I recently watched a PBS Frontline documentary on high school football that outlined the immense pressure some programs are under to win, and the rising health risks that are becoming more and more prevalent in the sport at this level. The program instantly grabbed my attention, as it told the story of several players who were directly affected by heat stroke or concussions that could/should have been prevented.
As the program went on, my curiosity was sparked more and more. They touched on topics such as state regulations on high school sports safety and the heavy recruitment of stud athletes, and I wanted to know more, I had questions about the documentary that I wanted answered. Sure, I could go on Google for a few hours and try and look up the information I was looking for . . or I could simply scroll down the page and find the answers to nearly all of my questions provided by PBS. This new style of complete coverage in media supplies its audience with content one wouldn’t normally get from traditional, or “legacy” media coverage(meaning the New York Times newspaper or an ABC News broadcast on television).
The PBS Frontline website provides a wealth of information not contained in the documentary. Whether I wanted to know the specifics of concussion studies mentioned in the documentary, or the fate of some of the star players that the program followed, it’s all there at my fingertips. Whereas legacy media coverage ends when the last line in print or an anchor’s sign off, this new style of coverage goes deeper, and offers its audience much more than ever before.
Another program I viewed on the PBS website concerning the NCAA Basketball Tournament was equally as riveting, and equally as question-raising. This documentary was concerned with the millions of dollars the non-for-profit NCAA makes on its annual Tournament. The most gripping interview was that of Mark Emmert, NCAA President. Though only a few clips of it aired on the program, the transcript of the entire interview can be found on the Frontline website, along with every other interview that aired in the program. Years ago, this type of content was never available to the audience. Online coverage allows a story to be told more in-depth and with greater detail than ever before.
Jake Berent 
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