By Adit Jaganathan
Jim Litke, who has more sports coverage under his belt than your favorite team has wins, witnessed the evolution of the journalism industry firsthand. But the internet and social media have made him want to stop.
“I’ll be honest. I’m glad I’m not doing it. I think it’s a much different game and I think it’s a young man’s game, in that regard. You have to do way more and I think there’s way less engagement on the receiving end. I don’t think people read,” he said.
Litke started working for the Associated Press in 1978 and was around for the advent of social media. He always had his doubts about its use in the sports journalism industry. “I thought it was going to be really bad at the beginning. I was more convinced of it than ever. Just in a social sense. The media part of it is actually phenomenal. The idea that you can communicate in real time and with your audience is unbelievable. You would kill for that. We had to send out a newspaper and wait to see it the next morning in a tangible form. I think it’s impacted more by the social side of it.”
Litke believes the focus has shifted from in-depth reporting to sensationalism and engagement. The emphasis on creating viral content has overshadowed the essence of journalism. Journalists are almost encouraged to provoke reactions on social media rather than deliver nuanced and well researched stories. The genuine interest in sports has died down due to the amount of information that is immediately accessible to fans.
Social media has also had an impact on how journalists research a story. Writers seem afraid to go against the general consensus and allow it to influence their stories. A lot of writers don’t even watch games before writing a story, opting just to find highlights online and scour social media to find out what happened in a game.
Litke explained, “We’ve crowd sourced opinions. So, it used to be, there was almost eighty percent news and twenty percent opinion. Now, it’s completely flipped.” He continued, “You know when people go, ‘Oh, I read some research. I’m not going to get the vaccine.’ Well, you’re a truck driver. You’re not a doctor. The guy that was recommending it to you went to medical school. He’s got degrees. And yet people feel like they know something because thirty other idiots said something. So, it’s dangerous to crowd source not just information, but we’ve crowd sourced opinion.”
However, the internet isn’t the only reason why sports journalism has lost the essence of reporting. Sports teams have restricted journalists’ access to the athletes and are tailoring the stories that are put out into the media. The days where a reporter could have a one-on-one conversation with an athlete before a game are long gone. Nowadays, you’d be lucky to catch an athlete without a PR official within ten feet of them. This could be the reason why people turn to social media for help.
The internet has forced the sports journalism industry to adapt, but that hasn’t necessarily benefitted the industry as a whole.