Why Sport4Development Must Do More to Attract the Attention of the Media

Posted: Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:44

By Nick Raistrick

I recently took part in a panel discussion on the Winning over the Media at the Peace and Sport International Forum 2011 where I met people who believed that sport is a force for the good and that sports journalists have a duty to bring peace and promote good causes. And whilst I understand why people might think these things, I don't believe either to be true.

Before I talk about the role of media in terms of sport for development let me declare my interests: I worked for the BBC for nine years, I believe in a free, impartial media and I'm the media development director at the East Africa Cup, a sporting, educational and cultural event which happens each year in Moshi, Tanzania.

You get used to working out the motivation for people saying what they do when you interview them: why is this politician speaking to me? What's he hiding, what's she trying to leak? Why is this player choosing to give me a quote now? It's very useful when thinking about sport development and the media and the way they interact.

Back to sportspeople. As a group they are not inherently good. Some take money from betting syndicates, some take drugs, some have affairs with their team-mate's partners. Some simply under-perform, often just at the moment when they appear in your high profile advertising campaign.

They aren't all bad either, and many do amazing things with charities and foundations they have set up themselves, or by giving their time to work at existing events: for example Danish former middle distance runner Wilson Kipketer came to the East Africa Cup and motivated young people by talking about discipline the hard work needed to make it as a top athlete, lessons which will be useful for these young people throughout their lives.

(The East Africa Cup isn't about finding the best players in the region, by the way, it's about education, cultural exchange and friendship between countries which have experienced conflict: before a ball is kicked there are classes in topics like first aid and conflict resolution).

I think it's a great event and I'm very proud to be associated with it, but I know that it's the people who put it together who create the EAC's atmosphere, rather than football turning people into good citizens – and in the UK I've also been to football matches and seen mass brawls and racist chanting.

Secondly one of the problems in East Africa is the relative weak position of the press. Where journalists are poorly paid, it's easy for them to take money to publish a particular story. It's not just politicians either: some NGOs will routinely pay for favourable coverage of their projects and press conferences are regularly reported as if they are newsworthy and of interest, rather than the chance to collect the famous 'brown envelope' of money.

This means the media aren't an independent fourth estate, holding their leaders to account: the information that citizens receive is therefore of poor quality, and important local politicians get away with doing what they want safe in the knowledge they won't be reported on: a 'big man' culture prevails.

At the East Africa Cup it's very different. We train journalists rather than paying them to say good things about the event. We also have sessions for young local community leaders who need media skills to promote the work of their organisations: this is because teams participating in the EAC need to have a demonstrable year-round commitment to their community, it's not just about a week in Moshi.

We teach them about news values, making sure that when they send a press release out, for example, there is a relevant news peg: media organisations are encouraged to actively 'sell' (that is, 'pitch') their stories based on a knowledge of news values and knowledge of what an audience wants rather than dictating stories to the journalists.

Journalists often cover sport for development initiatives badly, and usually it's because they forget the basics. They repeat words and phrases borrowed from the NGO sector, and stop asking challenging questions: often they take the human angle out of the story. As a result the coverage of an event can be worthy but bland, which of course sends the audience to sleep.

I believe that people involved in sport for development initiatives should spend time thinking about how they communicate to the world rather than blaming journalists for not covering their event or organisation: make your story interesting, jargon free and relevant to a particular audience. Find a news peg on which to hang your story, but don't have your press release clash with a major tournament. By all means use Twitter and Facebook to promote your story, but remember to use the telephone too.

Don't assume you have the right to favourable coverage because you are doing good work, and think carefully about the work you want to promote, and whether it's actually a sports story at all: for example the East Africa Cup is about education for girls, who make up approximately half of all participants. It's about conflict resolution, youth leadership, education and cultural exchange. Maybe it's a story that's just too big for the sports pages?

Nick Raistrick is a freelance journalist and trainer and works part time as media development director of the East Africa Cup.

East Africa Cup blog http://eastafricacup2009.blogspot.com/ - Road To Moshi, documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXqgGZhtvlQ

If you are interested in getting involved, please email eastafricacup@me.com

Tags: Development, Sport, Sport for development

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