From today's Rapid City Journal Letters to the Editor:
Keep sports drivel in section where it belongs; off Page One
It happened again on Tuesday, Oct. 30. The front page is covered with football and in addition there is an article about hockey that continues on most of Page 2.
What is the deal with all the sports stories on the front page?
The Journal has a whole section for sports, so keep these activities off the front page. Not all your subscribers are crazy about sports, and, personally, I never look at that section.
There is an article about Exxon and the Supreme Court back on A3, and an article about the wildfires in California on A5.
It seems to me that these articles are a lot more newsworthy than whether St. Thomas More beats Belle Fourche, or whatever game happens to be played. I don’t care.
You are about to lose a subscriber if this sports drivel on the front page doesn’t stop.
CORRINE DARROW
Rapid City
I'm not as upset over this recent trend as Darrow, but I certainly sympathize. If we were some huckleberry town of 600 people (especially in the South) where the highlight of everyone's lives was the local high school sports team, it might be more understandable...if not more welcome. But Rapid City is a town of over 60,000 people, the second largest city in South Dakota.
Me? I've always had a hard time considering chasing a ball of air around a court or field more important than taxes, crime, and the direction our city/state/nation are headed.
2 comments:
Bob:
Sports is our number one diversion as a nation. It also involves a lot of people. Even in RC and SF, the local football teams are a very big deal that people talk about.
Sports also unify communities.
While our society often puts too much emphasis on sports, the fact that the RC Journal (and the Argus) would feature the accomplishments of our young people so prominently, in my book, is a good thing.
Then again, I've been playing sports, coaching or officiating since I was about 8. I love the competition, the strategy, the skill, and the chance to work with young people.
Todd
I see your point, Todd. But like the letter writer, I think the coverage is more appropriate in the Sports section.
At the risk of diminishing the positive aspects of sports, I find it appalling that so many people can tell you how many home runs/touchdowns Player X got in the 1973 playoffs, but wouldn't have a clue if you asked them who the Secretary of State was or who represents them in the state legislature. The emphasis and attention on sports is grossly disproportionate to it's importance.
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