Derrick Webb, founder and editor of Southern Ohio Sports Authority (SOSA), has had his fair share of experiences, both challenging and rewarding, over his 10-year career in journalism.
He started as a free-lance writer for the Chillicothe Gazette, his hometown newspaper, before moving on to a full-time job about a year later. Since 2013, he has spent time at several publications as both a reporter and a photographer. His résumé includes stints with the Kankakee (Ill.) Daily Journal, Eleven Warriors and the Portsmouth Daily Times in addition to his work with SOSA.
Webb has three kids — a 2-year-old, a 1-year-old and a newborn — so “there’s never a dull moment,” he said. “It’s tough balancing the job and being a dad, but I’ve learned to do so well.”
A lifelong interest in sports led Webb to his current post.
“I’ve been a sports fan all my life, so picking a profession that revolved around sports seemed like a no-brainer,” he said. “But especially locally, it matters. I don’t mean that as a cliché, and I don’t take that statement lightly. Without your local sports reporters, how do the area’s student-athletes get the recognition they’ve worked so hard to earn? It doesn’t happen.
“Our local athletes, coaches, athletic directors and parents need local reporters to tell their stories. We, as reporters, need them to work with us and be willing to tell those stories. It’s all about those relationships.”
The idea for SOSA, which provides coverage of local high school sports on its website and through social media, came about several years ago through conversations between Webb and another sports writer.
“It’s crazy to think about, really,” Webb said. “ A good friend of mine and a fellow colleague, Brock Netter, was working in Illinois at the time, and I was with Eleven Warriors, covering Ohio State football — December of 2018.”
Webb and Netter began brainstorming ways they could join forces and create a new media outlet focused on local sports.
“We didn’t feel as if our local athletes were getting the coverage they deserved, and that really became our rallying cry,” Webb said.
He and Netter began with a “Facebook Notes” site. From there, the ball started rolling, and it quickly took off.
“We started SOSA with a coverage area that included the SVC, SOC I and SOC II, and the FAC [conferences],” Webb said. “At the beginning, Brock and I took on the responsibility of covering games for all 32 teams in those conferences.
“Once we added some stringer photographers and writers, we eventually picked up three more conferences in the MSL-Buckeye, OVC, and SHAC I and II.”
All in all, the operation started by two local journalists went from a Facebook Notes page to a full-fledged storytelling machine that covers 80-plus schools, with stories, photos, video and live-streaming.
“If you would’ve told me back then it would happen like this, I wouldn’t have believed you, but we’ve been blessed,” Webb said.
As the operation grows, so do Webb’s goals.
“When we started, the initial goal was to cover our local area,” he said. “Now it’s turned into something where we feel we can reach all of southern Ohio.
“We want to cover each conference in this part of the state, and with that being said, we still have some work to do.”
Webb didn’t discover his passion for journalism until college, but once he did, he was set on pursuing a career in the field.
“I actually started my college career as a history major before turning to journalism,” he said. “I wasn’t sure of where my path would lead me, and I’m sure a lot of collegiate students feel the same. But if there was one thing I could pass along to future journalists, or college students in general, it would be to find your passion and follow it.”
Despite challenges, Webb has remained set on making a lifelong career in journalism.
“I can remember working for Gannett and waking up to a nationwide email that the company was going to cut almost 10 percent of the workforce,” he said. “That is scary, and it made me almost turn away from the profession as a whole, but I kept going and kept writing because I knew I found my passion.”
