Indiana Gazette Sunday edition

[IUPNation]

Do they even still have Pee Sack Media Days?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Do they even still have Pee Sack Media Days?

Yes, although I thinks it's been virtual the last couple years.

That thought also brings up the other elephant in the room. Will the NCAA require Covid testing again this year on a weekly basis? I remember last year scanning the field in pre-game to see who was and wasn't dressed.

[Matt Burglund]

I just like to hear the interviews afterward -- players and both HCs.

Of course, when it's live some interesting things can be said ... especially right after a heated contest. Some great coach rants come right after games. Just about every game decisions get questioned, etc. It's neat to hear their reactions, etc.

[Matt Burglund]

Yes, although I thinks it's been virtual the last couple years.

[Ship69]

Different era in the business, I suppose. Sounds like today the remaining newspapers don't see it as worthwhile to spend the money covering D2 events.

It is shocking that a small city like Erie -- with 3 programs in its vicinity -- doesn't do more. The paper down by California (Observer Reporter?) used to cover the Vulcans pretty thoroughly but I guess that was a long time ago now.

BTW, how did all those people fit in the Miller pressbox? LOL. Must have been tight.

With most smaller papers today, it's not just a matter of whether it's worthwhile. It's whether you have enough bodies to actually cover things. When I did some sportswriting years ago (along with covering local schools, attending local borough and township meetings, and sometimes being called in for breaking news, I was working long days Monday through Saturday. During fall and winter sports season, it was 70 hours a week or more on occasion. Not everyone wants to do that, especially since you're probably not getting paid a great deal to do it.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

With most smaller papers today, it's not just a matter of whether it's worthwhile. It's whether you have enough bodies to actually cover things. When I did some sportswriting years ago (along with covering local schools, attending local borough and township meetings, and sometimes being called in for breaking news, I was working long days Monday through Saturday. During fall and winter sports season, it was 70 hours a week or more on occasion. Not everyone ones to do that, especially since you're probably not getting paid a great deal to do it.

I started to notice that the past couple years even in high school coverage. Even the larger papers (Trib, P-G) were covering less and less games. The WPIAL got massive coverage for decades. High school coverage sells way more papers (or, clicks) than D2 in these parts. The big schools still get close to full coverage (North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, etc.). It's the small schools now getting nothing more than a short paragraph in the 'round up' section.

I think of the Indiana Gazette ... it has to be a huge challenge since Indiana County has so many schools. The Heritage Conference (mostly) falls in the IG territory. And, of course, Indiana High, which is in the WPIAL. It takes a lot of bodies to cover all those games (or, as many as they can).

[jrshooter]

As a former member of that Harrisburg-area media you're talking about, it saddens me too.

One of the best seasons of my professional life was the year I was the PSAC football beat guy with free rein. I'd be at West Chester one week, Cal the next, Bloomsburg the third.

But the Patriot/PennLive has apparently determined that coverage of the conference doesn't generate the clicks that the 37th PSU story of the week does. Wish it did, but ...

[oakleafmold]

Maybe if folks contact the Trib they'll add it to their beat...Greensburg is pretty fertile IUP country, and the paper is pretty popular regionally.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Maybe if folks contact the Trib they'll add it to their beat...Greensburg is pretty fertile IUP country, and the paper is pretty popular regionally.

Not positive but I think the Greensburg Trib is gone. It's exclusively out of Pittsburgh now.

[Matt Burglund]

One of the best seasons of my professional life was the year I was the PSAC football beat guy with free rein. I'd be at West Chester one week, Cal the next, Bloomsburg the third.

Damn, that sounds like a dream beat right there.

But the Patriot/PennLive has apparently determined that coverage of the conference doesn't generate the clicks that the 37th PSU story of the week does. Wish it did, but ...

About 20 years ago, I had an idea to write a weekly PSAC notebook throughout the school year that would highlight games, players, etc. in all sports. I sent emails to probably 60 newspapers in Pennsylvania. I offered it for $20 a week, but that was negotiable. Only one replied and said they were interested but they weren't sure if they'd have the space because of the Penn State coverage. The other 59 didn't even reply.

It's mystifying to me how there are hundreds of thousands of PASSHE alums in PA, but D2 and the PSAC are largely ignored by newspapers everywhere except in the towns that have schools.

All bow to Penn State!

[jrshooter]

Damn, that sounds like a dream beat right there.

A hell of a season too, Matt. It was the year George Landis led Bloomsburg out of years of malaise, capped by Jay Dedea's miracle bomb to Curtis Still to win the East title in West Chester.

[Ship69]

As a former member of that Harrisburg-area media you're talking about, it saddens me too.

One of the best seasons of my professional life was the year I was the PSAC football beat guy with free rein. I'd be at West Chester one week, Cal the next, Bloomsburg the third.

But the Patriot/PennLive has apparently determined that coverage of the conference doesn't generate the clicks that the 37th PSU story of the week does. Wish it did, but ...

Years ago the Patriot-News had what probably was one of the best high school sports sections in the nation. I say that without qualification as I was familiar with what was being done at many larger papers. They hit the Penn State beat with Ronnie Crist and others, but they also found time to cover a lot of other regional sports and even made occasional visits to Ship games. I remember riding along with Bob Hafer of the Patriot to cover the Ship-Virginia Union first-round playoff game in Richmond in 1981. They had a high school football preview every year that was a wealth of information and also had great wrestling and basketball coverage. It's been a shame to see that decline to a ghost of its former self over the years.

[EyeoftheHawk]

[iupgroundhog]

You're right and I am in the same boat. However, when I started this thread I thought it was solutions-oriented. As IUP fans we lose something because of the cessation of a Sunday IG. I suggested alternative ways to deliver a post-game wrap-up in a time-relevant manner. Social media, for example. I thought the most practical for my interests would be to just post an article by Sunday morning in the online version of the paper.

I was surprised when the conversation turned simply to the demise of the traditional newspaper.

Since I grew up in Lock Haven I reference what happened there. They always had a traditional paper, The Express, similar to the IG, a small-town paper that used to be family-owned, or at least locally-owned like the IG but has since been taken over by a large organization that owns about a hundred small local papers. In the process, you lose local flavor and coverage, although the paper does continue to exist.

As a result of the demise of local reporting, sports and otherwise, John Lipez, whose family were the long-time owners of the local radio station, started an online-only news outlet called The Record (which used to be an actual paper). They provide great local sports coverage. I can keep up with things I care about from where I live 2000 miles away. Through The Record they do a lot of local sports streaming. I watch LHU Wrestling and local HS Wrestling on my computer. It's really innovative. It's not subject to a publishing cycle. Stuff can be posted to it soon after it happens. Now, John Lipez is 79 years old. He recently sold The Record to a young, digitally-oriented entrepreneur. Things in Lipez's favor were that he really knows sports journalism and he knows the local advertising market and was able to make it profitable. I must add his father's signature sign-off at the end of sports broadcasts. It was "If you like good sports, be one." It's a great line.

To sum this up, I think something like that that covered IUP and the Indiana community could find a market if done right.

http://therecord-online.com/site/

[Ship69]

There is some information out there. Problem is, there's only so much time a day I want to be fooling around on the computer. I probably do far too much of it now.