Relationships Role in Sports Journalism (on social media)

In this week’s content it was discussed what are the things that go on social media. I want to dive into two of these topics.

1. Interaction with followers (earned media)

This is an area that is extremely important for a sports journalist to separate from the crowd. In 2021, there are so many niche areas, and almost everyone has social media accounts. This means that a sports journalist has lots of competition directly (other sports journalists) and indirectly (sports memes, sports fashion, esports, etc.) How do you separate yourself in this environment? My answer is to make meaningful connections. Meaningful connections do not have to mean the general manager for a team. It can mean having a strong bond with your followers. This will not just happen; you must put aside time to respond to followers in a significant way. By doing this you can develop a more loyal following, which is extremely valuable on social media, were the user can click away in an instant.

2. Reveal reporter’s/athlete’s personality off the court

Another form of relationship is with the athletes you cover. ESPN play-by-play announcer and anchor Anish Shroff has three main points she believes are important in relationship building. (Clapp, 2015, n.p.)

· Introduce yourself to those you will be covering. Don’t just send emails, call, and if you can, go in person. It takes time but it’s worth the effort.

· In that initial meeting leave the notepads, cameras and tape recorders behind. Just a simple “get to know you” meeting to start.

· Discover some common ground to connect on, don’t force it, but try to connect on some level.

A relationship with the athlete or athletic director is one that you want to be natural. You never want to become a “yes man” and do anything to be on there good side. Be yourself and rely on that to be your relationship builder.

Once you have established a formidable relationship with an athlete, coach, general manager, or team you want to reveal their personality that goes beyond the sport. Gone are the days of “shut up and dribble” despite some still feeling this way. Athletes have more of a personality to be displayed now. Viewers want to see these aspects to feel a stronger relationship with them. You can be the person who bridges these two parties together and promotes it on social media. With this said, in this weeks Gisondi readings it states “… athletes have a direct line to their fans and followers. They don’t need the media as a filter as much as was the case before the explosion of social media.” How do you feel sports journalists can use social media to stay relevant, rather than being pushed aside?

Future of relationships in social media

All signs point toward relationships being crucial in many aspects of sports, business/marketing and journalism. This makes me wonder, will sports journalists of the future focus on building these relationships on one main platform, or trying to balance relationship building on multiple platforms? We see much more niche journalism now; does this mean we will see more niche social media use?

Work cited:

Clapp, B. (2015, May 7). Five Tips for Developing Reliable Sources. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://www.workinsports.com/blog/five-tips-for-developing-reliable-sources/