Best preps coverage?

The Deseret News was good, especially for football. I don't know if the paper still does this, not likely, but it used to try to cover every high school football game in the state with its stringer network. The paper used to have zoned editions for Salt Lake and Utah counties.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I've got quite a few to check out...

 

Agreed. Not that the PG isn't good. They are, but I'm not sure they are anything truly special. This is one area that the Trib at least matches them.

High school sports coverage in Pittsburgh should look better than it does in some markets because it is a relatively big deal in that town, especially football.

 

Not that I'd rank them with some of the papers mentioned above, but I've noticed over the last few years the LA Times has been moving a lot of its preps coverage online, which it a brilliant idea considering more young'uns are getting their info off the web rather than the traditional paper.

 

OK. Well, this really helps the little guys who can always compete with the DMN budget...even if it's been stripped in recent years.

Let's say, what's the best coverage for 2-3 person departments covering 20-30 teams?

 

Thus continuing the demise of newspapers.

 

But the parents are the ones paying for subscriptions (for now). We're woefully behind our competition in terms of Web presence, and the point about how attuned the kids are to the online edition is a solid one. It seems to me you just have to be moving in that direction, if high schools are a big, if not dominant, part of your section, based on the habits of those who will be looking for your content in that department.

 

I used to know a bunch of terrific ones -- Asbury Park comes to mind -- but that landscape has changed so much, I simply don't know anymore. I worked at some good ones, and most are a shadow of what they once were, which of course yet again goes against all this hyperlocal business.

 

Can any paper under 100K in circulation really be considered to have the best preps coverage in the country? Be realistic here. It's like saying some weekly is the best overall paper in your state.

You can be good, but if you're small, the resources just aren't there.

 

I don't really agree with that. As others have pointed out, some large papers simply abdicate this coverage. And some smaller papers basically pour everything they have, limited resources or not, into high school coverage.

 

Absolutely. In fact, I would phrase it the opposite way. I would doubt that a paper OVER 100k would have the best preps coverage, because that's not that paper's priority.

I think you have to figure out what one means by good preps coverage. Does it mean blanket coverage? Better issues coverage? Breaking news on serious issues that affect education, budgets, etc., etc.? Creative coverage or simply exhaustive coverage? Weight given to the sports that draw more? Just because a paper splashes girls swimming as its centerpiece on Sunday doesn't make it good to me if more people would rather read a football follow.

 

Or charting the future.