Bob Ley rejects ‘easy and perhaps even lazy narrative’ that sports journalism is dying

These do not feel like great days for sports journalism.

Just in the last week, we’ve seen ESPN drop the ball on breaking news about a gigantic sports gambling scandal (while downplaying their own interests in the field) and seemingly ignore a major MLBPA bombshell report from its own journalists. The company defended itself by claiming the ratings tell a story about what audiences are interested in and, presumably, those kinds of stories ain’t it.

That would be news to Bob Ley, who was there when ESPN started in 1979 through 2019. Over that time, working as an anchor and reporter, the multiple Emmy Award-winner developed a reputation for strong journalistic integrity, especially as the host of the investigative program Outside the Lines.

A lot has changed even since Ley’s retirement, not just at ESPN but across the sports media world. However, the media icon still hopes there’s room for good sports journalism, even when it sometimes doesn’t feel appreciated.

The 70-year-old discussed the state of sports journalism in the age of social media with Zachary Mawby of the Setonian, the school paper for Seton Hall University, Ley’s alma mater. As part of their conversation, Ley rejected the idea that sports journalism is dying.

“It’s an easy and perhaps even lazy narrative to say that sports journalism is in dire danger of being choked off and [that] it ‘no longer exists,’” Ley said. “I don’t buy into that necessarily.”

Ley added that the platforms and metrics for success have changed, but the value of quality reporting remains just as important, if not more so.

“[The challenges are] to be on the right platform, to be telling the right stories, and to be telling them free of influence or oversight as best you can,” Ley said. “And if it can’t fit on the phone, it’s almost not worth doing because that’s how people—especially young folks—are consuming all their information.”

“I mean, people get their news from TikTok—an idea that chills me to utter,” he added. “There are just so many avenues and platforms that you could take five people sitting in a row on an airplane and ask them where they get their news from, and, depending on their age, their place in life, and maybe where they went to school, they’ll all have different [answers].”

Even though he’s older and not aligned with much of the current technology or trends, Ley sees a light in reporters’ ability to find independent platforms and develop their own brands.

“Today, there’s nothing holding anybody back: you can create your own platform, your own voice, your own brand,” he said. “That’s why when I speak to students, I urge them to steep themselves in the basics—who, what, when, where, why, the ability to write well, [and so forth],” he said. “But at the same time, [I urge them] to recognize that it is important to put themselves out there on the marketplace.

“You are a brand. So why not distinguish yourself?”