Carlin Week 5

This week's first reading, "The Whitening of Media and the Coloring of Black Athletes' Images," author Kevin Blackistone talks about how diversity has fallen out of the focus of newsrooms in the new millennium. Blackistone starts by talking about the role media played during the civil unrest of the mid-20th century. He writes that the media was largely blamed for not presenting a clear picture of what was happening in the country. Rather, a white media was presenting news for a white audience. Diversity improved throughout the latter part of the century, but tailed off in the last decade.

He argues that this has led to a different image of black athletes when compared to white ones. He used examples of players like Michael Vick and Tiger Woods who were vilified in the media for their actions, whereas players like Ben Roethlisberger were largely overlooked by the media for their misgivings.

The second reading largely talks about the sports department in a newspaper being known as a "toy department." The author writes that the sports department has gotten this title because its perceived unwillingness to serve the watchdog function of journalism.

The second reading also analyzed the role that new media has played in sports journalism. One case study the article used was the Manny Ramirez steroid story. Its findings indicate that almost half of the stories about the subject were used by new media. A large chunk of these were from ESPN.

My preliminary subject for my paper is to analyze how the local and national media covered the Michael Vick signing in Philadelphia and what, if any, guidelines editors used for how the reporters covered this story.

Berger Week 5

In this week’s readings we examine two different subjects facing the current sports journalism industry and culture. First we look at the effect that the new media has had on sports journalism’s reputation as a whole. And second at the declining rates of journalists of color in the sports world.

            In “The New Toy Department” by Erin Whiteside, Nan Yu and Marie Hardin, a study was conducted examining the differences in coverage of a single event - the 2009 announcement of Manny Ramirez’ 50-game suspension for use of a banned substance – by various sports media outlets, including traditional media (newspapers, TV and magazines) and new media (websites and blogs). The study compared the two avenues of media and attempted to contrast their sources, analyses and biases. The study found various results, but the main finding was this: traditional media did a better job of including historical context and speculating on consequences in their coverage. New media tended to have a narrower focus: just the facts, no context and little analysis into the scope of what the suspension meant in the larger context of baseball history.

            One interesting tidbit from “The New Toy Department” was the issue of bias against Latino ballplayers- because Ramirez is a Latino, reporters tended to mention other Latino players who also faced suspicion (if they mentioned anything else at all) despite the fact that Latinos only made up abput 30% of the league at the time. This may have had to do with association with Ramirez. It may also have been a result of the high profile of some of the Latino players named (including Alex Rodriguez).

            In Kevin Blackistone’s “The Whitening of Sports Media and the Coloring of Black Athletes’ Images,” we also get a view of bias in the world of sports journalism. Blackistone discusses the drop in the number of colored sports journalists in recent years, specifically black journalists. This in spite of the continued predominance of colored athletes in the three largest professional sports leagues in the United States- the NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball- as well as the growth of the colored audience for these sports and the shrinking of the white audience. Blackistone cites stereotyping of black athletes as being physically gifted while white athletes as being mentally gifted as a construction of the white dominated media. He also saw a disturbing trend in portrayals of black athletes as more infantile than their white counterparts. He cited differences in reactions to Ben Roethlisberger’s alleged sexual misconduct compared to Michael Vick’s and Tiger Woods’ transgressions as a key example.

            Racial bias and inequality has long been a part of our society and the world we live in. Sports journalism is no different and it suffers from many of the same injustices. As aspiring young journalists, it is our job to combat this inequality in whatever way we can. Be cognizant of what you say and write. Be fair. Be colorblind, don’t be so shallow.

Salciunas Week 5 Post 4

When it comes to diversity in not only sports journalism but journalism as a whole, there is a lack of it. People feel like they can go ahead and say, “Turn on the T.V. Look at all the African American anchors and reporters.” These same people say the same thing about women; but that is not the main focus of writers such as Kevin Blackistone. It is not all about television, journalism originated on paper, and that is where you see the lack of diversity. Facts are facts, and Blackistone backs up the majority of his statements with physical evidence throughout The Whitening of Sports Media and the Coloring of Black Athletes’’ Images”. Then again, I must repeat what I just said; he backs up the majority of his statements with physical evidence.

To this day, racism and segregation is overlooked. Information regarding “Sundown Towns” is not provided to children in schools, and grudges continue to be held. It is not all about White Americans vs. African Americans, but all ethnicities can be seen as “other” people. The statistics Kevin Blackistone provides regarding the lack of diversity in sports journalism is eye popping. From 2008 to 2010, the percentage of women or people of color who had roles as sport editors declined from 11.7 percent to 9.42 percent. In contrast, sports editors who were white males increased by three percentage points (Blackistone 215). Even if there was not such a decline, 11.7 percent is still unbelievably low. As much as the ASNE (American Society of News Editors) push for a more diverse profession, all efforts seem to fail as numbers continuously go in the opposite direction.

Throughout my time watching Kevin Blackistone reporting on ESPN and participating on ESPN’s “Around the Horn”, I began respecting him as a journalist. I read his columns and enjoy what he has to say; however the second part to his title (The Coloring of Black Athletes’ Images”) should not have been in this publication. Kevin Blackistone did not back up his statements made regarding the portrayal of black athletes as “self-centered, arrogant, and mercenary” (Blackistone 217). To this day I do believe African Americans are more centered in the spotlight when it comes to wrong doing and it is disheartening especially in this day and age; but what Blackistone stated was unethical. None of this should be seen as white vs. black. I witnessed the incident when former Oregon Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount punched Boise State’s Byron Houl. Both actions were unnecessary; unfortunately we do not know what Houl said, however we saw Blount punch him in the jaw. Blount’s suspension may have been over the top, and Houl may have been left off the hook too easily, but the punch should be seen as more serious.

Although Blount was “branded a thug” (Blackistone 221) and Houl the victim, in my eyes Houl still seems like the jackass at the playground. Houl was childish, but Blount took the action that caught more attention. You can look at it either way you want. Who was the real victim in the incident? Just this past month, Philadelphia Eagles’ wide out Rhiley Cooper was caught on a camera phone saying a racial term against African Americans. This was not placed under the radar and was reported on all over the country. You could ask “why was Cooper not suspended by the league?” Well, that was not a league issue but more of an issue regarding the Eagles’ organization. As Blackistone states, Blount is “continuously referred to in the media by the punch he threw in college” (Blackistone 222). Blount unfortunately will never lose that title, but Cooper will forever be mentioned as a racist white male all over the National Football League no matter what channel his games are broadcasted. These actions can and will forever be debated as the treatment of white journalists toward black athletes, but in regards to the reporting of Kevin Blackistone, this was unethical.

As I read The News “Toy Department”?, it is funny to see how editors portray sports journalists. Maybe they are just jealous? I for sure do not know. Now they do make interesting points regarding writers being too biased. How writers will not tell the real story but talk up how great the organization they cover is. In some cases I can agree, but sometimes it just isn’t that easy. To get their stories out they need their sources, and they need to keep these sources happy. If a reporter is to say the team they cover is awful, they owner of that team or the head coach may not be so easy when it comes to answering their questions. I am not saying this is right, if a story needs to be put out, if it is the story of the year, get that story out. I do agree with the editors who state some reporters talk up their home team. In the end, I wish there was a reporter who would just go off on how bad their team stinks; but that just will not happen.

In regards to The News “Toy Department”?, I did like the information found on the Manny Ramirez steroid case. It is true, they emphasized more the fact that he was an icon, constantly bringing attention, most of which was not good. He was and still is an iconic member of Major League Baseball. Although they did not bring up the overall facts on drug use in baseball, it still was not the main story. Manny was the story due to his popularity; it was all about his suspension and what was next. If someone of lesser popularity was caught, maybe the story changes.

In regards to my paper topic, I am going to focus on Michael Vick’s return to the National Football League after spending time in jail due to the dog fights he held at his home. Many different reactions were shown, many of which were hard to overcome.  

Napier Week 5

“The Whitening of Sports Media and the Coloring of Black Athletes’ Images” by Kevin B. Blackistone starts by giving quantitative data dealing with a consecutive drop over the years in regards to the percentage of journalists of color in the newsroom, websites, and producers of written media. This study by The American Society of News Editors noted that these numbers continue to drop while the percentage of sport editors who were white increased. The “backdrop” for all of this, as stated by Blackistone, is decades of a lens constructed by white journalists to serve a white audience.

                The article goes farther in discussing the discrimination faced by black athletes as well. Black athletes typically being represented as self-centered and ignorant, while their white counterparts where noted as being diligent and intelligent. It seems that Blackistone is trying to show that correlation between these two images is responsible for the lack of African American men being represented less in the sports media world.

                “The New Toy Department” written by Erin Whitside, Nan Yu, and Marie Hardin discusses the lack of journalistic integrity within sports journalism possibly as a conflict of interests between sports journalists and the organizations they cover as the authors suggest. An example of this conflict of interest being a sports journalist writing a positive piece for the home team as opposed to writing the a story that may damage their reputation.

                Another problem faced in this article is the public’s constant need for news. In the age of the Internet, blogs and online media sources, especially those dealing in sports, tend to put a rush on the story. This leads to inaccuracies that traditional media outlets don’t have much trouble with in comparison. It is the integrity of reporting that is in question; for sports journalism, or any journalism for that matter, to be taken seriously, it needs to come back to the basics.

For my research assignment, I would like to report on Jesse Owens running for the United States in track and field at 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. During this time, Adolf Hitler was trying to show off his "superior" Aryan race; in response, Owens won four gold medals for the USA. He created history by striking against a racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic Germany while representing a country that saw him as less than an equal. This act alone speaks to every one of the functions/principles of journalism. 

-Shawn Napier

Tansits Week 5 Post

This week’s readings highlight two very serious subjects that encompass not only sports journalism, but journalism as a whole. The first, titled The New “Toy Department”?, speaks to the fact that sports journalists aren’t referring to the journalistic standards that other people in journalism abide by. The second, The Whitening of Sports Media and The Coloring of Black Athletes’ Images, speaks very strongly towards race in sports journalism and the picture that white journalists make of black athletes.

Beginning with the first reading by Whitehead, a key part to the point of the reading is that traditional media needs to continue to hold its journalistic integrity in the face of new media. As blogs and new media form everyday in the age of the Internet, they produce content that further advances the notion of sports journalism departments being “toy departments”. And this study shows that in the case of new media, it tends to be true. The study showed that in the case of Manny Ramirez, more than half of the coverage was by new media but the traditional media outlets in fact did a better job to cover the entire story about the impact of the event on baseball and its larger context. Whitehead finishes the reading by asserting that the traditional media should adhere to “traditional journalistic procedures” in the future, because if the traditional media continues to lose it’s integrity through writing neutral or non-problem oriented pieces, they will be following along the new media path. And according to this study, that path leads to being called the “toy department”.

Kevin Blackistone’s piece gets far more serious and adds much more spice into the debate about race in sports journalism and it’s role in professional sports. After citing data and numbers about the deficiencies of diversity in newsrooms early on in his writing, Blackistone heads directly towards speaking towards discrimination. Blackistone argues there is a massive problem forming because people of color aren’t in sports departments, and that there is a scope forming that puts black athletes in bad light and white athletes in better light. Blackistone uses several examples to explain this including LeGerratte Blount, Tiger Woods and Ben Roethlisberger. Additionally, Blackistone adds that black athletes are further disrespected by people referring to their first names such as Kemba or Cam, and goes on to compare Michael Vick’s scandal with Roethlisberger’s.

            Overall, Blackistone’s piece comes off very strongly that to this day people of color are still being wronged in the realm of sports. Both writers though speak to concerns that are rapidly approaching on the horizon of the future of sports journalism.
           For my research paper assignment, I was planning on talking about the Red Sox game after the Boston Bombings and David Ortiz’s speech. The event brought sports fans together and well as provided an uplift from the tragedy. Additionally, it helps provide a history of the event with the speech being a memorable part of a sad time in the city of Boston.

Week 4 Carlin

This week's first reading, "The Sports Beat--A Digital Reporting Mix With Exhaustion Built In," by Dave Kindred, discusses the evolving world that a sports beat writer lives in. Kindred mainly talks about how technology has changed the dynamic of the sports beat for reporters and how beat writers are in a constant state of motion. The advent of the social media aspect of reporting has made sports writers into writing machines, Kindred says.

His example of baseball writers hurrying to put the lineup on Twitter can easily be translated into any sport, whether it be the inactives in football or the pregame injury report in hockey. From my perspective as someone who normally writes hard news stories, the pressure is the same when it comes to large events. Whether it be a press conference with the mayor or a shooting in North Philadelphia, the reporter who Tweets it first is normally the one who is going to be read.

In the second reading, Malcom Moran also writes about the effects of technology on reporters, but focuses more on two problems that it poses for writers: a lack of discernment and reluctance to engage. He questions how the editing process has been impacted and how the time between receiving and disseminating information has shrunk. We see this every time the trade deadline comes around when a majority of the stories are either wrong or flat-out speculation. We also see this with hard news stories like the Boston Marathon Bombing or earlier in the week with the massacre in Washington. Reporters in these situations just throw information they hear to the reader, rather than information they know is fact.

The Modern Sports Machine

In this week’s readings, we have two articles essentially saying the same thing: modern sports reporting is a brand new ballgame. It’s fast paced, it’s hectic and if you want to keep up, you have to be willing to throw down.

            Dave Kindred’s piece is about the non-stop schedule of a beat reporter. He relates how something as mundane as a lineup card, which is routine and posted before every single baseball game, sends the beat reporters into a tizzy to post the information to their blogs and Twitter accounts before the next guy does. As veteran sports reporter Wally Matthews relates, “The beat guys, it matters if we get the lineup posted first by 45 seconds.” This competitive frenzy leads to a watered down product in a race to post blasé information first. And that’s just for the lineup card. Kindred relates how Matthews, who is new to the beat reporting gig, would spend the entire time at the ballpark, from four hours prior to the game till two hours afterwards, typing away at stories. Everything from pregame hype and previews, injury information, to quotes from players, coaches or management and rumors regarding trades and other acquisitions is ripe for the presses. And if any information gets missed while a reporter is writing, he gets scooped by his competitors. That’s why writers are all on blogs and Twitter now, to give quick, instant updates that require little explanation. Kindred seems to indicate that the constant flurry of activity leaves a beat reporter little time to actually get a feel for the game, much less enjoy it.

            In Malcolm Moran’s article, we return to the 2010 Randy Moss trade that Bill Simmons made infamous with his Twitter announcement that turned sports reporting on its collective ear. Moran talks about the Boston Globe reporting the trade with Fox’s Jay Glazer as a source, coming from a sports talk show on Boston’s WEEI (no doubt Glazer had read about it on Bill Simmons’ Twitter). It just goes to show the endless cascade of sources (from Twitter to a radio station to a newspaper) that lead to what used to be the most reliable source of information, traditional print. Moran also discusses the time constraints that this new age of reporting has led to, and the dilemmas this may cause for reporters. In the rush to be the first out of the starting block with the information, a reporter may face the prospect of having to rely on an unreliable source, or not being able to verify the information. Moran warns against this, as he puts it, the safety net is gone, likely forever.

            Both articles seem to lament the advent of the 60-second-per-minute news cycle, while simultaneously embracing it. What we have given up in details and pretty prose, we have gained in a never-ending news cycle. This is the way of the modern age of reporting, and we would be wise to acclimate. 

Adapting to Selfishness

Last week after speaking about the dangers of social networks and journalism, it was easy to see why it is feared. What was overlooked last week was highlighted in Dave Kindred’s, The Sports Beat. With this new era in sports journalism, a routine was created. Beat reporters, must now be on point every day when it comes to providing information to their followers; for example, a lineup card for the day’s baseball game. Sports journalists not only have the pressure of providing accurate information, but five minutes prior to the time their followers expect it.

“It is revolutionary – with reporting routines that never existed before becoming fixtures overnight” (Kindred 52). No longer is one story written about the sporting event. Reporters no longer sit and watch as they take notes and report on their type writers while smoking some of the biggest cigars ever seen. Journalists, whether they like it or not, are becoming beat reporters. The faster they are with information, the more readers they claim. They tweet what they see, they run to the computers and type the stories they “previewed” (as a demand from their readers), for an understanding regarding the tweet, and finally they return to the press box. As Malcolm Moran states in is story, It’s a Brand-New Ballgame, “Today’s sports beat reporting seems more about producing fragments of information than in shining a light on core issues of our time” (Moran).

Based off reports from both Dave Kindred and Malcolm Moran, sports journalism is not only adapting to this electronic-social way of life, but its difficulty is increasing. As Malcolm Moran reminds us, people are seeking information as the event is happening, not caring about accuracy. If the information is relevant to the story, readers are happy; until they find out what they read was wrong. Unfortunately this is not only happening in sports journalism, but in journalism as a whole. In one of the most recent events, Twitter was being blown up due to the shootings that took place at the Navy yard in Washington D.C. CNN for example, began the way they should. An explanation of what happened was given, and finished with “more information will be provided when more is received.” As the day went on, it was told that seven soldiers were harmed, then 9, then 12 until it was finally resolved that 13 total soldiers were not only harmed but killed. I must say, I kept on paying attention and watched as the totals kept on rising, but looking back at the time of the event, one tweet should have been made.

In the end, journalists must please their reader and their editors. IT is a new day ad age, and quicker seems to be better. I must say, this is a terrible theory, but it is now a new form of competition. There is not one specific person to blame, it may not even be the consumers fault. The readers are selfish, they want news quick; however, the journalists are the reason news is provided in this fashion. What came first? The chicken or the egg? This is not the fall of journalism, nor is it the future end of trust between journalists and their readers. We are human beings, and from the beginning of time we have adapted to every change in society. It may not be ethical, unfortunately, people seek what they want, and this is just a prime example of the selfishness of society.

Napier, Week 4 Blogpost

“The Sports Beat: A Digital Reporting Mix – With Exhaustion Built In” by Dave Kindred talks about Wally Matthews, a veteran New York newspaper sports reporter who covers the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com. Matthews is one of the many “dinosaurs,” aka, the old sports journalists, who in the midst of a new technological era has had to adapt and overcome to the new challenges faced in the current media revolution of the 21^st century. Kindred’s point is that the new expectation for veterans and newcomers alike to the new world of sports journalism is that news is to be captured and produced before, during, and after the sports event non-stop; the speed at which people expect the news to be put out into the ether is actually counterproductive to good reporting. Every minute before and after the game is a frenzy of transcribing interviews, and Twittering everything heard in the clubhouse; beat reporters are being run into the ground.

                “It’s a Brand-New Ballgame: For Sports Reporters” by Malcolm Moran expresses a similar opinion to that of Kindred’s in that whole stories are not even give the chance to be completely told; that the need for the most recent information is more important that hearing the rest of how the previous story unfolded or the core issues. As a result, Moran raises the question of how will we go about training the next generation of news reporters. The concern is that the over exposure to media is causing a dependency that is a cause for two deficiencies: “a lack of discernment and a reluctance to engage. And each deficiency can prevent sport reporters from finding out information.”

                It is clear through reading the past few articles that this high speed method of journalism is destroying both the reputations of not only sports journalism, but journalism as a whole. The “dinosaurs” of the inked Earth are right to miss the days of the 20^th century where information wasn’t expected by the masses non-stop. It is obvious that this leads to inaccuracy and, to restate the above, is counterproductive to good news reporting. In addition, Moran makes the point that in relying so much on digital media, that the new generation is becoming less engaged with the subject in which they are attempting to report. This combination of inaccuracy and distance will only become a larger problem if not addressed.

-Shawn Napier

Tansits Week 4

The new age of Internet driven news and communication has undoubtedly changed our future in terms of gathering news. The two articles for this week written by Dave Kindred and Malcolm Moran highlight this fact in terms of sports beat reporting.

            As Kindred points out early on in his article sports beat reporting has become revolutionary, with changes seeming to pop up overnight. The world of a beat reporter is non-stop production from the beginning of his or her shift until the end of it. Kindred uses Yankees’ beat reporter Wally Matthews to show how quickly the changes occur and how deep their impact is. Prior to writing for the Yankees, Matthews covered boxing and was a long time sports writer. Now though, Wallace has become engulfed in the fast-paced world of beat reporting where he constantly is updating via tweets and a blog – quite literally non-stop. This example leads to one of Kindred’s main points that this type of work runs writers into the ground. A day where reporters are updating before, during and after games on top of producing stories is a grueling process, and as Kindred points out it can burn out any reporter. Along with this point, Kindred adds that this fast pace beat reporting is “thorough with little regard to context, perspective and narrative”. Matthews sums Kindred’s piece up very well by saying that “It’s crazy, but it’s the world we’re in.”

            Moran’s piece compliments Kindred’s points by starting off saying that sports beat reporting has become more about producing fragments than shining light on central issues. Moran says that piece by piece reporting to keep everything up to date by the second removes a safety net journalists have had fin the years prior: time. Instead of checking sources and information for a few hours in the day, sports beat reports are forced to do this in mere minutes. Moran adds that there are two main deficiencies among today’s beat reporters: a lack of discernment and a reluctance to engage.

            Both writers essentially say that sports beat reporting has transformed into an extremely fast paced environment that isn’t necessarily a good thing. But nonetheless it sells, and fans want what they want when they want it – especially with news about their team. Personally I’m not sure if this fast paced style is good for journalism. False reports can ruin the credibility of any writer, and sports fans aren’t always as forgiving as the general public. Either way though, as Wally Matthews said it, it’s the world we live in.

Week Three Carlin

For this week’s first reading, author Drew Hancherick wrote about the history of sports journalism and how rapidly it’s changing in “Tweet Talking: How Modern Technology and Social Media are Changing Sports Communication.”

Hancherick wrote about how the medium of sports communication has changed throughout the years from its advent in print to the Twitter culture of the day. He examined how sports fans consumed information and how the technological advances in radio and television changed how sports news and events were delivered.

While Hancherick gave a fairly basic account of how sports media has changed throughout the 20th century, he focused much of his piece on how the Internet and the dynamic of Twitter has turned the sports media market on its head. One instance he referred to in particular was a Tweet that ESPN columnist Bill Simmons had sent out regarding trade talks involving wide receiver Randy Moss. The rumors had not been reported by newspapers or ESPN, but it showed how a simple Tweet can turn the sports media world on its head. The best example I can remember of this in recent memory was when Cliff Lee resigned with the Phillies. ESPN and former Inquirer reporter Jayson Stark had Tweeted earlier in the day that he had a hunch the Phillies were the mystery team for Lee, but could not confirm it. Within 12 hours, rumors had spread throughout Twitter that Lee was on his way to Philadelphia and by morning, the contract was done. Twitter completely changed the way this was reported by allowing reporters to immediately post what they are hearing.

The second reading focused on issues facing sports journalism as identified by sports writers.

One issue cited in the article was professionalism. That is, how the public perceives journalists and the job they do. One response from a journalist was that many in the public perceive sports writers as people who just sit up in the press box and watch games, which is negative perception that those in the survey were concerned about.

Another issue facing journalism was cited in the story by then-Sports Editor and current Managing Editor of the Philadelphia Daily News Pat McLoone who said that the economics of journalism are an enormous issue, which is no surprise. He cited a main cause for economics being a major issue to a decline in readership and a failure to appeal to younger readers. 

Week Three Blog

           In Tweet Talking: How Modern Technology and Social Media Are Changing Sports Communication, Drew Hancherick discusses the history of sports journalism being affected by advances in technology, with a special focus on the outbreak of Twitter onto the news landscape and the resultant effects on news and sports reporting. Bill Simmons, “The Sports Guy,” was responsible for the Twitter revolution as it pertains to sports, with his short Tweet about the Randy Moss Trade in 2010. It was an accident, but as it turned out, a happy accident for the development of sports journalism, as it helped spawn the “instantaneous” news cycle that social media is known for. However, as Hancherick points out, there are many pitfalls that can accompany this new era of sports reporting. The most prominent being that the barrage of information will lead to a veritable race to deliver content, which he posits will inevitably produce a drop in quality. Fact checking, source citing and overall depth of content will decline in favor of rushing out the next breaking story. As Hancherick points out, adaptation to the changing technological environment is vital, but at some point enough is enough.

            In Finding Their Place in Journalism: Newspaper Sports Journalists’ Professional “Problems”, authors Bruce Garrison and Michael B. Salwen conduct a poll of sports journalists, asking them what they viewed to be the biggest problems currently facing sports journalism in specific and journalism as a whole. Issues with professionalism certainly dominated the poll, as it topped the list of issues on the sports side and came in second on the journalism side. They found that sports journalists’ biggest gripe came with their perception that broadcast sports journalists were given preferential treatment and had lower standards than the print sports journalists. Also, as our society increasingly focuses on the visual, broadcast sports journalists inevitably received more attention, both drawing away eyeballs from the print, and leading those in print journalism to be lumped in with the “hacks” in broadcasting. Another major concern was credibility, which echoed a thread in the Hancherick article. Interestingly, while “reader-related” issues topped the list of concerns for journalism as a whole, it ranked relatively low on the agenda for sports journalism.

            It is certainly interesting to see these two articles paired together. One could assume that the advent of Twitter would certainly grind the gears of many traditional print sports journalists, as 140 character outbursts of breaking news send traditional prose sports journalism the way of the Dodo. However, it is still a changing digital environment in which we live. As Hancherick stated,           “First might not necessarily be best… traditional outlets could focus on being the first to post a thoughtful, detailed story that answers all of a potential readers questions…” Perhaps that is what we should be striving to attain. 

Napier, Week 3 Blogpost

“Finding Their Place in Journalism: Newspaper Sports Journalists’ Professional “Problems”” by Michael B. Salwen and Bruce Garrison is an article that starts by illustrating sports journalisms beginnings as a means of entertainment and diversionary in comparison to today’s serious news since the late 19^th century. The result is sports journalism being placed into a category of their own without the traditional standards and expectations of traditional journalism. This in turn affects the current status of the sports journalist’s craft. It is clear from this article that Salwen and Garrison believe based on the research that sports journalists find themselves with an entirely different set of problems set apart from the rest of journalism that has brought them form a high level of professionalism to one that is lower in the eyes of the industry. The late president of Major League Baseball’s National League A. Bartlett Giamatti expresses that sports journalism is generally over looked based on the belief that “editorial accuracy, competence, distinguishing fact from opinion, rewriting and editing” are not expected. However, recent studies suggest that sports journalism is improving. Another problem unique to sports journalism is the view that there is no audience for female sports coverage. This is because of the dominate male presence in sports journalism without any real attempt to enlist female staff to increase the coverage of female sports and opinion as suggested by the study.

                It is important to note that the survey places the problems listed above and others into categories determined by the result of questions asked to members of the APSE. These include professionalism, economic resources, diversity, writing/reporting, competition, issues/content, job related, and sources/access.

                The second article, “Tweet Talking: How Modern Technology and Social Media are Changing Sports Communication” published by Drew Hancherick gives insight into how the roles of social media and modern technology will affect the future of sports journalism. The days of Bill Simmons, a respected journalist for sports, is slowly falling by the wayside as an increasing amount of “writers” being to post their own “new” via the internet. Social media such as Twitter removes any recognizable face from the story, and thus begins to lose its credibility. As Hancherick mentions, this new era of internet sports journalism is one of immediacy.

                As discussed in pervious readings and articles, this need for information at the tip of ones fingers at an instant has made us lazy with how, and from where we receive the information. While technology could change the playing field for sports journalism for the better, there is still a long way to go from making it a creditable system.

-Shawn Napier