Another huge blow to the sports journalism industry came on Wednesday, when The Washington Post announced that they have laid off a third of its newsroom, and with it, its entire sports department.
About 300 journalists at The Post were laid off, including about 45 journalists from the publication’s sports section. While the section itself was eliminated, a handful of The Post’s former sports reporters were reassigned to the features team to cover sports as a “cultural and societal phenomenon.”
After the New York Times’ elimination of their sports section in 2023, The Washington Post’s was seen as the last great American sports section. But concerns over its profitability and viability in the modern digital age, among other things, drove owner Jeff Bezos to kill the section—to the dismay of many media professionals at or associated with Seton Hall.
Although “devastated” by the news as a member of sports journalism’s old guard, former ESPN anchor and co-founder of SHU’s Center for Sports Media (CFSM) Bob Ley sees it as a silver lining for those who aspire to be in the industry someday to be “entrepreneurial.”
“I think it's illustrious for everybody, especially for students at Seton Hall who are looking at this as a possible career, to understand how this just illustrates that you can’t rely on existing platforms and existing paradigms, that you have to be entrepreneurial,” Ley said.
“It illustrates what the future is,” Ley added. “And it's a challenging future, but it's one that if you work hard at it, you could make your own pathway.”
Like Ley, the Executive Director of SHU’s CFSM, BJ Schecter, was devastated by what he called “probably one of the top three sports sections of all time” being shut down, but also saw it as a unique opportunity for students at the university.
“With great change comes great opportunity,” Schecter said. “So I actually think for our students, and the next generation of media professionals, there are huge opportunities ahead—we just have to look for them in different areas, and we have to innovate, and blaze new trails.”
Perhaps the SHU media professional with the most impassioned response to the news was Ralph Vacchiano, an NFL reporter for Fox Sports-turned adjunct professor at SHU. Vacchiano said that he is “sad, numb, and angry, probably in equal amounts” by the loss of one of the sports sections he read religiously growing up, among other things.
“I also really don’t think people realize how dangerous it is to keep losing local media outlets, or to continually see them shrink or even just cut down their budgets,” Vacchiano said.
Vacchiano continued, saying that these cuts will cause people to be “far less informed” and “more susceptible to misinformation.”
“It’s going to allow powerful people to go completely unchecked, with no one to ask questions about what they’re doing,” Vacchiano said. “And we’re going to just miss out on a lot of interesting stories right in our own backyards—some of which could really impact our lives.”
But just like Ley and Schecter, Vacchiano said that this should be a “wake-up call” for students who want to do something similar to what he does someday.
“If you see an institution like The Washington Post lay off 300 people and shut down its sports section, it has to be an eye-opener, and make you understand the current media landscape,” Vacchiano said.
“It’s rough out there, even for people who have been at it for decades,” he added. “That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go into it, but you should go into it with your eyes open.”
In a similar vein, Ley believes that such a decision offers clarification for these same students who may have viewed the industry, or publications like The Post, as an “ivory tower” rather than a business driven by profit.
“The two most important words in the English language—and this is a brutal truth—are ‘stock price,’” Ley continued. “Everything else follows from that.”
Because of this brutal truth, businesses and corporations invest funds in what will have the most profitable return—hence, publications like The New York Times, and now The Post, eliminating their sports section, which struggles to contend with multimedia sports content on social media that is easier to share and consume than “the written word.”
“We need to truly become multi-media,” Vacchiano said. “If we have an important story that we want people to read, it needs to include a video element, social media elements, even some interactive graphic and design elements.”
“It can’t just be words on a page,” Vacchiano continued. “That just doesn’t do it for people anymore.”
All three maintained the value and importance of the “written word,” but that being successful in the industry today nevertheless demands a more multifaceted approach.
“Writing is still crucially important,” Schecter said. “But I think what students need to understand these days is—I like to use a baseball term—you need to be a ‘five-tool player.’”
For Schecter, being solely a “specialist” in writing or “a wordsmith” is no longer viable in modern sports journalism, where “the skills of video-editing, and appearing on camera or on audio” matter just as much if not more than ever. Like Shecter, Vacchiano implored students to “go into the business with as many skills as possible," because the "more you have, the more valuable you become."
“So diversify your skills, be open to new things, keep looking for better or more stable jobs, [and] make connections,” Vacchiano said. “The days of getting hired and staying in one place and doing one job for 30 years are probably gone. So be as flexible in your career as you can.”
With the changing industry, Vacchiano said he believes writing is important, and he will always stay true to that.
“But we have to meet the consumers where they are,” Vacchiano added. “We need to produce content in the forms that will be most appealing to them.”
Schecter, reflecting on how other industries have faced similar challenges over the years, also noted how “things have a way of coming full circle.”
“Yes, we’re in a ‘15 seconds or less,’ show me and hook me’ [era of sports media], that’s where we are right now,” Schecter said. “Are we going to be there in 10, 15, 20 years?”
“If you look at other industries and other forms, things often come back around,” Schecter continued. “I mean, 15, 20 years ago, with the invention of iTunes, people thought the music industry was dead.”
Back in October, Ley said that “sports journalism’s not on its deathbed, but it’s certainly facing challenges.” Still thinking about the future of the industry, Schecter echoed Ley’s comments. He stressed the need for innovation and adaptation, while also understanding the sense of panic.
“But I would caution everybody that, yes, The Washington Post shuddering its sports department is a huge blow, there’s no doubt about that—but it's not a death knell to the industry,” Schecter said.
“Fan interest in sport is not evaporating—if anything, it's expanding,” Schecter continued. “So there is very much a need for media, we shouldn’t panic; [instead,] we should keep our eyes open and learn from this, and adapt.”
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
