Sport Coverage

Citation

Haynes R (2019) Sport Coverage. In: Vos T, Hanusch F, Sehl A, Dimitrakopoulou D & Geertsema-Sligh M (eds.) The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118841570.iejs0215

Abstract
Sport coverage is an important form of content for all media outlets. Sport journalism has grown as distinct profession in the media from the mid‐nineteenth century onward, first through a dedicated sporting press, then established as a key form of sports news on the back pages of the popular press. Early sport journalism was characterized by a focus on fixtures and results which serviced a strong gambling culture. In the early to mid‐twentieth century a more professionalized “golden age” of sports journalism developed, often characterized as “cheerleaders with typewriters” or part of the “toy department” of national and regional newspapers. Nevertheless, new forms of sports writing emerged, much of which delivered news and gossip to a mass audience. The rise of television and commercialization in sport transformed both the sports industry and the nature of sport coverage. This has itself been disrupted by digital technologies and networked media sport.

Keywords
sport, journalism

Journal
The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies

People

Professor Richard Haynes

Professor, Communications, Media and Culture