Reporting v Cheerleading - the Results Aren't Pretty

I posted this video of sports commentator/reporter Bruce Hooley a while ago, but in light of the Penn State scandal it's worth revisiting.   The role of the journalist is to hold the powerful accountable, to ask questions that need to be asked.  Without question, one huge enabler that's been a key factor in the number of scandals in college sports is a press that plays cheerleader instead of reporter.

For sports reporters everywhere, it's time to put down your poms poms.    For any student journalist wanting to be a sports reporter, here's some good advice from Bruce Hooley.

At Miami, it wasn't the local press that broke a story about a scandal that had been going on for years, it was Yahoo Sports.  In Columbus, it wasn't the local media that broke the story about the Tressel mess, it was Sports Illustrated.   Bruce Hooley who has covered Ohio State most of his reporting career has an excellent description for the Columbus media and how they cover Ohio State.

When journalism fails, bad things happen.
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