Sports Journalism Reporting in the Era of Digital Media in Nigeria

Abstract

The advancement in technology has created a better way of sports reporting in journalistic engagement, which pave way for brand journalism known as specialised reporting, in which sports is one of the beats. Specialised reporting has become a necessary part of the press because of the need to address the inadequacies presented by straightforward news reports. Society is getting more complex with time so are the people. Mere news stories are no longer adequate to address the yearnings of complex human societies for complex angles to stories. Today, the diversity of media audiences has necessitated a variety of reporting beats which gave birth to what is known as specialised reporting. Within this context, the media have been associated with sports for a long time. The paper articulates that the role of the media has always been vital in boosting any activity of sports. The media have got a focal position, particularly in communication of fresh information, sharing the viewpoint of the masses, and bringing live sports and other activities to the consumer. The fusion of sports and the media, and Television, in particular, has helped propel and transform major events such as the FIFA world cup and the Olympic Games. Based on the opportunities offered by digital technologies, sports reporting has opened an opportunity for many hidden talents to come to the limelight and it has helped in improving infrastructures among other merits. The paper concludes that with the arrival of new actors in the journalistic field, the heavy use of social media and its impact on sports consumption patterns is imperative. The search for new business models for news organisations and the disrupting technology that is being explored and applied as innovation in the sports coverage all require new conceptual approaches to better understand the sports news.