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<\/a><\/p>\nNBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
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\u2019re always around, building relationships and hearing anecdotes on the daily.<\/p>\n
One of my favorite recent local stories that would not have gotten picked up by a national outlet, was Belle Fraser\u2019s reporting on roommates Jack McBain and Dylan Guenther \u2014 Utah Mammoth players for our Jazz fans outside of Utah \u2014 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\u2019s reporting.<\/p>\n
Fraser has since left the Salt Lake Tribune.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s PR team. This isn\u2019t 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 hold them to. The less journalists we have, the less we know and the more that people in charge can continue to get away with.<\/p>\n
Do you think that the Utah Jazz would ever release that Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert\u2019s relationship was \u201cunsalvageable\u201d on their own? No! But Jones\u2019 incredible reporting in 2020 gave way to one of the most important Utah Jazz stories this decade.<\/p>\n