James Muggeridge Uncategorized

EP4 EPL VS A-LEAGUE SOCIAL MEDIA

COMPARISON

Hello and welcome to my final episode on my podcast series on the social media use of the EPL and the A-League. I’m going to be honest as I probably set out to do 5 episodes instead of 4 however with time constraints, I have decided to only do 4 podcasts.  

Just a recap on the series, Episode 1 was an introduction on what to expect, Episode 2 was on the EPL social media use and social and cultural transgressions of the league and Episode 3 was on the A-Leagues social media use, the adoption of premier leagues features and the negative side of being an Australian Footballer.  

This episode will look at how the two compare and where both can adapt features from each other.  

As mentioned in my introduction episode, I have experience with both leagues. Being a supporter since birth of both Liverpool and Sydney. I have also known the significant difference in talent and culture. EPL started hooliganism and ended it while the A-League with the emergence of new team Western Sydney Wanderers have brought it back into the game.  

However, in terms of social media, the A-League has as mentioned adopted features from the EPL. These features are the photography elements, transfer talks and the ability to promote their teams on social media by personalising their accounts.  

The A-League must adopt the ability to be more interactive with their audience. There is an obvious difference in feedback from the comment section. This may be due to the difference in overall followers; however, A-League still must be more interactive. Simple stuff like using more rhetorical questions and inviting audiences to comment on transfer news or any updates. A lack of fan art is quite easily seen which makes the EPL so significantly dominant when talking about audience interactivity.  

The EPL could look at adopting a more cultural approach. The A-League posts Spotify sounds which is Australian-based, and this could be done by the EPL which such a prominent grime scene.  

The EPL is known as an organisation which is promoting their stand for the fight against racism. The A-League of recent has had an issue with the battle with online abuse against players. Both prominent issues worldwide however its safe to say that the EPL are currently dealing with the issue of racism further than of the A-League. The EPL has culturally and socially trasngressed while the A-League is already culturally diverse and haven’t had too many problems with such an issue.  

James Muggeridge BCM 241

RESEARCH AND ETHICS

Throughout this early period in this subject I have learnt the core properties needed to be a research ethnographer. The idea of choosing a media niche was daunting, however, since choosing a topic which I enjoy and having planned out my research, my field site and problematising my niche, I have learnt so much about ethnography. 

To end the blog posts part of this semester I must identify the key readings which helped myself collect background research for my niche. Furthermore, I will also locate ethical considerations involved in my research and talk about how I will choose to manage them. 

BACKGROUND RESEARCH 

To help narrow down my niche or ‘problematise’ it, I focused on the comparison between the EPL and the A-League. This includes media-based aspects such as how the EPL is marketed compared to the A-League and how both are documented through journalistic outputs. 

Firstly, it was interesting to analyse a book written by Henry Jenkins called ‘Fans, bloggers and gamers’, which focused on the convergent nature of fan culture and sports. He emphasises the impact that media has had in converging within the world of sports. New technologies have enabled an average fan to ‘archive, annotate, appropriate and recirculate media’ in their own personalised style (Jenkins, 2006). This concept circles back to why I picked this niche, for my career aspirations to become a journalist. 

Firstly, Australian football (or soccer) is the most participated of the four Australian football codes (Rugby League, AFL, Rugby Union) yet is the fourth ranked in popularity and attendance.  This is based on its media attention, salaries and revenue generation out of the four total codes. The A-League is growing and must continue to grow linking ‘soccer’ with its multicultural community gained through its ethnic origins (Skinner, 2008).  

Switching from a competition which is in its growth stage to a fully grown financial beast in the world of football, the EPL. I insisted to find out why the English league was so big and came across a book which emphasised looking at the EPL as a business. Every club is a brand which have created their own fan culture and market themselves in their own personalised way (Goldblatt, 2015). This fan culture as well as the financial significance of the EPL displays the league as the richest in the world.  

ETHICS 

My duty of care as an ethnographic researcher is to follow, step by step, the ethics procedure which involves my chosen topic. Researching the EPL and collecting data will not inflict any emotional harm which is the 1st step in the ethics procedure. 

However, I must emphasise care as an important step in the procedure as it is my duty of care to be respectful and be upfront and honest about my research. I must inform my participants of the research I plan to conduct which involves the ‘participant information package’ as a guide. Another principal is allowance for participants to be anonymous. But as said in the lecture it will be tough in the digital landscape to fully confirm the anonymity of the participants. Furthermore, I as the research ethnographer must ask participants and negotiate the confidentiality of the data, hoping to grasp as much of the key data possible to be collected. 

James M

James Muggeridge BCM 241

MAPPING OUT MY NICHE

Since a field site refers to a ‘stage on which the social processes under study take place’ (Burrell, 2009), it would only be fair to look at the social processes undertaken both on and offline.  

Online focuses on the social media platforms and publications both distributing and creating content targeting an audience interested in EPL. My media niche, the English Premier League, is one of the top football competitions watched around the world. However, with COVID19 recently taken its toll on a global scale, the fan culture has been diminished with no fans allowed inside stadiums. Fan culture in the UK is what makes EPL so entertaining with the help of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube allowing for commenting through the curation and reframing of EPL games (Lawson, 2020). Publications such as ESPN, FOXSPORTS and BBC, just to name a few, write articles analysing games and reviewing any headlines.   

An offline field site homes in on the raw connection between team and fans. Supporter clubs act as public spheres allowing fans to connect and communicate their opinions. Sponsors and ambassadors including the big names of Nike, EA Sports and Barclays, are what keep the game running. The scale of these sponsors and ambassadors shows the popularity for the competition and the significant monetary value attached to it.  

I would be able to problematise my niche by researching the impact the EPL has on an Australian audience. With fans unable to watch games live, OPTUS SPORT allows coverage of full games, highlights, press conferences and historic games and is the only streaming service available in Australia. This as well as supporter clubs around big cities such as Sydney in Town Hall which allows for live viewing and connection between fans. I believe much like any other country, EPL is received in Australia to a high regard and it would be interesting to investigate the Australian fan culture in the A-League compared to the UK fan culture and what can be done to improve the Australian fan culture.  

In terms of an Australian fan, personally I believe we have a lot of catching up to do with other competitions. The talent is nowhere near the level we should be at and I don’t know whether we will ever get to the level of the EPL. However, with the ability to stream the EPL and support it with other fans, the fan culture is still significantly strong. I stem from a family of English born people and have been over there to watch games and do know the lengths that some fans will go for their local team.  

As said in my 1st blog I would love for my ethnographic research to display to my viewers the impact a sport can have on people’s lives and relationships. In doing this investigation I would love to update my journalistic skills by referring to ethnology and how important the concept is when truly understanding a topic. By mapping out my field site I can now identify the flows of communication and the social processes which occur within the EPL.  

James M