Comparoni talks about why he chose MSU after growing up in northern Oakland County and how the university impacted him. He says he was attracted to MSU’s journalism program and wasn’t concerned about MSU’s size. And he describes how his friend and roommate just happened to pick up an application to work at the State News.

“The size of the university didn’t bury me. It brought me along. I’m not sure where I’d be today without that internship at the State News.”

He talks about his career path to finding his mentor Stu Coman, who founded Spartan Magazine in 1991, and then meeting the Stafford family, who bought Spartan Magazine in 1995.

“I kind of arranged an ownership change.” Comparoni then bought Spartan Magazine from the Staffords around 2001.

Comparoni describes the transition from Spartan Magazine to SpartanMag.com and the epiphany he had at the 1997 Aloha Bowl about his publication’s inevitable evolution into an internet daily.

“I needed to reallocate our limited manpower and resources to the internet because that’s where the competition and the growth was. The magazine was still profitable, but the print process was extremely time consuming. Doing the magazine was like experiencing finals week once a month. I still miss the magazine sometimes, but it was time to close it down.”

Jim shares his thoughts on the state and future of college athletics and says what he likes and doesn’t like about Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal. He says he’s glad college athletes can capitalize on their own name, image, and likeness but is concerned that “the moral compass has changed a bit” as recruits’ first question on visits is now often about NIL. And he thinks the transfer portal teaches college athletes “if times get tough, quit. Transfer. That’s the message.”

Comparoni shares his views on the state and future of sports journalism and says “SpartanMag.com is a premium website covering Michigan State sports, primarily football and men’s basketball and recruiting. We have a message board there called the Underground Bunker that I refer to as the daily narrative on Michigan State sports. It’s a community. They don’t always agree with one another,” but they’re unified around MSU sports.

MSU Today airs Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 5 a.m. on WKAR News/Talk and Sundays at 8 p.m. on 760 WJR. Find MSU Today with Russ White on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.