Where’s all the ‘good’ sports journalism? Sports media research, the sociology of sport, and the question of quality sports reporting

Abstract

Across newsrooms and journalism schools, questions as to what constitutes or 'counts' as excellent reporting are currently inciting much debate. Among the various frameworks being put forward to describe and encourage 'excellent' journalism in its various forms, sport is seldom mentioned-a legacy perhaps of its perennial dismissal as trivial subject matter. This essay grew from our curiosity as to whether the reverse was also true: that is, whether and what those who study sports journalism and sports media-in particular sociologists of sport-have contributed to understandings of 'best' and even excellent journalistic practice. We identified and analysed 376 articles from eight leading scholarly journals that feature sports media research with the aim of examining instances where 'excellent' sports reporting was either highlighted, described or advocated. After outlining the major themes that emerged from this analysis, we reflect on why so few of the sampled articles explicitly advise on what best practice sports journalism might look like-especially when it comes to coverage of the sportrelated social issues that sociologists of sport tend to focus on-and why so little theoretical attention has been afforded to the question of excellent sports journalism more generally. While there are good sociological reasons for focusing on problematic sports reporting, on structural and systemic issues in which media are implicated, and on producing alternatives to hegemonic sports media, we conclude that it is high time for instances of excellent sports journalism to be afforded the theoretical and empirical attention long granted to their 'bad' journalistic counterparts.

“How Can They Like Doing That?” The Ambivalent Definition of Legitimate Work in Sports Journalism

“…First, sports journalism studies give the impression that it is a kind of 'dirty work' (Hughes, 1958) because it is perceived as a socially or morally tainted speciality within journalism. The common critiques within sociological studies often stem from sociologists' idealistic views of journalism that centre on critical and sociologically-inspired writing (Weedon et al, 2018). Furthermore, a critical body of knowledge assembled by sociologists of sport has examined 'bad' journalistic practices, denouncing for example sports journalists' non-compliance with common ethical rules of journalism or the non-objective and complicit coverage of sport.…”

“…Furthermore, a critical body of knowledge assembled by sociologists of sport has examined 'bad' journalistic practices, denouncing for example sports journalists' non-compliance with common ethical rules of journalism or the non-objective and complicit coverage of sport. This literature has largely ignored the topic of excellence in sports journalism (Weedon et al, 2018). Second, the arrival of female reporters in these maledominated newsrooms has led scholars to focus their attention on women's working experiences, often by adopting empathetic points of view.…”

A whole new ball game: How Sky Sports News journalists are learning from the academy

“…A key aspect of this section is asking industry professionals how they can report with greater social responsibility in mind. Weedon et al (2016) observe that academic concerns with what constitutes sports journalism include contextualized reporting, equitable coverage, equitable newsroom representation, and socially responsible and educative coverage. The course looks at work on diverse and minority groups within sports journalism, specifically gender (Franks and O'Neill 2016) and race (Farrington et al 2012).…”

La performance periodística en la cobertura deportiva: un estudio comparado de televisión, radio, prensa impresa y medios online en Chile

“…Incluso algunos autores sostienen que, en los medios de comunicación, la sección de deportes constituye el "el departamento de juguetes" (the toy department of news media), ya que en ella se trabajaría con cierta frivolidad y con menor independencia que en otras secciones de los medios (English, 2017;Garrison & Salwen, 1989;Rowe, 2007). Producto de esta visión crítica, el periodismo deportivo es escasamente nombrado cuando se discute sobre periodismo de excelencia (Weedon, Wilson, Yoon & Lawson, 2018).…”