Who we are
AZ Finest Mixtape is an independent Arizona newsroom covering Arizona Interscholastic Association member school basketball — boys' and girls', 1A through 6A — as education-based athletics.
Yes, we know what "Mixtape" sounds like. Here's the answer.
AZ Finest Mixtape has covered Arizona high school basketball since 2012. It is the name our readers — and a lot of Arizona coaches — have known us by for over a decade, and we have kept it.
It is not a description of our editorial product. We do not produce recruiting mixtapes. We do not sell highlight reels, photo packages or video products to players or their families. We do not rank, rate or grade high school athletes against one another. What we publish is reported, edited news coverage of AIA member school basketball: game stories, results and box scores, features, and on-the-record interviews with coaches and administrators.
We would rather answer the question directly than have anyone guess at it. The brand is legacy; the journalism is current; the archive is open to audit and our editorial scope is stated in full in our standards.
The people who report and edit this
Every credentialed staff member below holds a current background clearance on file, as required by AIA Article 3.3, with the clearance number and expiration entered in the AIA dashboard.
Michael Clark
Founded AZ Finest Mixtape and oversees editorial direction, staff assignments and credential compliance for the outlet. [Add 1–2 sentences of background.]
Managing Editor
Reviews and edits every story before publication, verifies scores and statistics against the official scorer's record, and handles corrections requests. This role is filled; the name will be published here before we request a credential for it.
We do not credential freelancers or stringers. Every person carrying an AZ Finest Mixtape credential is a named member of this staff, on assignment from an editor, and is verified as lawful to work in Arizona under AIA Article 3.2.
Ownership, revenue, and what we don't do
Ownership
AZ Finest Mixtape is owned and operated by AZ Finest Mixtape LLC, an Arizona limited liability company, founded 2012. Editorial decisions rest with the newsroom — no advertiser, sponsor, school, program or outside party holds any right of review over our coverage.
How we're funded
AZ Finest Mixtape is currently self-funded by its owner. We carry no advertising at this time and we accept no payment from student-athletes, parents, guardians or families for any reason. All content is free to read; there is no paywall, subscription or metered access of any kind.
Should we take advertising or sponsorship in future, we permanently exclude alcohol, tobacco, drugs of any kind, gambling of any kind — including sportsbooks and daily-fantasy operators — political parties and candidates, and any advertiser inconsistent with the mission of interscholastic athletics.
What this outlet does not do
- We do not operate a recruiting or scouting service.
- We do not offer player placement, transfer advising, exposure consulting or college-recruitment services.
- We do not sell photography, video or highlight products to student-athletes or their families.
- We do not accept payment from any student-athlete, family, club program or school in connection with a player's enrollment, transfer or recruitment.
- We do not accept payment in exchange for coverage, or for placement in coverage, from anyone.
Conflicts of interest
Any member of this staff with a personal or financial relationship to a program, coach, athlete or family is recused from covering it. Recusals are documented internally and the assignment is passed to another member of the newsroom.
Owners and staff of this outlet may hold separate business interests elsewhere in basketball. Any such interest is operated under a separate entity, shares no revenue, staff or publishing platform with this newsroom, and plays no part in deciding what we cover or how we cover it.
Reach the newsroom
Coaches, athletic directors, principals and AIA staff: you can reach a real person here, and we answer.
- Newsroom & generalnews@azfinestmixtape.com
- Publisher & editormichael@azfinestmixtape.com
- Correctionscorrections@azfinestmixtape.com
- Credentials & AIA compliancecredentials@azfinestmixtape.com
- Phone[PHONE — pending]
- Mailing address[PO BOX — pending]
For athletic directors & coaches
Scheduling coverage, requesting a correction, telling us about a story on your team, or asking us not to run something — one email, and you will hear back within one business day.
If you would prefer we not attend an event, tell us and we will not attend. A school's decision about its own program is final, and we will never appeal it publicly.