This column is part of the Indianapolis Public Editor project , a pilot program designed to test whether the presence of a public editor who analyzes local coverage can elevate audience trust in journalism and promote media literacy.

Sports journalism is important to both news consumers and to newsrooms. Rooting for a team or an athlete allows us to experience stories of winning and losing that we can share with our neighbors. Sports is a window to the broader world and sometimes to ourselves and our own communities.

Even though the Winter Olympics, which just concluded, took place on another continent, our local newsrooms each had to determine if and how they could incorporate those stories into their local offerings.

One local TV station news director said that based on their ratings, Hoosiers loved watching the games.…