Weekly Column: When Media Becomes the Partner

In this week’s column, California Sports Lawyer® CEO and Managing Attorney Jeremy M. Evans examines how the line between sports media and the subjects it covers is increasingly collaborative.

Social media platforms have further accelerated this shift, allowing the story and storyteller to become one—and giving nearly everyone a personal broadcast channel.

You can read the full column below. (Past columns can be found, here).

The current sports media ecosystem is competitive and constantly changing. Content providers (writers, producers, and executives) must find new ways to deliver their library of assets and intellectual property, increasingly through partnerships with leagues, talent, and rights holders.

Media has traditionally been expected to operate independently—pursuing stories based on leads or instinct and reporting the facts. Interpretation and follow up are left to the viewer. Partnerships between the storyteller and the subject, however, can make content feel more authentic, as it comes directly from the source. Social media platforms have further accelerated this shift, allowing the story and storyteller to become one—and giving nearly everyone a personal broadcast channel.

However, journalists should remain mindful of their professional obligation to pursue the truth beyond the goals of marketing or storytelling. There was also a time when newspapers and media outlets openly labeled themselves with political affiliations, signaling their perspective to readers. That approach, in some ways, appears more transparent than claiming independence while operating within increasingly aligned biases.

Shaping a narrative should not be the role of a journalist; uncovering the truth should be. Yet throughout history, including the last fifty years, those telling the story have often sought a particular outcome rather than an honest reaction. There is a time and place for both marketing and journalism, but today’s environment reflects how audiences consume content—directly, immediately, and often through social media.

The Players’ Tribune, for example, tells stories from the athlete’s perspective, often in collaboration with a writer. The Front Office Sports content partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) similarly reflects the continued evolution of marketing, storytelling, and sports journalism. It is a form of partnership consistent with other modern media content arrangements.

Many fans will welcome these types of partnerships, as much of what audiences see and hear across traditional news platforms is framed negatively in both delivery and reception. Sports media has long provided a reprieve, and these partnerships can offer an additional layer of connection when stories are told directly from or with the perspective of the athlete, actor, or business involved.

The transformation of sports media through content partnerships is, in many ways, a natural change driven by accessibility and audience demand. Good journalism still requires asking difficult questions, but media organizations can also learn from this transformation and from their audiences. Viewers want information delivered clearly and directly—without assumptions about what they want to hear. Journalism without bias includes asking questions without bias. As social media continues to dominate how people consume news and entertainment, and as podcasts and self-publishing grow, storytelling has become more democratized than ever before.

The barriers to telling a story have fallen, but personal responsibility must remain the high standard—regardless of who tells the story or where it appears.

About Jeremy M. Evans:

Jeremy M. Evans is the Chief Entrepreneur Officer, Founder & Managing Attorney at California Sports Lawyer®, representing entertainment, media, and sports clients in contractual, intellectual property, and dealmaking matters. An award-winning attorney and industry leader, Evans is based in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California. He can be reached at Jeremy@CSLlegal.com. www.CSLlegal.com.