"You never cover us"

I don't pretend to know it all, but I think part of the reason is consumption (most), but there is also the way HS sports is covered that is part of the problem.

1) If you cover a game, make it worthwhile. Cover it for a feature. A ticket person who goes to every game. The janitor that sweeps the floor each game survived cancer, the team manager is the key to Smartsville High's season. And write the game up as lead to a roundup with pictures.

@tranzam mentioned above, HS sports ADs, parents want you there to feel important. Ads etc. are really the drivers. In many small communities they drive the small portion of things that actually bring in revenue.

Too many times SEs say well we haven't covered xx in a while, let's throw them a bone.....and a 500-word boring writeup is done. Weed out features in preseason by asking coaches, ADs, principals for features or faces people recognize who have interesting stories. Will have enough to do before features pop up during the season...long ago going to a game just to go to a game should have been stopped. Gamers don't sell papers.

 

Seriously, sports staffs should be wrting the hell out of the JVs out there who had their seasons cut off just as much.