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Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2021 8:51 am
by WFJ
Woodchopper wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 7:54 am
My point since the beginning of the thread is that the press conferences are needed by the organizers in order to bring in as much money as possible. Of course they have other means of monetizing the contestants which they are using already. I'd be surprised if it wasn't the case that some of the brightest people in the world hadn't gone over every detail of a tournament in order to maximize how much money they are generating. Global sport is run by ruthless grasping capitalists, this is what they do.
Also important is that they do this in a way that does not conflict with the players' personal sponsors. I am sure the organisers would happily replace press conferences with other promotional events that show the players appearing with or using the sponsors products, but in general this is not possible.

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2021 9:29 am
by Gfamily
Woodchopper wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 7:54 am

My point since the beginning of the thread is that the press conferences are needed by the organizers in order to bring in as much money as possible. Of course they have other means of monetizing the contestants which they are using already. I'd be surprised if it wasn't the case that some of the brightest people in the world hadn't gone over every detail of a tournament in order to maximize how much money they are generating. Global sport is run by ruthless grasping capitalists, this is what they do.
Assuming that the way things are done now is the best way to wring money out of the system is totally naïve. Much of the way we do things now is based on tweaking the way things were done in the past, and we know that sometimes the most significant changes are the result of something that massively disrupts things, so we can't do things in the same way as before.

The last 15 months has shown us that. Ruthless, grasping capitalists are just re-working how to be ruthless and grasping in new ways - and many of them seem to be doing even better out of it.

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:17 am
by Grumble
Of minority interest compared to tennis, but MotoGP had a race last weekend. A young rider, Jason Dupasquier, died on Sunday from injuries sustained in qualifying on Saturday. This was announced to the riders before the start of the main MotoGP race (he was a Moto3 rider, the smallest and least powerful class) and they held a minute’s silence. Then they went to race and then the riders had to do a podium presentation and press conference afterwards. It wasn’t great to see, the winning rider was very emotional about it, said he thought about the crash every time he went around that corner. At the end of the interview he still held the Monster Energy drink up towards the camera and attempted a smile. It was jarring.

I do think there could/should be a protocol to follow when you have a death, maybe there should be a protocol to follow for other situations that may upset normal interviews, such as mental health reasons.

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:53 am
by dyqik
Woodchopper wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 7:54 am
JQH wrote:
Wed Jun 02, 2021 9:19 pm
Woodchopper wrote:
Wed Jun 02, 2021 11:58 am


You are arguing against something that I didn't write.
My understanding of what you wrote, in context with the posts you were responding to, is that press conferences are necessary because event sponsors require media coverage of their logos. EPD was pointing out that they get coverage during the actual match so press conferences are not, in fact, necessary for this purpose.
My point since the beginning of the thread is that the press conferences are needed by the organizers in order to bring in as much money as possible. Of course they have other means of monetizing the contestants which they are using already. I'd be surprised if it wasn't the case that some of the brightest people in the world hadn't gone over every detail of a tournament in order to maximize how much money they are generating. Global sport is run by ruthless grasping capitalists, this is what they do.
You haven't actually provided any real argument for that point, you realize?

Your whole argument is just that it's been done that way, so it has to continue that way.

What you've argued that tournament sponsors want is widely shared video clips of athletes featuring their sponsorship. You don't need an in-person mass press conference with multiple journalists asking questions 20 minutes after a match to get that. Longer delays, different formats, and most simply, tweaks to rights management, can all replace that as far as sponsors are concerned.

I seriously doubt anyone has made a major push to examine and possibly change this format. You can just look at how the US press failed to respond to Trump's exploitation of their operating methods and conventions to spread propaganda to realize that there's severe resistance to change among the working press and it's unusual for anyone who can make a difference to really look at this kind of thing. Advertising, publicity, journalism, etc. is as full of groupthink and conservatism as every other walk of life.

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2021 4:20 pm
by WFJ
dyqik wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:53 am

You haven't actually provided any real argument for that point, you realize?

Your whole argument is just that it's been done that way, so it has to continue that way.

What you've argued that tournament sponsors want is widely shared video clips of athletes featuring their sponsorship. You don't need an in-person mass press conference with multiple journalists asking questions 20 minutes after a match to get that. Longer delays, different formats, and most simply, tweaks to rights management, can all replace that as far as sponsors are concerned.
They might make some small changes, but it's not really as simple as you make out. If any general changes are required, they would be required in all sports, not just tennis. So you are asking the whole process of worldwide sports management and broadcasting to change. Maybe they could limit the press conferences to the broadcast rights holders, or just have their own media person ask a few questions to give to the media. But that might make the press conferences even more b.llsh.t than they are now.

The reason the press conferences are held soon after matches is so the players can f.ck off quickly to eat, sleep, whatever. They are hardly going to be happy if they are asked to hang around for an hour or two for their media commitments.

I am not sure what you mean by rights management, but I doubt the players will be happy with anything that involves giving up their image rights to the tournaments.
I seriously doubt anyone has made a major push to examine and possibly change this format. You can just look at how the US press failed to respond to Trump's exploitation of their operating methods and conventions to spread propaganda to realize that there's severe resistance to change among the working press and it's unusual for anyone who can make a difference to really look at this kind of thing. Advertising, publicity, journalism, etc. is as full of groupthink and conservatism as every other walk of life.
That's largely because it's never really been raised as a major issue that needs changing before. No players enjoy their media commitments but they generally just accept them as part of their job as pro competitors. It's noticeable that while plenty of players have offered her messages of support and concern for her health, there have not been any calls for changes to their media commitments.

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2021 6:17 pm
by Woodchopper
dyqik wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:53 am
Woodchopper wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 7:54 am
JQH wrote:
Wed Jun 02, 2021 9:19 pm


My understanding of what you wrote, in context with the posts you were responding to, is that press conferences are necessary because event sponsors require media coverage of their logos. EPD was pointing out that they get coverage during the actual match so press conferences are not, in fact, necessary for this purpose.
My point since the beginning of the thread is that the press conferences are needed by the organizers in order to bring in as much money as possible. Of course they have other means of monetizing the contestants which they are using already. I'd be surprised if it wasn't the case that some of the brightest people in the world hadn't gone over every detail of a tournament in order to maximize how much money they are generating. Global sport is run by ruthless grasping capitalists, this is what they do.
You haven't actually provided any real argument for that point, you realize?

Your whole argument is just that it's been done that way, so it has to continue that way.
That's not correct.

If you were to actually read the thread you'd find that I've stated that I hope that Naomi Osaka is successful in changing the relationship between sport and the media and that one way for change to occur would be for all the top players to act collectively.
dyqik wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:53 am
What you've argued that tournament sponsors want is widely shared video clips of athletes featuring their sponsorship.
What I have suggested is that the objective of the tournament organizers is to maximize profits. Several books have been written about how the media and sport industries cooperate to make vast amounts of money. Video clips were an illustrative example.
dyqik wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:53 am
You don't need an in-person mass press conference with multiple journalists asking questions 20 minutes after a match to get that. Longer delays, different formats, and most simply, tweaks to rights management, can all replace that as far as sponsors are concerned.
It appears that the tournament organizers believe that press conferences are necessary.

For example, all the Grand Slam tournaments released a statement reiterating that media appearances are obligatory, and one of the reasons given are "facilitation of media to a broad array of channels, both traditional and digital, is a major contributor to the development and growth of our sport and the fan base of individual players." Personally, I see development of the fan base as a polite way of referring to the need to develop the customer base.
dyqik wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:53 am
I seriously doubt anyone has made a major push to examine and possibly change this format. You can just look at how the US press failed to respond to Trump's exploitation of their operating methods and conventions to spread propaganda to realize that there's severe resistance to change among the working press and it's unusual for anyone who can make a difference to really look at this kind of thing. Advertising, publicity, journalism, etc. is as full of groupthink and conservatism as every other walk of life.
I agree completely.

One of the books I mentioned is the The Political Economy of Sports Television, another is the Sports-Media-Business-Complex which sums it up (so long as you get which other complex its referring to).

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:54 am
by shpalman

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:10 am
by Gfamily
shpalman wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:54 am
“Agua!”
Not all publicity is good publicity

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:14 am
by Martin_B
Gfamily wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:10 am
shpalman wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:54 am
“Agua!”
Not all publicity is good publicity
Lets wait a week or so and see what it's done to the share price then.

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:40 am
by Woodchopper
Gfamily wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:10 am
shpalman wrote:
Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:54 am
“Agua!”
Not all publicity is good publicity
More publicity for all the logos on the board behind him though.

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:30 pm
by shpalman

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 10:08 am
by shpalman

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:29 pm
by Woodchopper
Related:
Norway have been fined 1,500 euros (£1,295) for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms at the European Beach Handball Championships.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/handball/57890430

The official announcement appears to be that it’s because shorts are “improper”. https://beacheuro.eurohandball.com/news ... -clothing/

No claim as far as I can see that shorts offer an unfair advantage. Though there may be a psychological advantage from wearing clothes that the athletes don’t find to be uncomfortable and sexualised.

I expect that as with the press conferences, the bikinis are all part of the business model.

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:55 pm
by IvanV
Woodchopper wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:29 pm
Related:
Norway have been fined 1,500 euros (£1,295) for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms at the European Beach Handball Championships.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/handball/57890430

The official announcement appears to be that it’s because shorts are “improper”. https://beacheuro.eurohandball.com/news ... -clothing/
...
I expect that as with the press conferences, the bikinis are all part of the business model.
While these athletes are criticised for insufficiently skimpy clothes, another is criticised for wearing excessively skimpy clothes. The unacceptably skimpy shorts in the latter case are less skimpy than the acceptably skimpy ones in the former case.
BBC: Olivia Breen: World champion para-athlete left angry after official said her shorts were 'too revealing'

And yes, it is clearly all about what the organisers want the lechers spectators to see, or not see.

Re: So how important is it to see sports players being interviewed?

Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 3:28 pm
by tom p
IvanV wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:55 pm
Woodchopper wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:29 pm
Related:
Norway have been fined 1,500 euros (£1,295) for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms at the European Beach Handball Championships.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/handball/57890430

The official announcement appears to be that it’s because shorts are “improper”. https://beacheuro.eurohandball.com/news ... -clothing/
...
I expect that as with the press conferences, the bikinis are all part of the business model.
While these athletes are criticised for insufficiently skimpy clothes, another is criticised for wearing excessively skimpy clothes. The unacceptably skimpy shorts in the latter case are less skimpy than the acceptably skimpy ones in the former case.
BBC: Olivia Breen: World champion para-athlete left angry after official said her shorts were 'too revealing'

And yes, it is clearly all about what the organisers want the lechers spectators to see, or not see.
In this case it seems to have been a single prudish judge (they are amateur volunteers and, in my experience, mostly late middle aged and many retired (although at her level of competition, they may be younger).