Sports Journalists and England’s Barclays Premier League: A Case Study Examining Reporters’ Takes on Modern Football

Abstract

England’s Barclays Premier League is one of the most successful and widereaching sporting organizations in the world, attracting the best football players and managers from around the world as well as a global audience. Since its formation in 1992, the Premier League has focused on commercial success for both the League and its constituent clubs. This emphasis has brought tremendous change to English football as a whole. This case study analysis seeks to understand the perceptions and experiences of sports reporters tasked with covering these Premier League sides. These football journalists describe limited access brought on by the clubs’ decisions to emphasize global brands and manage their own branded content through club-run websites and material. Respondents also perceive this limited access is exacerbated by increased multiculturalism and a growing culture of suspicion that widens the gulfs between teams and the reporters who cover them.

Twitter and sports journalism in Germany: Application and networks during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

“…Digital media offer enriched possibilities to break news to an international audience, drive traffic on platforms, and develop innovative revenue streams (Coombs and Osborne, 2012). The rise of the internet allows professions in the communication realm to access more information at a lower investment of resources .…”

“…It is rapid, easy, and cheap as never before. The internet and social media, in particular, offer enriched possibilities to break news worldwide, drive traffic on platforms with targeted content, and develop new revenue streams (Coombs and Osborne, 2012).…”

“…Since social media have given athletes, clubs, federations, and events the chance to communicate directly with fans and publics, the influence of social media on the agenda setting progress is crucial in particular for communication professionals (Bowman and Cranmer, 2014;Boyle, 2006Boyle, , 2012Burk et al, 2015). Thus, competition in the battle for news is not just between journalists and between media, but nowadays includes sports shareholders and stakeholders that promote information on their respective (personal or corporate) websites or social network sites (Coombs and Osborne, 2012).…”

“…New platforms and technological innovations have changed the nature of traditional journalism . In the information-gathering practice, competition is not just between journalists or media, but also with clubs, federations, and athletes who disseminate their news on their corporate websites or digital media channels (Coombs and Osborne, 2012).…”

Luces y sombras de la comunicación del Real Madrid CF. Reflexiones desde el periodismo deportivo

“…Una situación similar se produce en el Reino Unido con los periodistas que cubren la información de los clubes que se disputan la Premier League (Coombs y Osborne, 2012). Los informadores que siguen la actualidad de los clubes de fútbol ingleses advierten que ese mayor control informativo, basado en la gestión propia de contenidos a través de internet y de las redes sociales, se fundamenta en los ingresos económicos que obtienen estas entidades, dada su visibilidad en mercados emergentes como Asia, Australia y Estados Unidos.…”