10. Sport and the media, globalisation and sports


Sport and the media


 1. How would you define the term mass media?
 2. What are your preferred sources of information? Do you trust one source over another? Why?
 3. How would you compare and rate different media in this country?
 4. How do they compare with foreign media?
 5. Do you know who owns or controls the mass media in this country?
 6. How serious is the issue of media ownership concentration? What problems could arise?
 7. What do you think is the “societal purpose” of the media?


What are the mass media?

They're huge corporations, massive corporations, linked up with even bigger corporations. They sell
audiences to other businesses, namely advertisers. So when you turn on the television set, CBS
doesn't make any money from you; they make money from the advertisers. You're the product that
they're selling, and the same is true of the daily newspapers. They're huge corporations, selling
audiences, potential consumers, to other businesses, all linked up closely to the government,
especially the big media. What picture of the world do you expect them to present?


-        Noam Chomsky, American writer, linguist, and dissident (1928 - ), in Sparrow Talks with
Noam Chomsky.


      Global Impact of Communication


      Sports are considered by many to be the obvious universal feature of culture. They cross
global barriers such as language, geographic boundaries, and nationalism. Sports bring spectators
and participants from all over the world together where they bond through passion, obsession, and
the desire to win. Player and fan mobility and the capability to broadcast games worldwide are
aspects of globalization that are changing the landscape of sports.

The effects of globalization on sports are vast. For the purposes of this project, I will limit my
research to examining the increased movement of players. For example, how has hockey changed since
the rise of additional teams in geographic areas where hockey was traditionally not played?
Additionally, professional basketball opportunities are no longer limited to the U.S., how does
this change the game for players? Furthermore, I am interested in knowing how recruiting methods
have changed for different sports?


      Sports and Globalisation


      During the 20th century, sports have become increasingly international and  increasingly
politicized, as shown in the boycott of the 1980 Moscow games by Western nations and the
retaliatory boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles games by Soviet-bloc nations, an exchange brought on by
Soviet actions in Afghanistan.


Individual countries during the recent past have boycotted sport events or used them for propaganda
reasons and thus, imposed their political views affecting the global scene. Due to the worlds'
interest in sport, the power to influence the public becomes a huge issue. By the late 20th
century, the televising of athletic events had made sports big business. On the other hand,
expanding public concern with personal physical health led to mass participation, not necessarily
competitive, in sports like running, hiking, cycling, martial arts, and gymnastics.

Economic integration and free trade have and surely will, continue to affect the sports and fitness
industry in the future. Countries use sports either to impose their economic power over others, or
to elevate their current role. Due to sport's great costs, countries' governments engage themselves
in promoting and supporting these economic needs by authorising special public monetary programs or
by seeking private financing. Corporate sponsorships are today a reality, as companies spend about
$6 billion annually sponsoring activities ranging from the Olympic Games to the World Cup.

Living today in the information age, with amazing revolutions in technology and communication,
sport experts believe that sport is greatly influenced by the actions of individual nations, as
well as by the international trends that influence the world economy. The sport and fitness
industries, as part of our Global Society, have become lately an issue of great concern. Studies
worldwide provide valuable information about the political, geographical, economic, cultural,
social, aesthetic and historical aspects of sports and it is firmly believed that they will
continue ‘shaping' one another in the years to come.


Source: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Globalization+and+Sport-a01073786155

http://www.unc.edu/~arosenst/globalimpactofcommunication/