From The Washington Post: Amid layoffs and furloughs, sportswriters wonder what will be left of a st

https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...er-what-will-be-left-once-storied-profession/

 

Most important sentence in the story: "Even if the online traffic was good, there wasn’t enough digital ad revenue to offset the declines in print circulation and advertising."

 

Kinda ironic coming a couple months after their what if The Athletic doesn't save the industry piece.

 

Here is that story, written by the same reporter.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/03/03/the-athletic-sports-media-future/

 

I’m really ambivalent about The Athletic. I’m a subscriber, but I recoiled at their CEO’s grave-dancing vow to put local newspapers out of business.

 

That was a good story on The Athletic. I could go all day on this topic. I have a sneaky suspicion that The Athletic is going to be what Rivals/247/Scout have become to college football -- a site ran for super fans that is less likely to be critical of teams than other outlets. Also, what is The Athletic going to do with writers who aren't creating subscribers?

 

What's new here? I've always wondered what will be left of a st

 

I do wonder what life will be like in the immediate aftermath as everyone is still figuring out the health stuff. The financial issues aside, what will it be like to cover a game? I think most expect that locker rooms will be closed, but will teams take extra steps in the name of “safety”? Will credentials be limited (one reporter per outlet)? Will they ban reporters from the stadium, tell everyone to watch the game on TV and then do postgame press conferences over Zoom? Will the limited areas that photographers and videographers can roam be limited even more?

 

From what I've been hearing, those discussions have been happening in some of the big college conferences. The biggest topic is social distancing in press boxes and with post-game interviews. So yeah, there will be limits on credentials (they'll start with a smaller maximum number per outlet). Post-game could be done by Zoom — writers in the press box, players and coaches in a media room. Sidelines will also be less crowded — they'll start with the "special guests" but there will be limits on the number of photographers and TV cameras.

 

Exactly. Their model is to hire people for the specific purpose of covering one particular college or pro team. Can we trust them to uncover corruption at My Team University if such revelations might tend to hurt the team and thereby hurt readership?
I have noticed more than a few tweets that read like blatant virtue-signaling and playing to the base.

 

Teams and leagues have eroded access for independent media for years, and they already are salivating at the chance to cite "public health" as the reason to do so. If you are not working for team-owned or league-owned media, or for a broadcast rightsholder, I'd be surprised if you ever saw the inside of a locker room again.

 

My very strong guess is that, in the near-term, social distancing in the press boxes won't be an issue, because we won't be in the press box or in the stadium or anywhere near the players.

We'll be watching on TV just like everyone else.