Golf writers an endangered species on both sides of Atlantic

FROM THE GOLFWEEK.COM WEBSITE
By Alex Miceli
Sitting in the rain at Riviera, I thought it might be nice to spread some good news for a change about the golf industry.
Jeff Shain, formally of the Miami Herald, has hooked on at the Orlando Sentinel as – believe it or not – the newspaper’s golf writer.
Now this is REAL news, a welcome change from what we had become all too accustomed to hearing with newspaper after newspaper dropping both golf writers and a considerable amount of golf coverage.
This week alone, outside of the local newspapers, only Larry Dorman of the New York Times is reporting at the Northern Trust Open.
In the old days, five or six newspapers from places such as Boston, Orlando, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Dallas used to make the trip on a annual basis.
With the fact that the Florida papers have not seen a US PGA Tour stop in a long time, having Shain joining the Sentinel can only be a plus for golf coverage.

COMMENT FROM COLIN FARQUHARSON
The Scottish/British public are probably not aware and wouldn't care anyway but the number of full-time newspaper staff golf writers/reporters is dwindling just as much on this side of the Atlantic as it is in the States.
When I was a young general sports reporter cutting my teeth at Scottish golf tournaments back in the 1960s-1970s, there could be as many as eight, nine or 10 staff golf writers sent by the sports editors of Scottish morning and evening newspapers to tournaments such as the Northern Open, the Scottish professional championship, the Scottish amateur championship, etc.
But these are increasingly hard times for newspapers. Their income from advertising is diminishing, their circulation figures are going through the floor as readers get their news from TV or even websites such as this!
Live scoring offered by some tournament organisers on websites means sports editors don't have to authorise expensive hotel stays and daily meals away from home. Their man can report on a tournament without leaving his office desk, although without access to players' quotes.
Newspapers still devote a lot of space to top-level professional tournaments, sometimes covered by an agency, but carry increasingly less about smaller, domestic competitions.
Where will it all end? I don't think golf writers as a breed will go the way of the Dodo ... but they are an endangered species. Cherish them while the few survivors are still among you!

Any comments? E-mail them to Colin@scottishgolfview.com