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.