Sports journalism in the sporting landscape - Blind spots of the journalists Foto: Bjørn Giesenbauer/Flickr Play the Game 2013 Aarhus, 30 October 2013 Ditte Toft Danish Institute for Sports Studies/Play the Game +45 3266 1037 ditte.toft@idan.dk
How is sport covered in general in Denmark? - Focus on newspapers Foto: Jacob Bøtter/Flickr
Soccer Cycling Team handball Tennis Ice hockey Other sports Track and field Other motor sports Boxing Equestrian sports (all kinds) Golf Badminton Formula 1 Sports in general Basketball Sailing (all kinds of yachting without use of engines) Bodybuilding and fitness Dancing (all kinds) Swimming and other indoor water sports Gymnastics Beach volleyball Martial arts and wrestling Rugby Table tennis Volleyball Percent 46.1 10.2 8.3 8.2 4.8 3.9 2.9 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.0 1.7 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.6 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 100 Top 5 sports make up over 3/4 of all sports mentioned in papers
Primary content in the articles 35 % 30 % 32 % 27 % 25 % 20 % 18 % 15 % 10 % 5% 5% 4% 1% 3% 3% 1% 1% 1% 1%
Journalists use athletes and coaches as sources 40 % 37 % 35 % 30 % 25 % 23 % 20 % 15 % 13 % 10 % 5% 5% 5% 4% 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 2%
Three main tendencies 1. The big tv sports are also the most covered sports in newspapers 2. Entertainment journalism focusing on performance and results 3. Sports journalism is dominated by men Foto: Ian Joyce/Flickr
So how does the field of sport look in Denmark? Foto: Marc Samson/Flickr
The traditional understanding of sport The pyramid model Source: European Commission 1999
Sport in reality The church model Source: Scheerder et al. 2011
% Participation is very different from the coverage Not active in sports club 35 30 31 % 25 Active in sports club Almost one third of the adult Danes run Many activities take place outside the clubs 20 15 10 5 0 2 % Source: Sport Parcipation in Denmark 2011
A sports sector developing at a fast pace From athletics to running schools From athletics to cross fit From weightlifting to Power Energy From shooting to paintball/e-sport/laser Foto: JoeShlabotnik/Flickr From cycling to spinning From swimming to aqua fitness From football to GOALs and football fitness The understanding of sport among journalists still rests on an outdated version of the field of sport!
A problem or an opportunity for sport? Foto: Håkan Dahlström/Flickr
Finding the way to traditional media Find Vej i Danmark (orienteering) is a good example of how to reach the traditional media: Local events are the starting point for making interesting stories for the local media Focus on The local event New knowledge/experiences Good pictures Make use of the exercise trends Foto: Dansk Orienterings-Forbund Source: Martin Hedal, Danish Orienteering Federation
The biggest media event in Sweden
Some are taking advantage of new opportunities
Using social media Interacting with the ones who find interest in the specific type of sport Facebook dominated social media in Denmark! (Facebook in Denmark has one of the highest shares in Europe)
Summary LET S FACE IT: The national team in football, Champions League and gold at the Olympics is on the radar of the sports journalists. BUT: Journalism about sport and exercise can be found outside the sport section and outside the national traditional media The media development opens opportunities to become a media yourself
Thank you! Sports journalism in the sporting landscape - Blind spots of the journalists Foto: Bjørn Giesenbauer/Flickr Play the Game 2013 Aarhus, 20 October 2013 Ditte Toft Danish Institute for Sports Studies/Play the Game +45 3266 1037 ditte.toft@idan.dk