Pardon The Interruption: The Use Of Twitter In Sports Journalism

As media technology has evolved over the decade, so has the way that information is gathered and published. In the past, newspapers and other hard copy text were the primary sources to receive new information; during this time reporters had plenty of time to gather information and verify it through multiple sources before a story was published. Today that way of journalism is nearly no existent. Now is the time of one touch send on a iPhone; the rise of the Internet and TV networks has in many cases encouraged journalists toward pushing out news as fast as possible. With the demand for instant news and information increasing daily, reporters are under pressure to break news quickly or risk having their story published first by another media

Sports journalists on ESPN shows, such as “Pardon the Interruption,” make it clear on a daily basis that this is the “Twitter generation.” Alongside such an acknowledgment, it becomes vital to acknowledge how exactly Twitter’s rise affects the practice of journalism, as radio, television, and the Internet have previously done. The primary concern that has arisen, it seems, is how the use of Twitter is influencing journalistic decisions. Since the use of Twitter is a relatively new development in sports journalism in the past decade in particular in journalism as a whole respondent interviews were particularly appropriate. NFL Hall of famer Warren Sapp says “In an era where media access is limited by teams and where athletes can talk directly to fans through social media, data analysis offers sports journalists another way to reveal new perspectives about games, teams and athletes. Analyzing stats can yield far better insights than interviews with unresponsive” and antagonistic athletes. Because despite the person who is being interviewed level of expertise about the world around them, their sense of individuality as they speak only for themselves about their life is unique involvement with a new medium was the primary focus of this project. In other words, where the long established world of sports journalism and the newly popularized practice of tweeting intersect, sports writers were looked upon as respondents. When it comes to college recruiting, schools use social media to identify promising student-athletes and uncover potential red