Abstract

Using as a case study examples from a range of Lincolnshire newspapers, the article examines the emergence of sports journalism at a local level. Towards the end of the 19th century, provincial newspapers' content was becoming increasingly local in orientation as attempts were made to distinguish themselves from the cheap, popular national dailies. With the growth of commercialised leisure and professional sport, increasing coverage within the local press became devoted to the reporting of such activities. The article examines the development of sports journalism between 1870 and 1914, a period of significant change within the provincial press. The work of several historians such as Richard Holt and Dave Russell have suggested that the coverage of sports news within the local newspaper played a part in forging local and regional identities: this article will assess the degree to which an analysis of the Lincolnshire press supports this argument. Increasingly, the identity of local press titles was, to an extent, shaped and defined through their sports coverage. This enabled newspapers to distinguish themselves from neighbouring rivals. The article will examine the ways in which local sports reporting competed with or complemented that appearing within the popular national press and the specialist sports papers.