Reflection #1
This
weeks readings took me through a vast history of media and political dominance
on journalism. It is interesting how media used to operate before the invention
of social media and how important the newspaper was, and how slowly news used
to spread compared to how quickly it spreads today. In chapter two on page 41
and 42, the author discusses how the expansion of journalism gave rise to the
spectator sport and how the athletes would become friends with the reporters in
order to make a name for them selves in front of the fans. Originally the
journalists’ covers less exciting sports such as cricket and golf but
eventually began covering other sports such as football and baseball.
Contrasting today’s reporting, this was a time when journalism wasn’t supposed
to be entertaining, it was supposed to be news. However; the rise of the sports
journalist lead many to recognize sports journalism as entertainment.
As time went on newspapers gave way
to the radio. Like sports journalism in the newspaper, radio broadcasts began
to draw a significant amount of popularity. The reading goes on to discuss how
important it became for the radio broadcaster to be seated at a strategic
vantage point of the event in order to give an accurate report as well as cut
costs for the radio station, as they would not have to pay for special seating
at events.
As sports media continued to grow,
so did the competition for listeners and sponsors. As discussed in chapter 4,
the competition between athletes is very insignificant when compared to the
competition to get TV deals covering big events. Many companies offered
significant endorsement deals in order to host prime time events on their
station. As television stations completed the deals, in came the sponsors
willing to pay big bucks to advertise during sporting events on their channel.
Today we are long removed from these
times. Social media is a dominating force in promoting sporting events and
athletes across the world. There are many instances where an athlete makes a
simple statement and it goes viral and allows millions of people to make a
quick judgment on his character, and possibly ruin careers. Conversely, social
media has many positive attributes to sports.
In The United States soccer takes
the back seat to three possibly four major sports. Many people appear to
express little interest in soccer, and many times mock their players. However,
in Kansas City, Sporting KC has been the story of the year. It was a hot topic
among Kansas City sports fans. As the season went on for sporting, in came the
fans. The City jumped behind their team to offer support. When Sporting won the
championship social media blew up with pride for their hometown team and helped
them gain thousands of new fans. The game winning kick could be seen over and
over again on Facebook and Twitter alike.
The power of media, rather it’s
social, radio, newspaper, or television is real. Anything can become viral in a
matter of seconds. Kansas City has been fortunate to be on the positive end of
social media with Sporting’s championship run. When Sporting changed their name
from the Wizards and moved to Sporting Park from Arrowhead, many people didn’t
follow the team. However, the power of media, sponsorship, and social media has
allowed our city to embrace an unpopular sport in America.
Social media has never had a direct
influence on my athletic career in high school, however, sponsorship has. While
playing softball we were able to find business’ to sponsor our team as long as
we helped advertise their product. Our advertising is similar to how sponsors
are advertised by their media outlet.
It is clear that media has come a
long way in the last century, as mentioned in this weeks reading. There are
many different ways it can affect the culture around sports and the public
opinion on various topics, teams, or athletes. However, I think it has an
overall positive impact on all sports and helps unpopular sports have a chance
at the spotlight.
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