WE KNEW THE ECONOMY WAS BAD and that journalism as an industry is flailing.
But this one really hurts.
For perhaps the first time in history, there were fewer reporters sent to cover the Super Bowl than the year before, reported Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher.
According to the National Football League, there were more media outlets receiving credentials this year than ever before, 633 in 2009 compared to 576 last year. But the number of individual credentials requested dropped by nearly 200 from the previous year. There were 4,786 credentials issued for the Giants-Patriots game Phoenix, Ariz., in 2008. That's compared with 4,589 credentials given out for the Steelers-Cardinals game in Tampa, Fla., earlier this year.
“The reason there are fewer individuals credentialed than last year — though still the second-greatest number in Super Bowl history — can be attributed to the staffing decisions of the individual organizations,” NFL spokesman Michael Signora told E&P.
NFL officials said they believed this was the first time the credential demand had dropped.
According to the story, several newspapers that regularly sent numerous staffers to the game cut back due to economics. The Los Angeles Times sent four people to the 2008 game, but sent only two to this year's game. The Chicago Tribune and the Dallas Morning News also cut back on the number of reporters they sent to the big game. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Hartford Courant did not send any journalists to the game for the first time ever.
However, not all papers cut back on the biggest perk in journalism.
The New York Times, with 11 reporters, and USA Today, each requested the same number of press passes this year as they did last year.*