Week 5

Traditionally, newspapers’ sports sections were written by whites for whites, but as time has passed all that has changed. In the article, “The Whitening of Sports Media and the Coloring of Black Athletes’ Images,” it is addressed that not only is the percentage of “minority” players in the major leagues not the minority anymore but the tend is also being reflected in the fan base.

            We no longer live in the 1800’s, most Americans are literate and have interest in sports, and as each year passes our country becomes more and more diverse. That being said, why would it be a surprise that major fan bases are growing more diverse? To me it simply makes sense. Now on the other side, wouldn’t it also make sense that the reporters covering these sports be more diverse as well? Why, yes! In fact it would; however, that is not the case. “The percentage of sports editors who were women or people of color declined from 11.7 percent in 2008 to 9.42 percent in 2010” (Blackistone 215).

            Look across any university’s campus and find the students interested in sports journalism or broadcasting. You will find that the majority is white males, but it is not limited to. So I wonder, why is this specific model the majority? As we’ve discussed in class, when it comes to beat writing it’s tough and calls for someone willing to give up family, personal time, and sleep. I can see a pretty homogenous group in that specific job. But I don’t see why it has to be a white homogenous group. “Editor of…Deadspin, A.J. Daulerio, was asked by ESPN.com columnist Jemele Hill last September in New York…”Why is your staff so white?” Daulerio responded: “It’s a white industry.” I believe that’s correct. But I also believe it’s made that way. Yes, sports media is traditionally a white industry, but there’s no reason for it to be any longer. I find it impossible that newspapers and websites are not receiving any applications from non-Caucasian men and women. It’s become an unintentional club, and “unintentional” might be stretch.

Week 5: Blackistone & Whiteside, Yu, Hardin

               Kevin Blackistone’s article, The Whitening of Sports Media and the Coloring of Black Athletes’ Images discusses how along the history of sports journalism, black reporters, writers and columnists are not as prevalent as they should be. He starts his article by saying that The American Society of News Editors reported in April 2011 that the amount of journalists of color in newspaper and online newsrooms had declined for a third straight year. That is sort of an alarming statistic. Beyond that, a study found that sports departments are almost led exclusively by white men.

                Blackistone does not limit his discussion to journalists of color, but he also talks about the lack of a female presence in the sports newsroom. He also mentions how individuals of color have increased in each of the three major sports organizations; the NBA, MLB, and NFL, and that you would think this increase would lead to an increase in the journalism world as well, but it has not.

                Blackistone also talks about how black athletes are portrayed in sports media. A quote that struck me was “Most infamously, studies of sports broadcasts showed how the success of black athletes was credited to their natural athletic ability, while the success of their white counterparts was tied to diligence and, most importantly, intelligence. I have never really thought about this before, but now that it’s been brought to my attention, I’m sure it is true, and I’m probably going to watch sports broadcasts with that in mind from now on. Blackistone gives some examples of black athletes being mistreated in media. One example was with LeGarrette Blount, former University of Oregon running back. After a game, Blount punched a white player on the opposing team who had taunted him. The NCAA had been trying to crack down on taunting at the time, but the player who was punched was allowed to continue playing that season with very little mention of the incident, while Blount was suspended for the season and was tied to the punch for at least the next couple years of his career.

                The second article titled The New “Toy Department?” A Case Study on Differences in Sports Coverage between Traditional and New Media by Whiteside, Yu and Hardin discusses in particular in 2009 when Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball for using a banned substance, and a study that looked at how it was covered by traditional media and “new” media. The authors define the labeling of the sports department as the “toy department” as “the practice of eschewing social issues and at times protecting key sources from negative stories.” They use the example of the famous “Home Run Chase” between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998. It had been revealed that McGwire had used steroids, but most media outlets decided to downplay that in favor of the more “feel-good” home run chase story. They say that the “toy department” label situates sports journalists as frivolous and unprofessional (which we obviously now know is a big problem in journalism today).

                As far as the study regarding the Manny Ramirez story goes, there were some interesting findings. Of the 94 articles/web posts that were coded, 45% came from new media outlets, with ESPN.com providing 17% by themselves, more than any print publication, including those from Los Angeles (where Ramirez was playing at the time). As far as sources went, the study found that traditional media had more reliable sources, using current players the majority of the time. One finding that shocked me was that only about one-third of the articles used the story as an opportunity to bring up the overall steroid problem in baseball. If you are a baseball fan, you know how big of a problem steroid usage has become, so it’s shocking that many stories did not use Ramirez to discuss this.

Research Paper Ideas:

                I’m unsure if we have to use one specific event, like, one that occurred on one day in history, or if we are allowed to use a series of events. If we are allowed to use a series of events (in a short period of time of course), I was hoping to do the Tiger Woods saga from 2009, when his life pretty much spiraled out of control, and many secrets were let out.

                If we have to focus on an event that happened on a particular day, I would like to do the Steve Bartman incident from the 2003 MLB Playoffs, when Bartman reached over the wall at a Cubs/Marlins playoff game and took the ball away from Moises Alou, eventually costing the Cubs the game, and the series. 

Blackistone & Whiteside

Troy Maychuk
Sports Journalism
Patrick Gordon
                                                        Blackistone &Whiteside
     
              I found this weeks reading to be particularly interesting. I know we have spent time on several occasions in the classroom talking about diversity in sports journalism and whether or not there are issues that need to be addressed. I was honestly shocked at the decline of diversity within the sporting world. It is obvious that there has been an increase in ethnic players over the past two decades, but I never really thought about diversity in the newsroom. The article really lays out the hard numbers and shows how this sector is dominated by white males. I never really considered the push for diversity in the newsroom, as the article states the aim was to have the media outlets reflect the population in which it was broadcasted. I can definitely see the advantage of this, as it would introduce a broader landscape of cultures and foster a more diverse and tolerant industry where both players and reporters are free from being singled out because of race or other factors. Blackistone believes this environment paints black athletes especially in a dim light, as if they are a spectacle. I believe that diversity should be taken serious on the field as well. If we are to advance as society and truly become equal these measures must be adopted on every field and in every game. This does leave me to question though if so much focus is being put on race, are we overlooking the qualifications of some just to fit a diverse mold? I believe that diversity should always be a priority but at the same time a persons skills should never be overlooked just because they happen to be a specific color.
             I found the Whiteside article very interesting as I just had a similar conversation over coffee the night before with a friend of mine. We were discussing how often incidents in sports are overlooked and not rightfully covered for fear of losing industry connections and lowering your own credibility. Whiteside states that sports media lacks a certain "edge'' which results in the ''Toybox" image that so often is assigned. I loved the substance abuse example of Ramirez because for me thats one of the oldest examples I can remember since I became interested in sports. In an effort to not rock the boat the coverage was so splintered and underdone. Unfortunately reporters just weren't in the position to hold any athletes accountable in an appropriate way because their job was literally on the line. In 2013 with the social media boom, the average citizen has the chance to chime in and voice their opinions openly. Hopefully this new dynamic continues to spur sports journalism into higher esteem as public opinions change.


Paper Idea: I would like to focus on how Boxing's public opinion has swayed over the last century. What was once a cornerstone of American culture became marred by scandal and controversy- Boxing is today a shadow of what it once was.
           

Week 5: Blackistone and Whiteside

Matt Snider

                In the Blackistone article “The Whitening of Sports Media and the Coloring of Black Athletes’ Images”, the writer’s focus point is the differential treatment receives by athletes of different races in sports. This is then, in turn, exemplified by the predominately white reporting staff that writes and covers most of sports. He cites numerous examples such as the difference in coverage between the scandals of black athletes and white athletes.

                Although we as a society like to believe that things like race do not matter when discussing people it is an apparent fact that it is present. Take Blackstone’s examples of Ben Roethlisberger and Tiger Woods or Michael Vick for instance. The Tiger Woods debacle dominated news facets like ESPN for weeks if not months while the Roethlisberger case would warrant the brief update on how things were proceeding and that was about it. One could probably wager that the average sports fan on the street would know infinitely more details about the Woods or Vick case over Roethlisberger’s. It was a similar, yet opposite case, as Blackistone points out within the world of NCAA basketball a few years ago with the glorification of Jimmer Fredette. Yet again, another incident arose a few years ago in the NBA with the emergence of Jeremy Lin who, although not white, still dominated the media outlets.

                It is in the same sense that the media portraying these actions are failing because of a lack of diversity in the newsroom according to Blackistone. Again, finding out the validity of his statements can be as easy as turning on the TV. Take Comcast Sportsnet for example. During most post-game shows, the recap will feature two to three middle-aged white men to talk about the game, unless it is a former player or Derek Gunn. The lack of diversity within just that aspect is unsettling.

To take that same approach to a larger scale, according to Blackistone, the public would also notice the frequency of more black reporters for sports such as basketball and football as opposed to baseball and hockey. While hockey is a predominately white sport, the amount of black athletes participating within the NHL is at all-time high as well as other sports. Yet, the reporters and TV anchors you see reporting on these sports do not reflect that rise.

The Whiteside article, however, hit many other points facing sports journalists of today. One major point in her piece that stuck out at me was the point about home team favoritism still present within media. Although it may be hard to realize, especially when it’s your team, the local media still paints a biased view of hometown sports teams. This is something I’ve personally noticed in a big way in not being a Philadelphia Eagles fan, yet a follower of football. Most often on the radio, the announcers paint a picture that the Eagles are a mighty, yet unlucky team while the opponents are inferior players yet just get lucky. One of the biggest perpetrators of using this imagery is Merrill Reese. Often, when the opponent is running the ball and is tackled by an Eagle, he is “flattened”, “crushed”, or “drilled”. Yet when an Eagle is tackled they are “tripped up”, “brought down”, or just simply “tackled”

 Paper Topic: I was planning on doing the "Miracle on Ice" that took place during the 1980 Olympics if that isn't too far in the past.

Blog Week 5: Whitening of Sports Media by Blackistone & The New Toy Department – Whiteside

Casey Yoos

Blog Week 5: Whitening of Sports Media by Blackistone

& The New Toy Department – Whiteside

            In the Whitening of Sports Media by Kevin Blackstone, sports media is whitening and becoming less diverse then ever before. However, sports journalists are covering sports that are more diverse, black or brown. Research is showing that African American athletes are being displayed negatively. In April of 2011, the American Society of News Editors found that the number and percentage of colored journalists in the newspaper industry and online newsroom was down for the third year in a row. The number of white editors increased my three percent. However the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in sports shows that the major sports consist of primarily African American Athletes and athletes of color.

            Sports journalists often portrayed black athletes as “self-centered, arrogant and mercenary”.  NFL quarterback Michael Vick and pro golfer Tiger Woods were both involved in scandals. Vick engaged in dog fighting while Woods had affairs with numerous women. These scandals and unlawful acts were broadcasted around the world and were the main headlines of many news stories. However, white NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did the same thing Tiger woods did however faced far less criticism from the media than Vick and Woods.

            On-line media has no standards to make diversity apart of their organization as newspapers did. Therefore they mostly contained white reporters. The whitening of sports media proves that white journalists are working for their white audiences. In 1978, the ASNE tried to introduce a plan to hire women and people of color by 2000 or sooner however it failed to meet its goal. The whitening of sports media must come to an end because it is harming the image of black males in both sports and society.

            In The New Toy Department by Erin Whiteside, it explains how journalists face the conflict of being known as unprofessional and not meeting the journalism standards that other media outlets are forced to meet. Sports journalists are also accused of not reporting important issues when they arise it is a conflict of interest with the organizations they cover. Sports journalists fear that if they report issues that may harm the reputation of a player, the home team or an organization that they will no longer get information from these people.

            Online sports communication has also led to the unprofessional image of sport journalists. The image of sports journalism online is seen as a way to express opinion or start an argument rather then based on fact. A survey showed the journalists see blogging as a lesser form of journalism. Some feel that blogging will lead the standards of journalism to weaken.

            Research was conducted to see whether the coverage of Manny Ramirez presented online differs from news coverage. The research found that reporters failed to ask larger social questions, thus giving the sports journalism the nickname “the toy department”. The coverage did not show any results of a steroid problem.

Paper Topic: I will be writing my paper about the Yankees playing the Diamondbacks in the World Series after 9/11.

Week 5

    In the article, “The New ‘Toy Department’” the new media of fan-based blogs that report and write about a specific team or teams within a city is discussed and compared to the standard reporters and news coverage provided by more established organizations. According to this piece, sports fans are more drawn to the new media types and these blogs have become the primary source for information on their favorite teams. The blogs may provide more in depth analysis than the average beat reporter. I tend to agree with this stance especially regarding analysis on advanced statistics in a variety of sports. Depending on the blog, the content might also be more favorable, or biased toward your favorite sports team whereas a beat reporter’s job is to remain as level-headed as possible, although there are times when that is not the case. There are also fan blogs and new media that are even more critical about their team than a beat reporter might be, which are the type of outlets I am drawn to. I like reading the blogs with content generated by fans who know when to be critical of players, management, etc.

    The article mentions that sports journalists could be reluctant to be too critical of the team they cover for fear of upsetting and losing a source for information. A reason why blogs can sometimes be more critical of the team is because they don’t have much to lose. They can cover the team any way they want to without major repercussions. Both new media and old, traditional ways of covering sports push each other to provide better coverage. The competition between both outlets is healthy for journalism.

    Diversity in sports journalism and the field in general is one of the major problems facing the industry as we discussed in class. The amount of white men I see covering all four major sports teams when I watch CSN Philly is not surprising, which is to say there are too many. According to the Blackstone article and a survey done in April of 2011, sports departments were found to be led exclusively by white men thus supporting my own observation.  

    The diversity of sports coverage understandably reflects the diversity in a specific sport. For example, we see more black reporters and analysts covering football or basketball than hockey. This affects how black athletes are portrayed in the media. Black athletes, when they make a good play, are credited with having more athletic skill and natural talent. White athletes, when making the same good play, are praised for being smart and hard-working players. This perpetuates the stereotype of the “lazy” black athlete that we in Philadelphia have seen specifically the past few years with the coverage of Phillies outfielder, Domonic Brown as compared to a player like Chase Utley. Before his breakout season, Brown was scrutinized for his “lackadaisical” defensive skills and not producing to his fullest ability. With the lack of diversity of sports journalists, black and other minority athletes are not given the same publicity and coverage as white athletes, generally.

Paper Topic: For the paper, I want to write about the Boston Marathon bombings and how sports journalists covered the attack, not only in relation to the marathon itself, but with the other Boston sports teams as well.

Week: 4. Kindred vs. Moran

Matt Snider

The articles by Dave Kindred and Malcolm Moran both shed light on a major change in journalism brought about by the advancement in technology. Before, journalists would have all night to get a story as simple as a game recap written up for the next day’s paper. In the more modern era, reporters are lucky if they get an hour. It is this time crunch that leads to one of the biggest problems facing the industry as a whole. This problem is the ever growing struggle of being first.

                Each of the articles took a slightly different take on why this situation has created problems for the journalists out there. Kindred’s piece sees the added push to get things done faster as hindrance on the potential of reporters. No longer can reporters take their time to work out and describe monumental events but rather they must quickly transcribe what is happening as fast as they can to satisfy the mass audience. It’s in this scenario that we see a rather depressing idea in that the ways of really telling a story or painting a scene for a game are completely lost. Journalists must write and write on their blogs, twitter, facebook, story for the paper, etc… that they simply don’t have the time to be able to put into any one particular outlet. If they spend too much time on their blog then all their twitter followers are up in arms over the last hit that they didn’t hear about or where the ball should be spotted. It creates a mass following that need all medians of news updated and ready to go. In the meantime, while all this is going on, there is a game going on that the reporter can’t truly appreciate any more than simply balls and strikes.

                Moran’s piece showed a slightly different angle to the problem of time constraints facing today’s journalists. He attributes the situation to one of somebody walking along a tight rope with no safety net. If you fall, there is nothing to save you. This metaphor is similar to the case of the journalists of today. Where is there is often no one there to edit your writing or fact check your statements meaning that if you slip up, everyone will know about it. Blogs can often run unchecked by anyone other than the writer themselves meaning if they posted false information there is no security blanket, in the form of someone else, to catch that mistake. The task falls solely on the writer and the writer alone. Coupled that with problem the Kindred showcased and you have one reporter furiously transcribing events over multiple outlets and one can see how easy it would be to make a mistake and pay heavily for the consequences.