As more well-known athletes voice their opinions on social issues, journalists find ways to remain objective while telling the athletes side of the story. // Photo Courtesy of Eric Steinhauer.
In America, sports media and culture are often inextricably linked. Last week, Chris Vaccaro, an assistant adjunct professor and director of the MA program in journalism at Hofstra, hosted a webinar about the influence that sports media has on our society and culture.
Three guest speakers joined Vaccaro including Marcus Vanderberg, a senior NBA editor for ESPN, George Vecsey, a non-fiction author and sports columnist working for the New York Times and Wayne Randazzo, a play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets, FOX Sports, Big Ten Network and Sports USA.
The guests were asked questions regarding the crossroads of societal issues and sports. Vanderberg, Vecsey and Randazzo spoke about how to connect the two in ways of objectivity, advocacy and editorialization, from their own perspectives of sports media. They touched on a myriad of topics including society, culture, politics and health. The speakers also shared their experiences of discussing social issues in sports and spoke about flexibility when reporting certain topics.
Sensitive topics were also discussed like the Colin Kaepernick protests, Rick Monday saving the American flag from being burned, Aaron Rodgers lying about being vaccinated for COVID-19 and a media perspective on Jon Gruden.
“The issues and stories that were discussed, such as the Colin Kaepernick protests a few years ago, and then the protest of teams from summer 2020 after the shooting of Jacob Blake, were topics that need to be addressed,” said Lucas Pino, a senior journalism major. Many of the topics were typically ignored or were swept under the rug at the time they occurred, Pino added.
Alec Macus, an MBA student in the Zarb School of Business, considered the webinar a unique opportunity to learn about the different careers and perspectives in the sports society.
“It was important to hear different viewpoints on the same issues because students may be close-minded through the lens of one major,” Macus said. “More events like this would teach students how to best appease all sides of the equation including writers, editors and broadcasters on a controversial topic. I learned that each media professional has their own role to play in sharing a story, but it is equally beneficial to audiences when they come together to discuss it together.”
Jacob April, a graduate journalism student, also found the webinar informative and beneficial.
“The opportunities students get at the LHSC to see and hear professionals speak is very unique,” April said.
Mario Murillo, a professor in the Department of Radio, Television and Film, believes that the societal, cultural, political and health topics discussed are integral roles that sports play in all of us.
“[That] is why the school puts so much weight on it and is excited about the program,” Murillo said. “And that’s precisely because you can write and tell stories about so many components, that in one way shape or form connects to the world of sports.”
Vaccaro was pleased with the outcome of the webinar.
“Those are the types of conversations about media we all need to have,” he said.
