With the demise of the recorder newspapers, high school sports and our athletes lose their last local print publication
In 2007 Northern Kentucky, and particularly Northern Kentucky Sports, lost perhaps its greatest advocate – the Kentucky Post. “The Post”, for decades put the previous night’s high school events, stories and results at the doorsteps of residents of our community. When I was the Head Girls Basketball Coach back in the late 80’s I remember telling our team before our regional tournament game versus Dixie Heights that there would be a half page story about the game in the Post Sports Section the next day, and it was up to them to go out and write that story on the floor that night.
They did. The next morning all of Northern Kentucky read about our upset of the Lady Colonels, and how our post-player, Amy Neltner, who you know as Amy Leicht, stepped up and led us to victory. Those were great times.
Following big games I would meet with a host of reporters outside of the locker room and Dan Weber (no relative of James) from ICN-6 would be there doing a video interview that would play after the 11 O’Clock news that same night. What a glorious era for high school sports!!!
Unfortunately, the electronic media has now claimed the Recorder papers and our local high schools and our athletes have lost another venue for scrapbook material, that we all depended upon while growing up.
James Weber had been a tremendous friend to Brossart High School. It seems like every big game or event, be it baseball, basketball, soccer, X-Country, Volleyball, or Track, there is James, adorned in his ball-cap, with camera around his neck, there to write and tell the story to the rest of our community. Few will actually miss the Campbell County Recorder, finding scores and sports stories instantaneously on the web, but it also denotes the end of an era – an era that will never return, and future athletes will not have the pleasure of opening a print copy of the newspaper to read of their exploits, and clip the article for their memoirs.
James will remain on staff of the Enquirer, reporting on Cincinnati.com and contributing stories of our major sports events to the Cincinnati Enquirer, where it might appear three days following the actual game or event. I have always contended that change is always for the worse, and I consider the predictable demise of the Recorder Papers to be another domino in the inevitable electronic media trend to be victimized.
We certainly thank James for his commitment and dedication to the schools, especially our small schools, and our athletes over the years since he arrived here in Northern Kentucky back in 2002. We look forward to seeing him at our events as he takes the next step in his career reporting on Cincinnati.com.