Sports trumps most government news. It s dramatic. And unlike a school board or city council story that s specific to one community, sports appeals to fans across the region . If a reporter can t make it, the league provides free photos, video highlights and press releases. Last, but not least, sports provides a reason to buy the paper or watch the news daily .
Baseball provides a game almost every day for half the year.
News media have good reason to promote sports, indeed to fill the calendar so that one sport s playoffs overlap another s opening games. The only problem The only problem is sports isn t really news at all. It s entertainment. If it attracts people who otherwise wouldn t pay attention to the newspaper or newscast, I m for it. But when it takes over the front page of a newspaper, it s a distraction, displacing what s important.