I love sports, but I have a lot of issues with what passes today as sports journalism.
Courtesy Univariety
To see where we’re heading, you first have to go back and understand history to see why sports journalism is such a massive industry today. There are over 780 AM/FM radio stations in America today, rising from 500 in 2005, and subscription numbers on ESPN and other sports media corporations are at an all-time low. That’s the result of many factors, especially with the ever-changing landscape of sports media and the access to different sports content platforms.
I want to argue that people are turning away from ESPN and other more traditional broadcast services–not because they can, but because the content is what I call ‘hot garbage.’ ESPN has always been heralded in America for the sports content they provide. They are the gold standard for all other sports media companies globally. If you were a sports journalist, it was your dream to work for ESPN.
Now, if you are a journalist who wants to make a lot of money and has a lot of talent, you go to ESPN. That’s the golden issue creating a disconnect between athletes and media members. Athletes know what clicks mean, and they know the industry is based on drama and getting the story out there first, even if it isn’t right. Grantland Rice once said, “I await the hour when a journalist can be driven from the press room for venal practices, as a minister can be unfrocked, or lawyer disbarred.” if that isn’t foreshadowing today’s reality (written by one of the most highly respected journalists in sports history), I don’t know what is.
Modern-day athletics and athletes wield enormous power. Most kids pay attention to what LeBron James and Steph Curry have to say. And today’s journalists know they’ll get attention if they make their stories about the person, the celebrity, not just about the game or sport. And that trend has grown and worsened each year, heightened by social media and our clickbait culture.
Sports journalism can be traced back as early as 850 B.C. when Homer wrote about the first known draw in wrestling, as Achilles raised the hands of both Ajax and Odysseus in victory. Now sports journalism revolves around political bullshit, including what athletes aren’t qualified to speak about. And if an athlete says the wrong thing or in the wrong way, the story is in the news cycle for weeks on end–often with more coverage than the sporting events that journalists are supposed to be covering.
I would argue that epically bad takes from a “professional” sports journalist should result in termination. “Hot takes” are entertainment, But wouldn’t you think that actual sports journalism and shows would have real sports takes, not goofballs, who have never played a sport?
You may think this is a hot take from a kid who wants to be in the industry. I will say that sports have been the cause of the most joy in my life, and I think that athletes need to be treated better by our national media, especially since athletes pay the bills and have given us countless memories.
