Since there will usually be two or three posts a week offering people different things to respond to, I decided I’d touch on a few things just so that people could choose from some different ideas to respond to.
I was very interested to see some of the research figures about the sports section near the end of the chapter. According to a 2000 ASNE survey, readers are more satisfied with the quality of the sports section than most other parts of the paper. As an observation just from taking a train into the city every day this summer, I saw many people who bought either the New York Post or the Daily News every day just for the local sports section. So I guess I wanted to pose a question to the class: What do you think makes the local sports section often times the most popular part of the paper? I will try to spark the discussion by saying that our country’s news coverage wildly varies from day to day ranging from a war often ignored by the media to the never say die Anna Nicole Smith coverage. Perhaps sports coverage is incredibly popular because like sports itself, the coverage is consistent. If your team wins, you read about why they won; if they lose you read about why they lost. The ease of the sports section actually leads me to my next mini topic.
It is really important that Raney and Bryant touched on the fact that the sports section is often what attracts kids to the news paper. With the prominence of the internet, this is not as big of a deal as it used to be, but nonetheless if a parent encouraged a child to read a newspaper, the sports section counted. And as a child, I remember the sports section of the New York Times being a lot more bad-ass than the world section. The sports section is an important tool for helping kids and teenagers get used to reading about current events, and often times the sports section is the gateway to the rest of the paper. So another question is: What would the newspaper look like without the sports section; and how do you think would it affect a paper’s popularity?
Obviously, the biggest topic of debate from this chapter is the Male Athlete’s domination of the sports section headlines. Stories about male athletes outnumbered that of females 23:1. In what was referred to as “symbolic annihilation,” in the book, this can create the notion that women’s athletic feats were irrelevant. So another question I will raise is: Why do you think that female athletics go so unnoticed? The only thing I could think of is that the news papers are working under the same guidelines as the rest of the news media. Go with what you know people will watch, listen to, read. These next two links should point out how minimal coverage of female athletics are. These are the front pages to espn.com and Sports Illustrated. As I type this at 11:00pm on Friday night (due to my being on RA duty). There are no stories or pictures about women on the front page of ESPN.com; and on SI.com the only picture of a female is a swimsuit edition model. Is sports media really becoming man’s answer to glamour and fashion?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/
http://espn.go.com/
Lastly; I love sports writing because it allows you to read a writer’s material and completely imagine their personality. The following two links are from my favorite sports writer Bill Simmons, who mixes tons of pop culture references into his “semi-professional” quality writing. Enjoy.
Part1: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmonspreview/070906&sportCat=nfl
Part2: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmonspreview/070907&sportCat=nfl
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In response to Jared’s questions, I think the sports section of the paper is popular for both the reasons he stated, as well as the fact that it is seemingly the only news with a positive spin. It doesn’t follow the age-old theory that “if it bleeds, it leads.” This is always an issue for me whenever I try to reacquaint myself with the evening news or the morning paper. I think part of the reason newspapers have lost their popularity is in large part due to the negative nature of the content. Sports offer a wide variety of news to a number of audiences. My parents still send me articles from our local paper of relevance to when I used to play sports. I think this shows that with sports, there is also an unquestionable amount of longevity. Whether it’s watching your favorite college athlete become a professional or one of your former classmates become an NCAA legend, the newspaper makes the articles more personal than the daily news makes its leading stories. And I definitely agree that having children read the newspaper is vital to their learning and if they can find something that interests them, it is a good incentive to have a fully-covered sports section in the paper.
As for the discussion about coverage of women’s sports in the media, the sports industry is still seen by the majority as “a man’s world.” I mean, the fact that the females outnumber the males in our class does show that we are making an effort and showing an interest in the same way men are. It is, however, hard to argue that women’s sports should get more coverage when even sports that are popular, such as hockey are having trouble generating the following they need for ratings. Obviously, women’s sports have penetrated the media at points and times in history. For instance the All-American Women’s Baseball League, established during WWII, or even now the WNBA represent this effort, but the initial excitement of these concepts fizzled rather quickly. Overall, it seems that until the sports industry is ready to produce a mainstream outlet for women’s sports that can generate as much revenue as male professional sports, there isn’t much hope or room for more media coverage.
I commuted into NYC 4 times a week over the summer, and I consistently read the sports section first, then the news section of the New York Daily News.
In a sports section, I want to read about all my favorite teams. What are the Yankees doing? What about the Giants? And in the middle of the summer, are there any Rangers stories? if I can say yes to all 3 of those, I will enjoy the sports section. I also like their sports section over the Times and my local paper because those sports sections are typically 8 pages; the NY Daily News typically has over 20 pages detailing the world of sports. It's substance over style (Especially when on a train for 40 minutes), and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Why is women's sports not covered? Have you see the ratings for women's sports? If you haven't, they are pitiful. They might get worse ratings than the NHL, and that's saying something. So, if no one is watching, why waste reporters, ink, and column space on them. If people won't watch, what makes an editor think they will read?
I agree with much of what Jared said in his blog, and with the answers to his own questions. But I do have some extra thoughts on his questions. First, as far as why the sports section is so popular, I have several beliefs. One is that we see sports as an escape from everyday, real life. We all know there is a war going on, we all know people are dying everyday for no good reason, but sports creates a distraction from all of that. If I was to look at the front page of the NY Times, it most likely would have a story about more soldiers who have died, or about another senator involved in some scandal. And even though those stories are important, sports allow us to read something without feeling upset or worried. Also, sports allow people to socialize at the workplace. Its much easier to come into work and talk about last nights big game than it is to talk about the horrible health care system our country has. In addition, i think newspapers would not be as popular without sports sections. I feel as if we need a balance b/w hard news and lighter "news," and sports provide that lighter side. As for the women in sports question, there are a few reasons why female sports aren't covered as much as male. First off, there aren't as many mainstream female sports, meaning there are fewer athletes, which means less stories and coverage. Also, as a society we enjoy real action. We want to see the crushing hits in football, monster home runs in baseball and crazy dunks in basketball. Women just can’t provide that and so the coverage will naturally not be as high. There are a lot of things women are better at and more popular for, (nothing I will mention here) and they receive the attention in those areas. Sports is not one.
I personally read the sports section of the paper much more than the news. My favorite paper for sports is the NY Daily News, or maybe the NY Post. Sports are just more fun and enjoyable to read about, as well as very easy to read. If I want to know what happened in last night’s game, I can probably get it from the headline, or from the box score. I also found it interesting that the newspaper content readers were most satisfied with was the sports scores and stats. I think that proves that sports are very important to a paper, and also are the most enjoyable to read. Sports are a huge part of society and i hope they continue to become more popular in the media, and I hope sports writers gain more respect in the newsroom. After all, they are the only ones who are smart enough to know that people shouldn't take life too seriously.
First off I just want to say that Bill Simmons is by far my favorite sports writer (at least among today's group of writers). Although he is an avid New England sports fan, growing up in the Boston area and attending Holy Cross, he still is able to write objectively. He is versatile as he writes about movies, entertainment, daily events, and is knowledgeable in all sports categories, which makes him an ideal representative of ESPN (Entertainment AND Sports Programming Network). His humorous sarcasm puts a creative twist to sports writing that most writers today do not have. Nonetheless, sports writing, regardless of the writers’ artistic abilities, is popular. The popularity of sports in newspapers is a direct reflection of the growing interest in sports in general. I agree with Nikki's comment, which in summary addresses the fact that people are tired of reading about tragedies and the negative social issues. The general news has become a reflection of our society, enhancing the negative and ignoring the positive. Not only the newspapers, but also mass media, in general, has become more and more liberally biased. Readers and watchers have become more skeptical. Perhaps the declining interest in newspapers is a result of the growing skepticism. Nonetheless, sports are always going to draw a crowd. Sports are black and white, wins and losses. As Kinkema & Harris mentioned in the MediaSport book, sports has become a story. People want to know what happened to their favorite team. “Daily or weekly games resolve the ‘who will win?’ question for a particular day, but they leave open the larger question of ‘who will win?’ over the course of a season.” The natural dramatic character and climax of each season draws readers. There is an innate interest to read how the local team played and the how the other competition played against their opponents. The worldwide curiosity drives not just local newspapers but perhaps has initiated the growth in ESPN’s brand extensions such as ESPN magazine and, even before ESPN, other similar magazines like Sports Illustrated, etc.
In regard to the popularity and coverage of women's sports, or lack there of, society has not yet recognized women's athletics in comparison to men’s. Although women may be just as athletic, both in talent and ability, baseball and football are the cornerstones of American sports. Soccer, although widespread throughout American families and schools, is still not nearly as popular on the professional level in this country. Soccer seems to be the one sport shared by both sexes, where women are on an even playing field, but it still doesn't have the popularity in this country that it garners around the world. Who really cares about David Beckham here, except that he is good looking and has a Spice Girl for a wife? Baseball and football are America's sports. Period. There's no question that the Super Bowl, for example, is much more of a spectacle than the World Series. Lombardi and the Packers were in the first Super Bowl, and there was hardly anyone in the stands. Now, it is the biggest event on TV, and charges the most for commercial spots; it has almost become an American holiday. Women cannot compete in that arena and never will. Aside from the Olympics, and, for example, figure skating or tennis, women's sports, unfortunately, can never gain the audience that men's sports have. Women don't play those games, they don't have the audience, and, consequently, they lack the exposure to rule the air waves, commercial endorsement power, and the public interest factor to compete in the American sports media. It is one of the inequities in American society that will never change.
I tend to agree with a lot of what has been said already in the post by Jared and the comments from my classmates.
I remember as a kid I would always read the sports section because the articles were often funny or entertaining. I still read the sports section of a paper first because its usually going to have the most interesting content (to me at least). A great part of sports also (as we spoke about in class) are the human interest stories, and I feel like the sports section usually does a good job of covering those. I like to read USA Today’s sports articles because they are really diverse and usually human interest-y (I made up a new word). One of the best sports articles I read this summer was a USA Today article on youth sports in China.
I think without sports stories, a paper wouldn’t have the same feel. I try to imagine the NY Daily News ending with the classifieds and not having the sports in the back… That would be weird. Sports is such a popular topic that I personally think a lot of readers just wouldn’t pick up the paper. I know that newsstands in NYC usually have half of the daily papers cover side up and then the other half with the sports side up just because a casual reader might see that the paper is covering his/her favorite teams recent game and they want to read the article.
The non-coverage of women’s sports is really a shame. The problem is that women’s sports don’t grab a big audience and, like Seth said, a lot of people wouldn’t be too interesting in reading an article on women’s sports unless its something like championship tennis or the Olympics (but the Olympics have entirely different coverage than normal sports so they barely count in this discussion). Overall, I don’t know if the way women’s sports are covered in the media will ever change, but it is a shame that the average sports fan doesn’t get a chance to see some of the accomplishments of women in sports.
Jared, you certainly provided some excellent analysis on the type of writing found in the sports section. I also agree with Mike when he he refers to the sports section as an "escape." It can certainly be stated that sports are indeed a part of a nightly newscast but it should in no means be considered a focal point. (Though the majority of us would like it to be) However, most of us can agree when we are looking for a bright spot in the news, or to be entertained, sports brings that to us. To me, this is what makes the sports section the most popular part of the paper. There is only so much "negative news" that you can read about in the time span to which you can sit down with a newspaper. I find it amusing when I sat down for dinner with parents over the summer and was consistently asked if I heard about the current issues of the day/week/month, etc. When we would discuss these stories it would be appalling to see the lack of "good news." It seems the only way a story makes substantial news is when something has gone terribly wrong. Whether it be a political scandal, a murder or even the war. Since we are constantly being pounded with such negativity I believe that sports gives us a positive sanctuary to escape to. When looking at newspapers, we are subjected to reading about negative events on a consistent basis. However in sports (especially if you're a yankees fan) you can find solace in the sports section. In the area to which you live there are consistently an abudance of articles sports articles written about the teams you follow. As a result, you will never find something that is not appealing to you. I believe that is an issue which Jared surely pointed out. Even if your team does not consistently win, there are articles consistently written about them and if you are a true fan, you read them anyway. I agree with everyone who has posted so far, that a newspaper without a sports section would just be a bunch of pages with words splattered all over it. It certainly would not be looked upon the same.
The other main issue that Jared brings up is the issue of women's sports and the lack of coverage devoted to it. Unfortunately this is certainly a byproduct of our society and how we view womens sports as a whole. I believe our society has a negative image of womens sports embedded in their brain either from the lack of coverage or from views expressed by others. As a result, we refuse to put them equal to mens sports. I can honestly say that I have truly never sat down to watch a women's sports event other than when Team USA soccer is playing or the women's basketball national championship. Of course, if I wanted to watch more I probably couldn't. (Unless I had ESPN8 The Ocho) I am certainly a product of our society and the prototypical sports fan that does not have much interest vested in women's sports. I believe if the media made a concerted effort to actively cover women's sports the bias of sports fan to not watch would gradually change. This change would not come over night and probably would be encountered by our generation but eventually it would come. Unfortunately, I think it has to start with the media and with their being an inordinate amount of stress on ratings, the media will continue to be reluctant to covering women's sporting events. In the mean time, a new way to make womens sports become relevant is necessary.
I do have to agree with all of you in saying that the sports section is probably the most popular section in the newspaper. This could be because it is such an escape for people and it does hold a positive connotation. I personally do not regularly read the sports section of the newspaper but on the nightly news I do have to admit the Sports coverage is what I look forward to at the end of the news program. It is strategically placed towards the end to leave the viewers with something that they can relate to and something they can feel good about. With all of the terrible things in this world today, I also agree with Rick that sports are an "escape" from reality.
I do also agree with Jared when he says that the sports section in the new paper provides some kind of education to young children. Children cannot connect to the war in Iraq. or for that matter even know what is going on in Iraq but they can connect to their favorite football team. Like we discussed in class, kids play football and other sports and come back home and either watch it on television or read about it in the newspaper. Kids connect to sports and it is no wonder why they enjoy reading about their favorite team or favorite athlete, they strive to be just like them some day.
The other issue about women in sports that Jared brought up is an on going issue in the world of sports. While growing up I did play sports while I was a kid and in high school. Never at any point did I have a dream or a desire to be a professional athlete. I do think that men have more of a desire to be professional and they are taken much more seriously by the sports nation. With this said I think that women are seriously lacking in the sports world because they are not taken as seriously and women do not generally think they could become a professional athlete due to all of the negative energy women in sports receive.
One of the main reasons I think the local sports sections are so popular is because people know the athletes that are in the stories. For me, in high school looking in my local sports section, all of my friends were the people in the stories. The pictures were of people that I knew. Sports are something all people have in common, when we were young, mostly EVERYONE played sports. The people in the towns of that newspaper have a connection with athletes who the stories are about. You can relate to it and understand it; it’s a great way to socialize.
I think sports are so popular because they are somewhat mindless. Not to insult anyone, but as I sit here writing this blog and watching MNF I don’t have to be paying complete attention to the entire game in order to understand it. If you turn on CSI and then stop watching for 15 minutes, you are not going to have any idea what happened throughout the program. In sports, you can stop watching for a quarter and you will get the highlights at halftime and you can look at the score and realize what is going on. Either your team is winning or losing, in the time you missed, either they did great, or they sucked. It doesn’t take a lot of brain power.
As far as the women’s sports not being popular…I think that men are naturally more competitive than women. In society, women are the caretakers and home bodies of the family. It isn’t natural to watch women go out onto a field and knock each other around. I also think that the men in families are the ones who instill an enjoyment of sports in their kids. For example, my grandmother is a huge Red Sox fan, but that is only because my grandfather was one. And football is on all days on Sundays but that is because growing up there was no other option. My dad wasn’t going to turn off the Cleveland Browns so I could watch Sex and the City…it just wasn’t realistic.
Everything posed so far by Jared and all the other blogs is something I fully agree with. Sports stories are the main constant in news. In today’s world with all the things going on with war and celebrity sleaze, the sports section is sometimes the only feel good news to read. Going off what Joanna said about the local sports section it is a great feeling to read about someone you know. When I was in high school my grandpa would clip out articles about my high school proud that I went there or that they were my friends or during swimming season potentially about me. The local sports section offers local pride and a place to read about people you know.
Sports are entertaining and exciting. There are so many things involved in sports such as competition or pride for one’s team that it is no shock that sports remain popular. Local papers also cover local teams such as (for my home in New Jersey) the Giants or the Yankees. Many people living in the area are fans of the teams being covered so the paper tends to cater to the local fan base.
The main part of Jared’s blog that caught my attention as many others was the coverage of woman’s sports. When the WNB came out I loved it. That love lasted for a year and included a Rebecca Lobo jersey that I may have worn twice. After all the hype died down I stopped watching. The sad fact is that the support for woman’s sports just is not there. The coverage is minimum and with lack of coverage there is going to be lack of support.
In order to attempt to answer the question of what makes the local sports section the most popular section of the newspaper, we have to look at why, on broader terms, sports are considered so newsworthy in our culture. It is arguably true that entertainment news all too often overpowers “real news” these days, maybe more so on television than in the paper, but people still look for what they want to read/hear about day to day, and sports falls into that category. Jared’s argument that sports news may be incredibly popular because of its consistency is definitely a valid one. I’m not a fan of the newspaper. I don’t read it. I get my news online or on TV. However, I do know people who read the newspaper, and I think it’s safe to say that newspaper readers open a paper and are somewhat selective to what they will and will not read, because of the enormous amount of content in a paper. Depending on their interests, jobs, lifestyles, etc. they will likely turn to specific sections before others. Like Jared observed on the train, people are going to turn to what they know will always be in there and will always be of interest to them and relevant to their lives; the local section, and the sports section. Without the sports section, I don’t think it would take the already dying newspaper down all together, but it would definitely eliminate a large group of people who read the paper specifically for sports news. However, I don’t think that those people who read it specifically for the sports section are those who go out and buy a paper, and certainly not on a regular basis. These people are those who will pick up the paper and rummage for the sports section if their waiting in a doctors office or are riding a train, etc. The bottom line is that sports are popular in our culture, probably more popular among more people than any other topic in the news. Too much of the news is depressing, distant from our day to day lives (which might sound ignorant but people tend to be ignorant and ignore what doesn’t effect them,) or just flat out stupid like the fact that Britney shaved her head. We get it, she lost her mind, all we needed was a picture that was pretty self explanatory, not 75 stories on where it happened, why she might have done it, and what her baby daddy thinks and bla bla bla. Sports news is relevant because it can be targeted at specific local demographics and people want to keep up on their favorite teams. Also, as seen in articles that Jared shared with us, sports writers are the most fun to read. Most of the time there is room for humor, whit, and everything else that makes for a good story about teams and specific athletes that our culture wants to read about.
As for the lack of female representation in the sports section, that is simply a reflection of the lack of female sports in the sports world. Yes, plenty of female sports exist, but are not considered popular enough to be newsworthy. It’s very true that the newspapers are working under the same guideline as the rest of the news media: Go with what you know people will watch/read. It’s all about ratings and profit. I also found Jared’s point about “sports media becoming man’s answer to glamour and fashion” very interesting and true. The average woman is much more likely to go out and pick up a fashion or gossip magazine before reaching for their local paper, especially before reaching for the sports section. Men and women have different interests, and the news industry has to factor what their dominant target demographic is, which is men, and then give them what they want; men’s sports.
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