The Newcomer: Meet Daily Citizen sports reporter Ryan Collingwood

Since its founding in February 2022, the Springfield Daily Citizen has not only touted its approach to community-focused journalism, but also the local character of its growing staff.

The independent, non-profit media outlet published a Springfield Stories, Springfield Reporters slogan as a nod to a newsroom with a direct interest in the Queen City. They’re either originally from the Ozarks or have lived here long enough to develop the kind of institutional knowledge you’d get from a multi-generational native.

Springfield isn’t just a rung on their career ladder, it’s their home.

In the Daily Citizen’s search for a full-time sports reporter – the first since its launch 28 months ago and part of a recent expansion – he didn’t have to look far, but he appears to have deviated from its usual recruitment practice.

He hired me.

Most of my journalism career has been spent in the Pacific Northwest, where my woodsy hometown of northern Idaho near the Washington border is about 1,700 miles from Hammons Field. There are Seattle Mariners, Seahawks, and Gonzaga University gear in my closet, as well as a Lake Coeur d’Alene sticker that’s still stuck on my van window.

However, his license plates say Missouri, and I’m proud of that.

After my parents, brother, and nephew moved to the rural Ozarks in 2021 to enjoy a slower pace of life, I eventually took a trip to southwest Missouri and became a writer and crime reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. This position helped me become familiar with Springfield for two years as I observed its robust sports scene from afar, hoping that a sports writing vacancy would surface.

This is what happened, but not in the medium I expected. Now I’m ready to leverage my 17 years of print journalism experience in a market that cares deeply about its teams, athletes and coaches.

I was fortunate to have covered Eastern Washington University and Big Sky Conference sports for The Spokane Spokesman-Review (no, EWU’s red turf didn’t burn my retinas), Washington State University basketball and prep football for the Lewiston Morning Tribune and the power of the NAIA. Carroll College for Helena (Montana) independent record. There were other stops along the way, but these three helped me understand better than most the importance of in-depth community sports journalism.

As the Daily Citizen embarks on a new frontier in sports journalism starting in mid-July, its primary mission is to ensure the most interesting stories are told and told in a way representative of the city it covers .

Football and basketball at the prep and college levels will obviously be major focuses, as will the diversity of our coverage.

• You’ll learn a lot about this Division I volleyball recruit and what sets her apart from most of her peers.

• These state champion distance runners and wrestlers have stories to tell and we want to hear them.

• The longtime Springfield Public Schools coaches and educators who helped shape the culture of their respective sports — you’ll learn about them, too.

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee Lyndal Scranton will continue to provide his insightful analysis on Missouri State University athletics, the Springfield Cardinals and anything else that catches the longtime sports scribe’s attention. Inheriting Scranton and other freelancers in this pursuit is akin to an NFL expansion team signing a Super Bowl-winning quarterback to help bring other position groups up to speed.

The landscape of sports journalism in the Springfield metro area has changed dramatically in recent years and will continue to change. What won’t disappear, however, are the names, the faces and the many stories behind them.

The Daily Citizen’s mission since its launch has been to inform the community and be a catalyst for good. In a city with several tradition-rich high school programs, four college athletic departments, a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate and much more, there will be plenty of GOOD so we can write.

Ryan Collingwood is sports editor for the Springfield Daily Citizen. Do you have a story idea or criticism? Email [email protected], call 417-837-3660 or follow Ryan on social media at X.com/rwcollingwood.