Week 3: Sports Journalists Finding Their Place by Salwen & Changes In Sports Communications by Hancherick

Sports Journalists Finding Their Place by Michael Salwen examines the problems that sports journalists face. During the late 19^th century, journalism was thought to be entertainment news and was separated from serious news. Therefore sports journalists have a tough time changing their “historical reputation”. There are no standard guidelines for writing for sports journalists. They find themselves constantly trying to prove themselves as serious reports to the world.

Journalists went out to question sports journalists about what they feel is their biggest problem in the journalism industry. There were two ways that sports journalists were questioned about the problems they face in journalism. Sports journalists were questioned were in a quantitative tradition. In the quantitative tradition, they were surveyed. In this method of research they could discover generalized results about their concerns with little in-depth understanding. The other method of research is the qualitative tradition. With the qualitative tradition, sports journalists were interviewed about their concerns however it is hard to conclude generalized concerns.

In these studies, professionalism was the most important problem that sports journalists were facing. The information collected in the quantitative tradition found nine concerns that sports journalists are facing. The information collected in the qualitative tradition showed that allow certain concerns about sport journalism were ranked higher then others, they are still real concerns that sports journalists face.

Tweet Talking: How Modern Technology and Social Media Are Changing Sports Communication by Drew Hancherick is about how changes in modern technology effect sports journalism and how it will continue to have an effect on it. Bill Simmons, a columnist for ESPN sent out a tweet saying, “Moss Vikings”. He sent this tweet out four weeks before the 2010 NFL season when there were rumors of Moss being traded. People began sharing the information with others however the information that Simmons tweeted was not true. His tweet quickly surfaced on television and when the information was confirmed to be false his reputation and credibility as a journalist was damaged.

When sports games were first announced over the radio and published in newspapers, people were finally able to experience a sports game without actually being there. Games were then broadcasted on the television and soon after there were channels dedicated to sports broadcasting only. The Entertainment and Sports Program Network or ESPN broadcasted breaking sports news and is one of the most respected sports channels of its kind. With the invention of the internet, sports fans were able to read about sports information when they wanted rather then waiting to hear about it when it came on TV. Now information about sports can be spread to sports fan in a matter of seconds. Modern technology continues to effect sports journalism. Sports journalists continue to face similar problems as Bill Simmons on the Internet and therefore must confirm the information they post with multiple sources. As the Internet advances, the way sports journalists’ spread their information will continue to change.