Who doesn’t love sports? It’s often considered the cornerstone of human culture, with athletes captivating audiences through feats of athleticism, strategy, and endurance for centuries. Some things change like athletes tending to wear clothes during events in the modern Olympics, but the innate desires to run, jump, throw, and watch have largely remained.

A relationship that has developed alongside modern-day sporting competitions is that between sports and the media, shaping how we consume sports and how the public perceives athletes. It’s worth noting that statues were built of great sportspeople in Ancient Greece, so deification is far from a new trend! This article will explore the intertwined history of sports and media in the United States, highlighting key developments in fame, culture, and sporting and reporting technology.

As the industry evolves, so too does the way it is taught, with courses like the sports journalism degree preparing budding media professionals to keep up with the dynamic field of sport and how it’s shaping broader conversations off the field.

Early Days: Print Media? Radio?

Those are two words I haven’t heard in a while. The early days of sports media in America were largely dominated by newspapers. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, they were the primary source of sports news, with journalists like Red Smith and Grantland Rice achieving household name status because of the way they were able to craft vivid narratives of games. Without television, fans couldn’t watch games remotely, so a skilled pen was often the next best thing for those who couldn’t attend events in person.

Radio in the 1920s was arguably a game-changer, literally. The excitement of the game swept the nation, with radio announcers like Red Barber commentating for baseball, football, boxing, and other popular sports. Suddenly, fans could hear the exploits of modern-day legends like Babe Ruth in real-time without having to be at the stadium. You didn’t just read about it the day after; this was adrenaline-pumping excitement right there at the moment.

The Golden Age of Television

The first televised sporting event was a college baseball game between Columbia and Princeton in 1939. However, it wasn’t until the 1950s that TV became a dominant medium for sports coverage, partly due to the high manufacturing costs of early televisions and the Second World War. The impact was significant. Combining the skills of sports commentators with a visual medium that could put you in the best seats in the house, all from the comfort of your living room, was widely regarded as revolutionary because fans could see the action unfold before their very eyes.

Iconic televised moments became cultural touchstones, like Muhammad Ali’s fights and the 1980 Winter Olympics Miracle on Ice. Networks dedicated to sports coverage, like ESPN, which launched in 1979, emerged. This was another major shift in sports media, as a dedicated network that exclusively covered sports and sporting analysis meant that fans could get content constantly. Insights, personalities, and past players weighing in on current trends in sports—it was like opening a veritable Pandora’s Box of content, and it helped solidify sports journalism as something that was here to stay.

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The Digital Age: Social Media and The Internet

At the end of the 20th and dawn of the 21st centuries, sports media underwent its next transformation. The internet allowed access to and engagement with, sports content to anyone with a connected device, often removing paywalls to some forms of sporting journalism. Instant updates, scores, and analysis meant that whether you were on the subway or at a wedding, you could often check results discreetly in real-time. The rise of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram meant that fans could see and interact with their favorite players and teams like never before and didn’t have to rely solely on traditional media channels to see what they were up to. This new dynamic gave fans unprecedented access to their favorite sports stars but also meant that actions and statements could be scrutinized in real-time, sometimes leading to controversy.

Streaming services have also been a significant part of the digital age, as the movement away from traditional cable TV to YouTube, Twitch, and ESPN+ means that fans can watch sports on-demand, further increasing the convenience of engagement with sporting content. It’s no surprise that as these conveniences grow, so too do the fanbase numbers of popular sports teams.

The Fame Game

Once upon a time, athletes were celebrated primarily for on-field achievements. With the advent of social media, that time is largely behind us, with personal lives and off-field activities becoming part of the public narrative and, for better or for worse, influencing our perspectives of the biggest names in sports. Stars like Michael Jordan were some of the earliest to emerge as cultural icons, with the Air Jordan line of Nike shoes still being one of their top sellers, but this was still deeply connected with his basketball skill. Modern athletes like LeBron James use their platforms to advocate for social issues, build their brands, and share personal milestones like never before, which often humanizes the fan-athlete experience.

The history of sports and media in America is a story of constant evolution. Innovation from new technology means upgrades for the general public and athletes on the pitch. Thanks to these conveniences, you can stream yesterday’s football match on the subway and just get the best bits without having to sit through ads, which is a remarkable transformation since the popularization of radio roughly a century ago.

Athletes are now global celebrities, representing more than just their sport but also their ethos, and sporting events are cultural landmarks, with the Superbowl being as much about the halftime show as it is about the game itself. As technology continues to evolve and become more advanced, the future of sports media seems poised to be even more interactive, dynamic, and accessible. Who knows how fans will connect with sports in a century?

Published by Tom W.