To start BCM241, we must write a blog introducing a media niche which we are interested or experienced in. A media niche focuses on a specific text, platform or practice within the broad media landscape.
My career aspiration is to write and be a journalist. Therefore, it’s only fair that I look at sports media as my media outlet. I want to talk about the EPL (English premier league) in particular as it’s something I am into. My niche will be sports related news and or journalism and how it’s received, especially in the UK where football is like a religion.
I have enjoyed watching and participating in sports my whole life and in a sense, it has become my life. Even at a young age I would always like to collate and record data from games whether it was player statistics or game reviews. As I’ve grown up, I still found myself indulged into everyday sport, yet it’s now something I would like to make a career out of.
I have started to curate content in the form of journalism. I have written for a collective group, RANSACK media, and focused solely on sports journalism. Writing about the EPL is something which I would like to start doing and undergoing an ethnographical investigation into the EPL will only better the content which I will plan to produce.
It’s clear to see how important ecology is within sports and leisure. Whether you’re playing a game and your team loses or you’re watching a game and your team wins, it will influence your emotions and opinions. Sport can also affect relationships within your peer group. It can allow opinion whether it’s over verbal communication or over social media.
Sports journalism or any type of journalism will always come with feedback in the form of positive and negative communication. Ethnography is key in the profession which is journalism. Journalists must infatuate or immerse themselves within the culture and community of the topic chosen to write about.
In terms of reporting and writing about the EPL, there are many outlets which coincide with EPL content. There is ‘The Athletic’, ‘Premier League news’ and podcasts on YouTube such as ‘Football Daily”. The podcast by ‘Football Daily’ delves into the latest news and topics based on the EPL. To take an ethnographic look when studying this podcast we would have to focus on the communication between the speakers and the receiver or consumer. Furthermore it would be important to note the feedback it gets from the consumers.
As I said above, in the UK football is basically a religion. When your team loses it’s personal. When your team wins you must celebrate. In comparison to Australian football, in the UK teams and the cities are more collective. Football is the number one sport in the UK, so when a team plays the whole city will have their eyes on the game. For this obvious reason, the EPL league is popular around the world but would there be any significant cultural aspects which draw consumers into watching the league? I believe so and undergoing an ethnographic investigation would uncover this idea as well as other concepts to do with fan experience and actions.
Studying a sport will not be everyone’s taste, however looking at the EPL and the ability to bring people together, no matter what culture or beliefs, is something which will interest many.
By collecting, analysing and interpreting data, incorporating an ethnographical insight into EPL-based content will only better my understanding of the competition as a whole. This investigation will also better my journalistic skills by providing an in-depth look at my target market and content produced.
James M
James Muggeridge 