Austin American-Statesman sports coverage is growing. Here's what you can expect from us

Austin American-Statesman sports coverage is growing. Here’s what you can expect from us

Posted by Admin September 9, 2024 Sports

The Austin American-Statesman is growing.

You heard that right. Whether you look at digital subscriptions, page views or audience reach we have more than we did a year ago, and we don’t plan to stop. First up, we’re reinvesting in our sports coverage.

Many of you do not know me: I’m Tyler Davis, the Statesman’s new executive sports editor. With the help of our Executive Editor Courtney Sebesta and longtime Sports Editor Rich Tijerina, I am executing a plan to reinvest in the 153-year-old American-Statesman. We are hiring for a slew of news reporting and editing positions but have prioritized growing our sports department.

That means the American-Statesman is investing in football coverage throughout Texas and more in-depth coverage on the University of Texas. Miss our coverage of the Aggies? We’ll be covering Texas A&M football each week again. You’ll also see occasional posts about the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans.

Our new Texas insider reporter, David Eckert, has two previous beat reporting stops and will bring a unique perspective to Longhorns coverage. Look for Eckert to analyze game film, contextualize the Horns’ performance on the field and uncover competing coaches’ strategy for dealing with Texas’ talented roster.

Tony Catalina, our new Texas A&M beat reporter, has experience covering high school, college and professional sports. He’s worked for digital sports outlets and a New England football journal, breaking news on the recruiting trail and providing in-depth analysis on Dallas Cowboys football. Expect Catalina to be a versatile storyteller as Texas A&M is joined in the SEC by its longtime rival.

We also plan to hire a digital producer to help us publish stories more quickly and uplift the user experience on social media, our app and statesman.com. This person will also help edit and share content from our veteran, award-winning reporters, such as columnist Cedric Golden, Longhorns reporters Danny Davis and Thomas Jones, and high school reporters Rick Cantu and Colby Gordon. This producer will also complement the work you see from our skilled sports trending writer, Caleb Yum, as well.

Don’t forget! Sign up for our Hook’em newsletter curated by Texas football beat writer Danny Davis.

But that’s not all. We’re also hiring a recruiting reporter to tell the stories of Central Texas’ talented high schoolers who have futures as collegiate student athletes. After that, we plan to bring back our beloved Fab 55 recruiting ranking.

I write all of this to say: Join us for the journey. We are delivering more content for our subscribers and are being receptive to what readers care about. We want to become your No. 1 stop for all things Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies and Texas high school sports.

Did you know? Your Statesman subscription includes digital copy: How to access the E-Edition

If you have any questions, thoughts or suggestions, please reach out to me at tjdavis@gannett.com.

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