Twitter's Impact on Sports Journalism: Replacing Reporters?

Introduction

The efficiencies of social media have all but replaced the need for beat reporting as digital mediums continue to change the way information is disseminated and received. Pocket-sized computers and handheld smartphones have made it easy to bypass conventional media outlets to break news, and professional athletes, teams, and sports organizations have all followed suit, posting their own messages on Twitter to mixed reviews. But are countless hours spent online contributing to the demise of traditional reporting? Is the lack of connectedness leading to journalistic failure when the need is less about accountability and more about being the first to break a story? Has the modern sports journalist simply been replaced by 140 characters? These are all valid questions when considering the impact that Twitter has had on sports journalism.

Fans of old-fashioned journalism are certain to suggest that Twitter cannot replace the comprehensive coverage that a journalist can provide. Moreover, people tweeting on Twitter generally lack the objectivity that sports journalists would have about an issue, introducing an untold amount of bias into reporting.

On the other hand, Twitter's appeal is not that it is a neutral source of information. On the contrary, fans of Twitter not only know that the information they are getting is biased, but actually seem to enjoy getting individual perspectives about sports-related issues. Followers may choose to piece together their own interpretations of various tweets to arrive at an individual perspective about a story, rather than rely upon any single source. Moreover, while the 140-character format necessarily limits the amount of information that can be conveyed in a single tweet, individuals may use multiple tweets to convey information, and followers can choose multiple sources for the story. To assume that information would be less comprehensive than that provided by a traditional sports journalist is to assume that the follower uses a single tweet to gain information about an event, which is simply not a realistic assumption. Given the realities of Twitter, it is possible — if not probable — that Twitter, along with other similar forms of social media, could entirely replace traditional sports journalism.

The Beginnings of Twitter

For a social phenomenon that has helped change the face of modern media, Twitter is really very young. In early 2006, a podcasting company called Odeo, Inc., located in South Park, San Francisco, was facing tremendous competition from industry heavyweights and decided to reinvent itself (Sagolla). One of the people in the company came up with the idea of using SMS to send messages to small groups (Sagolla). The initial idea was that the service could be used to inform people about local events (Sagolla). The group went through several different demos. "Obvious Corp was born as an incubator with Twttr as its sole project" (Sagolla). The group acquired Twitter.com and rebranded, incorporating the 140-character limit so that messages would not be split into multiple texts (Sagolla). The new company used the Austin music festival South by Southwest as a launching point for the service. Twitter won in the blog category and rapidly expanded into social media (Sagolla). Soon, it was a real presence in all areas of popular culture, including sports.

Anyone who questions the value of Twitter need only understand the role it has played in the world. "In five years, Twitter has become an increasingly valuable tool for communication, powerful enough to help spur uprisings in the Middle East that have toppled governments" (Holmes). Clearly, as a form of social media, Twitter is extremely influential.

Furthermore, "sports journalism, in particular, seems to be a realm where Twitter has assumed much influence as a journalistic tool, perhaps for such reasons as a highly routinized news cycle and dedicated fan following" (Sears 1). Sports journalism had long been highly formulaic. "A reporter attends a post-practice media scrum and either writes or broadcasts the news he has gathered to the thousands of waiting fans" (Goodman). However, with athletes being able to engage in real-time conversations with one another and with fans, sports journalism changed. No longer were questions limited to those asked by reporters. Instead, fans could interact directly with athletes.

Twitter's Use by Athletes and Teams

Perhaps the best-known use of Twitter is by athletes discussing their game or discussing their rivals. For example, Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis engaged in a very well-publicized war of words prior to their game. "Whereas ESPN or [a] local newspaper might have simply reported on what both players were saying to each other in the week leading up to the Sunday, Jan. 3 NFL game, it was actually the website Twitter that was the source for each and every verbal blow" (Goodman). Fans did not have to go to a third-party news source to learn about the "war" between the two players. By directly following either player, they were privy to first-hand exchanges. The outcome for sports journalism is telling: "Newspapers that depend heavily on sports coverage had better take note — a heated Twitter exchange between two opposing players is a lot more entertaining than reading dry copy about how Player A said such and such after practice and then having to wait until the next day to read the opposing city's paper to see if Player B responds" (Goodman).

One of the interesting things about Twitter is that it has been used to reveal dissension between owners, management, and teams in a way that more measured approaches to reporting have not. The 140-character format is quick and easy, which means that, in some cases, the editing and filtering one would expect in a traditional sports reporting scenario are absent. One example of this phenomenon involves tweets that erupted during the NBA lockout. When NBA owners declared a lockout in the labor impasse with the Players Association, Commissioner David Stern declared a total gag order on all involved on his side (Bradley). However, when a Twitter user sent a message to Miami Heat owner Micky Arison expressing anger about the lockout, Arison seemed unable not to respond. He replied, "Honestly, u r barking at the wrong owner" (Bradley). These initial tweets led to an extended conversation between Arison and fans. Some supported Arison; others still sought to hold him accountable for the lockout. More significantly, the tweets revealed Arison's position in the dispute, which "intimated a rift between the ownership group that no one knew existed before. To that point, Stern and his top aide, Adam Silver, had delivered every utterance to the media on the owner's behalf…With a few tweets, Arison had created a new angle on the lockout story" (Bradley). Arison was ultimately fined for violating the gag order, but the tweets had already changed the nature of the reporting on the lockout.

Of course, the most titillating use of Twitter by athletes may be controversial tweets. Rashard Mendenhall and Reggie Bush are two athletes who have found themselves embroiled in controversy because of their tweets (Holmes). Todd Reynolds, a sports agent who commented about same-sex marriage, also started a Twitter controversy (Holmes). What those types of incidents have demonstrated is that "when it's used recklessly, Twitter, which instantly transmits unfiltered 'tweets,' can cripple one's reputation" (Holmes). In order to discourage reckless tweeting, teams have fined and suspended offending players, worried that a few careless tweets could destroy a brand whose reputation has taken significant time, effort, and money to build.

Player comments about personal issues seem to stir up as much controversy as comments about sport or other players. When Chris Henry died of a fall from the back of a truck during an alleged domestic dispute, Jay Feely tweeted, "Chris Henry seemed to have turned his life around. But you can't live on the brink of destruction without inevitably falling off the ledge" (Skolnick). Many people in the blogosphere reacted very negatively, characterizing the post as insensitive. However, Feely had not intended the post to be disrespectful. On the contrary, he had lost a cousin to domestic violence and was genuinely concerned about the issue. Unfortunately, the brevity of the medium made it impossible for him to convey the full meaning of his message (Skolnick).

Conclusion

It is impossible to deny that Twitter has helped change the landscape of sports journalism. Once confined to carefully orchestrated locker-room or press-conference exchanges between a small group of media and athletes, managers, and owners, modern sports reporting has become a real-time conversation between players, fans, and other people in the sporting world. In many ways, this has increased transparency and led to a greater range of information for the sports fan. In other ways, it has led to an overabundance of information. Sports figures use Twitter as a means of spreading personal opinions that may conflict with their perceived roles as sports celebrities. It remains to be seen whether athletes, leagues, managers, coaches, and owners will learn the skills necessary to harness Twitter as a tool in media relations — and use it in concert with sports journalists — or whether the sensationalization of the news will completely overwhelm the sports world.

Works Cited

Bradley, Michael. "Twitter's Influence on Sports Journalism Contradicts Argument Social Media 'Erodes' Modern Language." National Sports Journalism Center. 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Goodman, Eric. "Tweet! Tweet! Sports Journalism has Changed." Courtside Post. 5 Jan. 2010. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Holmes, Baxter. "When Athletes Post on Twitter, Controversy can Follow." Los Angeles Times. 15 May 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Klemko, Robert. "Gilbert Arenas, Athletes Still Causing Twitter Headaches." USA Today. 9 Jun. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Marcusa, Anthony. "Michael Wilbon, the Last Bastion of Sports Journalism, finally Joins Twitter." Social Times. 27 Apr. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Sagolla, Dom. "How Twitter was Born." 140 Characters. N.p., 30 Jan. 2009. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Sears, Kyle. "Twitter's Impact on Sports Journalism Practice: Where a New Medium Meets an Old Art." 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Seth. "Twitter: Killing Sports Journalism 140 Characters at a Time." The Sports Circuit. 6 Jul. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Sheffer, Mary Lou and Brad Schultz. "Paradigm Shift or Passing Fad? Twitter and Sports Journalism." International Journal of Sport Communication 3.4 (2011): 472–484. Print.

Skolnick, Ethan. "Athletes on Twitter: Danger Lurks at Every Turn." NBC Sports. 2 Nov. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.