Episode 27: Sports Media, Information, and Broadcasting Through the Years: Part 1

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Welcome back to GenX Classic Sports, the podcast where we rewind the game clock and relive the golden era of sports through the eyes of Generation X. In this episode we’re diving into a topic that every GenX sports fan can appreciate — how the way we get our sports news and info has transformed since the 1970s.

Remember waiting for the morning paper just to see the box scores? Or huddling around the TV for a glimpse of highlights on the 11 o'clock news? Whether it was college football, pro basketball, baseball, or the Friday night fights — the way we followed our favorite teams and athletes was slower, more personal, and often filtered through a handful of trusted voices.

But now? With 24/7 coverage, social media, podcasts, athlete branding, and real-time stats at our fingertips, it's a completely different ballgame.

Joining us on this episode are Jacob Pumphrey, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications at Stephen F. Austin University in Texas, and his dad who we’ve talked to before, Wayne Pumphrey, a pioneer in the internet-based high school sports broadcasting world in Arkansas. Both of these guys have seen sports media, information, and broadcasting change tremendously due to technology.

In this episode, we’ll take a look back at the analog days — and trace the evolution to today’s digital, on-demand sports world. We’ll talk about how technology has changed not just the way we consume sports, but the way we connect with them.

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Production Credits:

Intro and outro music: Mason Enis

Narrator: Haylee Wolf

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