Sports-related media language
he media have never been a more powerful tool in promoting
sports than it is now. Together they mirror
economic, political and cultural contours of a society, but also
help shape our ideas about national identity,
class, gender, race, age etc. The media were largely influenced
by the arrival of radio (sound), television
(image), internet (speed), but also advertising and the
entertainment business.
The radio offered live coverage of important events, and the
sensation of excitement due to the skill of the
sports journalist. The details of the events were found in the
papers which also offered photos, expert opinion
and commentary, statistics, outcome predictions. The arrival of
television (and international coverage) changed
the way we perceived sports. It gave us the sensation of
actually 'being present' at the event, and the opportunity
to enjoy slow motion, close-ups, replays, different angles etc.
The internet helped the news travel even faster,
gave the viewer/fan the chance to find additional information
about players/tms on various websites,
discussion forums and place bets in online betting offices. The
sport now has all the necessary elements crucial
to the contemporary media consumer: drama, risks, sensations,
thrills and enough breaks for commercials.
The language of the media in sports gives the
reader/viewer/consumer: straight information (names of
players, results, stats), opinion on the outcome, analysis
(physical fitness of the player/team), quotes from
players/trainers, entertainment (interesting, exciting stories,
dramatic retelling). The features also include:
technical detail and jargon (duck in cricket, dribbling in
football, birdie in golf), language of war or religion
(old foes, 6 months in hell), figurative language with plenty of
adjectives, adverbs and active verbs
(crashed, wilted, barged, quashed). Headlines often identify the
sport, focus on conflict, triumph or defeat, and
frequently use plays on words and meaning. Sports photographs
are usually very dramatic to have immediate
visual impact and to grab the readers attention. They capture
emotion, action, a story, the unusual and the
extraordinary.
Both sports and mass media keep trying to reach people as
spectators, fans, and consumers. That is why
their approach has never been more versatile and engaging.
Bibliography:
1. Power Play: Sport, the Media and Popular Culture by Raymond
Boyle, Richard Haynes
2. Media Sport Stars: Masculinities and Moralities by Garry
Whannel
3. Targeting media by Megan de Kantzow and Sue Stubbs
4. Sports and Media by Daniel Beck and Louis Bosshart University
of FribourgFreiburg (Switzerland)
