Not long ago Hall of Fame bowling writer Dick Evans wrote a column about the decline of bowling writers and the fact most daily newspapers ignore bowling today. Unfortunately, I can't argue that point.
As I travel around the country, I am always told that the local newspaper doesn't carry bowling on a regular basis. If a PBA or PWBA event is held locally, they get some coverage, but I have been told that many professional events are not covered at all. I blame part of the lack of coverage on several factors, not just a lack of bowling writers.
First, proprietors need to make the press feel welcome with at least a press release on what the event is all about. I recall the Quaker State Open when it was held at Forum Bowl in Grand Prairie, Texas. The Hulsey family, owners of Forum Bowl, held a press luncheon, and writers from throughout the area were invited to meet the sponsors, have lunch, and usually a professional bowler was the guest speaker. The luncheon brought in writers and television and radio personalities, and the Quaker State and Forum Bowl received excellent coverage.
The Killeen (Tex.) Open, a Southwest Region PBA stop held each August, is hosted by proprietor Dick Atkinson. Atkinson provides all the local television, radio, and newspapers a press release and the Killeen Daily Herald promotes the tournament for nearly a month prior to the event. The PBA members are treated to a buffet on Friday evening, and the press and sponsors are all invited. The tournament receives media coverage in both the Saturday and Sunday editions of the sports page.
I'm sure other proprietors do the same thing, but I am also told that many do nothing.
I agree that the day of the newspaper having a reporter dedicated to bowling is probably history. I have written a weekly bowling column for the Killeen Daily Herald for the past 15 years as a freelance writer. Let's face it: Texas is football country, and coverage of high school, college, and professional football can be a full-time job. Add to that golf, auto racing, and the seasonal sports of baseball, hockey, and the rest, and many papers simply don't have the staff to cover our sport.
I approached the editor 15 years ago, and it has been a labor of love. But, everyone has to work hand-in-hand: Proprietors need to advertise in the paper, and writers need to do more than report league scores.
But, there is more to the media than the daily newspaper. How many times have you seen bowling on a nightly sports show? Usually, you have some talking head like Jim Rome who can't say anything good about our sport. Or, they play the gutter ball of Del Ballard Jr., or show people bowling while sitting in recliners or some other ridiculous scenario such as turkey bowling.
You never see golf or tennis depicted that way. Who's responsible for that?
How many bowling broadcasters have you listened to that have not had the slightest knowledge about the sport? The good commentators are gone. Denny Schreiner, Chris Schenkel, and the late Jack Buck knew bowling and were very comfortable in the booth.
Bowling Magazine ends a 68-year service to the bowlers. Personally, I'm gonna miss it. I've seen the American Bowler, and, given a choice, I would have preferred they get rid of it and keep Bowling Magazine. Nothing against Luby Publishing—I enjoy Bowlers Journal International and subscribe to both. Bill Vint is an excellent writer and photographer and produced a quality magazine. I especially enjoyed the "Golden Moments" section. It was a history lesson with great photography.
Evans was right, "Fans are crying about the way bowling is treated by the daily newspapers," but in actuality, media coverage in general for our sport is poor. Bowling doesn't have magazines on the shelf at Waldenbooks, or B. Dalton like tennis, golf, and others. There is no Bowling Channel like the Golf Channel. There is no weekly bowling show like fishing has. Classic bowling matches are not shown on ESPN Classic. Televised sports programs don't interview our stars, and our professionals have difficulty finding corporate sponsors.
Yes, we need more writers. Young men like Tom Clark of USA Today. But, we also need magazines available in stores to influence people to a sport they may not have considered. We need to keep good magazines like Bowling Magazine that promoted a history of the sport as well as great journalism. We need better television coverage of events as well as promotional appearances on shows by the stars of our sport. When all you see on television and the movies are things like "The Big Labowski" or "Dreamer," it's hard to get credibility and find someone to write in a positive way about the sport.
We still have great writers in our ranks, but the time is coming when we have to ask the question the great country music singer George Jones posed in his song, "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?"
wrightdk@hot.rr.com