Our Approach
Who we are
The Sports Media Identity Network bridges the gap between theory and practice to facilitate an ongoing, fruitful dialogue between sports media scholars, practitioners and stakeholders.
By working with members of organizations such as The Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS), Sport Media LGBT+ and the Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA), the network will facilitate not only research-informed pedagogy in the field of sports media studies and related areas but also produce recommendations for those working in the sports media industry as well as sports journalism courses training future practitioners.
Our rationale
The sports media is a compelling site of cultural negotiation. Thus, it is vital that sports journalists are equipped to handle such complex and challenging issues.
Our focus on gender as the network’s through line will allow for a timely reconsideration of how fluid social identity and status categories operate simultaneously in the construction of sports media narratives.
At the same time there is a pressing need to ensure that research is both informed by, but also relevant to, professional practice. While sports media scholars may strive to ensure their research has value, they must also acknowledge that this process is not uni-directional and that practice affects research just as research affects practice. In this regard, the form and focus of the events as well as the make-up of the core group has been determined in consultation with industry stakeholders.
Our Aims & Objectives
(1) Establish an inter-disciplinary network of researchers specializing in different approaches to the study of identity (re)presentation in British sports media, namely gender, race, sexuality and dis/ability, thereby facilitating the critical interrogation of such (re)presentations from an intersectional perspective;
(2) To broaden the study of (re)presentations of identity in British sports media beyond current dominant concerns, setting agendas for a much richer range of perspectives than are currently being advanced;
(3) Forge relationships with sports media stakeholders outside of academia in order to exchange ideas and elaborate a practice-informed, future-focused research agenda that takes into account the needs and concerns of sports media practitioners and policy makers;
(4) Enable sports media practitioners, policy makers and educators to better understand and reflect on the efficacy of both current professional sports media practice and potential alternatives to that practice by expediting a sustained dialogue with scholars in the field and producing of a research-informed, stakeholder-facing report;
(5) Shape the agenda of early career researchers working in the field of sports media and support their professional development by facilitating networking opportunities.