Football Journalism: The Challenges Facing Journalists
The life of a football journalist is one that is idolised by most football fans. Having access to a team’s social media and producing content for a large following. The opportunity to get to know the managers and players on a personal level. Sounds good right? All these positives often overlook the struggles that journalists face in the industry, struggles that journalists may come up against in the industry.
‘The Experts’
£600 is the price an English football fan would have to pay to watch the whole football experience, with subscriptions of Sky, BT and Amazon prime. Although fans are digging deep into their pockets to enjoy good football, you would think that included in that cost would be access to expert analysis of the games. Yet football punditry in England is packed with ex-professionals all giving their opinion from years in the game.
Yes, an argument can be made that ex-professionals’ opinions are valued more than standard sports journalists, as they have lived and breathed the game for a large part of their career. It can be said that ex-professionals are better positioned to know how a player would be feeling in a scenario, relating play to their own previous experiences, whereas journalists looking in from the outside can only give their best guess.
However, some ex-professionals take this knowledge and display it in an entitled way, often doing the bare minimum as they already think they know it all. This mindset can lead to instances where pundits are trending on Twitter for a humiliating remark, or players’ reputations slowly being diminished.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afj-L-1dX3U&feature=emb_logo
Former Liverpool player and now Sky Pundit Graeme Souness made some unjust comments about new Everton signing Moise Kean, suggesting his:
“Off-the-field activities are not the best…They’ve not got £100million plus for him, I think there will be other issues there. I don’t know.”
These comments were made even before Kean had kicked a ball in the premier league, leading to people voicing their anger on social media. Guardian writer Sachin Nakrini looked into Souness’s claims and found no evidence of disciplinary issues with sources close to his former club Juventus, confirming the move away was strategic.
The wrongfully presumptuous remarks and negative framing of Kean were aired to millions of viewers on Super Sunday. Coming from a ‘prominent figure on a prominent platform’, it could have easily damaged the youngster’s reputation early in his career. He now plays football elsewhere in France, where he is performing to a much higher standard than his time in England.
To completely remove ex-professionals from sports commentary would be incorrect since viewers are familiar with studios of retired players and they can offer unique viewpoints. Instead, a balance of journalists and former pros should be the way forward. CBS got their Champions League coverage just right, with Rafael Hongisten and Julien Laurens, the football experts, accompanied by Jamie Carragher and Roberto Martinez, the ex-professionals.
“It was less to do with me and more to do with the whole CBS approach, which I think had that sense of authenticity, knowledge and fun at the same time in a nice, balanced combination…”
“The reason for me being there was less to do with analysing the games as such, but more adding ‘narrative’ — what does it mean for Bayern? Why has it been such an interesting season with the managerial change, what is the dressing room like…”
“I hope I was able to add a bit of insight, a bit of colour that otherwise wouldn’t have been there and that I made it a more complete package.”
Football journalists ultimately enhance the experience, as they can add to intelligent debate which informs the viewer. They are presented with the tactical and analytical side of the game to complement their viewing. Compared to ex-professionals, who didn’t make a career from describing the game they played.
“In my view, the viewing experience and enjoyment can be enhanced so much if you are given extra storylines, extra depth, extra observations…”
“It just gives you the sense that you understand football, and enjoy it more as a result. I think that is really what it’s all about.”
Mental Health
The following and reporting of games up and down the country make up the typical life of a football journalist, and whilst this may seem like the dream for some, this constant coverage can have a significant effect on their mental health. Below are the main challenges to journalists health:
-As the jobs of these reporters are mainly carried out over social media, it is hard to completely switch off, with work and personal life easily mixed.
- Another challenge is competitiveness. With 92 professional clubs in the EFL, each with their own social media team it is a naturally competitive industry. Each club is looking for new and innovative content to engage its fanbase and beyond, often leading to a loss in quality.
-Long car journeys and empty hotel rooms are the norms for journalists, with football and match reporting keeping them busy for only a few hours each matchday. Spending this amount of time away from friends and family can be lonely and make them feel isolated.
-During the Covid-19 pandemic, supporters have mostly been unable to attend games. Fans now need to be connected to their club more than ever, wanting to be kept up with every bit of information after the final whistle. This added pressure means journalists are having to go above and beyond a match report to meet the needs of their fans.
Objectivity
When reporting on a football game, it is best if the audience can make up their own story and opinions from the content they are presented with, thus neutrality is important when possible. The football journalists’ job is to state the whos, whats, whens, wheres, whys and hows of a game and avoids bias to their piece.
Most sports journalists start as fans, meaning that they have a favourite player or favourite team. For me, my team is Exeter City who I’ve been supporting now for ten years. During the summer, I was lucky to start a volunteering role with the club, reporting on the matches for their Facebook page and writing up the match report. It has been a real privilege working for Exeter City, swapping out the stand for a seat in the press box. However, I too quickly stumbled across the challenge of objectivity.
The unwritten rule of the press box is that no clapping is allowed as you are there to report in an objective and detached manner. Usually, at a game, I am quite vocal, singing along with chants of our favourite players or letting the referee know what I thought of his ludacris decision. In my role, I had to learn to mute the avid footballer in me. It was certainly difficult not to express my dismay when striker Ryan Bowman missed a one-on-one, or jump for joy when captain Jake Taylor fired a rocket into the back of the net. When the other team scored, I had to update the football page accordingly, without my audience knowing I was unimpressed with the goal.
Though as time has gone on, my reports have become less emotive, I still face the urge to defend Exeter’s players. I have, nonetheless, managed to strike a balance between reporting impartially and letting my personality come across to the readers.
With football coverage constantly evolving and changing in a fast-paced environment, fans are eagerly anticipating the next innovate technique to get them hooked. Whilst ex-professionals may draw in viewers and clicks from fans reminiscing of their old favourite players, the industry is crying out for more informed and knowledgable pundits to educate fans, helping them analyse the game at a deeper level. The challenge of objectivity is slowly fading away, with more journalists being encouraged to show off their allegiances — hereby, sparking a new topic for debate. One thing that is for certain is that as the game develops, the ask and pressure for journalists around the country to deliver will only increase and ought to be suitable provisions for this so that content can still be delivered at a high level.
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