Nieman Lab.
Predictions for
Journalism, 2025.
Could the end of sports journalism as we know it be because of Nick Castellanos? Maybe.
A little-discussed story in October involving the Philadelphia Phillies’ outfielder could indicate a massive change to how sports journalism is practiced. It happened leading into the playoffs, when ESPN wanted to do a story about how Castellanos has been connected to an infamous meme on sports social media. In an interview with MLB Fits on X, Castellanos said: “ESPN actually approached me because they wanted to do an exclusive story on the man who hits home runs at all these inopportune times. But it didn’t work out because they wouldn’t give me editorial rights of the story to make sure that I liked it before it came out. They wouldn’t do that, so opportunity lost.”
That idea — that an athlete refused to do a story with the Worldwide Leader in Sports because they wanted to maintain editorial control of the story — is a portent of things to come.
2025 will be the year when sports journalists start to really reckon with the fact that teams and players don’t need them anymore.
This has been an issue throughout the digital and social media age, but the vibes around this issue are starting to shift in a noticeable way. This fall, right around the time the Castellanos story happened, the NFL Players Association announced that it was seeking to move all media interviews out of team locker rooms.
What’s notable about Castellanos is that he’s not one of baseball’s biggest stars. He’s an excellent player — a two-time All-Star, a guy who’s hit several big playoff home runs for the Phillies. But he’s not a star on the level of Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge. He’s not Derek Jeter creating his own media outlet. He’s a big-league player who, like so many athletes, has realized he no longer needs sports media the way previous generations did.
Sports journalism has historically been the conduit between fans and their favorite players. Newspapers and magazines were the only way fans could hear from their players, so players had an incentive to talk to reporters.
But now? Why talk to a gaggle of reporters when you can post to Instagram? Why open yourself up to stories where you have no control over the final product when you can have complete creative and editorial control over your Instagram story, or you can partner with a brand and make a little more money with a sponsored post?
The point here is not to discuss the importance of sports journalists having access to players and coaches. The point is that, for teams and players, the necessity isn’t there anymore. I get why sports journalists are freaking out about this. They should be. That access is a core part of their job.
But if you look at it from the team and athlete perspective, it makes sense. And from a fan’s standpoint, it does, too. What’s better for a Buffalo Bills fan: Hearing Sean McDermott’s post-game press conference where he answers reporters’ questions? Or seeing his post-game speech to the team on the Bills’ Instagram feed?
Ideally, of course, sports media should be a both/and situation, not an either/or. There’s a place for independent sports journalism and there’s a place for team-created content. They can and should live next to each other. This is a time of abundance in all media, especially sports. But if the Nick Castellanoses of the world don’t want to give up editorial control on stories, it might be time for sports journalists to start rethinking their norms and practices. They may not have much of a choice.
Brian Moritz is an associate professor at St. Bonaventure University and author of Sports Media Guy.
Could the end of sports journalism as we know it be because of Nick Castellanos? Maybe.
A little-discussed story in October involving the Philadelphia Phillies’ outfielder could indicate a massive change to how sports journalism is practiced. It happened leading into the playoffs, when ESPN wanted to do a story about how Castellanos has been connected to an infamous meme on sports social media. In an interview with MLB Fits on X, Castellanos said: “ESPN actually approached me because they wanted to do an exclusive story on the man who hits home runs at all these inopportune times. But it didn’t work out because they wouldn’t give me editorial rights of the story to make sure that I liked it before it came out. They wouldn’t do that, so opportunity lost.”
That idea — that an athlete refused to do a story with the Worldwide Leader in Sports because they wanted to maintain editorial control of the story — is a portent of things to come.
2025 will be the year when sports journalists start to really reckon with the fact that teams and players don’t need them anymore.
This has been an issue throughout the digital and social media age, but the vibes around this issue are starting to shift in a noticeable way. This fall, right around the time the Castellanos story happened, the NFL Players Association announced that it was seeking to move all media interviews out of team locker rooms.
What’s notable about Castellanos is that he’s not one of baseball’s biggest stars. He’s an excellent player — a two-time All-Star, a guy who’s hit several big playoff home runs for the Phillies. But he’s not a star on the level of Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge. He’s not Derek Jeter creating his own media outlet. He’s a big-league player who, like so many athletes, has realized he no longer needs sports media the way previous generations did.
Sports journalism has historically been the conduit between fans and their favorite players. Newspapers and magazines were the only way fans could hear from their players, so players had an incentive to talk to reporters.
But now? Why talk to a gaggle of reporters when you can post to Instagram? Why open yourself up to stories where you have no control over the final product when you can have complete creative and editorial control over your Instagram story, or you can partner with a brand and make a little more money with a sponsored post?
The point here is not to discuss the importance of sports journalists having access to players and coaches. The point is that, for teams and players, the necessity isn’t there anymore. I get why sports journalists are freaking out about this. They should be. That access is a core part of their job.
But if you look at it from the team and athlete perspective, it makes sense. And from a fan’s standpoint, it does, too. What’s better for a Buffalo Bills fan: Hearing Sean McDermott’s post-game press conference where he answers reporters’ questions? Or seeing his post-game speech to the team on the Bills’ Instagram feed?
Ideally, of course, sports media should be a both/and situation, not an either/or. There’s a place for independent sports journalism and there’s a place for team-created content. They can and should live next to each other. This is a time of abundance in all media, especially sports. But if the Nick Castellanoses of the world don’t want to give up editorial control on stories, it might be time for sports journalists to start rethinking their norms and practices. They may not have much of a choice.
Brian Moritz is an associate professor at St. Bonaventure University and author of Sports Media Guy.
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