Media Influence On Sport When communication is spread not just between two individuals but rather between tens of millions of people it is known as mass media. Mass media is known as the central nervous system of society.
"Mass media has many different purposes, such as providing information, entertaining, persuading and also by carrying a vague general function of culture to millions of people."(Frederick 18). In order for mass media to exist, there must be an audience. Today's society is very selective; each receiver reacts differently through his or her own experience and orientation according to mass media.
Therefore, mass media exists in many different forms such as magazines, television, newspapers, internet, motion pictures, and even plays. Some examples of these forms of mass media are cosmopolitan magazine for young modern women and TSN television network for sports fans. With such extreme varieties of mass media existing in today's societies there are three major constraints that seem to have an impressionable impact. These constraints can keep mass media very restricted.
The major constraint of mass media is competition. Each form of mass media wants to be the one to target the audience, so therefore competition between mass media is very strong, because capturing the inside of the sports world is critical. Apart from the competition among the various forms of media there is also competition among each form of the media example Fox network competes with all television networks for a market share of the audience.Network companies such as Fox buy the contracts to show American football games for millions of dollars, which they in turn make their money back through companies wanting to advertize on their network during these football games. The audience Fox attracts by showing these games also provides an audience for companies wanting to advertise their products and provides potential customers for their products.
This life cycle exists in all forms of media apart from just television, newspapers try to cover the best stories in all areas of life from tradegy to sports and entertainment. From a sociological stand point in today's society sex and violence attracts audiences. By examining the internet, which is the newest form of mass media internet companies that provide the most outrageous websites with sex and violence are the most watched websites.Media Companies compete with each other on those levels by looking at what attracts the most attention and trying to provide it. Although the audience are the ones who decide what information is important and this decides what groups of mass media get the most attention the influence of the media in today's world really guides them in helping them make that decision without their actual knowledge.
If your story isn't important to the audience then your media is taking up space, so therefore you either have to produce what the audience wants or you will not be able to survive in the competitive world of mass media. In order to survive in society you must offer the general public information they are interested in. Money also puts constraints on what an individual gets to know.If a person can't afford to buy a television that is restricting them on the knowledge that they are able to consume. Also, companies run on budget plans, and if there is no money in the budget, they are unable to provide information to a society. For every story that is produced, or every television commercial aired that could have been many more, to follow.
But with limited money in the budget plans, an audience's view also becomes very limited, because if the media doesn't have the money to produce the information that is information that a society loses out on. Time is also another constraint because is doesn't make a difference on the amount of media there is, there will only be twenty four hours in each day and not all a person's time can be devoted to the effects of mass media.With the consideration of all these constraints this may create many difficulties for mass media, these difficulties will have a reflection on society as well. In media these constraints are known as noise. "All media within each other create noise, but with all the conflicting views, within lies a pattern, that shows some element of truth.
" (Frederick 10). The purpose of this paper is to state how mass media influences sport. The point that is being made in this paper is to show how mass media influences society, and how it influences sports within a society.To show how sport influences society, the game of basketball will be used. Mass media is a reflection of society. "Mass media are essential agents of social change, and the specific kind of social change they are expected to help accomplish in the transition to new customs and practices, and in some cases, to different social relationships.
" (D'seuza 27). Also agents of social control exist. As a result of all these alterations a significant change in an individuals attitudes, beliefs, skills and social norms may result.Before the existence of radio, mass media were barely existent except in print.
But with all the developments in technology mass media continually progresses, in many different directions. Different individuals are selective in the way that they let mass media influence their lives. For example, if a person decides to read a book they are getting to determine what aspects of the mass media they consume. "Books are the most individual of mass media." (Frederick 156).But when a person watches television it is not as personal as reading a book, television is built into society.
" Television's commercial and entertainment emphasis both reflect and affect the hedonistic and acquisitive nature of contemporary America." (Frederick 264). With the constant production of commercials and varying types of entertainment there seems to rising controversy throughout society. Mass media has many positive effects on many people, in countries such as India, mass media had made a tremendous change. People in rural communities are now able to communicate back and forth, children of this country are now able to obtain and expand on their education, there are continuous improvements in their health care system and even modern agricultural techniques are being developed.
These results of the mass media in India have had many positive effects on their society.But not everybody agrees that mass media has had a positive effect, some believe that it has damaged societies beyond repair. Since mass media has such an overwhelming influence on society, it may end up shaping the way and individual thinks. A good example of this is through advertising. "It is advertising, by large, that supports the United States' pervasive and extraordinary diverse mass media system. Advertising major focus is the better you display a commodity the more of the commodity you sell.
The private sector gives the advertising industry the money to sell their products, and the company that offers the most capital is the one who gets their product aired. This is where one of our major constraints, known as, competition comes into play. Whatever company holds the most capital decides what we as a society get to consume. Advertisers will say that they produce what the consumer demands but on the other hand they are putting many limits on what we get to consume.
With the constant growth of mass media many individuals have been offered tremendous opportunities. This paper will use the influences of mass media in the world of sports, too show examples of these opportunities.Both the positive and negative effects of the mass media will be outlined. The first reported Sports Coverage appeared on May 5 1733.
Reporters used to report on the philosophy. Electronic media: (i.e. type written stories), started to be used in 1850.
In the 1920's radio stations started to broadcast sporting events live. Experimental Television broadcast where started in the 1950's.Sports Illustrated prints an average of three million copies per week. "Sport has become an influential part of the entertainment industry, the mass media (particularly television) have become intimately involved in the growth, production, and control of modern sports." ( McPherson 146). "The term mass media provides information describes the process that allows people to communicate rapidly and simultaneously with a large percentage of the population.
" ( McPherson 146). In our society sports are a major part of a new mass culture, as well as popular music, movies and television shows. Most people watch sports through the television.People also follow sport thought magazines and radio. From watching the television programs and reading the reports our society learns to love and/or hate the sports icons in our world. The media does not seem to hold anything back.
Media coverage is not just limited to professional sports. They cover amateur sports as well.These sports are covered at a local, provincial and national level. Coverage is from anywhere from little league to college sports.
We as a society like to know all the information about our sports heroes. The mass media is more then willing to provide us with this information. Sometimes they provide more information then most of us want to know. The boundaries of people's personal privacy are denied.They find out the history, family background, current lifestyle etc.
of these players. There are not to many other people in our society that this happens to. These players most feel that there privacy is being invaded almost all of the time. This is not just isolated to sports figures, politicians and key public figures are in the spotlight as well. Most major sports clubs pay reporters to report on their teams.By doing this it protects them so that the reports will report on the positive aspects of their teams.
The negative aspects are toned down to some extent. They need to provide some negative aspects because if they didn't they then a lot of people may lose interest. An example of this is that you don't see as many highlight reels of home runs anymore. They want to promote the game as more of technecical product The media chooses what they report or do not report they enhance certain act and downplay others.People perceive the media as just report in the facts. In actuality they are report a narrated story that someone has composed.
As Alan and John Clarke said: "It selects between sports for those which make "good television", and it selects within a particular event, it highlights aspects for the viewers. This selective highlighting is not "natural or inevitable - it is based on certain criteria, certain media assumptions about what is 'good television." But the media not only select they also provide us with definitions of what has been selected. They interpret events for us, provide us with frameworks of meaning in which to make sense of the event.To put it simply, television does not merely consist of pictures, but also involves a commentary on the pictures-a commentary which explains to us what we are seeing .
.these selections are socially constructed-they involve decisions about what to reveal to the viewers. The presentation of sport thought the media involves an active process of re-presentation: what we see is not the event, but the event transformed into something else-a media event." ( Eitzen 98-99).
Sports media has it's own language. This language is both ethnically and gender focused. When people are reporting sports events they report differently male then female players, black then white players, just for some examples.Most white players receive performance; related comments directed towards them. On the other hand black players receive negative comments and also you also hear negative comments about their level of play.
"White players received more attention in replays and more excuses for mistakes (e.g., he is playing with an injury)" (McPherson 155). While a black player they might say doesn't possess the skills and that is way they couldn't compete. The media portray women in the sports society as not being the equal to men.
More attention is focused on male sporting events. If an advertiser is going to fund a female basketball game and or a male basketball game then the money would be mainly directed the towards the men's game. The advertiser has to go to the event that is going get the most viewers. "If women are portrayed less frequently than their participation merits and if ...
