CANADIAN NEWSPAPERS BUDDY UP FOR OLYMPICS

The way Canadians read about our Olympians' accomplishments is about to change.

Forty-nine Canadian newspapers, including those belonging to Torstar Corp. (parent of the Toronto Star and Hamilton Spectator) and CanWest (owner of the Calgary Herald and Ottawa Citizen) have formed a coalition to present Olympic coverage. Electronic media's been doing something of this nature for a while, but this is a first in the realm of the written word.

It seems like a step in a good direction. Understandably, the territorial imperative behind this is revolves around advertisers, but we all know having money to spend goes a long way toward being able to put out a good editorial product. (I don't understand how all these corporate interests work, so I'll focus on what I know a little of, the writing/reading side.)

Newpapers in Canada (and their web portals) need to give readers a reason to turn to them. Ideally (can't stress that enough) it involves spending some cash so their talented to people to do what's beyond the ken of TV-types and dudes blogging from their mom's basement: Do long-form storytelling that includes the little details and the minute facts -- the stuff you can only get by being there -- that help create reality and create stories that resonate a bit more than a 90-second TV report or some guy's liveblog.

Who knows how this partnership is going to utilize sportswriters. It's nice to imagine it would mean giving writers such as the National Post's Cam Cole or The Star's Rosie DiManno and Damien Cox more time so they can write columns that increase understanding or stimulate thought. That's what the newspaper/web sportswriters really need to be doing, since blogs and TV already cover the play-by-play of a sports event.

The other promising aspect is that the partnership also promises some "quarterly publishing opportunities" between Olympiads. That segues into the gripe that Olympic athletes get 17 days of living in a media fishbowl and three years and 11 months of total obscurity. After all, why is Cindy Klassen or Perdita Felicien only of interest in even-numbered years?

The proof of this partnership is ultimately going to be in the product, but a media/sports junkie can look forward to seeing if it makes a difference in how the Olympics are presented by the country's top sportswriters.

Thanks to the reader who sent this along. (Toronto Sun Family also has a post on this subject.)

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.