From objective to bullish: Covering sports for a college

Poynter's Romenesko points out a good read out of Harrisonburg, Va., today.

Colleges are hiring official sports writers.

Dustin Dopirak writes about how more newspaper sports reporters are jumping to college athletic departments. "We wanted to create a position that informed our fans directly," said U.Va. executive associate athletic director Jon Oliver.

Now, that sounds like traditional PR, but the story is worth reading. There's more to it. Hiring sports writers is a trend that began with the pros. Sites like MLB.com and NFL.com employ beat writers for each of their teams.

Is this sports journalism or the impression of journalism? These writers are not going to write controversial stories that their employers don't want them to break.

As newsrooms downsize, travel becomes limited, and journalists redefine themselves, what happens to objectivity? What do the fans, sports customers, want?

What happens to stories about the business of sports?

The Reynolds Center for Business Journalism will be hosting a workshop on covering the Business of Sports March 10, 2010, in Indianapolis.

Stay tuned.

According to Lakers fans, there's no recession

The Los Angeles Times reports that after the Lakers' victory Sunday night, the three Team LA merchandise stores pulled in 14 times what they did when the Lakers won a championship in 2002.

And the retailer's Web site had its best day ever, passing the previous high by 650 percent.

The article, written by Reynolds Center and Los Angeles Times intern W.J. Hennigan, takes a look at this spike in sales after the Lakers clinched another championship title.

View the story here.

Rovell on the economics of sports

Today Mediabistro has a podcast with Darren Rovell, the sports business reporter for CNBC.
Rovell talks about how the economic crisis is affecting attendance, steroids and why business executives don't want to sit behind home plate at the new Yankee stadium.
To check out the podcast click here.