Journalism or Public Relations? Coverage of Sports Teams in High School Journalism Programs

Just as professional sports reporters are often embedded with teams, high school sports journalists have to go to class with the athletes they cover. However, high school reporters lack the expertise of professionals, leading to an examination about whether high school media coverage of sports is more like public relations or objective journalism. In a survey of high school media advisers, the scholastic sports coverage was found to be a trade-off between objective journalism and positive public relations produced by students— who, either way, gain valuable skills— for students.