“I don’t Teach Violence, I Teach Self-Control”; The Framing of Mixed Martial Arts Between Mental Health and Well-Being

This paper draws on conceptual and analytical tools from cultural sociology to analyze media representations of the MMA right after the murder of a twenty-year-old boy, that took place in a small village in central Italy by a gang of young men, two of whom frequented a MMA gym. While often characterized as violent and uncivilized, MMA has a core following of fans who watch and practice MMA out of an interest in the effects of the sport in terms of health and well-being. Through in depth qualitative analysis of MMA media discourse offered by traditional and new media, this paper explores the way the MMA media constructs symbolic boundaries around different kinds of fights inside and outside the gym, through aesthetic and moral evaluations based on the hierarchical ‘distinctions’ between “violence” and “health” as possible outcomes of the MMA training process. Particularly, we carry out a discourse analysis based on Italian Newspapers, Magazines and Facebook groups dedicated to MMA, through which we frame the multiple representations of the discursive production built around the MMA in Italy. Our aim is to identify the different ways in which the discussion about this event provided narrative paths and points of view about the meaning of MMA, focusing on the reputational consequences concerning health, especially in its physical and mental expressions. This research may prove useful for scholars interested in MMA, culture, and sports media studies.

Twitter como herramienta de difusión deportiva: la representación de las deportistas (Twitter as a sports dissemination tool: the representation of female athletes)

Twitter se ha convertido en un nuevo canal de comunicación en el que se comparte gran cantidad de información deportiva, sobre todo, entre las personas más jóvenes. Jóvenes que forman su identidad de género a través de los mensajes que reciben, por lo tanto, se considera de suma importancia analizar cómo son representadas las mujeres en los medios deportivos en España en sus cuentas de Twitter. ¿Refuerzan los estereotipos o comunican desde una perspectiva igualitaria? A través de una metodología cualitativa se analizan las imágenes publicadas sobre mujeres durante 6 meses (marzo a agosto de 2016), en cuatro medios deportivos españoles (@ElPaís_Deportes, @ABC_Deportes, @Marca y @MundoDeportivo). Los resultados muestran cómo los estereotipos y la objetivización de las mujeres se están trasladando de las mujeres deportistas a las no deportistas. En definitiva, la desigualdad se mantiene en Twitter, aunque de forma más encubierta influyendo en la percepción que tiene la sociedad sobre los roles de género en el deporte y la importancia de las deportistas en la sociedad actual. Abstract. Twitter has become a new communication channel in which a large amount of sports information is shared, especially among younger people. Younger generations form their gender identity through the messages they receive, therefore, it is of utmost importance to analyse how women are being represented within the Spanish sports media Twitter accounts. Do they reinforce stereotypes or do they communicate from an egalitarian perspective? Through a qualitative methodology, the images published about women during 6 months (March to August 2016), of four Spanish sports media accounts (@ElPaís_Deportes, @ABC_Deportes, @Marca and @MundoDeportivo) are analysed. The results show how stereotypes and objectification of women are moving from female athletes to non-athletes. Ultimately, inequality remains on Twitter, although in a more covert way, influencing society's perception of gender roles in sport and the importance of female athletes in today's society.

Innovation in Sports Media Content Production

ABSTRACT – This article investigates the innovation in sports content production by ESPN Brasil over the last decade as it makes changes to its media ecosystem. Qualitative research is the chosen methodology for this paper. Three criteria were established based on theoretical-conceptual perspectives on innovation in journalism: contextualization, engagement, and digital technologies. The data was collected from semi-structured interviews with professionals related to the case under study. It appears that experiments in content production are not separate from other issues in the media industry, such as the crisis in business models and the need for strategic leadership for innovation. The uncontainable pursuit of innovation is just as risky as remaining stagnant, and innovation must be in line with the media company’s main goal. RESUMO – Este artigo investiga a implementação de inovações na produção de conteúdo esportivo feitas pela ESPN do Brasil, durante a última década, realizadas como reflexo das mudanças em seu ecossistema midiático. A abordagem metodológica é qualitativa e, com base em perspectivas teórico-conceituais sobre inovação no jornalismo, foram estabelecidos três critérios de análise: contextualização, engajamento e tecnologias digitais. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com profissionais relacionados ao caso estudado. Constata-se que as experimentações na produção de conteúdo não se isolam de outras questões da indústria de mídia, como a crise nos modelos de negócios e a necessidade de uma liderança estratégica para a inovação. A busca desenfreada pela inovação é tão arriscada quanto se manter estagnado e a inovação tem de ser conectada com o propósito da empresa de mídia. RESUMEN – Este artículo investiga la implementación de innovaciones en la producción de contenido deportivo realizadas por ESPN do Brasil, durante la última década. El enfoque metodológico es cualitativo y, basado en perspectivas teóricas y conceptuales sobre la innovación en el periodismo, se establecieron tres criterios de análisis: contextualización, engagement y tecnologías digitales. Los datos fueron recolectados a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas con profesionales relacionados con el caso estudiado. Parece que los experimentos en la producción de contenidos no están aislados de otros temas de la industria de los medios, como la crisis de los modelos de negocio y la necesidad de liderazgo estratégico para la innovación. La principal conclusión es que la búsqueda desesperada de innovación es a menudo tan arriesgada como permanecer estancada y que la innovación tiene que estar conectada con el propósito de los medios de comunicación.

Just How They Drew It Up: How In-House Reporters Fit Themselves Into the Sports Media System

This paper explores how in-house sports reporters—those who write for team- and league-branded websites—locate themselves within the sports media production complex. It builds from perspectives on professionalism that view it as a dynamic process of defining boundaries and building relationships between systemic stakeholders. The interview data presented here find that in-house reporters accentuate professional similarities to beat reporters and use this identity to build unique roles in sports organizations’ corporate structures. This push to define themselves as a distinct job category within the constellation of sports media professions speaks to the active work occupational groups engage in, and is reshaping the media system. The paper argues for a broader reconsideration of professional definitions, actors, and relationships within the sports media system as digital technology and other changes have altered preexisting relationships.

Breaking into the Press Box and After

Who are the people who create the images and reportage we consume? What ‘makes’ a journalist in the sporting field? More specifically, what drives a woman to break into the all-male citadel of sports media? Sharda Ugra’s perceptive and illuminating first person account of her journey through the media boxes of cricket fields is not just fascinating, but opens up a Pandora’ box where intersecting entities of gender, sports and media interact. Her account brings into the discourse on sports in society the tensions at play among those who report on a sport, the sportspersons, the editors and the constraints of deadlines and media demands. This autobiographical account offers scholars an opportunity to explore sports in the context of those who communicate sports to society.

Investigation of the effect of sports on media, marketing, consumption and popular culture

Reasearch problem/aim: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate them under the titles of the sports sector (media, consumption, marketing) by mentioning primarily popular culture and sports issues. Method: In this study, a descriptive research model, which is used to investigate the events as they are, trying to determine the situation that happened, investigating the events and situations discussed in detail and examining their relationship. Findings: The notion that sports is one of the building blocks of popular culture, and as a result of its action, the media sheds considerable light on consumption and marketing. The popular culture field, which started to develop as a field of study on its own, has become important by societies in the world and scientific studies on this subject have increased rapidly. Especially the innovations brought by popular culture in the world and the rapidly increasing interest in sports, media, marketing and consumer products have made this issue more up-to-date. Today, most of the sources explain that popular culture is under the influence of the media and that sports, marketing and consumption provide access to more people. Especially, social media, which enters our homes and becomes the most important part of our daily life, is extremely important in creating and conveying these topics (sports, marketing, consumption). In this context, the relationship between popular culture, media, consumption and marketing in sports and their roles among each other was discussed as a result of the extensive literature review. Conclusion: it is seen that sports have an effect on popular culture products on media, marketing and consumption.

Sports Newsrooms Versus In-House Media: Cheerleading and Critical Reporting in News and Match Coverage

The mediatization of sport has created a rise in sports organisations expanding their media presence through digital platforms. However, the often-opposing ambitions of in-house media and sports journalism newsrooms highlight a contest over boundaries. This article examines how the mediatization of sport has impacted on content in in-house and traditional newsrooms and whether it is more aligned with journalism or public relations. The study analyses the coverage of both news and match reporting in six newspaper websites and five national sports organisation websites in Australia. The qualitative analysis is based on a sample of 466 text-based stories and focuses predominantly on elements of critical reporting and cheerleading. The findings outline how mediatization of sport through in-house publications is changing the boundaries of sports media and sports journalism. There were often strong divisions between the coverage in the sports organisations and news publications, with the in-house titles usually the more promotional, positive and less critical.