This study examined contemporary daily sports journalism through the lenses of media sociology and new institutional theory. In-depth interviews with 25 sports journalists (reporters and editors) identified the institutionalized norms, values, practices, and routines of American sports journalism; demonstrated how that institutionalization affects story selection; and showed how the profession is changing due to digital and social media. The interviews show that although traditional sports journalism is highly institutionalized, digital sports journalism is far less so. Traditional sports journalism is still centered around a story, and digital sports journalism follows Robinson’s journalism-as-process model. The journalists interviewed are expected to perform acts of both traditional and digital journalism during the same workday, which leads to tension in how they do their jobs.
This article provides a unique perspective on US–Pakistan and Taliban–Pakistan media relations in the context of the regional war on terror. Based on mediated public diplomacy and news construction literature, the authors explore some of the key challenges and opportunities that both sides face as they aim to influence Pakistani media coverage and win the political support of the Pakistani people. Eighteen online interviews with Pakistani media practitioners explore their perceptions of wartime media relations involving five main categories: US–Pakistani media relations, Taliban–Pakistani media relations, Taliban/extremist groups’ understanding of Pakistani news routines, US officials’ understanding of Pakistani news routines, and social media/internet as sources of information for Pakistani journalists. The study’s key findings are discussed in the context of wartime media relations and mediated public diplomacy.
The transition of newspapers from traditional revenue models to digital advertising-based models has been fraught with financial peril, with many formerly strong news organizations laying off journalists or closing entirely. The launch of The Athletic, a subscription-only digital site for sport coverage and opinion, has been watched with great interest within the sports journalism world, as it represents a new method of financing journalistic endeavors. The majority of hires at The Athletic over its first few years have been marketable writers from traditional newspaper backgrounds. This study utilizes a qualitative methodology to examine introductory stories written by new hires to The Athletic (N = 88). Through open coding, the study evaluated these stories for common themes relating to the authors’ newfound employment and transition to a supposedly new model of journalism. The study found three overarching themes, centered on the writers’ explanations of their own biographical backgrounds, attempts to convince the audience of the superiority of the new editorial model being employed by The Athletic, and communicating to the audience what they should expect and deserve. Framing theory is utilized as a guiding theoretical perspective as themes from the stories, and their underlying implications are discussed.
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