Sports are an essential part of our lives. Even in today’s busy world, people still find out time to check out the sports section in newspapers and magazines. Daily sports shows also have high viewership. In more recent times, the requisite news has reached us on our cellphones. This helps us keep track of our favourite sports teams, stay up to date in the sports of our choice, and get real-time updates on events in the sporting world. This has greatly helped businesses as well. As a sponsor, a company can almost always be in the limelight thanks to sports media.
On the other hand, there may be too much information available which might even become unwanted. Getting blasted with unnecessary information at odd hours could potentially lead to uncomfortable situations. On the other hand, the presence of incompetent personnel can leave a bad taste in the mouth of viewers. Presenters at times make loose remarks which are demeaning and disrespectful. In a recent incident, former Wimbledon women’s champion Marion Bartoli was at the receiving end of such remarks from the side of a popular radio host. Besides, with the evolution of social media, viewers now have the power to motivate or insult athletes online. This may or may not have a psychological effect on the athletes eventually affecting their performances. On the business level, companies have to constantly keep increasing their bids to stay in the sports media limelight.
Somewhere down the line, there needs to be a check put in place. A compromise on the part of these media companies could put things in place. Charles Fountain, an associate professor of Journalism at the Northeastern University, has suggested that some form of moderation needs to be put in place to prevent all possible forms of discrimination. We as viewers could also do our part with cutting down personal insults that could negatively affect an athlete’s mind.
Harman Singh