With the ever expanding world of social networking, no
thanks to Facebook and twitter, celebrities have been able to reach out to fans
themselves without the help from news broadcasters. This seems to especially be
the case with athletes.
After big wins or loses athletes such as LeBron James
can pick up their smart phone and tweet about the game. Not only can they tweet
about how many points they put up in their game but they can also delve into
their social life and let fans really know about what they do off the big
stage. In my own personal view on the situation, I think this new ability to
reach out to fans on a more personal level has both negative and positive
values. Beginning with the positive aspects, those of us who are really die-hard fans and in some cases a little too passionate about the players, have access
to more personal information. To normal sports fans just trying to check out
the score of a game you can just pull out your phone and hope that you favorite
player has tweeted about the outcome. This
of course prevents you from having to find a television let alone a television
with the right channel still talking about the event.
However here are some
downfalls to this media shift. With this new access into the lives of people we
so admire and depict as heroes, a sense of immortality that is often born at a
celebrity status is lost. Being able to see what they are up to or even what
they are eating can bring them down from their high horse and into the shoes of
us “muggles”, so to speak. Another problem in my eyes associated with athlete
social media is the fact that it decreases the popularity of sports
broadcasters which could in turn affect ones job. Very much like the decrease
in the popularity of sitting back and watching the news on a television, people
no longer need the person inside the tube telling us the latest news. We are
now just a couple swipes on a touch screen away from finding out all we need to
know about the subject matter. Lastly, in my eyes and what I think everyone
would agree to be a major problem is some of the more personal posts these
heroes unfortunately leave on twitter. How many times have celebrities
accidently posted a tweet or a Facebook status insulting another player or
coach? Then due to audience feedback and negative publicity, that offender must
then apologize due to peer and fan pressure. This wrong doing behavior once
again diminishes that celebrity immortality and brings them down the popularity
totem pole of the fans.
So what are some things that journalism brings to the table
that social media does not, and vice versa? One of the major differences
between a face to face interview and a social media exploit is the amount of
detail. While twitter limits you to a certain amount of characters, a
journalist can actually sit down with the athlete and ask detailed questions
that one would not be able to find on twitter. Many of these questions asked
are fan generated which at the end of the day helps you out more than your
smartphone ever could. This of course doesn’t mean that the interview will not
be accessible through your mobile device afterwards but that is neither here
nor there. So what does twitter bring to the table? Well for one it is random
and generally more about what is on the players mind not what is on the
journalists mind. This idea can breed a more personal understanding for the
fans of a player. So where is the even ground? It is no secret that tweets are
often used as resources by sports broadcasters to highlight important events in
the life of the athletes.
Often times tweets can really bring out the funny or in some
cases inappropriate side of professional athletes, a trait that is rarely found
in a more direct interview. For instance that controversial call made by the
refs in a big NFL game last year between the Seahawks and the packers led to
some angry tweets that would not be found on an interview. One offensive
lineman in particular really went overboard with the social media outrage. Not
only did he insult the professionalism of the replacement refs, but he also
came at the neck of the NFL itself and the integrity of the Seattle Seahawks. Social
media and journalism do indeed have their differences but in the long run I believe
they will work hand in hand which will only benefit the enjoyment of the fans.
