Friday, January 16, 2009

Can Sports Writing Recapture Its Relevance?

Gary Andrew Poole has an excellent essay on the state of sports writing in the current Columbia Journalism Review.

It explores how much a sports reporter's job has changed since the days of Grantland Rice, Red Smith and Jim Murray. After all, you didn't read W.C. Heinz on a blog and Smith didn't have to chase rumors from a chat room.

It raises the question: Where have the storytelling skills gone in sports writing? Has the Web's instant gratification -- fantasy football fanatics, real-time stats and aim, ready, fact-check approach to sports news -- drown out some of the best writing? They are legitimate questions.

Give the essay a close read. It hits on a real issue facing today's sports journalists.

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