Sports Journalism in Australia...more serious

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BrissieTiger67

Well-known member
Hey all,

Im doing an oral at uni in my journalism class. the topic is 'Should Sports Journalism in Australia be taken more seriously?'

any thoughts, i think its expecting a comparison with american or european sport journos,

brissietiger67
 
@BrissieTiger67 said:
Hey all,

Im doing an oral at uni in my journalism class. the topic is 'Should Sports Journalism in Australia be taken more seriously?'

any thoughts, i think its expecting a comparison with american or european sport journos,

brissietiger67
Click to expand...

Good luck with your oral Brissie tiger. :righton: :righton:
 
Having had to do a very similar question at uni I think you should more be looking at how sports journalism compares to other forms of journalism , specifically looking at the use of ex sportsmen with no writing skills, journalistic experience in the roles of journalism and the advantages and dsiadvantages that brings in how seriously sports journalism is treated , as well as the more recent leanings away from it being serious journalism to more fluff pieces - but up to you obviously
 
cheers magpie! yeh boon thats what ive been looking in to :slight_smile: one article i was reading highlighted that sports journalism in Australia is far below the calibre they have in both europe and america, i dont know why that would be really, but i like what you said about ex sportsman bombarding us with their lack of journalism experience (shane webke) cheers mate! will keep looking in to it.
 
Journalism of all types in this country is about money, bottom line. Sports journalism sadly is no different. Ever wondered why we have a spate of stories in the media about young kids having horrendous car accidents and then our insurance premiums rise or our car rego increases. Where were all the journos 2-3 weeks ago when the storm was first being investigated. A team owned by an arm of the media. So we get a carefully planned investigation, in secret, then an even more carefully planned media event announcing what had been discovered. If you watch the news it doesn't take long to see why stories are run when they are run. They can usually be linked to someones political views or a product launch or a pop star touring etc etc etc. Why do we have ACA stories about obese Australians sponsored by Lean Cuisine. Years of being treated like a moron by the media has made me sceptical and mistrusting of it . I'm sure I'm not the only one
 
While there are some sports journos in Australia who take the job seriously - and treat it as a craft - they often pale in comparison to some of the writing done on sport overseas.

The U.S. has a long tradition of serious sports-writing. Hunter S. Thompson was a great sports writer throughout his life, David Foster Wallace wrote in-depth about tennis and there has been a lot of great writing on boxing. In contrast, as has been pointed out, our 'journalism' is written by ex-players (there seems to be a growing misconception that you need to have played a sport to be able to comment on it) who more often than not have an agenda or unnamed journalists who work for news wholesalers like AAP. Good luck finding some quality journalism amongst that.

My advice would be to check out the Walkey winners' lists from a few years back - there is a sports category. In recent times, the winners have tended to be less about sport and more about the crimes and misbehaviour of sportsmen. But who knows, you might find some journalism worth taking seriously in there…
 
Brissie,

Ring up "Sports Editor-At-Large" Phil Rothfield and get his opinion. I'm sure he'll tell you its very professional and is taken seriously. :smiley:

I swear the Tele sports section resembles a gossip magazine sometimes…
 
That'd be a interesting look into i think. No doubts the americans and europeans are a lot more serious with their sports journalism. You only have to look at a company like espn and look at how deep they delve into their sports. Very analytical, i would say more so than the europeans even, actually a LOT more really. I enjoy it though and clearly it works well for them.

Here it's definitely a little laid back, though it depends who you go with to an extent. The overriding fact is that as some have said above it's more about sensationalising, trying to attract their target market with what ever they can , even if it is fabricated rubbish. I much the prefer the american style to be honest.
 
@Cultured Bogan said:
Brissie,

Ring up "Sports Editor-At-Large" Phil Rothfield and get his opinion. I'm sure he'll tell you its very professional and is taken seriously. :smiley:

I swear the Tele sports section resembles a gossip magazine sometimes…
Click to expand...

im glad this melbourne storm news is in the papers at least it is related to the system, or we'd be still be bombarded with second hand stories about players behaviour ; drunkenness and drugs etc….
 
I think though, there has been a rise in Australian sports media in the last 4 or 5 years with quality sports shows.

Take ONE HD. That has some fantastic content on it which is very serious and shows alot of passion from the broadcasters. Fox Sports also has some great shows which discuss the issues. I think NRL Tactics is an example of just how analytical our sports journalism has come, breaking down set moves to see how a team will fair on the weekend.

In a print sense, I'm not so sure. Big League is still a very reliable source for the NRL. AFL coverage in Melbourne is very good. I think NRL print media is pretty weak. Too much tabloidy articles, looking for readers more than anything (e.g. showboating Marshall's Magic every time we win, regardless of his influence).

The Back Page is a great show, Rugby Club is pretty good as well. So i think there is a point for BROADCAST media being strong, whilst PRINT media being weak.
 
@BrissieTiger67 said:
@Cultured Bogan said:
Brissie,

Ring up "Sports Editor-At-Large" Phil Rothfield and get his opinion. I'm sure he'll tell you its very professional and is taken seriously. :smiley:

I swear the Tele sports section resembles a gossip magazine sometimes…

im glad this melbourne storm news is in the papers at least it is related to the system, or we'd be still be bombarded with second hand stories about players behaviour ; drunkenness and drugs etc….
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

That's all changed now Brissie, they don't report on player disgraces or anything any more. Buzz has declared a "Scandal Free Zone" so instead of it ending up on the back page, it goes on the front page, hand-in-hand with the murders, natural disasters and K-Rudd.

I find that the printed journalism in Australian sport (particularly with the newspapers and NRL,) to be amatuer at best. Newspapers are so desperate to fill the pages every day they have to print puff pieces, drag stories out or go hunting for a story. I swear Buzz & Wielder just do the rounds and dial up every player manager and club before they go home to get the "goss" so they can articulate it a little to make it seem like a legimate story.

How often do you still see a story in the Tele or Herald on Injury Bill Williams? Every month there's a story about Sonny being homesick and "secretly" negotiating with other clubs, and then he signs another deal with Toulon.

Give me NRL Tactics anyday.
 
Definitely think there's a lot of comparisons that can be made.

NRL journalism : AFL journalism
NSW : QLD : VIC
NRL journalism in NSW : NRL journalism in VIC
Australia : International
The list goes on. Not sure if that's exactly what you're after but could make a link between the popularity of the code in one region and the journalistic integrity of the reporting.

But I think an interesting point could be made on the journalism in the Daily Telegraph on the NRL considering both are owned by News Corp.
I went into my local newsagent on Friday morning after the Storm stuff came out and they were splashed across the front and back page, and the lady who runs it said News Corp had delivered an extra 50% of the Telecrap at no extra cost.
 
@alex said:
Definitely think there's a lot of comparisons that can be made.

NRL journalism : AFL journalism
NSW : QLD : VIC
NRL journalism in NSW : NRL journalism in VIC
Australia : International
The list goes on. Not sure if that's exactly what you're after but could make a link between the popularity of the code in one region and the journalistic integrity of the reporting.

But I think an interesting point could be made on the journalism in the Daily Telegraph on the NRL considering both are owned by News Corp.
I went into my local newsagent on Friday morning after the Storm stuff came out and they were splashed across the front and back page, and the lady who runs it said News Corp had delivered an extra 50% of the Telecrap at no extra cost.
Click to expand...

yeh there are alot of comparisons to be made, im not sure at all what the vic reporting is like? or imparticular the afl journalism? is it any better than the nrl? you would hope that because the afl has held on to its tradition in the sport better than nrl the reporting might have done the same.

is anyone based in vic that could answer that?
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p.s.i agree i think its a bad thing that news corp has such a vested stake in the nrl :neutral_face:
 
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