to think that sport should not be included in news reports?

[MardyBra]

I've thought this for a long time, but this post was prompted by seeing this football v archeology thing on Facebook, although for me it applies to all sport, rather than football:

www.tickld.com/x/how-football-sounds-to-people-that-just-dont-care-T

Why should sport get so much coverage on the media? Every TV news report has a good chunk of sport at the end. Not only do they have it on radio news, but people like Chris Evans on Radio 2 in the morning have a boring bloke special reporter who drones on about sports. I don't mind it at all in newspapers as I just stop reading when I get to that bit, but if you're watching telly or listening to the radio, you have to put up with it.

I know that there are a lot of people who like sport, but there are also a lot of people who don't give a shit. Maybe we could even things out a bit, replacing the sports news with "leisure" news, to include music, books, films, telly and a bit of sport too (if they must) - all on a more equal footing.

Also, with the increase of the internet, and other communication methods, it's much easier for fans to get results on-line, so they shouldn't have to rely on news reports.

Part of me wonders if this is a feminist issue also. After all, early news formats were largely devised by men, and men tend to be more interested in sports news than women. (I know this is a generalisation and there are plenty of women sports fans; I'm just saying it is skewed towards men). Are we perpetuating some male dominated status quo by mildly accepting this format.

Anyone else NOT looking forward to the world cup?

In answering this OP, I'd be interested to know if you are a sports fan or not. Ta!

How's the cricket going btw Bowlers?

YANBU. Sport has no place in the news and sometimes the sheer triviality of it jars horribly with news stories. I turn over at the slightest mention of sport. It is (boring and pointless IMO) entertainment, not news.
Whole family, male & female, are the same.

Yanbu.

""Also, with the increase of the internet, and other communication methods, it's much easier for fans to get results on-line, so they shouldn't have to rely on news reports. ""

Just to answer that point.

I don't have any interest in sport, except for seeing it as a lively night out in a old style pub.

But I worked in Care homes and supported living and seeing the effect of taking Matches off terrestrial TV on the residents, I thought it was disgraceful that people who had supported their teams, before it became a big money game, were then not able to watch them play.

I think that's something Care Homes etc should provide, Sky Sports etc.

The snippets on the news are the only way that some people can still take an interest, that and the papers (but not all) and MOTD, which done can't because it's on to late and their forced into "telly off".

Does nobody watch Channel 4 news then?

Oh and the poster who commented on the BBC Sports presenter YANBU! She's beyond annoying.

I thought we were discussing sports in the news, not soap stars.

Couldn't be going better at the moment, Mardy!

CorusKate-People acting in soaps are actors. Acting is their real life profession. But I don't understand your point.

Sport doesn't just mean professional sports men/women. It is the real life of a huge amount of people. Those professional sports people, their coaches, anyone working at the sporting grounds including catering staff, cleaners etc, anyone working in a golf club or a tennis club or an athletics club or a swimming club, anyone supporting a team, all sports teachers, sports journalists, people working in sports shops. The list goes on and on.

Sport is all about real life. I am not understanding why people are saying it isn't.

The clue is in the fact it is a GAME.
Yes the media has decided it to be more 'newsworthy' than rugby or tennis (both of which has it's season) and therefore we are inundated by it. I can't help thinking it is all part of bread and circuses for the masses.
Didn't they find out most of it was a fix job recently anyway? A bit like WWF (the wrestling/dance formation thingy, not the animals ). That part of the news concerning it seems to have been quickly forgotten...and people don't seem to care!

Looks like I subconsciously pinched that from Orwell

Cycling is in the news a fair bit. And fishing? Well that would be watching someone sitting on a riverbank so I could see that may not be newsworthy.

But as neither of us has a clue what the other one is saying probably best to discontinue.

"And fishing? Well that would be watching someone sitting on a riverbank so I could see that may not be newsworthy. "

But a few blokes kicking a ball into a net is newsworthy?

Just found this relating to the part of your post about whether it is a feminist issue. It's about American football but it translates well. I do think nowadays more girls are playing it at school and so can 'bond' alongside, but my memories of my generation of girls tying to talk about footy in pubs usually ended with scoffing rebuttal that they wouldn't know anything about it as they were a girl - usually swiftly followed by a question about the offside rule or whatever the 'tricky' one is. www.theocentric.com/culture/issues/why_do_men_love_football.html

Now Corus that's just silly. I dont think any news programme woukd have a whole 10 minute slot just for one sport/hobby every night.

But I'm all for fishing getting coverage on the news if something newsworthy happens. Good for them. Just because I find it boring doesn't mean than I want it banned for everyone else.

It all seems to boil down to the definition of "newsworthy". As far as I'm concerned, sport is a hobby rather than a piece of news - whether it's footie, fishing or tiddlywinks - and unless something spectacular happens, it shouldn't be part of a news bulletin.

Thanks for the link btw Lion. Will have a look.

If a BBC journalist dies then that gets covered in the news as do the Royals who warrant 'Royal Correspondents'. Is that news? Sport is a huge industry/business but it's the emphasis on football that irritates me. Tonight the BBC reported that a footballer had told another footballer that he would be fit for the World Cup. So not a journalist just another footballer!!

YABVU.

I do think mainstream TV news is generally pretty light weight and often doesn't cover important or frankly (often) non UK news. So if there's a news story I'm interested in I'll follow it in the press or online rather than the local or national TV news.

However, I do want to hear about big sports stories, how whatever event is on at the time is going, etc etc. I listen to R5 a lot in the evenings for the sport programmes

I am a big sports fan, mainly football but plenty of other sports too.