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The Changing Landscape of Local Sports
2010-06-19

The following article is an editorial commentary

On June 15th, Eastlink announced the layoff of 33 employees, across the country, in the television divison, a move which essentially eliminates the local sports coverage from the Sudbury-based newscast. It's a decision that has understandably angered and puzzled many of those close to the amateur sports scene within the area.

I thought it might be appropriate to perhaps offer some thoughts on this most recent cost-cutting measure, hopefully answering some of the questions that exist in the minds of so many.

As one now former co-worker so aptly put it, this news came as a shock, but not a surprise. On Monday (June 14th), I had the pleasure of taking in the SCDSB Board Grade 5/6 mixed soccer tournament at Hillcrest, the Rainbow Board Elementary "Champions" Track Meet at Laurentian as well as enjoying the hospitality of the crew from St Benedict Catholic Secondary School, hosting their year-end Athletic Banquet at the Caruso Club.

It was a pretty typical day within the world of local sports reporting that I would do. Looking back, I suppose the irony of that day lies in the fact that I was, for all three events in question, the only media representative at any of the festivities. This is not a slight at any of the other media, but rather a simple acknowledgment of the fact that in many instances, the coverage we provided with Sudbury Eastlink Sports was very much a niche market, a group to which we often had exclusive access.

Which is, in part, what makes the Eastlink strategy confusing to so many of those involved heavily in amateur sports in the Nickel City. In this sense, it is quite fair to assume that this decision certainly caught us off guard. But I would be lying if I suggested that I did not know that at some point, this day would come.

The nature of community television programming is that change is often the only constant. In fact, the very reason for maintaining my own website, "www.sudburysports.com", throughout the years that I worked full-time at Persona/Eastlink, lay in the knowledge that inevitably, I would work my way back to the medium that was the start of it all, in terms of my involvement with local sports media.

My intention at this point is to simply move much of the reporting that I was previously doing on behalf of Eastlink Sports directly over to SudburySports.com. Make no mistake, newsprint and web-based news and sports sites cannot possibly completely re-create the unique television experience that so many of our local young athletes have been able to enjoy over the past few years.

There is an undeniable "star" factor that comes from seeing one-self on television and I certainly acknowledge that loss as a blow to community sports. That said, there are far less constraints, both in terms of time and space restrictions, when it comes to reporting local sports on a website. I am very sincere when I state that I am thoroughly excited to see where the upward potential might well lie in terms of reporting within the Sudbury sports marketplace.

Many have asked, in just a matter of a couple of days, what they can do to help - and my answer is pretty straight-forward. Spread the word about the fact that much of the same information that could be seen previously on Eastlink Sports can now be read on SudburySports.com. While Eastlink certainly acknowledges that there was value in the coverage of local sports, the bottom line is that there was not enough perceived value that would justify making different cuts that would have saved the local sportscasts.

That is a belief that I happen to think hundreds, if not thousands, of local Sudburians would disagree with. If indeed we are right, and they are wrong, then support for those who provide coverage of local sports should be strong. Continue to follow all those who take the time to shine the spotlight directly on this sector that is such a vibrant and vital part of our local community.

Together, we can prove that this decision was a mistake.

Northern Hockey Academy