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Rooting For The Owned Team
Perhaps no single topic receives more coverage than sports. Nonetheless, media critics tend to ignore this multibillion-dollar media domain because it's seen as entertainment, not journalism. But sports media is not only big business, it's also a potent cultural force, full of with ethical issues.
Sportswriters are at the mercy of the teams they cover for continued access to press boxes, locker rooms and post-game interviews, so they have reason to be wary of biting the feeding hand. Worldwide, some sports have become inseparable from the news empires that report on them. Take Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which owns Fox, Sky and Star networks in North America, Europe and Asia, as well as the Los Angeles Dodgers and stakes in five of England's biggest football clubs. When the media is in bed with the teams it covers, how even-handed can its reporting be? Then there's the belief the public only wants a report of the heroism, the last-minute goal, the record-breaking home run. Those are fine, but where are the discussions of corporate sponsors and tie-ins, international broadcast agreements, union issues, stadium proposals and marketing deals with the media? Don't these have a place on SportsCenter?
MediaChannel affiliates offer their perspectives on the challenges for this global industry. In coming weeks, MediaChannel will be taking a close look at coverage of the Sydney Olympics and how the media deals with race and gender in sports.
- Elinor Nauen, editor
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Action Figures
John Cassy picks the 50 most influential players in global sports, from media moguls (Murdoch's #1) and owners to executives, agents, marketers, media men — and even a lone woman. Any surprises? Only if you expected athletes to perform in their own field — only one made the list. From Guardian Unlimited, March 27 2000
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Champion Of The World
Thanks to its omnipresence, audience size, content, credibility and popularity, writes Jim Shea, the huge sports-media empire of ESPN is the most dominant force ever in sports broadcasting, influencing the way sports are viewed, covered and even played. From Columbia Journalism Review, January 31 2000
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Larger Than Life?
During last fall's World Series, NBC's Jim Gray repeatedly asked Pete Rose about the gambling past that caused his banishment from baseball. Watchers reacted with fury. Why was Gray badgering Rose at the first appearance of reconciliation? Michael Shapiro discusses the journalist's responsibility when the myth of what sports should be runs into the reality of what sports often is. From Columbia Journalism Review, January 31 2000
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Athletic Supporters
Sportswriters tend to assume that their readers and the local teams share the same goals, both on the field and off. Winning games is one thing that fans and writers can agree on, but business issues need more balanced, in-depth coverage that doesn't rely so heavily on hometown boosterism, writes Neil deMause. From FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting), November 30 1999
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Internet Coverage
Disputes over Internet programming rights are on the rise as more radio and TV stations run their over-the-air feeds on the Web. Sports may well end up being the testing grounds where the rights of Web journalists are established. From Freedom Forum, September 24 1999
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The World By The Balls
Rupert Murdoch owns teams, leagues, networks and the regional broadcast rights to many high-profile sporting events around the world, notes Zev Borow. The secret to his power? He knows people might not be loyal to any particular network, but they're drop-dead loyal to their teams. From Mother Jones online, September 30 1998
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Pitching ESPN
With its "clever packaging, expert analysis and televised stat fetishization," ESPN takes us back to the days when every whiff of social context was kept out of sports coverage, wrote Sam Lypsite in 1998. "What ESPN is really about is selling sneakers and soft drinks and hair loss pills." From Feed, Inc., July 16 1998
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The New International Playing Fields
Sports teams have become truly universal, transcending national borders and reaching to the most distant lands. Crocker Snow Jr. wonders if erasing nationalistic fervor means divorcing sports culture from its roots. From The WorldPaper, May 1 1998
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Sports Reporting Falls Short
Sports coverage is generally filled with little more than scandal, trivia and news without context. But Charles E. Euchner suggests that the public's interest in sports actually gives journalists a great — and generally missed — opportunity to teach readers about economics and politics. From Freedom Forum, January 22 1998
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For Love Of The Game
It may have been the most one-sided contest soccer has ever witnessed: the usually omnipotent champion Rupert Murdoch versus a bunch of hardcore fans of Manchester United, one of the most popular soccer teams in the world, and next on Murdoch's shopping list. With demonstrations, an Internet campaign and a professional PR force, the home team beat back the invader. From Red Pepper,
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AS THE MEDIA WATCH THE WORLD, WE WATCH THE
MEDIA.
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