Gone are the days where sports journalists turn
up at a ground on a Saturday afternoon, write their match report and drive off
home for the day.
The role of the modern-day sports
journalist has changed significantly over the last few years, with Twitter playing
a huge part in the transformation of the industry.
As seen in figure one, Twitter allows sports
reporters to tweet regular updates from the live event that they are covering.
Reporters can now provide their followers with minute-by-minute commentary,
describing the match action and atmosphere at the game.
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Figure One: Tweet from Middlesbrough Gazette reporter Jonathon Taylor
on Middlesbrough
v Manchester United game
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Sports journalists can also tweet pictures
and videos from the ground, as shown by figure two. This provides fans with a
sense of the atmosphere and a visual image of the stadium if they aren’t at the
game.
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Figure Two: Tweet from Sunderland Echo reporter Richard Mennear
before Sunderland v Burnley game
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As shown in figure three, a graph from computationaljorno.com,
even fans who are watching the game on TV regularly check social media during
the event - 63 per cent. They will therefore expect to find thoughts and opinions from
professional journalists who they follow and know are at the ground.
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Figure Three: Graph from computationaljorno.com
showing how many fans check social media
while watching sports events
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Once a game has finished, journalists can immediately
post their on-the-whistle match report via Twitter. The Guardian’s Daniel
Taylor believes that Twitter
is the perfect platform for sports reporters on a match-day, saying: “If you write a match report on a game on
Saturday at 3 o’clock for Monday’s paper, it can look horrendously out of date.
It’s already old news by Monday because everyone knows via Twitter or the
internet.”
Twitter has also become one of the main
sources for breaking news - especially in sport. In 2016, a survey from Reuters Institute revealed that 51
per cent of people with access to the internet use social media, mainly
Twitter, as a news source.
These days, if there’s a breaking sports
story, like a transfer or an injury, journalists can tweet it instantly in 140
characters. According to Taylor, sometimes
journalists don’t have time to write a 500-word article when a story breaks –
it’s therefore much easier, and quicker, to tweet the news story instead.
This is particularly true on football’s Transfer Deadline Day, as shown in figure four. In some cases,
players can appear ready to move to one club one minute, then another club the
next. Twitter, therefore, allows sports reporters to keep fans updated with a
short tweet when the news is constantly changing.
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Figure Four: Tweet on Transfer Deadline Day
from Sky Sports News reporter Keith Downie
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Twitter has also altered the way that
sports journalists find stories. Many sports stars are also active on Twitter,
so can provide reporters with stories without a face-to-face interview.
“Manchester
United’s Rio Ferdinand is very active on Twitter and prepared to interact with
journalists,” according
to BBC Sport reporter Phil McNulty. “I’ve
also had instant responses to questions from the likes of England coach Gary
Neville.” This shows that Twitter can offer journalists direct access to
players and managers, who can deliver stories for newspapers and websites.
McNulty admits that Twitter is now an
essential tool for the modern-day sports journalist, saying: “I don’t think there is any turning back
now. Twitter is here as an important tool, reporting live in matches, events and
breaking stories.”
