Today is World Sports Journalists Day. All that needs to be said is that it is a very small fraternity. And yet, a deeply divided one. While there will be competition and it is only natural, we need to be united and back each other up. There is a larger cause – to document stories that inspire millions. While we compete, we must also have each other’s back. Else, we will all lose out.
The entire fraternity is discriminated against at every level. By news editors and political editors who always claim the cherry – once there is a significant sports event, the sports journalist is expected to facilitate interviews for the 9pm TV anchor. One wonders why. It is not the anchor’s story. And yet, this is the norm. Unless we raise a voice against discrimination within our own fraternity, such rubbish will continue.
Also, budgets are an issue. I will be keen to see how the Indian media covers Paris 2024. How many travel to the greatest spectacle on earth. And also the Paralympics. While bilateral cricket tours are covered, the Paralympics is not. Why? Why are budgetary reasons cited for sport, when political coverage always gets funds sanctioned? Sport is soft power, and the whole world recognises that.
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It is time to forget short-term gain. That one exclusive interview will not define us. I have done a few thousand exclusives in my life. But the larger goal is to enrich the fraternity, strengthen it, back each other and leave it stronger. Send colleagues to cover events and help them grow. It would have been easy for me to go to the US and the Caribbean, but then, RevSportz is not about me. Debasis Sen and Ishaan Shahane did a fine job, and in the process, garnered invaluable experience. Ishaan, at 25, covered one of India’s greatest wins. He will only grow as a result.
From a team of three in 2021, we are now a team of over 40. We have established Hindi and Bangla platforms to go with the English and will keep expanding. The RevSportz website has become a platform for quality writing on multiple sports.
The world is ours if we want to embrace the challenge. The choice is also ours. Whether we want to stay united and grow, or be divided and fight. That’s what I think is our biggest challenge today. With Paris 2024 around the corner, let’s do some fantastic stories and shape the narrative, for sport is the prism through which we understand a country and a society better. That’s why we are who we are.
To all my sports journalist friends and colleagues, more resolve and more power. To some great stories together.
Also Read: From Asia Cup villain to World Cup hero – the Arshdeep Singh story