The amount and variety of multimedia tools that sports journalists can benefit from has increased significantly compared to several decades ago and is continuing to rise. This is why sports journalists should be aware of the differences in social networks and know how to use them for different purposes. For example, to build their audience, sports journalism outlets should “establish and leverage Facebook pages”, because this allows them to become more popular (Kian et al, 2018, p. 96). Twitter is useful in reporting different sporting events because posting on Twitter is a quick and convenient way to share information. Sports journalists can also benefit from Instagram and Snapchat, as long as they do not over-post on it but keep the content dynamic. The Dempsey-Willard title fight demonstrated to the nation and its senior editors what was wrong with Jazz Age journalism: publishers, sports editors and circulation managers focused on making a profit, not serving the people.
The studies on why people watch and enjoy mediated sports have described several reasons, features and consequences of this activity. First, although factors that make people view sports “contain distinctly cognitive and social aspects”, they are primarily “functions of effect” (Billings & Hardin, 2016, p. 319). Second, the activity can be both spontaneous and intended to watch alone or with someone else. Some people also use it as a way to escape from their daily lives. Finally, some people’s tendencies to watch mediated sports are their “all-consuming passions”, which is a controversial issue (Billings & Hardin, 2016, p. 326). While some manage to strike a balance between sports they love to watch and their ordinary lives, many people still become addicted to it, and that can harm the rest of their lives.
References
Billings, A. C., & Hardin, M. (2016). Routledge handbook of sport and new media. Routledge.
Kian, E., Schultz, B., Clavio, G., & Sheffer, M. L. (2018). Multimedia sports journalism: A practitioner’s guide for the digital age. Oxford University Press, USA.