15540 - Sports Journalism

Learning outcomes

The course develops theoretical-empirical skills in the field of the production of journalistic news, with particular reference to that relating to sport and motor activities. includes media theories, in order to better decode and recode the social representation of sport conveyed by old and new media.

Course contents

The Sports Journalism course aims to provide an understanding of the mechanisms that preside over journalistic work: its function, evolution, areas of reference in the current context in which information plays a fundamentally important role in economic, social and cultural processes, contaminating many other areas of communication and entertainment, among which sport is the main one.

The course consists of 2 parts: the institutional part and the monographic part.

In the first part, the course intends to illustrate the main processes of newsmaking (construction and distribution of news) and the related communication theories, useful for understanding the processes that take place in the field of journalistic communication, in particular sports communication. The social functions performed by journalism and the changes taking place in social relations - in sport and in communications - conveyed by the mainstream media, up to the digitisation processes of sports communication, will be highlighted.

In this way the student will be able to understand and identify the changes in the sphere of sports communication (in particular the mass-media strategies and dynamics of TV, radio, newspapers and social media) and to identify the most relevant aspects of the journalist's profession, such as: the criteria of 'newsworthiness'; credibility and manipulation in journalistic communication; the information market. In addition, special emphasis will be given to the socio-cultural processes that regulate the work of sports journalists and the new players in the 'mediatisation' of sport (publishers, sports clubs and institutions, athletes, sponsoring companies and communication agencies).

In the second part, the monograph, the relationship between the media and mega sporting events will be explored, with particular attention to the Olympic Games as an example of the mediatisation of contemporary sport at a global level. Within this framework, some fundamental aspects will be analysed, such as: the Olympic ceremonies, broadcasting services, dissemination through social media, paying attention to the IOC's international publishing mechanisms concerning the production, dissemination and communication of sports events.

On this basis, there will be exercises (individual and group) aimed at acquiring the main skills underlying the work of sports journalism.

Readings/Bibliography

For the purposes of the exam, students should bring the following text:

Sorrentino C., Bianda E., 'Studying Journalism. Ambiti, logiche, attori'. Carocci, Rome, 2013: chapters 1 - 7 (p. 11-174 ) and ch. 11 (201-211)
+ 2 articles that will be indicated in class (and made available by the lecturer on Virtual)

Teaching methods

Lectures and case studies illustrated with the aid of new communication technologies

Assessment methods

The student will acquire the foreseen 4 Cfu by passing a written test to verify the learning of the contents presented in the lessons and developed from the texts indicated as reference bibliography. The test consists of "closed" questions, i.e. with pre-coded multiple-choice answers (20 questions, divided between the reference texts for the examination).

The questions will focus on the text indicated on the 2 articles distributed during the lecture.

Those who participate in the (optional) exercises that will be proposed in the classroom (to be carried out either individually or in groups) will have an additional mark (from 0-5 each one) that will be added to their final exam grade.

For ERASMUS students there is a special test consisting of 5 open questions on the same programme.

Teaching tools

Slides of presentations used in lectures, videos and research materials shared on virtual. Meetings with international experts and academics.

Office hours

See the website of Giovanna Russo

See the website of Valerio Della Sala