Journalists covering the paymaster
Some things are just “so St. Louis” that it makes a sports fan cringe.
The latest is the frightening merger between media members covering the St. Louis Rams and media members getting paid by the Rams.
The list seems to grow almost daily.
Now on the Rams payroll are John Hadley of KTRS, Howard Balzar of ESPN 1380 and Scott Warmann, formally of ESPN 1380.
Steve Savard, KMOV Channel 4 sports anchor, does the play-by-play, and Malcolm Briggs of 1380 ESPN is the team’s sideline reporter during the regular season.
Only in St. Louis could the sports fan be subjected to such obvious conflicts of interest.
It’s one thing to host a pre- or postgame show that is sponsored by your radio or television station. But to be on the payroll of the franchise you are supposedly covering and then saying you can remain objective is absurd.
This is an insult to the St. Louis sports fan, and the blurred lines of journalism are an insult to the thousands of media members across the nation who objectively cover teams and would not dare work them as well.