Sport, media and current issues

AS and A Level Physical Education (Sport & Coaching)

Aaron Boyd

Social aspects of sport assignment 1

Sport, media and current issues

The relationship between sport and the various different media has developed over time, with more significant developments in recent years. This has had and impact on both sports that are well covered and sports that are not covered by the media. Some sports have become multimillion-pound empires whereas some are virtually unknown.

The media is any type of communication that reaches a large amount of people. There are many various types of media that have developed over time with the invention of newspapers, radio, television and the Internet; sport has been made more accessible to millions of people worldwide.

A brief timeline of media and sport

1733 Boston gazette first reports on sport

1800s circulation rose along with sports coverage

The “sporting life” the first paper devoted just to sport is a success

Regularly reported football and cricket instilled them as national sports

Steady increase in coverage 1900 – 1975

Relationship developed between sport and media

1920s radio developed (1922 BBC developed)

1936 the arrival of television

1988, 97% of houses owned a television set watching 28 hours a week

Entrepreneurs became aware of selling rights to TV companies

Increased participation in sport

Sports enter into a war for ratings and coverage

Sports start developing rules to assist their TV potential

Newspapers were the first form of media to report on sport back in 1733. Since then sport has become a big part of all national and local papers. In the last ten years sport has become more significant in papers and can sometimes account for a quarter of the whole papers stories. There are two main types of newspapers. Tabloids and broadsheets.

Tabloids are papers like The Sun, The Mirror, The Mail, and the Sunday versions of the papers like The News of the World and the Sunday people. Tabloids usually focus on a few sports that are usually the most popular sports such as football and cricket. The storeys in tabloids are usually more about the action off of the pitch rather than the game itself. Tabloids sensationalize sport by putting more emphasis on the stories behind the game instead of the actual game itself. They pay more attention to the private lives of the players rather than there performance. Action and mishaps tend to be focused on, as they are more entertaining for the readers. For example at the moment the tabloids are focusing more on what happened in the tunnel at Old Trafford after the match between Arsenal and Manchester United rather than the game itself. These papers are usually targeted at men.

Broadsheets are papers like the Guardian and The Times. They are called broadsheets as they are printed on large sheets of paper. Broadsheets focus on a wider range of sports with a more detailed coverage of the actually game. Their articles will relate to issues in the sport and have more interviews with sports related people. There is less speculation and rumours and more facts in broadsheets.

Radio is gradually increasing in its coverage of sports. Most stations will have a sports news section along with the regular news but due to the increased amount of money in radio it is possible for stations to be entirely devoted to sport. BBC five live is a current affairs and sport station that is on all day. Its coverage is in depth and as the listener cannot see the sport it needs to be accurately described. The main problem with radio is that as in all forms of media the reporter gives there own personal interpretation of the game. This means with radio the listen has to take the reporters word for it, as they cannot see the game themselves.

The Internet has become a vital source of sport information. There are many websites reporting on sport in general such as the BBC and sky websites. There are also official and fan websites for individual teams. The Internet is a good source as it is always available and can take up as much space as needed. There can be a pages devoted to match reports, rules of the game, players profiles, as well as the rumour pages. This gives the reader a wider view of sport and makes them feel more involved with a team or game. The problem with the Internet is that much of the information is unofficial and unedited and there are no laws saying that the words must be accurate. This means that the views expressed are usually those of a minority.

Television is by far the most profitable form of media. There has been more sport on TV in the last 15years and the people who own the broadcasting companies have gained more influence in the sports. The whole growth of sport can be put down to TV companies who have multiply channels devoted just to covering sport along with pay per view and sports news. There are also channels just for teams such as MUTV for Manchester United.

Television has helped to introduce new people to sport. Through multiple camera angles to show emotions, action replays, player cams and slow motion cameras the action potential has increase attracting more people. Using commentary alongside the pictures to explain to the casual viewer helps more people to understand the games there watching and encourages them to watch again. The use of famous experts attracts more people to watch, as the pundits are as bigger celebrities as the players. All of these things encourage people to watch sports or games that they are not fans of.

The effects of media coverage on sport

Sports profile and importance has increase along with the number of people following it. Wider ranges of sport have become popular and there are more people taking part. Sports have also become allot more competitive and the standard has increased due to the money that TV puts into sports.

This is a preview of the whole essay

The effects of media coverage on sport

Money comes into sport from television companies who pay for the right to broadcast. This also means that other sponsors are more eager to spend money, as millions on TV will see them. This means that sports earn allot of money that can be spent on facilities, player’s wages and buying new players from abroad. Theses players are usually superstars and encourage more people to watch them. Meaning more money from the TV companies.

With all the increased interest and people watching the sport there is more pressure on the sport by the media to change the sport to make it more attractive. The rules and format of the game can be changed to make the action faster and more interesting. These changes can be better for the viewers but not always for the players. Some of the changes recently are the golden goal rule in football to try and encourage teams to score quickly instead of sitting back and waiting for penalties. This rule then changed to the silver goal. The points for a try in rugby union was increase from 4 to 5 to make games more high scoring. Rugby also introduced video refs who can watch a replay of the action and make a decision. This is usually only used when making a decision for a try. The main flaw with video refs is that it’s only optional. The referee does not have to use it.

Cricket also has its own version of video ref called hawk eye. This is not available to the umpire but for the viewers at home they can see computer animated versions of the ball bowled to see if the batsman was out or not.

Along with the changing of rules of sports have felt the pressure alter the presentation of the game to appeal to more people. Cricket is one of the main sports that has undergone the most changes to appeal to more people. Originally cricket was played only in 5 day test matches that because of the length are often slow scoring and with long times between a wicket being taken. To make the game more attacking and hurries the one-day games were started. This then led on to 20/20 cricket, which is a very quick game of 20 innings where every ball bowled is slogged around the park. Cricket is now looking at baseball, one of the most popular and moneymaking sports in America for influences.

"They obviously make it work in terms of crowds and entertainment so we'll look to pick the best out. It is short and sharp with a beginning a middle and a conclusion, that is what youngsters demand." ECB operations manager Alan Fordham

Three positive effects of the media:

Brings money to sport which can be spent on facilities and will help improve players
Shows the exciting side of sport that makes people want to take part and get fitter
Raises profile of sport

Three negative effects of the media:

Can show the bad side of a game or incident and put people of the sport
Puts to much money and pressure into the sport so people forget why they are playing
Makes sport need to change to accommodate more viewers

Politics in sport

Media has a very big effect on the popularity of sport and they way it is played. But it it’s not the only way sports are influenced and controlled.

Sport reflects the society in which we live in. it is part of the social structure influenced by the economic system. It is part of the national curriculum in schools and the government imposes so much sport must be played each week. Sport is used socially to improve the state of the health of the nation. Which reduces the money needs to be spent on the NHS treatment.

The government sees sport as a way of showing how successful the country is. When England won the rugby world cup the government used it as a way to unite the country as if it was they who had done it. The government spends money on sport so it can be used politically. They bid to host events such as the Olympics or the world cups so that they can show the world how good the country is and show the organisation skill the government. Hosting bid events also brings increased investment and money to the country and the country will improve as a world power. This is why Tony Blair is trying so hard to get the Olympics to come to London. It will be a public relations success for him and he is using it to try and get re-elected.

Drugs in sport.

A drug is a substance that may affect a person’s emotional state, body function or behaviour. When taken the substance can artificially improve the athlete’s physical and mental condition, which would result in improved sporting performance.

Using drugs in sports give the athlete an unfair advantage of the rest of the field. It may enable them to train harder and longer, not feel the pain of an injury, speed up reaction times, be stronger and faster and to relax. Other athletes who don’t use drugs have to deal with theses problems in other ways such as training harder, resting injuries and learning relaxation techniques. It takes allot of hard work and dedication to become a top level athlete and it is unfair for someone to use drugs and cheat there way to the top.

Drugs do not always have positive effects on athletes taking them. There are more often than not side effects from every drug. Some potentially fatal side effects. Sport is meant to be about enjoyment and a natural way to stay healthy. Polluting the body with drugs is not safe and far from the ideals most have for taking part in sport. This being said there are many different complicated reasons why an athlete may take drugs. A performer maybe depressed and fed up of coming second all the time and so take drugs as a boast to win. They may feel like they have reached their peak and are not improving in training or competition and so may turn to drugs.

Some of the drugs athletes take are not always directly performance enhancing. Recently Chelsea’s Adrian Mutu got caught taking a substance that is claimed to help him relax. It may not directly enhance his game but it would improve his performance as nerves and self-doubt would be less outside of the game so his confidence would grow.

Some athletes take drugs unknowingly, or at least they claim too. This maybe through taking supplements without checking what’s in them or by their coach tricking them into it for personal gain. It may even be when taking prescribed medication from a doctor for an illness.

The Association of Tennis Professionals has decided to give all tennis players who want supplements a limited number of supplements produced in a highly controlled environment. This is due to the number of tennis players who failed drugs test for the banned substance Nandrolone. Greg Rusedski the British number 2 was one of eight players to test positive for Nandrolone while 55 other tests showed elevated levels of the drug. Rusedski escaped punishment by successfully arguing that contaminated earlier supplements supplied by the Association of Tennis Professionals were responsible for his failed test.

Stimulants=e.g., Amphetamine+caffeine, positive= raise heart rate and blood pressure, increases alertness, masks fatigue, negative= tissue damage, heart exhaustion, liver/brain damage, associated sports= cycling, running and contact sports

Depressants/tranquilizers=e.g., Beta Blockers, Benzodiazephine, pos=reduces anxiety, reduces HR+BP, improves concentration+control, neg.= depression, addictive, lack of energy, sports= snooker, archery, shooting (steady hands), motor racing and skiing

Narcotic analgesics/Painkillers= e.g., Codeine, Morphine, Heroin, pos= deaden pain, relaxant, neg= addictive, injuries made worse by continuous use (cant feel pain), lower BP, sports= cycling and contact sports, boxing etc

Anabolic Agents/Steroids= e.g., Anabolic Steroids, pos= increase strength, power and aggression, neg= heart problems, risk of cancer, infertility in males, male characteristics in females, sports= contact sports, weight lifting, boxing, athletics-sprinting/throwing

Diuretics=e.g. frumil and burinex, pos= gets rid of fluid from body therefore makes u lighter, increases flow of urine, masks presence of other drugs (flushed out of ur body), neg= muscle damage, heart damage, sports= horse racing (lighter=better), gymnastics (same again), motor racing (same again to get into certain weight categories) and boxing/wrestling/judo

Blood doping=illegally increasing the amount of red blood cells by injection. Enhances performance as the body has greater capacity to carry oxygen, therefore reduces oxygen debt

Random testing=athletes can be pulled out of the competition b4 or after for a drugs test (during for decathlons etc)

Alcohol=diuretic, could lead to dehydration, impair performance, damages liver positive="Dutch courage"

Drug abuse is considered to be the deliberate or inadvertent use by athletes of substances or methods that may enhance performance.

''Doping is cheating. Doping is parallel to death. Death physiologically, by profoundly altering, sometimes, irreversibly, normal processes through unjustified manipulations. Death physically, as certain tragic cases in recent years have shown. But also death spiritually and intellectually, by agreeing to cheat and conceal one's capabilities, by recognising one's incapacity or unwillingness to accept one, or to transcend one's limits. And finally death morally, by excluding oneself effectively from the rules of conduct required by all human society''
H. E. Juan Antonio Samaranch, President, International Olympic Committee

There are three main arguments against the use of performance-enhancing drugs:

That they give competitors an unfair advantage
That they're unsafe
That they'll change the nature of sports for the worse.

Two main problems and concerns are what drugs gets banned and how these bans are enforced. For example, Caffeine was banned, as were stimulant decongestants or cold remedies. As of recently, they where took off of the list despite the fact that they are performance enhancers. This means that athletes won't be kicked out of sport for drinking coffee or taking over-the-counter cold remedies. This example shows the lack of clarity between what makes drugs acceptable or unacceptable

Another problem is whether bans on performance-enhancing drugs actually establish rather than improve inequality. In July 2002, a top level Australian middle-distance runner called Ron Clarke, argued that performance-enhancing drugs should not be banned. He said, “They levelled the playing field between runners from high-altitude countries and others”. This is because altitude training increases the concentration of red blood cells and haemoglobin, improving oxygen-processing capacity

“ Until there is a drug, there won't be any equality in any future competition,"

Ron Clarke 2002

George W. Bush the president of the USA recently called for an end to the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport. "Athletics play such an important role in our society, but, unfortunately, some in professional sports are not setting much of an example,"

"The use of performance-enhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football, and other sports is dangerous, and it sends the wrong message—that there are shortcuts to accomplishment, and that performance is more important than character."

There are many reasons why athletes take drugs at the time when an athlete takes the drugs these reasons are justified in their head

Most athletes reach a plateau at some point in their training. Performance-enhancing substances may help them move beyond it.
Athletes make sacrifices to pursue their sport. When the effort doesn't achive the desired results, they may become frustrated enough to take them.
Some athletes give in to peer pressure.
The psychological effects of some substances, such as greater aggression, feelings of invincibility and euphoria, may be pleasurable enough that an athlete doesn't want to stop taking banned drugs.
Performance-enhancing drugs may help an athlete develop a body that increases self-esteem and gains him or her admiration from friends, family members
Athletes know that some of their competitors take them.
No tests are available for some drugs, so there's no chance of getting caught.

Some drugs used in sports are dangerous. But many sports themselves, and the training also are dangerous. Athletes may be pressured by coaches and trainers to use dangerous drugs, but these same coaches that pressure athletes train hard, which may risk injury. Some people also say that advances in technology in equipment are just the same as drug use. In swimming some people use a shark suit to swim faster. Some people take steroids for the same effect.

Commercialisation of sport is when sport becomes a business. This means that when there are two teams competing to win the game there are many other people who are also trying to make a profit. Sport becomes a global commodity, which means it becomes a product that can be bought or sold over the world. Sport is a worldwide money making “product” that is accessible to everyone.

Before sports became commercialised it was run by governing bodies and by the individual clubs. As the sports become commercialised the media bosses and the companies who sponsor teams have more power in the sport and can dictate parts of the games. This may be anything from dictating the time a match starts so that they can arrange it around other programmes on there station, to saying what logos and names are shown on the kits. Recently the winning GB Olympic team had a ceremony through London to celebrate them. They all were asked to wear the team tracksuit sponsored by Addidas but because of sponsorship conflicts with Nike and Reebok some athletes were told they could not wear it.

“This is not about commercialism but a common-sense decision”

Philip Pope BOA spokesman

The reason that Nike and Reebok were upset about the athletes they sponsor wearing other companies logos was because of merchandising. Fans do not just support their team they buy all sorts of merchandise to show their connection to the club. Wearing team colours is a fashion statement as well as a way to show alliance to the team. The England football teams grey away kit was designed to look good with jeans so that it would be bought as a casual shirt rather than just a form of support. Many stadiums have a team shop at the ground to make extra money for the club. This puts pressure on team supporters especially the parent of young children to buy new kits and merchandise as the kids feel it makes them cool and with the “in crowd”. This can back fire though as was the case with Manchester united who changed their kits to often and made parents angry, as the kids always wanted the new kit.

As spoken about before with the media, commercialism also has an effect on the rules of the game and how the game is played. Changes made to speed up the game and make it more accessible to the majority.

The Olympic games are the biggest sporting event in the world. Watched by millions of people from every country in the world. Companies know that advertising on such a big sporting area will be extremely beneficial and profitable.

The 1984 games in Los Angeles was the first time the games had corporate sponsorship. The organisational committee separated sponsors into three categories Official Sponsor, Official Supplier and Official Licensee. The profit was $215 million.

This is when the Olympic started to be recognised as a multi-million Pound competition, and every company wanted to be a part of it.

In 1985 the IOC created The Olympic Partner (TOP) this would spread the revenue support for the games. TOP was made up of multi national organisations. In return for there financial commitments they where guaranteed exclusive and worldwide marketing opportunities

With the increase in the popularity of sport, the games have become a powerful political tool. Some countries use as elite competitors as political ambassadors.

One of the main objectives, as stated in the Olympic Charter, of the International Olympic Committee is to, oppose any political abuse of sport and athletes. However, the Olympic games have been influenced by politics for many years

One of the most recognised Games to be influenced by politics was in 1936 at the Berlin Games. Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany had control of the Olympic games. He used the Games as a display of political strength. Many Jewish communities, in various countries, asked for a boycott of these Games. Hitler failed in his attempt to use the Games to prove his theory of racial superiority. As Jesse Owens, an American black athlete, won four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump and the 4 x 100m relay

The effects of commercialisation on the Olympics

This comes in two main forms the sponsorship of the Olympics and selling of the broadcasting rights. As with sport themselves the games have to be a product someone will want to buy the right to. To help assure this the games have:

Sports stars from around the world
Events where non profession only athletes can compete
The possibility of seeing world records
Changing the sports to keep up viewer interest

The money that paid for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney was split like this

$1331 million from broadcasting rights (45%)
$550 million from TOP 4 (18%)
$492 million from local sponsors (16%)
$551 million from ticket sales (19%)
$52 million from licensing (2%)

(Sydney Olympic report)

The money for the 2004 games will look like this:

$2236 million from broadcasting rights (50%)
$1815 million from corporate sponsors (40)
$380 million in ticket sales (8%)
$100 million in merchandise (2%)

(Brown et al 2003)

This shows a massive jump in the money paid and shows how media is still affecting the commercialisation of sport now.

The money that this generates is then split between the IOC and the 199 national Olympic committees.

Media and commercialisation in general hugely influence the Olympic games and sport. This can be anything from politics to drugs, money to medals and glory. Without media sport wouldn’t be as popular and successful as it is today but I feel that sport has become this way for the wrong reasons. More people are interested in the scandals and the need to win than in the actual sport has been forgotten. Sports for sports sake doesn’t happen anymore. It is more sports for moneys sake.