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Star Tribune staffers, from left, Jim Souhan, Rachel Blount, Jay Weiner, and Jeff Wheeler. GENERAL INFORMATION JERRY HOLT ¥ [email protected] MINNEAPOLIS - 1/31/06 - A studio portrait of the Star Tribune staffers covering the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. (Photo by JERRY HOLT/Star Tribune via Getty Images) (Photo by JERRY HOLT/Star Tribune via Getty Images) | Star Tribune via Getty Images
Earlier this month, news came from the Star Tribune that longtime columnist Jim Souhan would be sharpening his last pencil—clacking his last typewriter—pecking his final keyboard—tapping his final device. Whatever metaphor you’d like to envision for “sportswriter retires”.
I won’t render any sort of positive or negative verdict on Souhan the person (of which I don’t know enough) or Souhan the “successful writer” (every scribe will compose some columns we agree with and others we disagree with—that is the nature of the business). But Souhan’s retirement does make me reflect upon the ways in which I receive my baseball news have changed in just the 30 years I’ve been intensely following the sport.
There was a time in which newsprint truly was the gold standard of baseball info. For me, this took two forms:
My grandfather reliably—some might say metronomically—getting me the daily Star Tribune while I spent the summer months at his cabin lake home
This was of course supplemented by nightly baseball news on cable TV programs like SportsCenter or Baseball Tonight. But beyond reading a timed publication or watching a timed TV show, there was no instant baseball news at my fingertips.
With all that in mind, columnists like Souhan told me what to think about the Minnesota Twins. On one hand: a helpful narrowing of the information portal (like a TV news anchor or a Blockbuster Video section with X number of titles). On the other hand: An un-democratic narrowing of the information portal in the sense that all opinions were being put through the “Souhan filter” (of which most professional journalists will try to avoid, but cannot of course do so entirely).
This is where I might usually make some sort of value-judgement statement on the sports journalism situation, but I have no proclamation here. While the capital-I Internet gives everyone (including yours truly) a chance to pontificate on the National Pastime, it also makes it that much more difficult for the true professionals/experts to make a career of it.
So, while the accuracy or personal enjoyment of Souhan’s scribbles will ultimately fade into the background with time, his retirement makes me contemplate the nature of sports journalism and how we’ll likely never see an era like his again. When Patrick Reusse either absconds or goes gentle into that good night, it will really hit home.
Of course, it won’t take you until Monday morning to get the recap of this Minnesota Twins versus Seattle Mariners clash. I’ll have the particulars—for better or worse—to you by the time you are back from your own lake cabin or other late-afternoon Sunday activities.
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