In the 21st century the media holds an ever increasing effect on the day to day lives of celebrities and sports figures. In this essay I intend to highlight and analyse the Medias portrayal of one of our countries top sports personalities. I will discuss how different forms of the media have obsessed with the highs and lows of England football captain, David Beckhams much publicised career. It is amazing to think that merely five years ago this man was possibly the most hated person in England due to the Medias exposure of an event that took place in a simple football match. Beckhams image was soon to change after he presented amazing levels of character both on and off the field. Due to the media, Beckhams status has changed from a bad tempered youth to a national hero known as Captain Marvel! This essay will explore how David Beckhams position as an international icon has elevated throughout years of media attention, and find evidence to prove how the media has made him into the much adored role model he has become.
"News may be true, but it is not truth, and reporters and officials seldom see it same way" (James Reston, US journalist)
Everywhere you look you see sport intertwined into everyday life, be it on the television, in your back yard, in schools, universities or in social networks. Nobody can escape the influence of sport, either as a spectator or a participant - it's everywhere.
With any successful sports career comes the spotlight and the constant media. People are forced to forfeit their private lives to live in a constant fish bowl. As a sports celebrity, your every movement is splashed all over the front pages of newspapers, magazines, radio and the television. It is impossible to escape the constant scrutinization by the media, as they wait anxiously for the next athlete to fall. There is no privacy. The press picks up on all the mistakes, ready to expose them, and use them as a form of entertainment for the public. One word out of context can stick with you for the rest of your career. The United Kingdom is particular renowned for its, "Scandal stories," and tabloid newspapers.
David Beckham has been under constant attack from the media for the past few years. In July 1999, his face was on the front cover of every newspaper in England, for the simple reason he cut all his hair off! I ask you what is the big deal about a 24 year old changing his hairstyle? But the British public lapped the story up, and I found myself wondering why? Or, more to the point, so what? It has nothing to do with his football ability. The pioneering US broadcast reporter Edward R. Murrow once famously stated, that journalism 'must hold a mirror behind the nation and the world' and that, more over 'The mirror must have no curves and must be held with a steady hand' (cited in Macdonald 1979:310). Repeatedly over the years Beckham has received criticism within the media for stories which are more often than not untrue, but I guess this is just another price to pay for the cost of fame.
David Beckham started his football career off with trials for both Tottenham Hotspurs and Leyton Orient. He signed a professional contract for Manchester United and was quickly thrown into the spotlight after winning the FA youth cup in 1992, scoring one of the winning goals against Crystal Palace. He didn't really establish himself until 1996 when a stunning long-range shot beat Neil Sullivan in the Wimbledon goal. Since this point, the media attention on David has escalated out of control. Once known as the brill cream boy he now holds the title of Captain Marvel. This has proved to be very testing for David and his family over the last eight years as the ever increasing attention has sparked acts such as stalking and even death threats.
David introduced himself to world football at the World Cup in 1998. He was left out of the starting line up for the first two matches, this was a decision that manager Glenn Hoddle received a lot of criticism for. However, David got his chance in a group match against Columbia where he scored a stunning free-kick to help England win the match. By doing this he proved what the nation already believed, that David was a world-class footballer. Unfortunately David's glory only lasted a matter of days when he was sent off for foolishly kicking out at the Argentinean midfielder Diego Simeone. England went on to lose the match and were therefore, knocked out of the World Cup. Following this incident experts were predicting an exit from English football was imminent. David was receiving death threats and abuse from every football ground in England. The tabloid newspapers victimised Beckham for this and used him as the scapegoat for England being knocked out of the world cup. "Beck-home" said The Sun, "10 heroic lions, one stupid boy" proclaimed The Mirror. As you can see from article one, all tabloid newspapers destroyed Beckham. They chose the information they wanted their audience to know and turned the nation against him.
In a season where experts expected David to crumble both as a footballer and as a person he managed to reinstate himself as England's most valuable footballer. This was a great year for David both professionally and in his personal life. He blocked the ever present abuse and managed to help Manchester United to one of their most successful seasons, they won an unprecedented treble of competitions. However, that was later overshadowed by the birth of his first Son Brooklyn and the marriage to his Spice Girl partner Victoria 'Posh Spice' Adams. This was an event that sparked a huge amount of interest from both the public and the media. OK! Magazine had bought the photographic rights for the wedding for one million pounds; this was a huge deal for OK! However, this lucrative deal was unobserved after the Sun newspaper had cheekily published five photographs from the wedding the week before OK! were due to publish their magazine. (See article 2 &3) This event was typical of the media hype that the Beckham's endure.
In the 1999/2000 season David was yet again subjected to media pressure when he had a well publicised argument with manager Sir Alex Ferguson after his failure to attend a scheduled training session. David claimed that his child, Brooklyn was sick. However, Sir Alex wasn't impressed by this excuse and David was therefore dropped from the next Manchester United game. This sparked a huge public interest as it was seen that David was being punished for being a good father. As always in football attention from foreign clubs followed this press with the likes of Inter Milan and ...
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In the 1999/2000 season David was yet again subjected to media pressure when he had a well publicised argument with manager Sir Alex Ferguson after his failure to attend a scheduled training session. David claimed that his child, Brooklyn was sick. However, Sir Alex wasn't impressed by this excuse and David was therefore dropped from the next Manchester United game. This sparked a huge public interest as it was seen that David was being punished for being a good father. As always in football attention from foreign clubs followed this press with the likes of Inter Milan and Real Madrid keeping a close eye on the situation. Finally David backed down and accepted Sir Alex's criticism in order to concentrate on his football. This unfortunately, was short lived after an 'astonishing' new skinhead hair style made the front page of the papers! He was, yet again bombarded with attention. Astonishingly, sporting a new hair cut meant that David had re-discovered his scoring touch with a string of vital goals for Manchester United.
David Beckham is undoubtedly the most copied, ridiculed and talked about footballer in Britain, if not the world. When he changes his hairstyle it gets more coverage in the media than many of the wars raging around the world. The intense media obsession continued in 2001 when David released his first book. Questions were asked about his intelligence due to the lack of content but it still sold millions of copies. By this time David was on his way to becoming the richest footballer in the world with mass media deals with brands such as Pepsi, Adidas and Gas rewarding him richly. Later that year David was then given what he acknowledged as the greatest honour of his professional career/ captaincy of the national team . England manager Sven Goran Eriksson stated that Beckham had all the characteristics to become an England legend and handed him the captain's armband. This achievement can only reflect glowingly on Beckham's character, for him to even continue his career after the torment in 1998 is commendable, but to become his countries captain after having every form of media across the globe terrorise him, is nothing short of remarkable. But you do have to wonder whether Beckham is being pushed more and more into the position where he is famous for simply being famous. (see article 4)
Since being named as England captain, Beckham was criticised by the press once again with allegations that he didn't put the effort in for his club like he does for his England. Whereas on an international front he was considered to be a national hero yet again when he single hand idly rescued England from an embarrassing home defeat by Greece with an awesome performance followed by a superb last minute free kick to rescue the game and ensure that his team qualified for the World Cup. The media claimed that this was his best ever performance for both club and country and the public finally accepted that Beckham was the right man to lead us out in the forthcoming World Cup.
Beckham was yet again made a spectacle of in the World Cup, after breaking his foot a matter of weeks before the tournament the media were yet again persistent in making a huge deal of the matter. With Beckham considered being a major doubt for the tournament the media analysed everything from the structure of his cast to the style of his crutches. The pressure on the man was immense; he couldn't step out of his house without paparazzi bombarding him. This situation did however, take the limelight away from the fact that he had just signed a £90,000 a week contract with Manchester United. This deal made Beckham the richest footballer in the world, taking over from the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Ronnaldo. It seems quite ironic that a matter of years ago this young man was lambasted by the media as being stupid and unintelligent! This perhaps shows how fickle and inconsistent the tabloid newspapers can be. Beckham did however; achieve a personal goal when he scored a winning penalty against Argentina. This meant a lot to David because of the torment which he had to endure only four years ago previously.
"Journalist speak of 'the news' as if events select themselves. Further, they speak as if which is the 'most significant' news story, and which 'news angles' are most salient, are divinely inspired. Yet of the millions of events which occur every day in the world, only a tiny proportion ever become visible as 'potential news stories': and of this proportion, only a small fraction are actually produced as the day's news in the news media. (Hall 1981: 234)
Beckham has always been a popular icon in the news. He has always made popular reading, whether liked or disliked at the time. When journalists write about David Beckham, they can be sure it will reach the majority of their target audience. The fact he is a world class footballer, a very good looking guy and married to an ex spice girl can only result in Beckhams ever presence in the media and the reason why he is often top of the hierarchical order in which stories are organised. When Beckham appears in Broadsheet newspaper such as the telegraph, the times or the guardian, articles featured on him are factual and straight to the point, and mostly containing information which is relevant to his career as a professional footballer. Tabloid newspapers such as the sun, daily mirror and daily star mostly produce back page articles with Beckham splashed all over it, in order to sell the papers. Other stories frequently invade his privacy and contain information about his lifestyle as a celebrity rather than a footballer.
On June 5th 2003, an article appeared in The sun newspaper, titled; "They're forcing me out." (See article 5) a photograph, which also appears in the Daily mirror and The Daily mail, that day, shows Beckham stood amongst a group of kids in California, signing autographs. In this picture, a young girl appears to be wiping tears from her eyes. This suggests Beckhams cult status even reaches America. The article talks about the value of David Beckham to Manchester united. Not only is he a world-class player, but his commercial income, and celebrity status has helped them become the richest club in the world and undoubtedly the most popular. I think it's fair to say that David Beckhams status has been elevated into the superstar he is perceived as today, by the media attention he has received. The media have turned Beckham into a patriotic symbol, the nation as a whole need to have a role model like Beckham to keep their spirits up. I do believe that Beckham enjoys all the media attention he receives and his wife especially. Hello magazine have almost elevated them both into a status of Prince and Princess.
In conclusion it is blatant that David Beckham receives more media attention than any other footballer in the world, over recent years it has become apparent that he is able to deal with these pressures very maturely and professionally. However, it is imperative that this outstanding talent continues to do this and not go down the same road as talented predecessors such as Paul Gascoigne and George Best, who Beckham has been compared to in the past. This intense media obsession with Beckham has made him into the superstar he is today, and I believe it is fair to say he is a product of the media.
Bibliography
* Allan (1999); Making News: Truth, Ideology and Newswork. News culture, Open university press.
* Fiske (1987); News reading, news readers
* Dahlgren P, Sparks C (1992; Journalism and popular culture
London: Sage publications
Internet
* www.manutdzone.com
* www.newsbbc.co.uk
* www.thesun.co.uk
* http://homepage.tinet.ie/~redweb3/home/9899/reports/articles/articles.html
* http://uk.fc.yahoo.com/b/beckhams.html
Article 1
UK
Press attacks Beckham 'petulance'
The crowd saw one of the most exciting games in the World Cup
David Beckham has been roundly pilloried in the British press being blamed by many for England's World Cup defeat by Argentina.
Beckham: sent off for "stupid petulance"
"Beck-home" said The Sun, "10 heroic lions, one stupid boy" proclaimed The Mirror.
Many of the papers developed their coverage as the implications of England's defeat sank in.
Half-an-hour of extra time plus a few minutes of tense penalties had left them with little time to assess the team's failure in their first editions.
At first most reacted instinctively, echoing the feelings of disappointment and injustice felt throughout England, but later editions turned on the Manchester United midfielder.
The UK's biggest selling paper, The Sun, described Beckham's actions as a "moment of madness".
The Daily Mail shared the same view. Its front-page headline was: "Moment of lunacy that cost cup hopes". It claimed, had Beckham stayed on, "Hoddle's men must have had a great chance of winning" - but this was sacrificied to "a petulant act of retaliation".
Another tabloid, the Daily Star, had changed its strapline to "Ooh, aah ... nail bittah" for the big event. It too saw Beckham's red card as the result of a "stupid retaliation". Its final thought: "Beck off!"
Many of the other newspapers sought to portray the narrowest of defeats as a victory of sorts. In doing so, they echoed the verdict of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said the team "showed the English spirit at its very best."
Seaman consoles Ince afterwards
The Express was another tabloid to have found one word for the occasion. Its choice: "Heroes".
The Mirror started the night with the headline: "Our 10 lions" adding, almost as an afterthought, "We lose 4-3 on penalties". But it soon joined other papers in blaming Beckham for the defeat.
The Daily Telegraph's main headline read: "England go down fighting" and the accompanying article drew more attention to some of the odder refereeing decisions than the conduct of the England side.
It also praised Michael Owen and offered rare comfort to Beckham. Its correspondent in St Etienne, Ben Fenton, said: "Television replays suggested that Simeone made the most of an innocuous gesture by the England midfielder. Kim Nielsen, the referee, produced the yellow card for Simeone, but then stunned the crowd by waving the red card at Beckham.
Michael Owen: set to be worth a fortune
"He was the first Englishman to be sent off in a World Cup match since Ray Wilkins against Morocco in Monterey, Mexico, in 1986."
The Sun had one small crumb of comfort for Beckham, but even managed to put that into a critical context. Noting that, according to BusinessAge magazine, he earned £8.1m last year it asks "what is wizard Owen worth?"
It is left to The Daily Mail to utter perhaps the most obvious sentiment: "We're coming home..."
Article 2
Tuesday, 6 July, 1999, 11:33 GMT 12:33 UK
Sun pips OK! to Posh wedding photos
All smiles for Beckham and best man Gary Neville
A newspaper has trumped OK! magazine's exclusive wedding photo deal with Posh Spice and David Beckham by printing sneaked shots of their lavish celebrations.
The Sun newspaper is celebrating its "World Exclusive" with a set of five photographs from Sunday's event, which did not allow press photographers because of the magazine's £1m deal.
But the newspaper does not say how it obtained the pictures. "We're sure the glossy magazine who paid out to cover David and Victoria's happy day will understand," its editorial reads.
Regal pose: The couple sat on thrones for the wedding dinner
It told its readers that Spice Girl Victoria Adams, 25, wore a £10,000 crown to top off her tightly fitting ivory wedding dress.
England footballer David Beckham, 24, wore an ivory and cream suit, but had to change into a purple one because their son Brooklyn was sick on him, the paper said.
Baby Brooklyn's wedding suit was said to include a purple cowboy hat.
The couple sat in splendour on golden thrones on a platform raised above the guests, with Brooklyn's crib at their side.
The cake (top right) featured Posh and Becks in the nude
Photographs of the cake revealed that it was topped with a daring nude sculpture of newly-weds, with ivy leaves protecting their modesty.
But The Sun was not the only newspaper bringing photos of the wedding to a picture-hungry public.
The Mirror said it had "landed an unofficial picure" of the event, but perhaps with rather less success than its tabloid counterpart.
The Mirror's scoop was less revealing than The Sun's
It features a blurred shot of a blonde Sporty Spice Mel C, and includes Ms Adams's mouth and jawline in the left-hand corner.
It also suggests 10 ways that it might have obtained the shot, including hiding a camera in Brooklyn's dummy, or in footballer David Seaman's moustache.
But the couple will be miles away from the excitement surrounding their marriage, having left the UK for a secret honeymoon destination.
Luttrellstown Castle: Scene of lavish celebrations
They married at Luttrellstown Castle outside Dublin in a lavish ceremony.
The wedding ceremony was witnessed by just 29 close friends and family members, with security guards on hand to keep journalists and fans at bay.
After the ceremony Victoria and David joined the rest of their guests, who had all been asked to dress in either black or white, at a glittering reception in a marquee in the castle grounds, reported to have cost £500,000.
* The photograph of David Beckham and Gary Neville at the top of this story was the only wedding picture released to the press as of Monday night - courtesy of OK! Magazine, (c) OK! Magazine, July 1999.
Article 3
Just an ordinary couple?
BBC News Online charts the rise of Britain's "most famous couple".
As teenagers David Beckham and Victoria Adams could easily have met in a West End nightclub, fallen in love, married and lived happily ever after like thousands of other anonymous couples.
Two things prevented it - his prodigious football talent and her good fortune in being plucked from obscurity for the Spice Girls.
Beckham, as arguably the most talented English footballer of his era, would no doubt have been famous whoever his wife was.
But the combination of a world class footballer with a world famous pop star was manna from heaven for the British tabloids.
Famous footballers' romances
Wolves and England star Billy Wright married one of the Beverley Sisters, Joy, in the 1950s
George Best went out with Miss World Mary Stavin
Everton defender Pat van den Hauwe wed model Mandy Smith, the former wife of Bill Wyman, in 1993.
England midfielder Jamie Redknapp married pop star Louise Nurding in 1998
Victoria Adams was born in 1975 and was brought up in affluent Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire.
Ambition
Her father, electronics engineer Tony, used to drive her to school in a Rolls-Royce and their house boasted a pool.
It was this background, rather than her accent, which led Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller to christen her Posh Spice.
After an unremarkable childhood she left school with a burning ambition to get into showbusiness.
In March 1993 she answered an advert in The Stage which was looking for girls who were "street smart, extrovert, ambitious and able to sing and dance".
Billy Wright...married singer Joy Beverley in the 1950s
She applied and was signed up, along with unknowns Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown and Emma Bunton, by father and son team Bob and Chris Herbert, who manufactured an all-girl band by the name of Touch.
But Touch did not have the Midas, and in 1996 the girls ditched the Herberts and joined manager Simon Fuller, who repackaged them as The Spice Girls and gave them a catchy song called Wannabe.
David was born in 1975 in Leytonstone, east London, to a working class family - father Ted was a kitchen-fitter, mother Sandra a hairdresser.
Spotted by Manchester United's scouting network he was recruited, from under the noses of West Ham, Arsenal and Spurs, and signed schoolboy forms at the age of 14.
Class act
Only weeks after Wannabe went to number one, David Beckham seared himself on the public consciousness with a spectacular 50-yard goal against Wimbledon on the opening day of the 1996/7 season.
Within a month he was in the England side.
In 1997 he met Victoria when Melanie Chisholm (a Liverpool fan), came along to a United game at Old Trafford.
David is actually very deep - he's also a modern man
Victoria Adams
The relationship blossomed and when they announced their engagement it made front page news in all the tabloids.
Beckham's profile reached a new level during the 1998 World Cup when he was sent off for a petulant kick at Argentina's Diego Simeone.
Victoria was on tour in the US with the Spice Girls at the time and he flew to New York to be with her and to escape the English press, which was castigating him for spoiling the team's chances.
Happy couple
It was while they were in New York that their son, Brooklyn, was conceived.
In March 1999 Victoria gave birth in London and the couple completed a tempestuous 12 months by marrying in the Republic of Ireland in July.
Photographs from the "wedding of the year" were sold to OK! magazine for a princely sum. Critics said two thrones, the centrepiece of the event, were garish and symbolic of their giant egos.
Victoria Beckham performing her solo single
The Beckhams now live in a luxury mansion in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire. Football pundits have consistently claimed Victoria's unwillingness to move to Manchester may force Beckham to seek a move to a London club.
Victoria finally launched her own solo career, collaborating with Dane Bowers, formerly of Another Level, and dance masters Truesteppers on the single Out of Your Mind.
It missed out on the number one spot to Spiller's Groovejet but she received a better than expected welcome from music critics and went down well with the crowds in Ibiza.
But her solo career quickly took a nosedive and subsequent singles failed to sell as well.
Her album, VB, cost a reported £5m to make but only sold about 50,000 copies and she parted company with her record label, Virgin, in June.
At the other end of the spectrum David has cast aside his villain status to rise to the exulted position of hero, following his free kick against Greece which secured England's entry into the 2002 World Cup.
His every kick and haircut is documented and he picked up the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2002.
The World Cup in Japan ensured his hero status as he scored a penalty in England's win over of arch rivals Argentina.
Victoria could not travel out to be with her husband during his triumph because she was already heavily pregnant.
Romeo Beckham was born on 1 September 2002 at the exclusive Portland Hospital in London.
The couple are in an invidious position. Their every move is dissected by the media and they are expected to act as role models, although deep down they are simply an ordinary couple.
Then again...they do have the looks, money and talent to compensate.
Article 5
Hairdressers wait for Beckham copycats
Imitators may suffer for their style
England football captain David Beckham kept his new look hidden under a dark blue woolly hat when he turned up for training on Monday.
But the twisted ends of the series of small parallel plaits pulled tightly to his head still showed beneath the England team's three lions badge.
The golden braids - known as cornrows - will be seen in their full glory later on Monday, when Beckham models the England squad's off-the-field Giorgio Armani outfits for the first time.
Hairdressers across the country are expecting an influx of young men demanding cornrows.
Beckham is the celebrity most men want to look like according to a survey of 300 by the makers of weight-loss drink Slim Fast.
His skinhead and Mohican styles both prompted a spree of copy-cat cuts from fans.
But the Alice hairband the 28-year-old had been using to control Beckham's formerly flowing locks proved considerably less popular.
Beckham tried to hide his hair
Any imitators may have to suffer for their new style.
Hairdresser Kim Johnson, whose salon specialises in Afro-Caribbean styling, said cornrows "can be a bit painful".
"It has to be quite tight for it to hold," he told BBC News Online.
Manchester hairdresser Catherine Morris said her customers ask for Beckham haircuts soon after he unveils a new look.
"When he had the Mohican all five year-olds wanted one," he said.
Although cornrows might not be quite as popular.
"Not all blokes have the length," he said.
The skin-head was easy to copy
Willie Hendry, who has styled the hair of Beckham's wife, Victoria, said the styles could take a few months to appear as hair would have to be grown long enough to plait.
By then the Manchester United midfielder may have grown tired of the weekly re-plaiting needed to maintain cornrows.
"It will probably be a passing fad because it's a bit of a pain," Mr Hendry said.
He added: "On a 15-stone (95-kilogramme) man with a fat face it wouldn't work."
The Beckhams are seen variously as trend-setters or label-slaves but their efforts never fail to arouse interest among fashion addicts.
Tabloid photographs of Beckham wearing a sarong sparked a nationwide debate on whether men should wear skirts.
Sarah Brunger