#lamartimes

(A truncated version of this will run in Thursday's newspaper...)

With the start of a new school year and football season upon us, it seems apropos to once again lay out some of our coverage policies so that there is transparency and a greater understanding of what it is we try to do.

PineBeltSPORTS is the sports department of The Hattiesburg Post, The Lamar Times and The Petal News. Our newspapers are our driving force and the heart of our operation. However, just because I use the word "department," don't be mislead — I am it. "We" are a one-person sports staff, and I occasionally get help from generous people who offer a lending hand but who are under no obligation to assist us. They are not on our full-time payroll (most get paid nothing at all). That leaves everything up to me.

Our newspaper coverage area includes the following high schools: Oak Grove, Petal, Hattiesburg, Purvis, Sumrall, Lumberton, Sacred Heart and PCS. That list is determined by the area of our newspaper distribution. Our Lamar County schools fall in the Times, Petal in the News and Hattiesburg, PCS and Sacred Heart in the Post due to their location in central Hattiesburg.

I (and our entire publishing company) recognize there are other nearby schools, the biggest being North Forrest and Forrest County Agricultural. We understand that they are very much a part of the greater-Hattiesburg community and that some of their families may live in Hattiesburg. However, they both operate as separate school districts and they both lie outside the lines of our distribution area (just like school district or voting district lines are drawn, so are our distribution lines). I don't draw those lines, our company does.

Almost a year ago our newspapers changed and expanded. We went from six schools to the eight listed above. This was based entirely on where the newspapers would now be available. We were excited to bring the new area into the fold and our relationship working with those added has been great. I work hard to provide all of our schools strong sports coverage, even if that means pushing the limits of what one person can do. 

I promise that who we cover has absolutely nothing to do with the size of the school or the socioeconomic demographics of its community or anything like that. We also don't base coverage on who buys advertising. That has never been the case. Editorial content is generated on its own, based on its standing as newsworthy, journalistic content ... as long as it falls inside our newspaper coverage area. It is in the best interest of our newspaper to use our limited money, man-hours and manpower on our core coverage.

I believe that we provide our eight schools with the best prep coverage in the area, and would put what I/we do up against anyone anywhere. When people ask me, "Why don't you cover our school?" this is the No. 1 response I give them: We do not want to sacrifice quality for quantity.

A lot of times you see media outlets claim to "cover" schools/teams that they barely bat an eye at throughout the year. That's not our game. When we cover a school, I don't just show up once a year to get a story on our website or in our newspaper.

To us, "coverage" is about a relationship — a relationship with coaches, players, parents, a school and its community. Our coverage is year round and offered for every sport. We could "cover" 20 schools within an evening's drive, but is showing up once or twice a year really coverage?

Giving any of our schools less coverage so that we can "claim" to cover more schools does not seem to be in anybody's best interest.

All of our products — including our now-quarterly PineBeltSPORTS magazine — follow these same ideas and rules.

I am immensely flattered that we have produced a product that is considered a commodity; that people want to be included in. I'm proud of that and the way we've built up our sports coverage and our sports brand to be recognized as something worth paying attention to. The decisions we make are made because we believe they will foster that trend.

If it were economically and physically possible to provide equal coverage to everyone within reach, I would. I'd love to include more hardworking student-athletes and their stories. It's just not feasible as things stand.

I sincerely appreciate everyone's interest and readership and love how the community has embraced what I/we do (PineBeltSPORTS is only just now entering its fourth year of existence). I hope that we can continue to find improved ways to give you the best sports coverage around, it's just that right now expanding our coverage area is not the way to do that.

Again, thank you for your interest and I hope you enjoy a great year of high school sports.