Week #3

Troy Maychuk
Sports Journalism
Patrick Gordon

                                                                         Week 3
         Finding your place as a Journalist is very tough, no matter which field you chose to report on, Sports Journalists face specific problems in their field that others may not. Even today Sports Journalists  struggle to garner the same type of respect that others in their field get. For years Sports reporting was seen as an extra filler in the news paper, more of a 'fun' thing, and not as serious or concise. By an large Sports Journalism was seen as purely entertainment, not to be categorized as real news. In order to try and nail down the issues facing this field, surveys were instituted in order to gain a better understanding of how the reputation of Sports Journalism could be elevated.
        The number one problem cited was a lack of professionalism. In this day and age with Twitter and countless social media outlets it seems as though anyone and their brother is capable of chiming in, even if they have absolutely zero credentials to do so. Things such as content and diversity were also cited as concerns to the field. New technology presents new problems and requires a greater understanding by the public. We must not take news at face value anymore, there is too much riff raff presented by unqualified individuals. Sports Journalism is held to a much greater scrutiny than in past years. Competition in my opinion is what helps to keep Journalists honest.
       
         Twitter has shaken our world up! Now you can become in fairly close contact with stars and celebrities. While reading over the article it really struck me just how much power Twitter can give a person. For example when Bill Simmons shook up the entire sports world with just a few words. Millions follow him and respect him, and once they got his Tweet it became retweeted and within minutes a firestorm of epic proportions was ignited! Twitter gives people the ability to speak their mind publicly or voice their concerns to a specific audience. Social media power is supreme right now, and Bill Simmons recognized that early on.
       No longer do we live in a day and age where news is filtered countless times before it reaches our eyes. These days news is thrown at us by countless people at break neck speeds. We as Young professionals must assimilate and realize that we must use our minds to filter through non sense and get the true facts or else we will be left in the dust (technologically speaking)
      I cant help but wonder whats next? What will be the next Twitter, how will we build on this relatively new concept?