How TV, Money Robbed Sports Fans—and Journos

Playing field used to be level enough for writers to give true portraits
By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff
Posted May 23, 2008 6:05 PM CDT
How TV, Money Robbed Sports Fans—and Journos
Boston Red Sox starter Josh Beckett declined an interview with Pat Jordan %u2014 though he did the same with all such requests, preferring to remain out of the spotlight rather than trying to control it.   (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

The days when journalists could get to know professional athletes well enough to write the kinds of profiles that would give fans true insight are long gone, Pat Jordan laments on Slate, with television and the accompanying big money the main culprits. Where Jordan once spent days with Catfish Hunter, he can't get to today's stars without dealing with an army of flaks.

"Writers and fans alike no longer get to know the object of their affections in a way they did years ago," Jordan writes. "If Alex Rodriguez would let his fans know him instead of hiding behind a manufactured image as Dudley Do-Right, then maybe we would all be more forgiving of his foibles on the field and off. " (More sports journalism stories.)

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