I admit I don’t know much about sports, but growing up I was a Dodger girl. I never watched football (unless LSU played, because both my mother and father were alumni) and I never read Sports Illustrated. And when the LA Times was dropped on the front porch every morning, there was a race amongst us kids to see who could get the funnies first. If it wasn’t me (it never was), I would pull out the sports section and read the Jim Murray column. Because you don’t have to love sports to love good writing.
Jim Murray passed away in 1998, but his iconic writing remains available through books and newsletters. His widow, Linda McCoy Murray, created the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation 10 years ago to honor his legacy and to inspire and encourage young people to get involved in journalism. The Foundation has given away hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to college students across the United States since its inception.
We had the great fortune to have Linda join us on A Closer Look on August 20th. She told us about Jim, his love of sports, his skill with language. But Linda has her own sports background. Having worked with the Indiana Pacers and during the start of the American Basketball Association, she gave us inside scoop on the early days.
Plus, we talked about the future of journalism. Will print go away? How will media change to deal with new technology? Will news ever fit into the “paid” model? How are young people gearing up for the future of journalism?
Linda is vivacious, smart and a whole lot of fun! If you missed the interview, click here to go to the archive and catch the show.
Linda and I are also working together to create a symposium about the future of journalism that will include veteran journalists and Murray Scholars, and that will be covered on the radio show.
What do you think? Where IS the future of journalism? Are you willing to pay for the news you get online? Do you still want some of your news in print form? And if so, what type of news is that? With the immediacy of broadcasting and internet reporting, will
long-form sports reporting go away? Where will the future Jim Murray’s exhibit their work? Radio/television/newspaper/magazine/online … or??
Either comment for us here, or send us your comments at news @ pamatherton .com
Till next time,
Pam
