Sports Journalism

Patrick S. Washburn is a professor emeritus of the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. He is the author or editor of several books, including A Question of Sedition: The Federal Government’s Investigation of the Black Press during World War II. Chris Lamb is a professor of journalism at Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis. He is the author of several books, including Conspiracy of Silence: Sportswriters and the Long Campaign to Desegregate Baseball (Nebraska, 2012).

"If you ever wondered how sports journalism has changed over the years, this is the book for you. The authors look at the growing trends in sports journalism today, and ponder what the future holds. Sports Journalism is interesting and educational at the same time!"-Josh Brogadir, Gerweck Audio “Sports Journalism, from two of journalism history’s all-stars, Pat Washburn and Chris Lamb, is a thoroughly accessible study and what will likely become an indispensable book in expanding our understanding of sports journalism and, by extension, sports in America.”-Brian Carroll, professor and chair of the Department of Communication at Berry College “Provides a clear-eyed look at the development of sports journalism as a profession and an industry while also giving us a glimpse at how it will evolve in the next decade.”-Marie Hardin, dean of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, Pennsylvania State University “The history of the press’s role in the coverage of sports is the story masterfully told by Washburn’s and Lamb’s Sports Journalism. At the heart of the narrative . . . is the growing tension between journalism and entertainment values. How the sporting press responded to this challenge to its underlying legitimacy not only reveals the story of American sports journalism but also illuminates the larger challenges that journalism as a whole will certainly face in the future.”-David Abrahamson, professor of journalism at the Medill School at Northwestern University “This is the most dynamic and complete history of sports journalism that I have ever read. From the current to the one-time well-known to important sports journalism people who have been ignored or marginalized in other histories, all get their due in this thorough work. Highly recommended for both popular and academic markets. I learned a lot and was reminded that the history of sports journalism, from the beginning in the United States in 1733 (!) to today, is a history of changing social mores, political economics, athletic accomplishment, and always evolving media technology.”-Robert Bellamy, professor of media at Duquesne University

• Preface    Introduction    Chapter One: The Beginning of American Sportswriting    Chapter Two: Sports Journalism Blossoms    Chapter Three: Newspapers and Radio Begin to Coexist    Chapter Four: Sportswriters and Black Athletes    Chapter Five: Sports Illustrated and ABC Television    Chapter Six: ESPN and Women Sportswriters and Broadcasters    Chapter Seven: The State of Sports Journalism    Notes    Bibliography    Index