Uncovering the outdoors: A modest proposal for sports journalists
After 9–11, virtually all reporters covered the aftermath of that tragedy. Now with the covid-19 outbreak, journalists are looking at their beats through the lens of a dangerous, growing pandemic. As they should. I can’t think of a period in recent history more fraught with uncertainty and fear.
What will sports journalists cover now when virtually all group and spectator sports are shut down for weeks or months? Surely there will be compelling stories about the impact of the coronavirus on seasons and teams, athletes and economics.
But what if sports journalists and news organizations expanded the scope of their coverage to include activities that take place in the great outdoors — parks, forests, lakes and other natural areas? I hope some will write about activities like hiking, climbing, birding and also policy issues related to the outdoors — equitable access to parks and public lands and the connections between a healthy environment and a healthy population, for instance.
Surely the popularity of sports coverage relates to the enduring interest in organized sports at all levels — high school, college, pro. News outlets, at least in the Washington, DC area, have plenty to write about, and they have improved coverage of womens’ sports, female athletes and some of the inequities that persist there.
Still, I have long marveled at the size of the sports journalism workforce compared, for instance, to the ranks of journalists covering the environment. In an era when many news organizations are downsizing, the ranks of sports reporters seem robust compared to other categories.
I hesitate to call it a silver lining, but the Trump administration rollbacks of environmental protections and the climate crisis have spurred staffing, investments and reporting on those topics at some news organizations. And the meetings and grit shown by the Society of Environmental Journalists are nothing short of inspirational in terms of participation and topics tackled.
There was a time when daily newspapers employed reporters who covered traditional outdoors topics like fishing, hunting and camping. The decline in those beats likely followed the aging and retirement of the World War II generation — my parents’ cohort — who seemed more likely to pursue those activities than the generations that followed them.
A group of talented and dedicated reporters does still practice that kind of journalism. They have an active membership organization, the Outdoors Writers Association of America, which covers the traditional outdoors beat but also current topics, like efforts to sell off parks and public lands, loss of wildlife habitat and the climate crisis.
During the past few years, I attended annual meetings of the OWAA in Duluth, Minn. and Billings, Mont. that explored a variety of topics about the conservation, wildlife, recreation and the challenge of working that beat. My only regret was not taking advantage of more of their field trips and local destinations. From Duluth, I could have visited the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a legendary network of forests and lakes that has been on my bucket list forever.
One of the ideas circulating today is even as we practice “social distancing” to prevent the spread of the virus, we don’t have to distance ourselves from nature. Whether venturing into a city park with paved sidewalks or trekking into a national forest, getting outdoors may be just what the doctor ordered — although it may be wise to hit the pause button on that right at this moment. Health professionals have been recommending more outdoor time to improve health and reduce stress. The Nature Fix by Florence Williams explores that idea.
Outdoors activities also include opportunities to help with conservation stewardship, whether cleaning up a creek or replacing invasive plants with ecologically vital native plants. We are losing so much of the natural world every day to development, fragmentation and pollution, it’s imperative that we pay more attention of conserving and improving what we have now.
There’s no shortage of topics for sports journalists who could expand their horizons and explore recreation, health and economic topics focused on the great outdoors. Maybe this is a good time to give that some thought.
