On Tuesday night HBO aired the final episode of “Real Sports” hosted by Bryant Gumbel. The legendary sports magazine show lasted 29 years, unheard of in today’s landscape. While the show will have a lasting legacy, its end is another nail in the coffin of sports journalism.
“Such a heavy word, legacy. It seems like a word that belongs to politicians and world leaders,” Gumbel said in an interview with the Washington Post. “I’m not sure a television show merits that status. I think the show is going to be remembered as a show that tried to do sports journalism the right way and tried to treat fans, athletes and sports with a degree of respect.”
Last Of Its Kind
This is not a “get off my lawn” take that I often deride “old-heads” for. But Gumbel is right. “Real Sports” wasn’t about spin or gotcha moments or any of the things we see all over media today. Dogged reporters looked for stories that were interesting or major incidents that warranted attention and presented all the facts. Once the segment ended, the main journalist on said piece and Gumbel would discuss how they felt about the subject. But they didn’t tell the audience how they should feel.
We don’t get a lot of that type of storytelling today and there are a lot of reasons for it. The omnipresence of social media and athlete-led platforms that tell their “truths.” Major networks are in bed with the leagues through broadcast deals. ESPN can’t have journalists that criticize their major partners like the NBA and NFL.
Look at all the major cuts made at ESPN over the last several years. The journalism has been gutted and filled with media in the pocket of agencies like CAA, which reps coaches and athletes, and in the pocket of the team executives in the leagues they broadcast. The airwaves are filled with talking head shows that “embrace debate.”
“I don’t foresee it. First, it was a very expensive show to do,” Gumbel said when asked if there could be another show like “Real Sports.” “Second, most outlets have some kind of a contractual relationship with a sports league that would prevent them from doing an honest kind of show. I also think the public appetite has changed. We did long-form video pieces. … The public is conditioned to expect things to be brief.”
Things Change And Will Continue To
That’s the other reality. As sports fans a generation older than me age out and my generation ages, the majority of sports fans don’t expect shows like this or grow up with it.
An 18-year-old today was born in 2005. They have never lived in a world without the internet and they grew up on social media. Long form wasn’t something they needed to wait and find and digest. If they want to know something, they can get it immediately and from multiple vehicles.
A sports fan born in 1978 turned 18-years-old in 1996. If they were a fan of a non local sports team they needed Sports Illustrated, which published weekly, for the hope of a story about a player or a topic. Or they went to the library and looked for newspapers from other areas for stories.
ESPN and its groundbreaking news magazine show “Outside the Lines” started in 1990 and was a monthly show initially.
All this is to say, things have changed. These longer form well-reported programs and pieces are still very valuable. But only insofar as there is an audience large enough that can support them.