Athlete stories can go untold due to fewer journos

When Canadian curling coach Scott Pfeifer was a member of the Ferbey Four, the curling team would use the large group of reporters at big bonspiels to fuel rivalries and hype the players and the sport.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO – When Canadian curling coach Scott Pfeifer was a member of the Ferbey Four, the curling team would use the large group of reporters at big bonspiels to fuel rivalries and hype the players and the sport.

“(We’d be) lobbing bombs across the alley to the other teams,” Pfeifer said with a laugh. “I don’t think you see that as much anymore.”

That’s an understatement.

The Canadian media contingent is not what it used to be at the curling rink or at the Winter Games. It’s even more noticeable this year with the Milan Cortina Games the most spread out in Olympic history.

A thinning journalist presence at major sports events has been a media storyline for years due to shrinking newsroom budgets. The global pandemic made remote coverage the norm and not everyone returned to on-site coverage when the sports world got back to normal.

In addition to impacting the depth and quality of reporting, fewer on-site journalists means many amateur athletes are unable to share their stories.

“They’re just not going to get that coverage that they got in previous Olympics and that is sad,” USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan said Tuesday from Milan. “That’s sad because this is their moment.”

There are about 40 accredited Canadian journalists covering the Games across Italy, a Canadian Olympic Committee spokesman said in a direct message.