By Brian Yauger
Welcome back everyone. With the semester kicking off and numerous changes happening with student media, I think it’s time to toss one more change on the pile.
Coverage of high school sports is something that’s very important to me. Not only does it help people stay informed with what’s happening in their community and their local kids, but not everyone is able to continue their athletic careers into college. For a lot of seniors, their final year is a last hurrah for them.
Imagine you’re a high school athlete playing in your final games and you did something outstanding. Perhaps it was a last second touchdown pass, a 30-point comeback or a huge upset over a team no one expected you to beat.
Isn’t that something you would want to be seen by family and friends? Wouldn’t it be something you’d want to keep hold of, in case you stop playing the sport you love in college?
If no one was there to remember it, or document it, it would suck, right?
With The Vindicator ceasing publication at the end of August, going unnoticed could be a harsh reality for many local athletes.
There are 18 high schools in Mahoning County, not to mention 21 in Trumbull County and 12 in Columbiana County that are all losing a source of coverage.
Granted, the Tribune Chronicle and Lisbon Morning Journal are Trumbull and Columbia County’s primary papers, but that doesn’t mean the loss of The Vindicator isn’t going to leave a void.
That’s where The Jambar can step in.
This fall semester, we’re going to try and fill that void during football season. Although we know the void will never truly be filled, we will do our best, whether it’s covering a high school game or a story on a recruiting commit to Youngstown State University.
If it goes well, it’s something we’ll continue to do into basketball season.
Obviously, we’re not going to be scaling back on our coverage of YSU athletics to fill this void — just think of it as broadening our horizons.
There’s more than enough room for some high school-related content in the mix. With YSU being largely a commuter school, there’s a decent chance the school you attended being included in this.
The Jambar as a whole is beginning to expand beyond our campus, so it makes sense that our sports section does as well.
Thanks for coming along for the ride with us, and welcome back to campus for the new year.