14. Conclusions.
Beck, Daniel ; Bosshart, Louis
The rise of the mass media is the most significant development in
modern sports, a development in the context of market forces. The
relationship between sports, media, and the advertising industry is
symbiotic--a mutually dependent relationship. This means that all
elements in that system get a fair share, a share everyone only gets
with the help of others while helping others. One could also say that
the cooperation of the above mentioned partners is crucial for the
survival of the three of them.
Sports generates news as well as entertainment values. That makes
it highly attractive for the media. And the history of the media shows
that they exploited that lucrative source from the very beginning.
Following their own logic, they added highly marketable qualities to the
business of sports reporting. Sporting events underwent dramatization and personalization, and became producers of sensations and stories of
human interest. The medium of radio--following the telegraph--allowed
live transmissions and added speed to sports reporting. Television added
the personal experience of authenticity and offered the possibility of
witnessing sporting events without going to the stadium or arena. In
addition to that, with the help of different techniques (close ups, slow
motion), it created new media realities. At the end television changed
sports into a money-making show business.
The importance of televised sports made it also interesting for
media studies. The long list of books and articles on sports and
television gives evidence for the growing interest of media scholars in
what has become the most important non-important issue in contemporary
societies. The development from sports news in the local columns of
newspapers to the creation of sports-only television channels gives
further evidence of the importance of sports in leisure societies.
Since the category "sports" plays such an important role
for the media, they improved the professional competence of the persons
who cover sports events and their actors. Sports reporters became well
regarded and highly respected journalists in their media concerns. Their
main good is entertainment.
Sports has the capacity of creating strong and long lasting images
for athletes and their countries. Performances of sportsmen and -women
quite often are the filters through which the whole world sees a nation,
a country, a society, or a party. No wonder that politicians show
interest in apolitical events. Good performances, fine success, and
glorious athletes create--with the help of the media--identity and
integration. And this, after all, is something every social unit needs.
Daniel Beck and Louis Bosshart
University of Fribourg--Freiburg (Switzerland)
email: daniel.beck@unifr.ch; louis.bosshart@unifr.ch
