As recently as a few decades ago, sportswriters and journalists operated in the shadows of Australian sport, filing their stories under modest byline photos. But after the success of the few trailblazers who made the leap onto our TV screens, the fourth estate soon became as much a part of the story of Australian sport as the players themselves. How did we get here? Is the average sports fan richer or poorer for the ubiquity of talking head panel shows and the rise of journalists to the status of celebrities? Veteran journalists Gideon Haigh, Richard Hinds and Rohan Connolly - all graduates of The Age's 'Class of '84' intake of cadet journalists - along with La Trobe University's Merryn Sherwood offer their unique perspectives on this sports media phenomenon. 

SPEAKERS: Russell Jackson, Gideon Haigh, Richard Hinds, Rohan Connolly and Merryn Sherwood