Washington State University this week announced a multiyear partnership with FanWord, a leading technology and storytelling company serving college sports, leading pushback on social media.
Monday's release says FanWord — which has partnered with more than 250 athletics departments, including Gonzaga, Boise State and other PAC-12 schools — will "help communications teams dramatically reduce the time spent creating game recaps, feature stories, player bios, award nominations, transcriptions and other editorial content."
However, as reported by CBS affiliate KREM in Spokane, the university's post on X received more replies than likes, with graduates of the school arguing the partnership undercuts students currently enrolled in the Murrow College of Communication, and that it takes away opportunities for students trying to break into the sports journalism industry. Comments ranged from "pretty disappointing" to "beyond disrespectful."
WSU assistant director of athletics Bobby Alworth told KREM that this partnership is a great tool and not taking jobs or opportunities away from students at WSU. He says the human element is still in full control.
"There won’t be an impact on our student help," Alworth said. "This is our largest group that we've ever had as student assistants — 25-plus in terms of photographers and about a dozen of them handling sports themselves, serving as the main sports contact, running previews and recaps and award releases."
Alworth also mentioned the partnership will only cost WSU about $5,000 a year, which doesn't have a significant impact on the athletics department budget.
