TribLIVE High School Sports Network’s general manager Justin LaBar has been recognized by Editor & Publisher, a national industry magazine that focuses on the news industry.

LaBar was selected for the publication’s list of 25 news professionals under the age of 35.

LaBar, who holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from Point Park University, began his career with Trib Total Media in 2009 as an intern.

One of his first major assignments with Trib Total Media was creating multimedia content and videos covering Super Bowl XLIII.

“That content did really well,” LaBar said. “I think I produced over 20 videos that weekend for TribLIVE.com.”

Later that year, LaBar was offered a position as web video producer, editor and host for TribLIVE.com. He held several multimedia roles for Trib Total Media, all of which gave him flexibility to bring in new ideas.

“Every job title I ever held at Trib Total Media, I was the first person to hold that job. I wasn’t inheriting it from someone else. It gave me an opportunity to be creative,” LaBar said.

In October 2017, Trib Total Media acquired the MSA Sports Network — an organization already familiar to LaBar.

“It really comes full circle, because when I was in college, I worked for the MSA Sports Network,” LaBar said, explaining that he used to broadcast games from Point Park University.

When Trib Total Media acquired MSA Sports Network and renamed it TribLIVE High School Sports Network (HSSN), LaBar became its first general manager.

“When we purchased MSA Sports Network in 2017, we knew we wanted to use the opportunity to groom a new member of the management team because this position would need to work with every department in the company,” Trib Total Media President and CEO Jennifer Bertetto said. “I met with some of the members of my team, and it was an easy and unanimous decision. We all wanted to work more with Justin.”

The role was a perfect fit for LaBar, who said he’s always been interested in sports and broadcasting.

“I’ve always been in sports, for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been passionate about my sports teams,” he said. “I’ve always been fascinated by television and any broadcasting media.”

Working with TribLIVE’s High School Sports Network was the fulfillment of a goal he’d been working toward since high school.

“That was always the goal, to do sports,” he said. “I had no plans or aspirations to do other news — I wanted to do sports. It just happens that rather than doing the more traditional route of going to a small TV station and working your way up, I started at a newspaper doing the same thing.”

As general manager, LaBar is involved in every aspect of the High School Sports Network’s operations. In addition to working with a full-time staff and a team of independent contractors, broadcasters and camera operators, he also works with Trib Total Media’s sports department to coordinate content on the HSSN website. He serves as a liaison with the WPIAL and local high schools and directs many of the productions.

But LaBar said his favorite part of the job is the people.

“I work with such great people, and that makes all the difference,” he said. “And then the people I meet, whether it’s people I meet who work for us as freelance broadcasters or people I work with for a particular project, it’s just fun meeting different, diverse people. There’s always a common thread — you all care about sports. Everybody’s got a background and a story, and I’m always interested in that story.”

Under LaBar’s leadership, TribLive High School Sports Network has experienced 290% growth in website traffic over the last three years. The site averages 95,000 weekly users and 1.1 million monthly pageviews.

But LaBar said he wants to see it thrive even more.

“We already have pretty deep coverage as is, but obviously, it can always grow, it can always get deeper, it can always expand,” LaBar said.

LaBar said he was “stunned” to be recognized in Editor & Publisher, along with a group of news professionals he described as “brilliant and diverse.”

“It took a little while for it to sink in,” he said. “It was quite an honor to be chosen.”

LaBar is worthy of the honor, Bertetto said.

“There are things you can’t teach. Passion. Commitment. Work ethic. Coachability. And when you find someone who possesses all four, like Justin, you know you have found someone special, and the sky is the limit for what they might be able to accomplish,” she said.

Editor & Publisher applauded the young news professionals recognized on their list for their resilience in the face of new challenges during the covid-19 pandemic.

“Our young leaders are now more motivated than ever to press forward and continue the important mission of preserving the success and future of journalism,” the article reads.

LaBar’s recognition represents hope for the industry, Bertetto said.

“Editor & Publisher selecting Justin for this prestigious honor is further proof that our industry is in good hands in the future,” she said.

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