Supposedly.
What it is, and has become with each passing day, is ill-informed "hot takes." These experts make repeatedly incorrect predictions. They misdiagnose problems. They flip-flop, constantly. In truth, their opinions--despite their backgrounds--are no better than yours or mine. And much worse, they are purposefully constructed to create a reaction from fans--any reaction-- which will generate clicks, re-Tweets, YouTube views, etc.
Yet America’s appetite for sports and sports-related content appears insatiable.
There’s an excellent reason for this demand. Sports are the only televised program outside of a few choice "reality" series that must be consumed live, as it happens. They can’t be DVRed to be watched later. By then, the sports fan is out of the loop.
This is why sports are so attractive to both the networks and their advertisers. Each game takes on the air of an "event." There’s no fast forwarding through commercials. It’s immediate; and the fan is often driven into a heightened emotional state due to each game’s "drama," making them more susceptible to the advertiser’s message.
Yet with this increase in demand for sports and sports-related information, the actual number of true, independent providers has shrunk to the point of non-existance. So, while sports fans may feel they have more options for content, in fact, they have fewer.
Consider the following networks, what they own and with whom they are affiliated:
ESPN has possession of the NBA and the WNBA while partnering with the NFL for Monday Night Football, MLB, a lot of soccer properties (including MLS and both the U.S. Men's and Women's National teams), the Masters golf tournament (in conjuction with CBS) and multiple NCAA football properties, most important of which is the College Football Playoffs. The network, which swallowed ABC Sports, also has control over the Little League World Series, tennis events (including Wimbledon and the US Open), NCAA basketball, Formula One, the CFL, boxing (including Top Rank events), and its most recent acquisition, the UFC. ESPN also has a massive radio network with affiliates in every US state and Canada. They also publish their own magazine and website.
NBC is a longtime partner with the NFL and continues that tradition by airing Sunday Night Football. NBC is also partnered with the NHL, the NCAA & Notre Dame football, the Olympics, thoroughbred horse racing (the Triple Crown & Breeders Cup), NASCAR, Premier League soccer, the Tour de France, the Indianapolis 500 and the French Open among other sporting events. NBC now operates its own cable sports network NBCSN as well as the Golf Channel, and it owns a stake in both the MLB Network and the NHL Network. Online, NBC Sports Group bought out Pro Football Talk (and its associated sites) and partnered with Yahoo! Sports. While NBC Sports does offer radio content, on January 1, 2019, it ceased operating its own 24/7 radio network feeds.
FOX is in bed with the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, NCAA football & basketball, and in 2020 will be the exclusive home of Vince McMahon's XFL. They possess several regional cable sports TV networks, own the Speed Channel, Fox Desportes (a Spanish language sports network) and Fox Soccer which covers soccer around the world. FOX owns the rights to the 2022 & 2026 World Cup and the 2019 & 2023 Women's World Cup. A stand-alone cable sports network, Fox Sports 1, launched in 2013 and shortly thereafter Fox Sports 2 also came into being. The network possesses a chain of over 400 sports radio stations across the nation.
CBS may have lost a little ground on its competition, but it is still proud partners with the NFL and owns the rights to the NCAA Final Four (as well as partnering with other NCAA properties) and the PGA, including the Masters. CBS owns its own CBS Sports Network cable channel, the recently launched CBS Sports HQ, and has a radio network boasting over 300 affiliates, including the original sports radio station The Fan (WFAN) in New York City. Their online presence is limited to their own site and the sports gambling-related site SportsLine.
Amazingly, Turner Sports (TNT/TBS) is a major player owning partnerships with the NBA, MLB, NCAA basketball (Final Four championship), the PGA, and the ELeague (video games). Turner also runs NBA TV on the league’s behalf, and online operates NBA.com, NCAA.com, PGATour.com, and PGA.com. Turner Sports also owns Bleacher Report. In 2019, Turner announced a deal with Caesars Entertainment Corporation to host a Bleacher Report broadcast from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas focusing on sports gambling.
No matter where you live in the United States, your sports information is being filtered through one of these five media conglomerates. They own it. They control it. And unless they say it’s news and worthy of coverage, it didn’t happen.
Oh sure, there are a few "independents" out there, and by that I don’t mean the likes of the NFL Network, NBA TV, the MLB Network, the NHL Network, the Big Ten Network, the SEC Network, etc. as these are merely propaganda machines. Online, you have the likes of Deadspin, Barstool Sports and Awful Announcing to help break up the monotony, but even these outlets rely mostly upon the content of the "Big 5" above to exist. And what's worse, much of the independents' content is sophomoric click-bait.
Yet, this is the mindset that seems to reign, even at the Big 5. The constant barrage of moronic thoughts spewing from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, FS1's Skip Bayless and their ilk is intentional. These comments, whether actually believed by the hosts or if they’re simply scripted talking points, has led to a situation where this is "must see TV" in sportsdom’s eyes simply for the "what are they going to say next?" fascination.
But this is not sports journalism, people. This is junk food news. And unfortunately, it is everywhere.
Investigative reporting in sports is dead. And no amount of 30 for 30s is going to revive it. Why? For one, refer back to the list of the five corporations that not only cover but fund the sports world, and you’ll realize that bad mouthing (or perhaps destroying) a business partner is not in their best interest.
But secondly, it’s hard work. It takes time. It takes money. And the fans don’t seem to care. They’re happy with their nonsensical opinion pieces written by the likes of Jason Whitlock.
The guys who reached the pinnacle of the sports journalism world do nothing with the power they should now possess. Think of the biggest names in sports media: Bob Costas, Dan Patrick, Jim Rome, etc. Now name me one—one—piece of breaking, important news that they’ve uncovered. One Spygate or Ray Rice incident or Lance Armstrong case or Tim Donaghy-level scandal that one of these guys ever broke through hard work, research and pounding the pavement. You can’t because they don’t exist.
But, you say, that’s not their job. What's the point of reaching the pinnacle of the sports media mountain if you can't wield that power for good? Are we just going to let TMZ Sports be the leader in breaking sports news? And if the Bob Costases of the world won’t do this sort of work, who, if anybody, will?
Consider this. Not long ago, Bob Costas got into hot water for his 90 second anti-gun rant during his halftime segment on Sunday Night Football:
Oh sure, there are a few "independents" out there, and by that I don’t mean the likes of the NFL Network, NBA TV, the MLB Network, the NHL Network, the Big Ten Network, the SEC Network, etc. as these are merely propaganda machines. Online, you have the likes of Deadspin, Barstool Sports and Awful Announcing to help break up the monotony, but even these outlets rely mostly upon the content of the "Big 5" above to exist. And what's worse, much of the independents' content is sophomoric click-bait.
Yet, this is the mindset that seems to reign, even at the Big 5. The constant barrage of moronic thoughts spewing from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, FS1's Skip Bayless and their ilk is intentional. These comments, whether actually believed by the hosts or if they’re simply scripted talking points, has led to a situation where this is "must see TV" in sportsdom’s eyes simply for the "what are they going to say next?" fascination.
But this is not sports journalism, people. This is junk food news. And unfortunately, it is everywhere.
Investigative reporting in sports is dead. And no amount of 30 for 30s is going to revive it. Why? For one, refer back to the list of the five corporations that not only cover but fund the sports world, and you’ll realize that bad mouthing (or perhaps destroying) a business partner is not in their best interest.
But secondly, it’s hard work. It takes time. It takes money. And the fans don’t seem to care. They’re happy with their nonsensical opinion pieces written by the likes of Jason Whitlock.
The guys who reached the pinnacle of the sports journalism world do nothing with the power they should now possess. Think of the biggest names in sports media: Bob Costas, Dan Patrick, Jim Rome, etc. Now name me one—one—piece of breaking, important news that they’ve uncovered. One Spygate or Ray Rice incident or Lance Armstrong case or Tim Donaghy-level scandal that one of these guys ever broke through hard work, research and pounding the pavement. You can’t because they don’t exist.
But, you say, that’s not their job. What's the point of reaching the pinnacle of the sports media mountain if you can't wield that power for good? Are we just going to let TMZ Sports be the leader in breaking sports news? And if the Bob Costases of the world won’t do this sort of work, who, if anybody, will?
Consider this. Not long ago, Bob Costas got into hot water for his 90 second anti-gun rant during his halftime segment on Sunday Night Football:
Perhaps this wasn’t the time or place to make such comments due to time restrictions, but then again, where else was Costas going to get the opportunity?
But thirty years ago, Howard Cosell made this report on ABC regarding athletes and drugs at a time prior to any sort of league mandated drug testing policy (and prior to the cocaine explosion in professional sports in the mid-1980s).
But thirty years ago, Howard Cosell made this report on ABC regarding athletes and drugs at a time prior to any sort of league mandated drug testing policy (and prior to the cocaine explosion in professional sports in the mid-1980s).
Look at how Cosell handled this topic, and ask yourself where—if anywhere—would you see a similar report made today?
You wouldn’t.
Now ask yourself why that is? And follow that question by asking yourself what’s the true state of sports reporting in this country, and how did it get to this low point?
The networks, and by extension the leagues, don’t want another Howard Cosell. They’ll live with a Bob Ley, but prefer a Chris Berman or Joe Buck or Erin Andrews because they know these reporters won’t dig deeper. They won’t point out problems, and like Cosell did, offer solutions. They’ll toe the party line and fans will be happy to hear it, as long as the games don’t stop being played.
You wouldn’t.
Now ask yourself why that is? And follow that question by asking yourself what’s the true state of sports reporting in this country, and how did it get to this low point?
The networks, and by extension the leagues, don’t want another Howard Cosell. They’ll live with a Bob Ley, but prefer a Chris Berman or Joe Buck or Erin Andrews because they know these reporters won’t dig deeper. They won’t point out problems, and like Cosell did, offer solutions. They’ll toe the party line and fans will be happy to hear it, as long as the games don’t stop being played.
