The Influence of Media on Sport

Influences of Mass Media in Sport

When communication is spread not just between two individuals but rather between tens of millions of people it is known as mass media. Mass media is known as the central nervous system of society and it functions as a medium of exchange of information across the globe. "Mass media has many different purposes, such as providing information, entertaining, persuading and also by carrying a vague general function of culture to millions of people."(Frederick 18). In order for mass media to exist, there must be an audience. Today's society is very selective; each receiver reacts differently through his or her own experience and orientation. Therefore, mass media exists in many different forms such as magazines, television, newspapers, internet, motion pictures, and even plays. Some examples of these forms of mass media are cosmopolitan magazine for young modern women and TSN television network for sports fans. With such extreme varieties of mass media existing in today's societies there are three major constraints that seem to have an impressionable impact. These constraints can keep mass media very restricted. The major constraint of mass media is competition. Each form of mass media wants to be the one to target the audience, so therefore competition between mass media is very strong. The audience is the one who decides what information is important and this decides what groups of mass media get the most airtime. If your story isn't important to the audience then your media is taking up space, so therefor you either have to produce what the audience wants or you will not be able to survive in the competitive world of mass media. Money also puts constraints on what an individual gets to know. If a person can't afford to buy a television that that is restricting them on the knowledge that they are able to consume. Also, companies run on budget plans, and if there is know money in the budget, they are unable to provide information to a society. For every story that is produced, or every television commercial aired that could have been may more, to follow. But with limited money in the budget plans, an audience's view also becomes very limited. Time is also another constraint because is doesn't make a difference on the amount of media there is, there will only be twenty four hours in each day and not all a person's time can be devoted to the effects of mass media. "All media within each other create noise, but with all the conflicting views, within lies a pattern, that shows some element of truth." (Frederick 10).

The purpose of this paper is to state how mass media influences sport. The point that is being made in this paper is to show how mass media influences society, and how it influences sports within a society. To show how sport influences society, the game of basketball will be used.

Mass media is a reflection of society. "Mass media are essential agents of social change, and the specific kind of social change they are expected to help accomplish in the transition to new customs and practices, and in some cases, to different social relationships." (D'seuza ). As a result of all these alterations a significannot

change in an individuals attitudes, beliefs, skills and social norms may result. Before the existence of radio, mass media was barely breathing but with all the developments in technology mass media is continually progressing, in many different directions. Different individuals are selective in the way that they let mass media influence their lives. For example, if a person decides to read a book they are getting to determine what aspects of the mass media they consume. "Books are the most individual of mass media." (Frederick 156). But when a person watches television it is not as personal as reading a book, television is built into society. " Television's commercial and entertainment emphasis both reflect and affect the hedonistic and acquisitive nature of contemporary America." (Frederick 264).

Mass media has many positive effects on many people. In countries such as India, mass media had made a tremendous change. People in rural communities are now able to communicate back and forth. Children of this country are now able to obtain and expand on their education, there are continuous improvements in their health care system and even modern agricultural techniques are being developed. Not everybody agrees that mass media has had a positive effect, some believe that it has damaged societies beyond repair. Since mass media has such an overwhelming influence on society, it may end up shaping the way and individual thinks. A good example of this is through advertising. "It is advertising, by and large, that supports the United States' pervasive and extraordinary diverse mass media system. Advertising major focus is the better you display a commodity the more of the commodity you sell. The private sector gives the advertising industry the money to sell their products, and the company that offers the most capital is the one who gets their product aired. This is where one of our major constraints, known as, competition comes into play. Whatever company holds the most capital decides what we as a society get to consume. Advertisers will say that they produce what the consumer demands but on the other hand they are putting many limits on what we get to consume.

With the constant growth of mass media many opportunities for individuals have been arising. To show how mass media has opened many doors for many individuals, this paper will use the influences of mass media in the world of sports. Both the positive and negative effects of the mass media will be outlined.

Basketball was invented as a recreational sport, but now considered a universal sport. The introduction of this sport to the rest of the world started in the late nineteenth century as a form of recreation. Universities began incorporating this new recreational game into their sporting activities and were considered a male oriented sport. Women were not recognized at the time as basketball players even if they had an interest in the sport. Throughout the years basketball was transformed from a recreational sport into competitive sport and the players competed for a prize which in its early existence was a trophy or medal. The media in all forms such as television, radio, Internet and newspapers never took an interest in the sport until the end of world war two. At the time people's interest in the sport was growing rapidly mainly because of the transformation of the sport from a recreational sport to a competitive sport. Universities and

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