Nieman Storyboard
Two evergreen lessons in writing and reporting - Nieman Storyboard
Author Dana A. Williams on Toni Morrison's influential work as an editor, plus Mina Kimes and Pablo Torre on the pitfalls of writing about athletes.
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The Changing Game: Why Access to Star Athletes is Dwindling for Journalists
The Changing Game: Why Access to Star Athletes is Dwindling for Journalists In a recent discussion on "Pablo Torre Finds Out," sports journalists Pablo Torre and Mina Kimes shed light on the evolving landscape of sports media, where traditional journalistic access to athletes is becoming increasingly difficult. Kimes, a veteran sports writer, shared her personal frustrations, recounting a four-day trip to Spain to profile NBA sensation Luka Dončić, where three of those days were spent simply waiting for an opportunity to speak with him. She also detailed a similar experience with an NFL player who "flaked" on her in two different states. The journalists pinpoint a "turning point" around 2016, suggesting that athletes began to realize they no longer needed traditional media for exposure. With the rise of social media platforms and personal production companies, many prominent athletes now have direct channels to their fans, allowing them to control their narratives and bypass what Kimes described as "annoying kids from Harvard" asking about their "pee buddies." This shift, they argue, makes the process of "effectively begging for access" a "really depressing" reality for many in sports journalism.
