Mixing media in sports

The evidence in sports reporting is that they don't mix -- one form, TV and radio, destroys the quality of the other, newspaper columns.   There's a lot of evidence accumulated in this interesting article indicating that covering sporting events, writing about them, analyzing them, ... these things are no longer the real goal of many sports commentators.  The real desire is to be a media star on a sports program.  One columnist, Stephen A. Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer, goes to many media events, but, the paper's editor said, he still "puts his column [for the paper] first."  Want evidence of his "dedication?"

On the night of the NBA draft, Smith BlackBerryed in his column between television appearances.

... Once upon a time, maybe five years ago, anyone filing a crucial column via a thumbs-only device would have been busted down to covering high-school cross-country meets. Being a columnist at a major daily paper was every sportswriter's dream job. Legends like Jim Murray at the Los Angeles Times and Shirley Povich at the Washington Post were the most beloved guys at their papers. They'd write a cherished column for 30 years, and that was it. There was nothing else to do, no higher job to attain. Now, a sports column is nothing more than a springboard, a gig that starts you on your way to becoming a multimedia star.

As with many things in sports media today, television—and more specifically, ESPN—is to blame.

It's a great article on the dearth of great articles -- and great article writers -- in sports today.