Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Second Online Chat: Fantasy Sports and Journalism

Sports Journalism Chat
Addresses Fantasy Sports, Journalism


Fantasy sports rank as a multi-million dollar business that often attracts specific and separate coverage from that of game action or traditional storytelling, and that can prompt challenges for sports journalists and media organizations.

The continued emergence of fantasy sports—with some 30 million participants in the United States and Canada each year, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association—influences content and prompts decisions about coverage. Fantasy sports can also pull media organizations to decide between the possibility of emerging audiences and the reality of existing consumers or production costs.

Those competing agendas, changing outlooks and the implications of fantasy sports on sports journalism will be discussed at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, during an online chat conducted by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

“The Intersection Between Fantasy Sports and Sports Coverage: Implications for Journalists and Predictions for Media Organizations” is free and may be accessed at http://comm.psu.edu/sports/live-chats online.

Participants include:
-- Joe Dolan of fantasyguru.com and Sirius Satellite Radio;
-- Nate Ravitz, deputy editor for ESPN.com Fantasy Sports;
-- Alexandre Simon, senior director of digital business development for the National
Hockey League; and
-- Malcolm Moran, the Knight Chair in Spoors Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center.

Marie Hardin, an associate professor of communications at Penn State and associate director of the Curley Center, will serve as moderator for the hour-long session. The Curley Center explores issues and trends in sports journalism through instruction, outreach, programming and research. The Center's undergraduate curricular emphasis includes courses in sports writing, sports broadcasting, sports information, sports, media and society, and sports and public policy, which is cross-listed with the Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

- PSU College of Communications

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Curley Center Hosting First Online Chat

Sports Journalism Chat
Addresses Bloggers, Credentialing

Although many major news organizations have found homes on the Internet, some reporters who cover sports online still struggle to get access to the events they write about.

At the same time, traditional media outlets continue to fight for access for their reporters while sports leagues and teams, often with their own media outlets and stakeholders, control access to events.

Those competing responsibilities, differing outlooks and resulting decisions about who can and cannot officially cover events will be addressed at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, during the first online chat conducted by the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

“Who Should be in the Press Box and Why? Issues in Credentialing Bloggers and Journalists” is free and may be accessed at http://comm.psu.edu/sports/live-chats online.

Participants include:
-- Michael Signora, vice president of football communications for the NFL;
-- Jerry Micco, sports editor of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette;
-- Cheryl Coward of Hoopfeed.com; and
-- Malcolm Moran, the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society and director of the Curley Center.

Marie Hardin, an associate professor of communications at Penn State and associate director of the Curley Center, will serve as moderator for the hour-long session.

The Curley Center explores issues and trends in sports journalism through instruction, outreach, programming and research. The Center's undergraduate curricular emphasis includes courses in sports writing, sports broadcasting, sports information, sports, media and society, and sports and public policy, which is cross-listed with the Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

- The Curley Center for Sports Journalism

Friday, October 01, 2010

Oriard: Bringing Academics Back to College Athletes

The business of college football has changed dramatically in recent decades, and one scholar believes new changes are needed to re-establish the integrity of the relationship between sport and education. Michael Oriard, former University of Notre Dame standout and a Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture at Oregon State University, visited Penn State on Friday, Sept. 24 to discuss “A Conversation About College Football, Past and Present.”

In his pointed discussion, Oriard spoke of the need to understand how student athletes are affected academically by the business of college sport. Two changes he would like to see are freshmen ineligible to play and universities conducting “cost-benefit” analyses of the benefits and success of their programs.

Believing that a “fundamental contradiction” exists in college sports, Oriard discussed the struggle universities face when balancing academics, sponsorship and entertainment. Major programs place a premium upon on-field success, which may affect student athletes education. Training like professionals, students place less emphasis on the classroom and more emphasis on the field. By making freshmen ineligible to play, student athletes would regain a transition year. They would have time to settle into the college environment both academically and personally, and can experience college life without the rigors of full-time participation in a high-profile athletic program.

Additionally, Oriard suggested the need for cost-benefit analyses of football programs. Many universities strive to build and maintain elite football programs, but at what cost? If a program is marginally successful, maybe universities should consider pouring money into academics instead of athletics. Fundraising, student recruitment and student life often centers on athletics, but this may not be ideal for all universities. If a program achieves some success, is the university truly benefitting from the investments? It may be time to identify a way to assess whether college football programs truly serve to improve the academic institutions that house them.

- Melanie Formentin