| This study examined how newspaper sports editors at some of the nation's top daily sports sections from the APSE 2007 judging contest have been coping with budget cuts as the industry struggles through difficult economic times. Budget cuts have left these papers working with fewer staff members and a smaller news hole in the year since earning a top daily section distinction.;The researcher conducted 16 interviews with sports editors at newspapers from four circulation sizes around the country. The researcher also obtained survey results from 31 of 40 sports editors working at papers selected among top daily sports sections from APSE 2007.;While newspaper upper management seeks ways to cut costs through buyouts, layoffs, hiring freezes and wage freezes, remaining staffers and editors have had to continue churning out a daily product, and the adverse effects are now being seen.;Sports writers have more work to complete because of fewer people on staff and because of the importance of complementing written work with a Web-based product. And sports editors have found themselves devoting more time to maintaining staff morale and managing diminished resources on a daily basis.;With smaller travel budgets, fewer staffers and remaining writers spread too thin, daily sports sections now contain less polished writing, more copy errors and far less coverage of local teams. |
