Media Impact On High Level Athletes Essay

Does the media have a negative effect on high level athletes?

909.6 million [1] people worldwide watched the football world cup of 2014 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Sports such as football and athletics have truly become globalised in the modern age. Sports and media now come hand in hand: newspapers, advertisements, radio broadcasts, the internet, social media and television coverage all analyse and expose every last thing which athletes at the highest level do; both on and off pitch. Young footballers are paid millions, track stars alike such as Usain Bolt and Mo Farah have become worldwide icons and are constantly under the spotlight for any number of reasons. But who wouldn’t want to be? To be adored by thousands each week while living the

The media can have a very positive effect on an athlete’s career as they have the power to portray them as they please and almost control the public’s view on them. This is particularly true with newspapers, who can pick and choose what they show, who can manipulate the content which is broadcasted, who can sway the public’s opinion either way depending on how the athlete has performed or how they have communicated to the media. Whether it conveys them as being saints: or sinners. Footballers and track stars do some incredible charitable events and donate thousands of pounds of their own money to charities of their choice so generously. Unfortunately, this often goes unnoticed and unreported. These types of cases hardly ever receive sufficient media coverage as a story creating drama and portraying an athlete in the wrong is usually seen to sell better. Even though these would have a much more positive effect on both the athlete’s mentality and the public’s opinion on them as a role