Categories: OLD Media Moves

What if papers cut sports sections instead of biz sections?

Hal Morris, writing on his GrumpyEditor.com blog, wonders what would happen if newspapers cut standalone sports sections instead of business sections.

Morris wrote, “With the trend toward scattering business news bits in other sections, readers will have to hunt for latest developments in areas that contain city council coverage, obituaries, crossword puzzles and weather.

“Will standalone sports sections be next?

“Imagine the uproar from readers if sports material — including football, baseball and hockey scores — is found alongside bank robbery and lost cat stories on the bottom of page A13.”

Read more here. My guess is that will never happen.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

View Comments

  • Is somebody trying to seriously suggest that business sections drive the same kind of readership as sports sections? Really? Seriously?

    There's no comparison. The idea is laughable.

  • Ditto what Howard said.
    The fact that there isn't an uproar over the removal of business sections proves it's the right decision.

  • That raises a good question. How many people read the business section compared to the sports section? I saw a readership survey at one major metro that found more readers claimed to have read the business section than the sports section. Could you address that question in the blog?

  • Actually, the idea isn't laughable at all.
    In our market, readership surveys have shown the size of the audiences for biz and sports sections are about the same -- roughly a third of all readers. But, Sports has an advantage on increasing street sales -- when the local teams are on winning streaks -- and in attracting advertizers. May not be true in all markets, but still, definitely not laughable. And, maybe incorporating biz coverage in the A section or in Metro is a good call, all things considered, in some markets.

  • I agree that it is not laughable. In Memphis at The Commercial Appeal, surveys indicate almost identical readership.

    The 2004 Scarborough Report showed the Business Section attracting 305,000 daily readers, compared to 327,000 for the Sports Section -- 34% and 36% of the MSA, respectively.

    The latest report, 2006, indicated the Business Section has 312,000 readers, compared to 347,000 for the Sports Section -- 34% and 37%.

    Maybe sports fans are more passionate and vocal, but the sheer numbers appear to be relatively even.

  • Isn't this going backwards? Moving ton sections was the great innovation of the 1960s. Now, we seem to be returning to the all-in-one format.

  • If stock agate is a waste of space, as some see, then certainly the sports section agate page is, too. ESPN.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, MLB.com, NHL.com is where real sports fans go anyways, just like the arguement that stocks prices are found online. And at what point do we stop getting horse gamblers a free ride with their agate?
    Of course cutting stock and sports agate pages serves no one but the bottomline, and that's just for the nexct quarter.

Recent Posts

Dynamo hires former Business Insider executive editor Harrington

Former Business Insider executive editor Rebecca Harrington has been hired by Dynamo to be its…

1 day ago

Bloomberg TV hires Kerubo as desk producer

Bloomberg Television has hired Brenda Kerubo as a desk producer in London. She will be covering Europe's…

1 day ago

Jittery CNBC staff reassured by new boss

In a meeting at CNBC headquarters Thursday afternoon, incoming boss Mark Lazarus presented a bullish…

1 day ago

Making business news accessible to a wider audience

Ritika Gupta, the BBC's North American business correspondent, was interviewed by Global Woman magazine about…

1 day ago

Rest of World hires Lo as China reporter

Rest of World has hired Kinling Lo as a China reporter. Lo was previously a…

1 day ago

Bloomberg rises to No. 7 biz news website

Bloomberg News saw strong unique visitor growth to its website in October, passing Fox Business…

1 day ago