Mark Saxon
Mark Saxon
Mark Saxon is currently an Associate Professional Practice Professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He works under the Sports Editor of the Columbia Missourian, Pete Bland, as the Associate Sports Editor. Saxon works with the Journalism School’s students, helping them explore different ways to approach sports journalism and fine tune their writing for the Missourian. As a mentor, his focus is to help students engage in original reporting rather than opinion based fan reporting as professional teams turn to PR instead of unbiased media more often in this day and age. In his first semester, he has primarily worked on the Mizzou Football beat. He started this position in June 2025.
Mark Saxon is currently an Associate Professional Practice Professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He works under the Sports Editor of the Columbia Missourian, Pete Bland, as the Associate Sports Editor. Saxon works with the Journalism School’s students, helping them explore different ways to approach sports journalism and fine tune their writing for the Missourian. As a mentor, his focus is to help students engage in original reporting rather than opinion based fan reporting as professional teams turn to PR instead of unbiased media more often in this day and age. In his first semester, he has primarily worked on the Mizzou Football beat. He started this position in June 2025.
Before coming to the J-School, Saxon spent three decades as a sports reporter. He worked at the Oakland Tribune to start, then continued on to the Orange County Register, ESPN.com and then The Athletic. Saxon spent two decades as a Major League Baseball reporter, starting with the San Francisco Giants in 1988 where he learned from Barry Bonds at the Oakland Tribune, ending in his hometown to cover the St. Louis Cardinals for The Athletic. In between, he worked on coverage for the Oakland A’s where he covered the 2002 Moneyball fame team led by Billy Beane. He notably spent 7 and a half years with ESPN, the longest he spent in one place throughout the duration of his career, in the roles of Senior Writer and Reporter from 2009 to 2017.
Before coming to the J-School, Saxon spent three decades as a sports reporter. He worked at the Oakland Tribune to start, then continued on to the Orange County Register, ESPN.com and then The Athletic. Saxon spent two decades as a Major League Baseball reporter, starting with the San Francisco Giants in 1988 where he learned from Barry Bonds at the Oakland Tribune, ending in his hometown to cover the St. Louis Cardinals for The Athletic. In between, he worked on coverage for the Oakland A’s where he covered the 2002 Moneyball fame team led by Billy Beane. He notably spent 7 and a half years with ESPN, the longest he spent in one place throughout the duration of his career, in the roles of Senior Writer and Reporter from 2009 to 2017.
Before coming to the University of Missouri, Saxon worked as a remote Senior Reporter for Better Collective for over a year.
Before coming to the University of Missouri, Saxon worked as a remote Senior Reporter for Better Collective for over a year.
Saxon has also taught at Webster University’s School of Communications, worked as a high school teacher, and worked on a fish processing plant in Alaska when he wasn’t covering the MLB. Outside of the MLB, he has gained experience in radio broadcasting and covering high school and college sports.
Saxon has also taught at Webster School of Communications, worked as a high school teacher, and worked on a fish processing plant in Alaska when he wasn’t covering the MLB. Outside of the MLB, he has gained experience in radio broadcasting and covering high school and college sports.
Saxon graduated with a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley in May 1993.
Saxon graduated with a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley in May 1993.
References:
References:
https://journalism.missouri.edu/people/mark-saxon/
https://journalism.missouri.edu/2025/07/mark-saxon-joins-columbia-missourian-as-associate-sports-editor-and-faculty-member/
Mark Saxon joins Columbia Missourian as associate sports editor and faculty member
https://www.marketplace.org/story/2024/02/23/in-the-golden-age-of-sports-content-traditional-sports-journalism-is-disappearing
https://www.marketplace.org/story/2024/02/23/in-the-golden-age-of-sports-content-traditional-sports-journalism-is-disappearing
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/mark-saxon/
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/mark-saxon/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-saxon-5ba7a314/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-saxon-5ba7a314/
https://muckrack.com/mark-saxon/articles
https://muckrack.com/mark-saxon/articles
https://doseofbuffa.com/2021/04/10/interview-between-jobs-longtime-mlb-reporter-mark-saxon-finds-rejuvenation-in-teaching-the-game-to-his-sons/
https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2016/02/espn-com-announces-new-beat-writers-to-cover-red-sox-cardinals-dodgers/
https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2016/02/espn-com-announces-new-beat-writers-to-cover-red-sox-cardinals-dodgers/
https://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-cardinals/post/_/id/9/saxon-excited-to-cover-my-hometown-st-louis-cardinals
https://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-cardinals/post/_/id/9/saxon-excited-to-cover-my-hometown-st-louis-cardinals
https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/19032377
https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/19032377
Mark Saxon
Mark Saxon is currently an Associate Professional Practice Professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He works under the Sports Editor of the Columbia Missourian, Pete Bland, as the Associate Sports Editor. Saxon works with the Journalism School’s students, helping them explore different ways to approach sports journalism and fine tune their writing for the Missourian. As a mentor, his focus is to help students engage in original reporting rather than opinion based fan reporting as professional teams turn to PR instead of unbiased media more often in this day and age. In his first semester, he has primarily worked on the Mizzou Football beat. He started this position in June 2025.
Before coming to the J-School, Saxon spent three decades as a sports reporter. He worked at the Oakland Tribune to start, then continued on to the Orange County Register, ESPN.com and then The Athletic. Saxon spent two decades as a Major League Baseball reporter, starting with the San Francisco Giants in 1988 where he learned from Barry Bonds at the Oakland Tribune, ending in his hometown to cover the St. Louis Cardinals for The Athletic. In between, he worked on coverage for the Oakland A’s where he covered the 2002 Moneyball fame team led by Billy Beane. He notably spent 7 and a half years with ESPN, the longest he spent in one place throughout the duration of his career, in the roles of Senior Writer and Reporter from 2009 to 2017.
Before coming to the University of Missouri, Saxon worked as a remote Senior Reporter for Better Collective for over a year.
Saxon has also taught at Webster University’s School of Communications, worked as a high school teacher, and worked on a fish processing plant in Alaska when he wasn’t covering the MLB. Outside of the MLB, he has gained experience in radio broadcasting and covering high school and college sports.
Saxon graduated with a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley in May 1993.
