Flagging the NFL's homophobic culture

Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson recently made news when he used a homophobic slur in reference to his coach in several posts to his twitter account. The NFL is hardly considered “gay friendly,” and Johnson’s tweets are indicative of an ongoing homophobic culture in the league. To the NFL and Chiefs’ credit, Johnson was suspended for one game. However, as the Kansas City Star’s Randy Covitz writes, the reprimand is vague and notes only that Johnson was suspended for conduct “detrimental to the team,” leaving it unclear whether he was suspended for the slur or criticism of the coach. The NFL and the Chiefs had the opportunity to bring the problem of homophobia in the NFL to the forefront of public dialogue, but chose not to; their obscure language denied a voice to a persistent and troubling problem within the league. When team and league officials fail to acknowledge even the most overt gay-bashing, the persistent and dangerous homophobic culture remains unchecked . No one thing will change the hostile climate, but until a voice is given to the problem, we wonder if it’s reasonable to expect current gay players to come out of the closet.
-Erin Whiteside

Media coverage of Serena Williams' outburst emphasizes gender norms

Serena Williams, in her outburst at the U.S. Open, stepped outside the box of what is considered acceptable behavior for female athletes, according to the most recent report from the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. We analyzed articles from both traditional and new media sources to answer questions about the way Williams was portrayed in coverage of her outburst. The most interesting findings concerned comparisons between Williams and other male and female athletes. We found that although Williams was more often compared to male athletes, comparisons between her and other female athletes were more likely to be negative. Further, in articles that did compare Williams negatively to other female athletes, Kim Clijsters' (her opponent in the match who went on to win the Open) motherhood was more likely to be mentioned. One Yahoo! Sports article went as far as to call Clijsters the Open's "silver lining" after the "stain" left by Williams' outburst.

This finding is, sadly, unsurprising. Gender norms are valued in our society, and while we might be able to stomach a male behaving “violently” during a sports match, females, even female athletes, are “supposed” to be -- above all -- women. Society needed a Kim Clijsters, a mother and wife who exemplifies our ideals of femininity, to put us at ease after the Williams outburst.

This is not to argue that Williams’ behavior was acceptable or undeserving of punishment. Any athlete who threatens an official should be rebuked. However, if it had been a male athlete, perhaps an opponent of Roger Federer (who recently become a dad), would the media be mentioning Federer’s fatherhood in negative commentary about the male offender?

Posted by Erin Ash

SI for Kids: Basic lessons in gender, sport

At the UM Tucker Center lecture Monday night on women's sports and social media, I suggested that the primary function of mediated/spectator sports in U.S. culture is to reinforce gender norms (apologies to Noam Chomsky).
It starts early. Just look at SI for Kids, which disproportionately focuses on men and boys (maybe "SI for Boys" would be a better title) and relies on gender stereotypes in relationship to sports. One feature in the magazine, the "Buzz Beamer" cartoon, is sometimes so overt in its use of gender stereotypes as to be laughable (maybe that's what supposed to be funny). Buzz Beamer's October entry (p. 56) is such an example: apparently Marial Zagunis, an Olympic gold-medal fencer, is capable only of carving "beautiful" pumpkins; her male counterpart (hockey player Alex Ovechkin), of course, is capable only of making the opposite (a scary one).
Obviously, the problem with this kind of message is that underlying it is the assumption of gender binaries. What do girls and boys take away from a cartoon that makes this point? Unfortunately, it's not a message that encourages girls or boys to move beyond traditional gender roles that hinder both from exploring sports activities they might otherwise pursue.

ESPN's 'Body Issue' does its job

According to a report by The Wrap about the Magazine Innovation Summit in New York this week, ESPN boosted subscriptions to its "Insider" (a companion to the magazine) by 400 within two hours of posting its "Body Issue" images online. Newsstand data wasn't released.
Of course. That was the point -- it doesn't take a genius to see how the SI Swimsuit edition and other flesh-baring editions of sports-related titles do on the newsstand: They sell.
ESPN's sex-sells issue was, in my mind, different in some significant ways from the SI swimsuit edition. ESPN had argued that the mag was driven by journalistic motives, and while that's highly debatable, the images do exhibit a range of athletic images. It is much more ambivalent than SI -- alternating back and forth between images that can be read as liberating because they challenge ideal-body norms, and those that reinforce a "hetero-sexy" apologia by female athletes.

HS sports: 'one of the next great markets'

According to rankings, the biggest high school football game in the country tonight will be played in South Florida tonight and will -- courtesy of ESPN -- be aired for the nation to watch. Marketers from Nike and other major brands will be watching because, as an article in the Sun-Sentinel notes, they have "targeted high school sports as one of the next great markets." Nike moved into one of the high schools this week with a full-force marketing campaign aimed at students.
The Sun-Sentinel article suggests that ESPN's exposure of high school sports on a national level may be a "win-win" situation, as schools' travel costs are covered and they get a small sum of money for playing. But Fred Grimm of the Miami Herald correctly takes ESPN to task for exploiting the cheap labor at the high school level. He points out the obvious: ESPN is cultivating a potential goldmine by contriving "big-time" high school matchups, selling the audience and avoiding the astronomical rights fees it pays for college sports.
The implications are sickening. Do we really want to import the problems with academic integrity we have at the college level into public schools? As Grimm writes, "On Friday night, during ESPN's Old Spice High School Showcase Presented By Nike, the commodities will be offered up on national television, along with after-shave and athletic apparel."
On a related note, ESPN has also announced plans to launch a Web site devoted to coverage of girls' high school sports (beyond what it provides on RISE). Again, such a branded ("W") site could be a moneymaker for the net by allowing it to sell eyeballs not typically attracted to its products in large numbers. But it is likely that this idea will end up on ESPN's scrap heap: Making a female-focused, sport-focused media product that sells is an exceedingly difficult proposition (just ask the editors at SI Women or at Real Sports, for instance).

Will sports save newspapers?

That's what Tim McGuire (veteran journalist, now ASU journalism professor) suggests. He correctly points out the major threat to newspapers by ESPN's regional Web properties in Chicago, Boston, and Dallas. (It is reasonable to speculate that ESPN will do major damage to the Web traffic to newspaper sites in all of these markets.) McGuire suggests, though, that "sports should be the centerpiece of newspaper efforts to rejuvenate themselves" because sports are such an incredible draw.
The problem, though, is that newspapers likely cannot compete on salary with ESPN in regional markets, meaning that it will be very difficult for them to attract (or retain) the personalities affiliated with great sports commentary. And it's the personalities -- McGuire himself mentions former newspaper journalist Pat Forde -- that often draw the fans to sites such as ESPN.com or others for sports coverage.

ESPN to 'tread lightly' in covering youths

ESPN President George Bodenheimer, speaking at a Penn State Forum today, was asked about coverage of high school sports, an area where ESPN continues to expand. He said he believes ESPN has a social responsibility to help protect the integrity and mission of scholastic sports -- and avoid being an "800-pound gorilla." 'We're going to be in it and tread lightly," he said. But at the same time, he argued that the net must be in the game. Large-scale coverage and interest in high school sports is already here, he added.

Sports bloggers, journalists: Not so different

In a new piece posted on the Tucker Center Web site, I share research by the Curley Center that compares the attitudes of journalists and bloggers toward women's sports and Title IX.
It turns out that they're quite similar, which may explain why so much of what we see in new media looks like what we see in old media. Another dynamic driving the tone in the sports blogosphere is the fact that it's still dominated by men -- almost to the exact same degree as that found in newspaper sports departments. What we need to explore is why women, when the institutional barriers to employment are removed, generally shy away from writing and commentating about sports -- despite the fact that Title IX has turned sports into a way of life for millions.

Focus: Women's sports and social media

Research in the Curley Center has recently turned to sports and social media -- especially in relationship to the opportunities and challenges for coverage of women's sports. The Tucker Center at the University of Minnesota is also focusing on this important topic. The Tucker Center's blog has two new entries that look at coverage of women's sports and at social media.
Dave Zirin's entry on coverage of women's sports covers some familiar territory for women's sport advocates as he recounts the stereotypes that are common themes (sexpot or mother, for instance). He doesn't extend his discussion into the sports blogosphere -- although the stereotypes he addresses are, unfortunately, common there, too.
The other intriguing entry on the Tucker Center blog addresses the ways women's sports advocates see social media: as a land of opportunity, a place where women's sports coverage and community can flourish. But is that happening?
There are pockets where great things are happening, including WomenTalkSports.com. But, as I'll discuss soon, we're really seeing more of the same sexism, homophobia and non-coverage of women's sports that "old media" has always given us. The question then has to be: Why?

Sprinting toward the 'big-time' model

The movement of scholastic sports toward the college and professional sports models, in terms of media, marketing, and -- time will tell -- values, continues with the announcement in Sports Business Daily yesterday that "MSG Varsity" will launch Sept. 24 to 3 million CableVision subscribers in New York. The RSN-lookalike will feature a daily news show, a reality show, a call-in show, quiz show and games. MSG Varsity will include an "interactive" channel (where viewers can opt for different games) and a fully loaded Web site.
Who will get the advertising revenue? SBJ writes, "Cablevision is not paying the schools a rights fee for the programming, but describes its relationship as 'an unprecedented partnership' that will see the New York media company donate video equipment, Web templates, training and scholarships to schools that participate."
I hope someone keeps an eye on the 'unprecedented partnership' -- and exactly how the "equipment, training and scholarships" take form.

Women's football makes the sports page!

Both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune found room on their sports pages recently for coverage of women's football: the Chicago Bliss, part of the newly launched Lingerie Football League. (I only wish I were making this up.) Both papers ran articles and photos in their sports sections featuring photos of bikini-clad LFL players.
The Sun-Times article, which ran after the team's home opener, ran under a photo and "Chicago's Hottest Team" display head. The story featured Mike Ditka (part owner of the league) and a reference to "wardrobe malfunctions" of players ("the top comes off...").
Is this team more interesting to serious sports fans than the
Chicago Force -- the 2008 Eastern Conference Champions in the Independent Women's Football League? The Force received little-to-no coverage from Chicago papers although the IWFL has been around longer and is clearly a much more serious league.
What does it say about the attitudes toward female athletes and women's sports at these two papers that the Bliss story got play in their sports sections while more serious women's sports enterprises go uncovered?

Sports reporters & gambling: The big picture

Our Center for Sports Journalism survey of sports reporters, published in the International Journal of Sport Communication, has gotten attention recently because of our finding that 4 in 10 reporters told us they gambled on sports -- and one in 20 told us they gamble on sports they cover.
The more interesting finding to us, though, is the relationship between behaviors such as gambling by reporters and their beliefs about the mission and values of journalism. The more sports journalists adhered to a "public-service" mission for journalism (the belief that sports reporters should function as "watchdogs" for the public), the more likely they were to reject gambling and other ethically suspect practices that have given sports journalism a toy-box reputation in newsrooms.

The case to credential bloggers

While the SEC and other sports-related organizations and consortiums are resisting inevitable changes in the ways sports are covered and consumed, we argue, in an opinion piece this week in Sports Business Journal, that organizations should instead look for ways to get bloggers into the press box. Some, such as NASCAR with its "citizen journalists," have already taken positive steps in that direction, having garnered publicity and offered a "carrot"to responsible bloggers. We also suggest that as bloggers get out into the environments about which they're writing, they're more likely to adopt the professional values of journalists who cover sports -- and that's a good thing.

ESPN's guidelines put boundaries on social media

Given the gaffes made by some journalists in recent weeks and the irreverent Tweets by NFL players (leading to some team restrictions on the practice), it's not surprising that ESPN's guidelines, announced yesterday, put some hard limits on the use of social media by employees. It is likely that other media orgs will look to the net's guidelines, such as, "If you wouldn't say it on the air or write it in your column, don't Tweet it," as a model. The guidelines seem to serve two functions: to keep employees from posting on social media in ways that could reflect poorly on ESPN, and to allow the net to funnel all such networking to its properties, bolstering the bottom line. It's part of the bigger movement by media companies to co-opt and monetize the grassroots appeal of social media.

Women's pro sports 10 years after the World Cup: Is the sky really falling?

I read with interest a series of stories published on ESPN.com late last week about the state of women's professional sports in the U.S. The thesis driving the package: Women's spectators sports are teetering on the brink of an uncertain and perhaps calamitous future.
This storyline isn't new, as Mechelle Voepel points out in her analysis of the WNBA. But unmet predictions of the demise of the WNBA and other women's leagues may offer little comfort when leagues are struggling to survive.
Stories on each of the major women's sports/leagues -- including the WTA, LPGA, WPS, and WNBA -- speculated on individual problems such as poor public relations and marketing (LPGA) and lack of individual superstars (LPGA and WTA). But these problems for women's sports are symptoms, not the cause, for the struggles of women's professional sports to move beyond survival mode. Treating the symptoms does, indeed, keep women's sports in a tenuous position as leagues and teams constantly search for a formula that will have mass appeal.
Women's pro leagues and teams in the U.S. continue to operate in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" climate where they are blamed for cultural/gender norms that dictate their second-rate status.
Perhaps illustrative of this is a recent column in the Washington Post, where Mike Wise takes the WNBA Washington Mystics to task for not using a "Kiss Cam" during games. He acknowledges the WNBA's marketing tightrope: appealing to homophobic ("family-friendly") fans while simultaneously welcoming its loyal lesbian fan base. He writes: "It's understandable that a financially shaky league is outright terrified it could alienate a chunk of its fan base if two same-sex people shared a chaste kiss on a video scoreboard." Yet he goes on to write about the team's decision: "Goodbye, progress."
Damned if they do, damned if they don't. Women's sports will survive -- thanks to a loyal, although small, fan base that can connect more easily now than ever. But the bar is one set by masculine values for sports. Until that changes, the struggle will continue beyond our lifetimes.

Andrews episode: Setback for women in sports media? Not really

I received an email from a college student working as a sports writer for the Cape Cod Times this summer directing me to her blog post about the Erin Andrews incident. It was interesting to read the take of a young woman -- new to the profession -- about the episode and reaction to it.
Nicole writes that her reaction has been "complicated" -- and I would concur that she isn't alone. The incident is complex on many levels because it involves a high-profile woman, who has been marketed at least in part on sex appeal, covering sports. More importantly, the incident and the reaction to it clearly point to the difficulty we still have, culturally, with how to position and accept women in the sporting environment. Scholar Margaret Duncan has written extensively about the ways female athletes have been trivialized and sexualized, and I suggest her typology of female athletes can be used to understand the way female sideline reporters are also "put in their place." Unfortunately, the Andrews incident was an ugly, taken-to-the-extreme, extension of the way women in the sports arena have been treated for a long time. Look at the trivialized way Andrews and others have been presented over the years --are we really so surprised at what has happened?
In her blog post, Nicole writes about her own experience with harassment and discrimination and goes on to express her anger at "the way female sports journalists are perceived."
She adds about the Andrews incident: "It’s like a 30-year setback."
Unfortunately, Nicole, it's not really a setback. We weren't as far ahead as you might have hoped and believed.

Blaming women for their harassment: The same old story in 140 characters

Christine Brennan's tweet today, implying that Erin Andrews is somehow to blame for the violation of her privacy via a voyeuristic video, certainly lends support to the recent Big Lead blog about Twitter as a tripwire for journalists. Brennan's tweet implied that these things don't happen to women who are "smart" and "don't play to the frat house." She released a statement today attempting to do a take-back. But her original message -- as ugly as it was -- is actually just a variation on a common theme about female sports journalists: That they are sexually charged, locker-room "lookers" who aren't qualified to cover sports. Emphasizing their sexuality is a way to belittle them in the sports context. This myth has been used to justify discrimination and harassment since the first woman entered the profession, and it continues.
Brennan's tweet is evidence of what we've found: Interviews with women who work in sports journalism has found that many of them buy into this kind of rationalization when they see discrimination against their female colleagues. It's regrettable because it serves a power structure that marginalizes women in sports and sports media.
The problem when women in sports are marginalized and belittled is not the women. It's a definition and positioning of sports in our culture that claims them for men.
And that's much, much bigger -- and more difficult to address -- than anything that can fit in a tweet.

Social media and sports: What will stick?

While research shows that sports journalists are finding ways to use Twitter for reporting, we can also see its limits. The Big Lead, in an item about Ric Bucher's decision to back away from Twitter (at least for now), predicts that more reporters will back away from Twitter because of the scrutiny their posts can draw -- "and then, twitter will die."
Twitter is still in its early evolutionary stage as a reporting tool. But sports blogs -- as Robert Weintraub points out in the latest CJR -- have settled into the sports-media landscape not so much as an alternative to but instead as a growing part of mainstream coverage. I believe that this reality explains much of the reason our survey found that many bloggers see themselves as allies, for the most part, with journalists. I'm not sure I agree with a Deadspin post that "If the line between blogs and the MSM appears to be getting blurrier, it's because there never really was a line in the first place" -- but there is little doubt about how fast the line is disappearing.

Bloggers: Filling a gap in sports coverage?

The ongoing skirmishes between sports journalists and bloggers -- the most recent reflected in Mark Cuban's suggestion (in his blog, of all places) that some bloggers be publicly shunned by media organizations -- involve two groups that often work at odds but who generally describe themselves in similar ways.
That's according to a new survey just released by the Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State. The survey involved more than 200 bloggers who provide daily coverage of a variety of sports.
Not surprisingly, most bloggers in the survey were men, and most covered men's sports. Most say what they do is sports journalism -- although most don't use original reporting in their blogs, nor have they applied for credentials to a sports event.
They also hold themselves to different ethical standards than professional journalists; for instance, a very high percentage said journalists should verify information -- but the number dropped when bloggers were asked about their use of information.
It's not surprising that most bloggers we surveyed have never worked in a newsroom, nor do they have journalism degrees. I think what explains most of the gap between bloggers and journalists, in terms of attitudes and values, lies in the original reporting they do. I think that if sports organizations (and journalists) are truly concerned about the erosion of sports coverage via blogs, they should advocate for more blogger access to opportunities to do original reporting. That means more access to press boxes, media conference calls, and maybe even to locker rooms. The challenge is in how to make that happen, of course.

Women's game: Not 'as good' as it was?

A story in the South Bend Tribune today reports that ND women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw, speaking at the annual NACDA meeting, lamented the state of women's college basketball -- ethically speaking -- today. "It's not quite as good as it used to be. I think the pressure to win is affecting people," she said, and later added, "People aren't exactly following the rules" but those who know about it aren't "willing to step forward."
It seems that a logical follow-up question for her is "What specific rules violations to you know about?" She added that there haven't been any "major infractions" in the women's college game of late, but she is convinced an ethics committee is needed.

'Small stories' and Title IX

As fans of women's sports know, the 37th anniversary of Title IX came and went last week with recognition from the White House, Women's Sports Foundation and women's sports advocates but with little mainstream media coverage.
Of course, the passing of the milestone for the law without wider celebration is disappointing -- but not surprising. Title IX still remains controversial, and myths about the law's impact on boys' and men's sports prevail -- especially among young people. Focus groups with teenagers and college students about Title IX, conducted by the Center for Sports Journalism, revealed that these young people shared their suspicion about the law through narratives in which boys and men were victims. Stories about opportunities stripped from male athletes -- whether based on "reality" or admittedly fabricated by participants -- were used to understand the law.
It was surprising to hear these narratives even from young women who have clearly benefited from the law. But these stories, which are simple tales that conform to gender norms, are powerful tools to tear down support for the law.
The answer? We propose that sports feminists everywhere make a concerted effort to inject individual narratives of equality and access for girls and women into the Title IX debate. An example of these is found in the WSF video about Title IX -- but we also need them at lower levels, among middle-school and high school athletes, for instance. These "small stories" of equality and empowerment can -- over time -- change public discourse.

Blaming individuals, ignoring cultures

I read two interesting Web features today that both illuminated our cultural shortsightedness about social issues and sports: Blaming individuals while turning a blind eye toward institutional beliefs and practices that underpin problems.
The first was an outstanding column by Dave Zirin answering Howard Bryant's shrill column about Sammy Sosa's steroid use. In his column, Bryant makes a bizarre charge that Sosa's positive steroids test calls for a "special kind of outrage." He is especially hard on Sosa, on players and on "Mr. and Mrs. Fan." He does not -- as Zirin points out -- take to task an institution (and its management) that has tacitly encouraged drug use for decades. Zirin, whose column will undoubtedly be read by less than a third of those who read Bryant's, raises important contextual questions that position the issue as one going far beyond the decisions of select individuals without cultural and institutional encouragement.
The second Web feature I read today was the discussion on WashingtonPost.com's "The League" about gays in the NFL. Not surprisingly, the column that brought the most response was one by a pastor who made overtly homophobic comments -- he was an easy target. Other columns by more progressive writers argued that NFL players were to blame because they hadn't come out or because individual players have "remained silent."
The problem with these kinds of arguments is that they ignore the very real function of men's football and other male-defined sports (such as baseball and basketball) in U.S. culture: defining (ideal) gender roles. As a culture, we expect the demonstration of masculinity in these sports (that's why "You play like a sissy/girl" is still an effective insult hurled by coaches). Ideal masculinity implies heterosexuality. Our cultural definitions of sport, gender (and, subsequently, sexuality) have -- as one columnist rightly argues -- made it easier for us to elect a black man to the presidency than to foster a culture where gay athletes can play high-level team sports without fear.

Game stories by computer program

Students at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism may have just invented another nail for the coffin for sports beat writers. Students there are perfecting "machine generated sports stories" (MGSS), a tool that produces computer-generated sports stories using play-by-play data, box scores and other information. According to the release, the tool "can't replace the sports writer who watches a game, gets quotes from players and does analysis." Many sportswriters in legacy media, however, have been replaced -- so they're moving to independent media online. A post on NewspaperShift (PBS) discusses initiatives by some former newspaper journalists to start their own Web cooperatives, bringing together journalists in different cities to offer full coverage of teams and leagues on a single site. The trick, of course, will be in whether such a model can draw enough advertising dollars.

Women's pro sports: Can gender really be taken 'out of the equation'?

The seven teams in the newly launched Women's Professional Soccer league are about two months into their inaugural season, playing in front of crowds that average about 5,400 and in front of viewers tuning into the Fox Soccer Channel. The league's initial success is just part of the reason for high hopes that this league will thrive, according to Commissioner Tonya Antonucci, who spoke to the annual convention of the Association for Women in Sports Media in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Antonucci suggested that the league's strategy -- controlling costs, marketing to a broader array of fans, and having more realistic goals than the WUSA did before it folded -- will help the league survive.
She also suggested that the way the league was built -- by attracting the best players in the world (including the three-time FIFA player of the year, Marta), is a contrast with men's MLS, and that fans will recognize that. In other words, Antonucci doesn't see the WPS competing with the MLS for fans. (The MLS, which has been around longer, draws an average 14K per game.)
"We almost take gender out of the equation in what our brand stands for," she told the group. She said the league has no plans to use "sex appeal" as a selling point for athletes, either. "You embrace who these women want to be," she said.
Antonucci also suggested that because men's soccer in the U.S. competes against another type of "football" -- the NFL, women's soccer has the chance to grow as a spectator sport at a much faster pace than the MLS has. The WPS is operating on the assumption that participants will turn into spectators. Because soccer is so popular as a sport for girls (and boys), there will be ready-made fan base as these players grow older.
If only it were true.
If only it were true that gender can ever be taken "out of the equation" in regard to sports. And if only it were true that girls who play soccer will turn into women who are willing to spend the time (and money) to consume it in large numbers. And that men ("soccer dads") will turn into enduring spectators of a women's professional league.
But research tells us differently. Popular spectator sports in western culture have always been all about gender performance. In other words, gender can't be removed from any sports equation. That's one reason (among several) that soccer will struggle in the U.S. to ever have a sustained, high-numbers following -- it's a gender-neutral sport, and, thus, is less appealing to fans (logically, this quality gives it more appeal as a participatory sport.)
Thus, it is doubtful that the WPS will thrive after its initial splash (and that hasn't been much) -- it will do well to survive more than a few years. I don't say that to be negative as much as to recognize the realities for women's team sports in the U.S.
The naive hopefulness of Antonucci and other backers of the WPS shouldn't be discouraged, however. We need her and women's sports advocates to keep pushing the envelope. But we have to recognize that women's sports as an institution will not thrive until our ideas about sport and gender undergo a fundamental shift -- only then can gender really be out of the equation.

Bloggers and ethical decision-making

A recent post on Eye on Sports Media outlines the response of a local paper (the Athens Banner Herald) and that of a blogger who learned about the DUI arrest of a local personality who provides play-by-play and analysis for UGA sports teams.
The blogger reported the incident; the paper didn't. Eye on Sports Media comes down on the side of the blogger, arguing that the incident was newsworthy and that covering it gives media the chance to point out the recklessness of drunken driving. Non-coverage by the paper "also shows a little bit of media hypocrisy. The media is always more than willing to write sensational news when an athlete or other celebrity is arrested for DUI or some other transgression. They are also all over any news of steroid use by athletes. So what if alcohol abuse and drunk driving is more destructive than steroid use?"
I think EOSM has a point. The man is well-known to local sports fans, and the same standards should apply to him as do with other local sports personalities. I don't know the rationale used by the paper to reject the story.
Dissatisfaction with mainstream media is one reason many fans start their own blogs. As they do, they have to make tough calls about what should and should not be covered -- the kinds of calls mainstream journalists have been making for decades. They can get guidance from a number of sources, including APSE, SPJ and a blogger's code of ethics. As they continue to gain influence, it's critical that bloggers understand the responsibility that comes with the ability to reach a mass audience.

Want to learn more about the WNBA? Naturally, you'd want to know how many moms are on the team...right?

A SportsCenter "Sunday Conversation" today with WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, tailor-made for Mother's Day, focused on LA Sparks players in the role of moms. There are, according, to Leslie, five mothers on the team, who constantly share "mommy information." Leslie emphasized that her role as a new mother is a primary reason for her retirement from sports.
While the news peg for the story -- Mother's Day -- may have driven the focus, the problem with these kinds of features is that they ultimately weaken the image of female athletes in the sports context because these stories are often done to the exclusion of regular coverage of women's sports. We see far too many stories with this kind of angle -- female athlete outside sports. (Oftentimes, it's in a mode that presents athletes in sexualized images.) Although many female athletes are eager to be cast outside their athletic achievements, the more often they're shown off the court, the less credible they're deemed on it -- any day of the year.

Whitlock on the need to examine ESPN

Sports columnist Jason Whitlock, often accused of taking snipes at ESPN for no other reason than that he doesn't work there, argues in a recent column that the network is a "dictatorship" with more power than the leagues it covers. Whitlock adds that bloggers -- "an army of citizen journalists building followings and eroding our credibility" -- are the only place to get critical coverage of the network.
It's true that ESPN has a great deal of influence, but it's not because the number people who watch it exceeds the number watching SpongeBob reruns on any given night of the week. It's because sports journalists have taken their cues from it. ESPN is the pacesetter for other outlets.
The mainstream media doesn't ignore ESPN, as Whitlock argues. It follows the network very carefully. Bloggers may dish the gossip on the personalities there, but ESPN is far from ignored by the many, many sports journalists who ultimately want the network on their own resumes.

The good and bad of non-access to athletes

Blogger-turned-ESPN writer Bill Simmons points out the diminishing role of sports journalists in his latest column, suggesting that in the age of Facebook, the blogosphere and Twitter, athletes no longer need the media. "This isn't a good thing or a bad thing," he adds.
It's both.
It's good for athletes -- who can wield much more control over the ways they are presented to fans -- and, in many ways, it's good for fans, who have more options for getting news on their favorite athletes and teams.
Now, the "bad": It calls into question the relevance of traditional sports journalists, whose traditional "gatekeeping" role has been eroded. And although that is a "bad thing" in some ways, it also provides the media establishment a chance to retool the ways journalists cover sports, moving away from personality- and game-driven coverage and to a public-service approach that critically looks at the institutions and practices in sports at every level -- asking and answering tough questions about the links between sports and tax dollars, education and social values, for instance.
That's the kind of coverage an athlete's blog can never take from journalists.
And that would be a very good thing.

Gender gap in outlook toward homophobia

A recent study by the Center for Sports Journalism, published in the Winter 2009 issue of the Newspaper Research Journal, found that most sports reporters believe homophobia is a problem in sports -- and more of a problem in men's sports than women's. Most also disagreed with the idea that a male athlete would be accepted if he came out, and most reporters also said they did not think it was appropriate to ask athletes about their sexual orientation.
Not surprisingly, gender and age were dividing lines for responses. For instance, female reporters were more likely to say homophobia is a problem in women's sports. Young reporters more often agreed that homophobia was a problem in men's sports.

High school sportainment the ESPN way

SI this week examines "March Madness" in high school basketball, focusing on the recent ESPN RISE national tournament. The tourney "represented the NCAA tournament sensibility brought to high school," Phil Taylor writes.
The article goes on to describe the big business emerging from the marriage of big media and scholastic sports. ESPN, in particular, has made a high-profile push into publicizing youth sports. The talent is free and the rights fees are almost as cheap.
Is that where we want high school sports to go? As a culture, we long ago decided to allow collegiate athletics to mimic the pro model (except for, as Andrew Zimbalist points out, the fact that athletes are unpaid and the NCAA can claim non-profit status). Do we want scholastic sports to mimic the college model? What are the implications for athletics in education at the primary and secondary level? Who profits -- and who loses? Parents, educators, activists, politicians -- everyone needs to be in on this conversation.

"This stuff happens all over the country"

A documentary focusing on the homophobic tenure of Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland premiered tonight at the Philadelphia Film Festival. The documentary, "Training Rules," uses the story of Portland, and the player who ultimately helped force her resignation after more than two decades of discrimination, to explore homophobia in women's sports.
Although the documentary uses the Portland story as its narrative, the wider point it makes is vital: That Portland is just one of many coaches, across the country, who have institutionalized homophobia in their programs. As activist and scholar Pat Griffin points out, this isn't an isolated practice. "It happens every day" to the detriment of young women and of women's sports, she says.

The other basketball championships

While most sports fans are tuned into "stand-up" basketball in the form of the NCAA tournament, it's likely they don't know anything about another championship-- the National Wheelchair Basketball Championships this week in Denver. Major universities from all over the U.S. field teams that include top-ranked Paralympic athletes competing at elite levels. It's too bad it doesn't get more mainstream media coverage-- these athletes deserve it. Watch this video to learn more.

Yes, grammar still matters.

Attention aspiring sports journalists: Knowing the difference between "who" and "whom" is still important. According to a survey of sports editors, grammar and writing skills are lacking in many of the young journalists they interview and hire. Meanwhile, aspiring writers should also become more tech savvy and versatile, according to the survey. That means making the most of the range of journalism and other classes offered at the university level and seeking experience through internships and other writing outlets.

The terror of Selena

It's amusing to read the transcript of Alex Rodriguez' interview with Peter Gammons on ESPN -- one in which he was lobbed slow-pitch softballs instead of probing questions -- allowing him to present himself as stumbling into a GNC several years ago and (oops!) grabbing the wrong thing off the shelf after securing fame and fortune.
Rodriguez has also apparently decided to deflect criticism for his wrongdoing to a female reporter -- Selena Roberts -- whom he called "this lady" throughout the interview. Read the transcript: Investigative journalists can sure be terrifying, can't they? Especially when it's a woman ("lady") who's managed to expose the lies.

The post-game interview: Irrelevant?

A panel at Tufts University on sports journalism provide the requisite amount of hand-wringing about the future of sports journalism: Newspapers will die, the Internet is "monster" that has damaged the profession, etc.
The most interesting comments by the panelists, however, were those that questioned the relevance of the post-game interview in light of the increased ability of athletes to communicate directly with fans via the Web. Golfweek writer Brad Klein called it "a ritualistic concession to editors." If the post-game interview fails to deliver substance, it'll be interesting to see what happens with continuing attempts by teams and leagues to restrict locker-room access by reporters. Journalists may find that such access becomes more difficult to protect.

In defense of the game: A new gay slur

A story that has been overshadowed by the Super Bowl and other events this week is one that involves the coming -- and going, we hope -- of a new term that denigrates gays in the interest of protecting the time-honored ritual of fighting in the NHL. The CBC's "Hockey Night" commentator Mike Milbury used the word "pansification" to describe how the NHL would be softened should the league heed calls to ban the practice. After protest, the CBC has finally stepped in and banned use of the word.
It's good the term has been removed as an option for CBC commentators (although under protest, unfortunately). But the bigger issue remains unchallenged: Assumptions about masculinity, sports and sexuality that continue to privilege the "tough guy" in sports -- contricting culturally acceptable behavior for men and women and encouraging prejudice.

Some women 'seethe with resentment'

Paul Farhi's Washington Post story today about the role of women on the sidelines in coverage of major sports events (such as the Super Bowl) doesn't cover new ground. And neither do the comments in response to Farhi's piece-- which provide the usual range of sexist/misogynist tirades.
Farhi's article, does, however, reflect the frustration of some female sports broadcasters who believe (rightly) that decision-making about their marginal roles isn't fair.
Although the story speculates, based on a comment from the WSF's Marj Snyder, that perhaps more women in high-end decisions at networks could make a difference, it's doubtful that the solution is that simple. Women will gain more visibility in sports commentating roles as our ideas and expectations, as a culture, change in relationship to women, men and sports.

Super Bowl coverage: Expanding width, shrinking depth

An article in Editor & Publisher today announced a drop in the number of media requests for the Super Bowl this year. The dip is about 4 percent, from 4,786 to 4,589. The article goes on to provide comments from editors at major dailies who have decided to send fewer reporters to games.
The other news -- not explored by E&P, though -- is that the number of media organizations requesting credentials is higher than for any Super Bowl. That jump is about 10 percent. More than 600 organizations are credentialed. Even as the newspaper industry -- the lion's share of credentials -- is shrinking, the number and variety of outlets covering sports continues to grow.

Sports reporting: Does objectivity matter?

With the media spotlight hot and bright on every key player in the Super Bowl this Sunday, the story about the relationship between Larry Fitzgerald Sr., a sportswriter, and his son, a wide receiver for the Cardinals, has been subject to the typical over-hyped treatment such human-interest stories get. Writers including Rick Reilly have focused dutifully on the ethical commitment by Fitzgerald to obey the no-cheering-in-the-pressbox rule.
Josh Levin's recent Slate article, though, points out that Fitzgerald has not been "objective" in stories about his son. Levin uses examples to point out the very loud cheering -- in the pages of the Spokesman-Recorder. The story has been picked up by the sports blogosphere and used as an excuse to lampoon or criticize the reporter.
I think the more important question, though, is about the assumption by writers that "objectivity" (e.g., avoiding rooting for a victory by a team or athlete) by sports reporters is something sports fans and readers want in their coverage or even see as an ethical issue.. I'm not so sure that whether Fitzgerald will cheer or not on Sunday is of much interest - or relevance -- to fans.
Research has consistently shown that both fans and journalists think homerism on the sports pages is OK. Perhaps the more relevant columns would be those that ask why that is, and what the consequences are for the wider practice of sports journalism.

Predicting the death of independent sports coverage

Poynter's Steve Klein posted comments today about a recent blog post by Mark Cuban that suggests pro leagues subsidize newspaper coverage of sports.
In other words, pro teams band together to pay the salaries of beat writers and, in return, get guaranteed space every day. "I know this is in violation of all previous principles of editorial church and state," Cuban writes, but he also argues that pro leagues need the promotional services of journalists (which they have had for more than a century. They just haven't had to pay for it.)
Klein doesn't raise the myriad ethical issues -- and there are many -- that would arise if such an arrangement became reality. He predicts that some publications will take the bait and "slap an advertorial label on the coverage" to save jobs. But advertorial arrangements with sports orgs -- often not labeled -- have already been part of the financial strategy for some papers.
Klein instead suggests (although with funding from pro leagues, raising, again, the ethical issues) a ProPublica or Huffington-style pool arrangement of top sports journalism talent.

Women in sports: Be "20-percent better"

A Dec. 20 article in the Globe and Mail, "Women on TV: Looks First, Knowledge Later," puts a new spin on an old story about the premium on sexual attractiveness for women covering sports. The new angle: How Web sites such as Deadspin are at once raising the profile and diminishing the journalistic credentials of female sports journalists. Comments on sports blogs are degrading, insulting and sometimes threatening. To be considered credible, an NHL senior vice president of broadcasting recommends women be "20 percent better" than their male counterparts.

AP: 'Helping athletes graduate has become its own academic profession'

An Associated Press story released this weekend shows the phenomenal investment big-time college programs are making to keep their athletes academically eligible to play. The article, which raises serious concerns about the priorities of public universities, was written after months of work to gather financial information and interview athletes, faculty and administrators.

This story is evidence that, as Steve Bilafer with the Sports Business Journal wrote last month, the AP is needed more than ever on the nation's sports pages, which are cutting staffs and resources even as youth and collegiate sports programs are growing and resembling the professional ("sportainment") model for sports.

Athletes: Crafting their own messages

A story published in the San Diego Union Tribune, "Sites to behold," provides a lengthy discussion of the ways athletes are using the Web to bypass traditional media, build their fan base and feed the bottom line. (A recent example, as reporter Tod Leonard points out, was Tiger Woods' use of his Web site to announce surgery on his ailing knee.)
The story includes a list of athlete and team Web sites that stay updated and offer interesting material. They include those of Curt Schilling and Pete Carroll, among others.
What is most interesting to me is what Leonard's story says about the sites of female athletes such as Maria Sharapova and Danica Patrick.. The emphasis--especially on Patrick's Web site -- seems to be far more on sex appeal than sports. Patrick's father says that the emphasis is by design; 'Eventually, she won't be racing, and we still have to keep going.' The same is true for male athletes, right? What are the strategies they use on their Web sites?
It would be interesting to see if the de-emphasis on athleticism is a theme across many of the Web sites of high-profile female athletes.

Prep sports: In 'an encouraging twilight'

In a New York Times article yesterday about the allure of high school football, sportswriter Jere Longman writes wistfully about the tradition of Thanksgiving-Day games among high schoolers. Although Longman concedes -- and a companion article about steroid use among athletes confirms -- that high school football is "not pure," Longman adds: "It is still a game, not yet a business."
The operative word may be yet.. Longman writes that prep football is in an "encouraging twilight" -- a hopeful metaphor for the way things are changing. High-profile rankings and a funding system for youth sports that is increasingly squeezing out lower-income students are two factors in the evolution of youth sports into a money-driven model. (Mark Hyman's blog, Youth Sports Parents, is a great way to follow the evolution. His latest recommends that we consider banning youth sports tournaments on national holidays.)

New book looks at growth, coverage of women's basketball

Christine Baker, a writer and avid sports fan, has compiled excerpts of her interviews with top figures in women's basketball -- including Val Ackerman, Tamika Catchings, Donna Lopiano, and Diana Taurasi -- in a new book called "Why She Plays." I talk a little in the book about the struggles of the WNBA to gain a large media audience. For more about the book, visit Baker's Web site.

Sports, media, politics: An alliance

The election-eve appearances of Barack Obama and John McCain on Monday Night Football tonight mark the second presidential election in a row when the candidates made their final, national televised appearance in a sports venue (In 2004, Kerry and Bush appeared on SportsCenter.) The partnership of politics and sports has been a natural pairing in the U.S. for as long as the two have been institutionalized -- both are sites for the display of masculine power, and some might argue that sports is a microcosm of the wider political landscape.
The partnership isn't only for the TV cameras. The NFL this year became the second sports league to form its own PAC, where owners, team CEOs and league executives invest in influencing the electoral process to secure favorable outcomes on legislative proposals that could cut into profits.

Reporters and SIDs: Tensions start early

Joe Gisondi writes in his "On Sports" blog this week about a study illuminating the ways college journalists and SIDs clash over access to players and over other issues. The study, published in College Media Review, reveals results of a survey of SIDs and college sports editors. Gisondi describes a gulf between the ways SIDs and journalists see their roles on everything from the ways journalists identify themselves to the tactics they use to secure interviews (such as using Facebook). The study seems to point to a couple of issues: The chasm between journalists and athletes/coaches at the college level (one that is sure to grow), and the need for formal training in ethics and professionalism for college sports journalists.

Why women don't stay in the profession

Michele Tafoya this week announced that she is dropping from her primary role as an NBA sideline reporter although she plans to continue some of her duties (including those with MNF) for ESPN.
Her reason: more time with family. It's not surprising -- our research shows that most of the time, that -- not glass ceiling or harassment-- is what prompts women in sports journalism to curb their careers.
The problem now, though, is that with the poor economy prompting buyouts and layoffs in TV and newspaper sports departments, we'll see even more women exiting to find more family-friendly careers. We could see diversity in sports operations continue to dwindle.

Covering college football: 'tough' business

ESPN.com writer Ivan Maisel told students in a Penn State class that focuses on Joe Paterno and the Media about his weekly schedule covering college football -- one that includes travel sandwiched between radio interviews, podcasts, Web chats, plus reporting for his weekly column. The Web, he said, has turned college football into a year-round beat. He also described the ESPN campus in Bristol as one where 60-hour workweeks are the norm.
Maisel, who says he's been on the national college football beat longer than anyone, said he admires students who plan to enter sports journalism. "It's looking tough, but it's still so fun," Maisel said, adding that meeting people he admires and seeing positive examples of leadership helps keep him motivated.

Denial: A losing media strategy for athletes

Penn State professor Michel Haigh is interviewed on a blog posting today by Shaun Assael, author of Steroid Nation, about media coverage of athletes accused of doping. What she found: That denial of wrongdoing by athletes isn't met very kindly by journalists (or the public). Instead, the better strategy seems to be an apology, such as that issued by Jason Giambi.
Assael speculates that another less-effective strategy, however, could become more effective as fans begin to grow deaf to the steady drumbeat of sports scandals: that of "reducing offensiveness" -- or, simply put, positioning the bad behavior as not-so-bad. As Assael notes, if that happens, players like Barry Bonds may have a chance at career revival.

Converting HS football to revenue

I've written in a number of posts about the growing focus on high school sports as a revenue-producer for media properties such as ESPN and FSN. Although we've seen increased focus on high school sports by newspaper companies through focused Web sites and weekly tab editions, Gannett's new "Grid" may be the most ambitious multimedia effort. Gannett Broadcasting's VP for new media, Kerry Oslund, in an e-mail interview with Al Tompkins, described the effort to air football games across the country as a relatively inexpensive one, bolstered by help from Mogulus and highschoolsports.net.
Talk about programming on the cheap with potential to deliver eyeballs from a national audience -- this is it. A ranking system of high school teams -- delivered by USA Today -- is used to promote matchups.
The question that must continue to be asked about this kind of broadcasting of scholastic sports is one that focuses on the real cost. How will the "big-time" framing of young athletes impact the academic mission of high school sports? How can we ensure that the problems plaguing college sports (written about in books such as Counterfeit Amateurs)don't transfer to the high school level -- where oversight beyond the district level is virtually nil?

"Synergy 1, Journalism 0"

Steve Silafer's "On Watch" column in a recent Sports Business Journal argues that the traditionally cozy relationship between journalists and sports properties crossed the line in the over-the-top coverage provided to CBS Scene, co-owned by the Patriots, by a CBS affiliate in Boston. Silafer argues that in shilling for the restaurant, WBZ-TV jeopardized its ability to cover the Pats "objectively."
Although I appreciate Silafer's column, and I agree that with his concern, I'm afraid that his complaint about the "synergy" between journalists and sports teams that could compromise reporting is too little, too late. These kinds of relationships are part of the reason that sports journalism has traditionally been seen as the "toybox" and has not had a strong record of investigative, public-service reporting. There are many more points on the board for "synergy" than Silafer gives it -- and that won't change until the public demands it does.

High school gears up for TV debut

The Washington Post today outlines the pregame buildup for a local school football team (Good Counsel, in Montgomery County, MD) that will be on national TV this Thursday night.
Preparations for the Thursday-night game will include all the tasks and costs involved in crowd management and security for an event sure to draw thousands of extra fans (on a school night, no less). The tasks are being handled by school administrators who are usually paid for other duties, and the school must also dole out money for extra police officers and preparation of school grounds for the crowd.
The payoff? $1,000 from ESPN -- a paltry sum in relationship to advertising revenues for the network -- and extra ticket and concession sales. The game will also give Good Counsel national name recognition, although the article doesn't explore how such exposure furthers the academic goals of Good Counsel.
The game is one of 19 scheduled to air on ESPN this fall.

The old is new again

Sports journalism has struggled to gain credibility as an ethical enterprise since the days when sportswriters were an extension of the team -- accepting freebies as the norm. APSE decades ago introduced a code of ethics, much of which focuses on sportswriters' avoiding discounts and freebies from the sources they cover.
So it was interesting to read, in a Sports Business Journal article titled "Newspaper cutbacks slice into sports coverage" that newspapers may receive offers of discounted hotel rooms for journalists at sports events -- courtesy of the sports entities they're covering. The article outlines plans by Major League Soccer to negotiate lower-priced hotel rooms on behalf of journalists who might cover their events. It benefits sports entities: They get more coverage. News organizations won't complain: They get a discount. But the appearance of this kind of benefit coming through sports organizations to journalists might again erode the reputation of sports journalism as an ethical enterprise.

We already knew, but...

The Wall Street Journal, in an article headlined, "Maybe Women's Sports Don't Hurt NCAA Men," relayed the results of a Women's Sports Foundation study demonstrating that Title IX is not to blame for cuts in men's collegiate sports. Instead, skyrocketing expenditures on men's revenue sports such as football and basketball often lead administrators to cut men's Olympic-style sports such as wrestling.
Our research shows that the Title-IX-as-culprit myth has gone unchallenged in media coverage over the years, and that many reporters also believe the myth -- so it's nice to see this latest WSF research getting some attention. Of course, the report has already been attacked by the College Sports Council and others opposed to Title IX.

A salute to pioneer Mary Garber

Mary Garber, a sportswriter who said her idea of heaven would be "football season," died over the weekend at age 92. She started working at the Winston-Salem Journal and Twin City Sentinel as a sportswriter in 1946 and retired in 1997 although she kept working part-time until 2002.
As the story of her death in the Journal notes, "she was probably the first fulltime woman sportswriter at a daily newspaper in the country, and she certainly had the longest career."
Garber took seriously her role as a role model for women who aspired to cover sports. "I thank you in the name of all young girls around the country," she said in accepting the 2005 Associated Press Sports Editors Red Smith Award.
Sports journalists all over the country -- men and women -- remember Garber as a pioneer and a class act. AWSM President Jenni Carlson, who noted that Garber didn't get access to a locker room at the ACC basketball tournament until 30 years after her sportswriting career started, added: "Mary didn't let that roadblock get in her way. No roadblock got in her way."
Lisa Mickey, senior writer for the Duramed FUTURES tour, recalled being mentored by Garber, who gave Mickey books to read and encouraged her career. "Mary never worked for the money or the by-lines. She did it because it was in her and she loved every interview and put her heart into every word," Mickey wrote in an e-mail.
To hear Garber interviewed about her career, visit the Washington Press Club Foundation oral history project.

You know it's bad: Economy hits the NFL

Terry Lefton of Sports Business Journal was interviewed on American Public Media's Marketplace report today about the NFL's budget shortfalls.
The NFL is still the biggest, most profitable sports property in the U.S., says Lefton, but Roger Goodell's recent memo to the league even hints at layoffs in light of less-than-projected revenues.
For the first time in Lefton's memory, the NFL started the season without a new corporate sponsor. Financial services and the auto industry are traditionally big sponsors, and both sectors are struggling.
Smaller leagues and teams are likely in much worse shape than the NFL. On top of that, what Lefton calls the "false economy" -- ad money and sponsorships pumped into sports via the U.S. election and the Olympics -- will dry up next year.
Are there any bright spots? Yes -- the WNBA recently announced a banner year for marketing, media and revenues.
Credit increased publicity because of the Olympics, the infusion of Candace-Parker star power, and better marketing by teams and the league. It's good to see the WNBA -- which has struggled in a market dominated by male leagues -- continue to grow.

A primer for sportswriter wannabes

Joe Gisondi, who teaches sports journalism at Eastern Illinois University, has moved his blog, which provides reporting and writing tips for aspiring sportswriters. Gisondi, who also advises the student paper at Eastern Illinois, provides examples from college newspapers from around the U.S. His blog includes links to many college newspaper sports sections and to high school sports coverage on major newspaper Web sites. It's worth bookmarking for anyone who teaches sportswriting.

Paying attention to youth sports

A new Ad Council campaign is one of the newest indicators of the problems emerging in high school sports as they continue to develop into a big business. Remember the days when prep sports really were "pure"? As LA Times writer Eric Sondheimer recently observed about high school basketball: "It's now about branding opportunities, exposure to recruiters and media, and preparing for future stardom."
The Ad Council campaign, which uses YouTube to reach young athletes, takes aim at steroid use. If you're interested in keeping up with youth sports issues, bookmark Mark Hyman's blog, which is current and informed.

Dropping sports coverage: The answer to declining viewership of local newscasts?

No, argues UNC professor Charlie Tuggle, in the latest edition of Electronic News.
Tuggle says the trend toward scaling back or getting rid of sports segments is misguided. The problem is in how they present sports, which he calls "banal." He accuses too many local sportscasters of being "ESPN wannabes," chasing national stories when they should instead focus on local athletes.
While I think Tuggle is right about the lack of priorities for in local sportscasting, the problem for local newscasts may be much bigger than their sports segments, making the question of how to improve those segments a very low priority for news directors.

Another opening ceremony in Beijing

Most Americans are likely not aware that the world's second-largest sporting event -- the Paralympics -- opened today with ceremonies for thousands of athletes from around the globe. It's hard to get news about the games, although The New York Times has provided some coverage today, and video of events is available online.
Stephanie Wheeler, a wheelchair basketball player on the U.S. women's team, has been sending e-mail dispatches. In her latest, she writes:

"I hope that the Paralympics will prove to be much more than an
arena where medals are won and competitions are held. I hope that this helps to begin to change the face, perceptions, and social identity of people with disabilities in China and all over the world for that matter. Being a part of the Paralympic movement is such an honor and a responsibility that myself and my teammates don't take lightly. Yeah, we are here to compete and win a gold medal, but we are also trying to open the eyes of those who don't believe people with disabilities can live fulfilling lives."

The U.S. team will start going for the gold Sept. 8 with its opener against Germany, also a top-ranked team.

Investigative journalism and match-fixing

Play the Game, an organization made up of sports organizations in Denmark in close cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists, is promoting a book that alleges rampant match-fixing in global professional sports. The book, called The Fix, is written by a Canadian journalist. The allegations, most of which involve soccer, are stunning. A short excerpt of the book, looking at corruption in the Chinese Super League, is available online.

"You can just hear them now"

Will Leitch, Deadspin.com founder at the receiving end of Buzz Bissinger's famous tirade against bloggers months ago, told APSE sports editors that Web hits "pay the bills" for more traditional, mainstream coverage (of course, that's not really true...not yet, anyway). In his talk with editors, Leitch defended the idea of fan-driven coverage. He also argued that readers don't know -- or care-- about the difference between what they get on blogspot or at the newsday.com.
Our research with young people (under 25) supports Leitch's contention that the idea of sports journalism has really morphed into a lot of things, including team and league sites, blogs, and traditional reporting. The competition from all corners -- the armchair journalists and the PR writers, he argues, is good for journalists.
Leitch also reported an interesting discussion he had with Bob Costas, who asked him why "everyone online had suddenly become so mean."
Those fans with the snarky, sexist, homophobic comments and a willingness to say just about anything, it turns out, have been there all along, says Leitch, but now they have a voice. Of course, But the fact that these voices now have a forum isn't necessarily a positive development for sports or the culture.