You can almost hear it now, that faint wheeze of a once-proud institution gasping for breath under the crushing weight of corporate greed and bureaucratic partnerships. The death rattle of sports journalism.
There was a time when covering high school and community sports meant something. It was about showing up in the rain, knowing the players’ names/families, and celebrating the kids who gave everything for their teams. It was about connection and not control. But as many of you know, those days are fading fast, replaced by a pay-to-play model that treats access like a luxury item instead of a public service.
More and more, greedy BIG Sports Associations and corporate partners are cashing in on something they didn’t build. They lock local media out, then sell the same coverage back to the very communities that made it possible. They tell us it’s “for the good of the student-athletes,” while charging parents, grandparents, and fans just to watch the kids they raised, compete. It’s not about promoting sportsmanship or teamwork anymore, it’s about who can squeeze the most dollars out of a game.
Meanwhile, the local journalists and small outlets who have covered these teams, often at their own expense, are being told to step aside. The same organizations that preach “community involvement” have found a new way to turn passion into profit, and the only thing they’re developing is a bigger invoice.
One of the most important roles of journalism is preservation. Reporters, broadcasters, photographers, and media are, in many ways, the historians of sport. They document the plays, people, and moments that define a team and a season.
Walk the Hall of Fame hallways at Farmington High School, walk the upper bowl of the Fieldhouse at Central, peek in the glass cases at North County Commons Area. The history is all there – photos dating back to our grandpas’ grandpas. Snapshots of a past, and of a time. Without those who captured and shared those moments, much of that history would be lost forever.
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” He understood that journalism is essential to democracy and community, that truth and record-keeping matter – even at the local level, even under the lights on a Friday night.
Sports journalism still matters because it was never just about the game anyways. It was about the stories behind it. The underdog moments. The heartbreak and grit. The kind of coverage that gives a community something to rally around when times are tough. Without it, we’re left with sterile, corporate-approved streams that care more about monetization than meaning.
So yes, you can still find authentic coverage out there, but it’s getting harder. And every time another “exclusive rights agreement” goes into effect, another small-town voice goes silent.
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