The Social Media Effect: How New Outlets Are Changing Sports Journalism

By Daniel Taylor

Covering my first high school football game, one of the biggest concerns for me was not only getting my story done but getting my story in on time. Now, it seems like most of the games are being live-tweeted, posting Instagram halftime updates, and filming game recaps on the spot. Even as I moved from football coverage into some high school basketball coverage, I’ve found myself utilizing MaxPreps’ live score tracker as well as tweeting game updates as they happen. The sports journalism world is in an interesting place as the traditional coverage of writing postgame recaps is shifting into modern coverage and content creation.

I remember July 8, 2010, when Lebron did an ESPN special to announce that he would be going to the Miami Heat in the free agency period. Other big news was announced through press conferences and statements, such as in 1995 with the “I’m Back” announcement from Michael Jordan. Fast forward to today, guys like Adam Schefter, Adrian Wojnarowski, and Shams Charania are breaking news over Twitter/X before a team or player can make an official announcement. The most recent example of this is when Shams Charania tweeted at 11pm on February 1st that the Dallas Mavericks were trading away franchise star Luka Doncic, and the team didn’t even announce it until the morning of February 2nd.

This rush to be first has now put pressure on reporters who choose to use social media outlets to not only be first, but also ensure their accuracy. The rise of social media being an outlet for news creates also the rise of fake accounts that intentionally post misinformation with the goal of getting likes and attention. Accounts like NBACentel thrive on creating fake news posts with the goal of trolling and getting likes and clicks, although there are many instances where these posts are reported on as if they were real, since there is a rush to be the first to break big news. This further emphasizes the need for accuracy over being first.

Social media also introduces a new aspect in sports journalism—one where athletes control their own stories. Players and athletes now don’t need interviews and journalists to tell their stories anymore because they have social media and a growing number of podcasts. These outlets are creating a space for athletes to tell the story first and not wait for a journalist or reporter to interview, write a story and then publish for their story to be told. I think rather than just sitting back and allowing these tweets from players be the story themselves, reporters now can use these tweets/podcast clips as well as other social media statements from athletes to be pieces of bigger stories.

With the introduction of social media in journalism there also creates a struggle between traditional media and new media. Legacy news outlets such as ESPN, The Athletic, and newspapers are now going up against independent sports content creators for publishing content. Some independent content creators are now even beginning to get more influence than traditional journalists. This gain however calls into question the credibility of independent creators. Social media creates a platform for anyone to become a sports reporter or even a reporter in general, but there still needs to be a level of credibility that traditional journalists have had that they got over time. As someone who wants to pursue sports journalism, I am sort of embracing the shift to social media, but also still understands the importance of traditional writing. Yes, social media helps in real-time, breaking news, or live coverage, but traditional writing allows a bigger story to be told that can’t be told in 280 characters or less.

The industry of sports journalism isn’t dying as some believe, but it is evolving. For modern-day journalists to succeed, there still of course is the need to be a writer, but now it is crucial for journalists to be writers, video creators, social media strategists, etc. Having an ability to adapt and evolve with the ever-changing landscape of journalism is crucial in today’s landscape and that ability will allow journalists to succeed by reaching broader audiences over a wide variety of channels and platforms. For me, this shift is definitely one I am looking forward to and being able to share stories over traditional outlets as well as new and upcoming ones as well.