The Utah Jazz are poised to make their franchise’s first playoff run since 2022. Unfortunately for fans of the purple and baby blue — and for three years, neon yellow — there will be four fewer beat reporters covering the team than there were just one year ago.
On Thursday, the Deseret News’ Sarah Todd announced on X that she was being laid off after seven years in Salt Lake City.
Todd is a nationally-respected reporter, and in 2022 was named the Utah sports writer of the year by the National Sports
Media Association. In Darryn Peterson’s first official press conference after being drafted No. 2 overall, it was Todd’s questions that allowed the already reserved rookie to showcase his personality. Say what you want about some of her takes — to which I would reply, who among us hasn’t had the occasional take they’d like to delete from history — she was excellent at her job.
But to say that this is unexpected, would sadly be incorrect.
Last September, Tony Jones of The Athletic, who had been covering sports in the state of Utah since 2008, started covering the Philadelphia 76ers. Due to finances, The Athletic can no longer fulfill its original dream of having a beat reporter for every professional team in North America, and since the small market Jazz were in the midst of a four-year playoff drought, it was only a matter of time that Jones was out the door.
In November, KSL’s Ryan Miller was also on the wrong side of company-wide layoffs. He has since been hired by The Salt Lake Tribune as the new sports editor.
And lastly, after 13 years on the Jazz beat, The Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen switched roles, leaving his seat at the Jazz’s press row for his own data column with the Trib
As of Aug. 28, between KSL, Deseret News and the Tribune, the only full-time, dedicated Jazz beat reporters are Chandler Holt and Ben Anderson at KSL.
This is not good.
And I am sure that some of you reading might be thinking, “who cares how many full time reporters there are. Who reads newspapers anyways?”
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: From a fan perspective, it is always better to have more coverage of your team than less. Next season, as the Jazz look to compete against the best in the West, fans will have four fewer people solely dedicated to providing breaking news, insights and analysis. And it’s not like ESPN will fill that void. Every now and then, sure, a national outlet will dedicate some time to Utah, but the reality of being a small market team means that the Lakers, Heat and Sixers will get tenfold the amount of coverage Utah will get.
Beat reporters are able to build relationships with players and personnel much better than the occasional post-game interview with Shaq, Chuck and Kenny. Players liked Todd. Players loved Jones. Our local reporters are usually the first to fun profile stories, because they’re always around, building relationships and hearing anecdotes on the daily.
One of my favorite recent local stories that would not have gotten picked up by a national outlet, was Belle Fraser’s reporting on roommates Jack McBain and Dylan Guenther — Utah Mammoth players for our Jazz fans outside of Utah — purchasing a crappy hot tub from Costco, and then never using or maintaining it before it eventually broke. This became a huge running joke within the locker room and fan base, and it was only because of Fraser’s reporting.
Fraser has since left the Salt Lake Tribune.
But most importantly, the path that traditional media outlets are going down is a scary one. Every year, news outlets lose more and more people across the board. Not just in sports.
Journalists have a massive responsibility in our society, one that holds people in power accountable. At its core, the Utah Jazz are just a group of 15 men playing a game, but think bigger picture. This is a company worth over a billion dollars that has actual financial implications in this state. As Ryan Smith plans to reshape downtown and the Millers are looking to bring an MLB franchise to the Beehive State, Utah residents have a right to know all the information about new construction, taxes, future plans, whether or not these plans are viable long term, etc. We cannot solely rely on statements from SEG’s PR team. This isn’t to say that SEG is doing something secretly sinister by any means, but companies that have such a big say in how our communities are shaped need to be held to the highest standard, one that journalists have an obligation to do. The less journalists we have, the less we know, the more that people in charge can get away with doing.
Do you think that the Utah Jazz would ever release that Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert’s relationship was “unsalvageable” on their own? No! But Jones’ incredible reporting in 2020 gave way to one of the most important Utah Jazz stories this decade.
Yes, you can always go to fan blogs, YouTube channels and podcasts to get your Jazz fix, but those aren’t going to offer breaking news or an inside look at players. At most, it’s speculation based off of what beat reporters have already reported.
Let me make this clear: You should still watch, read and listen to fan made content! Especially SLC Dunk. I love getting on here and sharing my innermost thoughts about the Jazz. I strutted proud when Taylor Hendricks got traded only one month after I wrote on here that he would not be on the Jazz next season. And I cringe when I think about how I predicted that Brice Sensabaugh would be the Jazz’s breakout star last season, maybe even a 6MOY candidate. Please continue to read this site!
But at the end of the day, there’s significantly less coverage of the Jazz, and Todd, someone who I’ve admired for the past seven years, is without a job at a very expensive time to live in Utah and a decent chunk of the United States.
Here’s to hoping that the Jazz are good enough to demand national attention!
