Beyond the conventional stories

By Rebecca Fitzgerald

Sports Journalism Institute students explored Sportsland Thursday afternoon with University of Missouri associate professor of sociology Scott Brooks. 

Although Sportsland may seem unfamiliar, I think it’s a common world to journalists - perhaps too familiar. 

Brooks introduced the work of Dianne Hagaman, who coined the term Sportsland, as a “highly selective view of the actual world of sports, stories about a make-believe world in which certain aspects of our society are emphasized and made the basis for the entire description of a world … In this simplified world, only a few important things go on, there are only a few issues, only a few commonly held values.” 

Simply, Sportsland is ideologically driven, conforming to the ideas we value as a society and culture. 

Hagaman provided examples of these conventional stories through photographs. Some demonstrated victory with groups celebrating together. Others portrayed defeat with individuals alone with their heads bowed. 

But what’s most interesting – at least to me – is that Sportsland also reflects the lack of diversity among sports writers.  

Conventional stories arise from a lack of diverse viewpoints of both the writers and the subjects. Everyone has a different voice, yet not all of them are heard.

Brooks explained how our SJI class is breaking down the barriers by representing the next generation of journalists with strong diversity. Unlike the predominantly white-dominated field of sports writers, Brooks pointed out that we are used to seeing things from the outside due to our marginalized status. 

He encouraged us to write with our different experiences in mind, ask the different questions to unique individuals and create a new storyline. And although we are underrepresented among sports writers, we always have the opportunity to create distinct pieces.

I’d say we have an advantage now.