RGJ Takes Issue With NevadaPrep

This beauty was posted on the Reno Gazette Journal prep site this morning.  My commentary on this will come soon, but in the meantime, I welcome yours.  Post on their blog or mine, or both!

Update: My Commentary

When I played high school basketball I remember seeing my name in the “big” paper after a regional tournament.

 

The clip was two, maybe three sentences long.  It gave the score and said I had 17 points.

 

A week later after a state tournament game I read a column by Chuck Hildebrand about our team.  It was at least 1,000 words, and though I only scored 3 points that game, my name was still mentioned for handling the ball well against tough defensive pressure.

 

I enjoyed reading about my 3-point performance on NevadaPrep much more than the two sentences on my 17-point game.

 

NevadaPrep has run circles around the “big” papers with its coverage of high school sports for the past decade.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of athletes, their families, and communities have enjoyed seeing detailed stories about their teams.

 

Herb Hall has continued that tradition, taking the baton and running those circles around the competition.  To try and shame him for figuring out how to make this service financially stable, so it can continue, is ridiculous.

 

Chris Gabel does make a valid point that accepting a donation from a school and then reporting on that school looks improper, though I guarantee it wouldn’t change the way Hall or I would report on games.  But it’s outrageous to suggest that Hall is out to suck money from schools and communities for his own financial gain.

     

In a perfect world, local businesses would step up and sponsor NevadaPrep’s efforts – not schools or individuals.  That’s what Hall is after.  Just like the RGJ has ads on its pages from Nevada businesses, NevadaPrep is seeking for the same.  That’s how you pay the bills in the media world.

 

The fact that schools and individuals have sent money NevadaPrep’s way is a testament to how valuable the site is for Nevada communities.  The fact that NevadaPrep has for so long given unparalleled coverage to Nevada schools, without enough financial support, is a testament to the operators’ commitment to Nevada communities.

 

I have been contacting businesses around Southern Nevada in search of advertisers.  Here’s a basic flyer, and here’s a list of ad space available on NevadaPrep.

 

All Nevada businesses should consider supporting a publication that gives their local schools 1,000 words of detailed coverage. 

 

Unless they’re satisfied with the uninterested and uninteresting, two-sentence clips…