A-Twitter over Sports Media

Tweet ... tweet. There has been a lot of mention in the sports media lately about Twitter, especially in terms of how popular it has become for athletes. But there is another side to the Twitter story... namely, how it is changing (or not changing) how sports journalists do their jobs. Just as NBA players can Tweet during a game, so can sportswriters. They can also use it to contact sources, confirm information, break sports news and promote their work on other platforms.

As part of a new research project, Dr. Mary Lou Sheffer at Southern Mississippi and I are investigating how sports journalists are using Twitter. We don't have any hard data to pass along yet, but some interesting preliminary findings have emerged--

*Twitter appears to be used much more by newspaper/print sports reporters than broadcast (radio and TV).

*Like many new media technologies, Twitter is more often used by younger journalists rather than older ones.

*Sports reporters are firmly multi-platform journalists. The same reporters who have a Twitter account usually have a blog, and also cross back and forth between multiple sports outlets.

It's too early to tell whether Twitter will catch on and become a permanent tool for the sports reporter, or whether it is more of a fad that will eventually fade out. Please feel free to share your thoughts about Twitter and its impact on professional sports journalism ...

Happy 6th of July

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth. A couple of things to get your 6th of July going ...

Paul MacArthur of Utica College is looking to put together a panel for next year's BEA focusing on Sports Radio. If you have any sports radio papers you want to present at BEA next year, please let him know. Current sports radio issues/research and sports radio history welcome. Just send Paul a quick synopsis of what your proposed paper by July 15, 2009. You can reach him at: pmacart@utica.edu or 315-792-3348.

Also, there is a CFP for the third annual Scholarly Colloquium on Intercollegiate Athletics. The theme is "College Sports in Recessionary Times: Assessing Challenges and Opportunities." If you're interested, e-mail an abstract of no more than 300 words to John Thelin at jthelin@uky.edu. Deadline for the proposal is October 1; the conference takes place next January 12-13 in Atlanta.

CFP: 3rd Summit on Sport Communication

I wanted to pass along the call for the 4th Summit on Sport Communication, which will take place March 18-20, 2010 in Cleveland. I hope you had a chance to go to one of the first summits, which were terrific opportunities to share sports research and meet new colleagues. Please be aware the deadline is a little earlier this time around (October 1). You can find more information on the Summit here.

Call for Papers
Fourth Summit on Communication & Sport
Thursday, March 18 ­ Saturday, March 20, 2010
Embassy Suites, Downtown - Cleveland, Ohio
Co-hosted by Kent State University and Youngstown State University

In keeping with the tradition started at the third Summit, some of the best research submitted and presented at the Summit will be published in a special issue of Journal of Communication Studies. Papers will undergo blind peer review, with approximately4-5 articles selected for publication.

All scholars currently exploring communication and sport are encouraged to submit the following:

• Abstracts (200-500 words) to be considered for presentation at the Summit.

• Full-length manuscripts (7,000-10,000 words, APA style) to be considered for both the Summit and the special issue of Journal of Communication Studies.

• Full-length manuscripts (7,000-10,000 words, APA format) to be considered for only Summit presentation.

Up to two submissions from the same author will be considered for review.

Submissions should be emailed in Word format to Amy Crawford at agcrawford@ysu.edu no later than October 1, 2009 (any submission with an email date stamp after October 1 will not be considered). Please indicate if you would like your piece to be considered for publication in the special issue of Journal of Communication Studies.

Presenters will be notified of presentation acceptance via email by December 1, 2009. Space will also be allotted for non-presenting attendees. Any inquiries regarding the event can be directed to Adam Earnheardt (acearnheardt@ysu.edu) or Barbara Hugenberg (bhugenbe@kent.edu). However all inquiries concerning paper submissions should be directed to Amy Crawford at agcrawford@ysu.edu.

If you're headed to Vancouver ...

... for the 2010 Winter Olympics next February, you might consider staying over for the International Conference on Sport and Society. The ICSS will take place March 8-10 and the call for papers has already come out.

International According to the call, "The International Conference on Sport and Society and its companion Journal of Sport and Society provide a forum for wide-ranging and interdisciplinary examination of sport, including: the history, sociology and psychology of sport; sports medicine and health; physical and health education; and sports administration and management. The discussions at the conference and in the journal range from broad conceptualisations of the fundamental logics of sport, to highly specific readings of sporting practices in particular times and places. The conference and journal focus on four logics of sport: Game Logic; Body Logic; Aesthetic Logic; and Organizational Logic.

The deadline for the next round in the call for papers (a title and short abstract) is 9 July 2009. Future deadlines will be announced on the Conference website after this date. Proposals are reviewed within three weeks of submission. Full details of the Conference, including an online proposal submission form, can be found at the conference website.

For more information you can also contact--

Keith Gilbert
University of East London, London, UK
For the Advisory Board, International Conference on Sport and Society and The International Journal of Sport and Society
Keith.Gilbert@sportconference.com

The NBA gets its Phil of Jackson

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers, who are celebrating an NBA title after their win over Orlando Sunday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. ESPN/ABC are not in much of a celebratory mood, as they were hoping for a longer series with more compelling games.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has now won more NBA titles as a coach (10) than anyone else. He previously shared the record with the Celtics legendary Red Auerbach. But Jackson may also be close to setting another record--most fines acculumated for criticizing league officials. Jackson got tagged for $25K during the Western Conference Finals series with Denver; he got hit for another 25 grand for his comments during the NBA Finals.

Interestingly, the latter fine came during the course of Game 4 (the only game the Lakers lost in the series). Between the first and second quarters Jackson referred to some of the 'bogus' calls
against L.A.

Isn't this a little hypocritical on the part of the NBA? After all, Jackson never asked to wear a microphone during the game or submit to in-game interviews; those are both ideas the league pushed in order to make the game more TV fan-friendly. Jackson was simply being himself--someone who gets occasionally gets worked up on the sideline in the midst of intense competition. If the NBA doesn't want honesty then don't mic up the coaches and don't ask them questions during the game. (You might also want to watch what you ask Phil after the game).

BEA site

The following comes from the Sports Division of BEA, which now has its web site up and running. If you have any ideas for content contact division web editor Steve Hill at shill@uwsp.edu
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Like all new division pages, this one is a blog on WordPress.com and can be easily updated, so it will take the place of our electronic newsletter.

The first entry on our blog is a message from new division chair Rick Sykes, and you can also find division updates and news from the convention. Soon, there will be an RSS-feed link added to the page, as well as additional features.

If you have suggestions for content, please let me know.

Steve Hill, division Web editor

CFPs and More

A couple of academic notes to pass along--

The Sports Division within BEA has created a paper competition for the 2010 BEA Conference in Las Vegas. The competition is titled Sports Media: Transformation, Integration and Consumption. The deadline for both faculty and students papers is December 1, 2009. Send three (3) copies of your paper to:

Dr. Andrew C. Billings
Associate Professor
Department of Communication Studies
409 Strode Tower
Clemson University
Clemson, SC 29634-0533
Email: acbilng@clemson.edu

You can also contact Andy for more information regarding submission specifics.

2010 is also the third year for the now annual Sports Scholarship Summit. Cleveland State will be hosting this next go-round. We'll pass along paper deadlines when they become available.