Clickbait, sensationalism and zero respect for privacy – this is the bane of several digital sports platforms ready to generate content which will get them ‘more views’. Sadly, this trend is now visible even on news websites which come under the banners of big newspapers. The latest example one can cite is of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher having attended his daughter Gina’s wedding in Mallorca, Spain, over the weekend. It is well-known that since the time Schumacher, a seven-time world champion, met with a skiing accident in 2013, not a single image of his has been put out in the public domain. His wife Corinna is extremely protective and has ensured that.
There have been periodic reports where even former Team Principals have spoken about how they have not been able to see Schumacher after his accident. Formula One fans are happy to know that he is alive and gets the best medical care, with a nursing home set up at his lavish residence in Mallorca. Speculate about his condition, if he can speak, walk or communicate, is pointless. Now, all of a sudden, the news is about his daughter’s wedding. Even the invited guests were not allowed to take their cell phones inside to click photographs.
Yet, what one reads on news platforms is how Schumacher communicated at his daughter’s wedding. Ninety five per cent of it is fiction, and it still makes headlines. Why? There has to be a demarcation between what is genuine news and what is mere speculation. One headline screamed: “How Michael communicated with his daughter at the wedding!” – as though it was some eye-witness account in flagrant breach of the family’s desire for privacy.
The threat is real, volume over quality in sports writing. Facts go for a toss and ‘writers’ are happy to recycle stuff. @kannandelhi writes.#SportsJournalism #SportsContents @BoriaMajumdar @CricSubhayan @shamik100 @atreyom https://t.co/KCH7sXapg0
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) October 2, 2024
Sadly, there is no one to guide the writers who are also told to publish their own stories. Nobody cares as long as a snappy headline brings traffic to the website. Digital platforms and websites which provide sports news must be different from Bollywood gossip mills, where anything and everything sells. A few days ago, when cricketer Yuvraj Singh posted some bizarre stuff on social media for reasons best known to his PR agents, there was again an attempt to create sensationalism. Why recall past flings with some Bollywood star now?
Most of those who went ahead and published that Yuvraj story don’t come from a journalism background. When bloggers masquerade as journalists and publish news, it sets dangerous precedents. Posting on social media is worlds apart from writing news copies on a platform which is supposed to have credibility.
The problem really stems from the fact that there are very few platforms where serious journalism is taught. If there are ‘writers’ today and not reporters, as the description goes on their profiles, it’s because none has been groomed. Forget structured writing, differentiating fact from fiction is alien for many platforms. There is also this urge to do a story because a ‘rival platform’ has done it. Any number of stories are published with zero or improper attribution. Yes, protecting a source is important but where the reader must know the veracity of content, there is none. There are few checks and balances.
It is acceptable to pick up quotes from media conferences or press releases, but to pick up from another platform and quote it as almost original has become a dangerous trend. The same goes for quotes taken off TV or based on what a player or manager has said – few fact-checks are applied. Only a handful of sports news platforms report stories from location. There’s next to no authenticity or credibility.
At RevSportz, sensational or spicy news is avoided as an editorial decision. So, if you missed out on news of Hardik Pandya’s or Sania Mirza’s personal life, that is out of respect for the athlete. Also, it’s no one else’s business.\
In a move both sudden and expected, Renault scraps its engine program and will become a customer team by 2026. What does the future hold for Alpine? Read more.@gargiraut15 ✍🏻https://t.co/OVHkxs6kkM
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) October 2, 2024