Caitlin Clark’s hometown newspaper drops the ball

Where's the coverage?

Jul 12, 2024

I can’t think of a bigger Iowa sports story in my decades living here than that of Caitlin Clark.

You can point to Rose Bowls, March Madness, wrestling championships, the Field of Dreams game – nothing has had such long-running avid interest, both in Iowa and across the country. The young woman has packed arenas nationwide. She has generated millions of dollars in revenue for the WNBA and television networks. She torched all previous college basketball records and is starting to enter her name in the WNBA record books.

As intense as the coverage was in her final two seasons at the University of Iowa, the Des Moines Register has essentially dropped the Caitlin Clark story.

When Clark set the all-time women’s college basketball scoring record in February, Register managers pulled off a PR coup with a special edition newspaper to hand out at the end of the game featuring a full-page cover photo of Clark with a one word headline: “Unmatched”.

“Unmatched” cannot be used to describe Register coverage since Clark turned pro.

Examples? On Wednesday of this week, the Fever played a game that started at 11:00 a.m. Iowa time and was over by about 1:30 – well ahead of the Register’s deadline. There was not one word in Thursday’s printed sports section, and a search Thursday morning of the online Register found not one mention of the game. (The Fever staged an awesome comeback but lost, and Clark had a huge game, scoring 29 points.)

I want to read about it!

Like all good sports fans, in addition to watching the game, I also want to read about it in the paper! I want to see what the coaches said, what Clark said after the game.

When Clark became the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double last Saturday, the Sunday print sports section did run the story – all eleven sentences on page 4.

Last month, when Chicago Sky player Chennedy Carter flagrantly blindsided Clark, knocking her to the court, it was a huge story everywhere. I saw days’ worth of coverage in the New York Times, on CNN and ESPN. Was Carter’s hit a cheap shot? Do players resent Clark’s fame? Was it racially motivated? But for days afterward, there wasn’t a mention of the incident anywhere in the Register.

I can’t be the only person in Iowa who wants to continue following the Clark story. I’ve become a big fan of the Indiana Fever and their struggle to figure out how to take advantage of Clark’s special abilities. For the first time in my life, I’m watching WNBA games on TV. I’ve subscribed to the WNBA app so my wife and I can watch every Fever game. We marvel at the speed, strength and toughness of these marvelous athletes. There are superstars. There are villains. The games are exciting.

As soon as Clark got drafted into the pros, it’s as if the Register forgot about her. But lots of little girls in Iowa, and their parents, did not.

Clark coverage should be easy

I just don’t get it, particularly because the Register and the Indianapolis Star are owned by the same company, Gannett. How hard is it to grab a few IndyStar stories and put them in the Register?

If it were up to me (which I’m sure the Register is glad it’s not), I would be running preview stories, game times, where fans can watch the game (it can vary between ESPN, Ion, CBS, the WNBA app and other stations.) After the game, I’d be running prominent coverage in print and online, with quotes, analysis and a look ahead to the next game.

Caitlin is from West Des Moines, for Pete’s sake. She’s a huge story everywhere but in her hometown newspaper.

I’ve thought back to when previous Iowa college stars went pro. Tyrese Halliburton. Fred Hoiberg. Keegan Murray. To the best of my recollection, the Register moved on and stopped giving breathless coverage to those guys.

But this feels different. Clark is the biggest star in sports. After a rough start, she’s adapting and proving she belongs in the pros. We’ve seen her struggle and we’ve seen her soar. There are endless story lines to explore.

Here’s my tip for the day. If you agree with me and want more coverage than you’re getting from the Register, go get a digital subscription to the Indianapolis Star. Fever coverage there is quite good. A new six-month subscription costs all of one dollar. That’s right, six months for one dollar.

And if one of you would send a gift subscription to the Register sports department, maybe Caitlin Clark fans in Iowa could get better coverage.

Dave Busiek on Media

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