A Profile of Australian Sport Journalists (Revisited)

Matthew Nicholson, Centre for Sport and Social Impact, La Trobe University,
Australia
Lawrie Zion, Journalism Program, La Trobe University, Australia
David Lowden, Journalism Program, La Trobe University, Australia

Matthew Nicholson (corresponding author)

Centre for Sport and Social Impact
La Trobe University
Victoria 3086, Australia
Telephone +613 9479 1220
Facsimile +613 9479 1010
Email: m.nicholson@latrobe.edu.au

Lawrie Zion
Journalism Program
La Trobe University

David Lowden
Journalism Program
La Trobe University

Abstract
This article presents key findings from a survey of Australian sport journalists, the
first of its kind since Henninghams (1995) seminal study in the early 1990s.
Australian sport journalists (n=166) participated in an online survey, which asked
questions related to their profile and work practices. The findings reveal that in many
respects the profile of Australian sport journalists is similar to what it was almost
twenty years ago, yet there are indications that both the professional lives of sport
journalists and the broader sport media industry are undergoing significant change.
Like their predecessors, contemporary Australian sport journalists are thirtysomething, predominantly Australian-born, work in a male-dominated environment,
plan to be working in journalism or the media in five years time and have similar
views about the functions of the news media. The contemporary Australian sport
journalists differ in that they are far more educated, are more likely to be located in
Victoria and are now more likely to work in non-print media forms such as radio and
online than their predecessors, who were far more likely to work in the print media.

Sports journalists are overwhelmingly male and Caucasian, slightly less well
educated than other journalists, more conservative in their political values, less
professional, but less inclined to support ethical breaches. They are happier in their
work, less stressed, more supportive of traditional, objective models of journalism
and less supportive of investigative roles for the media. (Henningham, 1995: 13)

These were some of Henninghams (1995) key findings from what has remained the
most thorough attempt to investigate the values and professional backgrounds of
Australian sport journalists. But what has changed since then, an important question
given that both in Australia and internationally, sport has become an even more
important part of the mediascape during the first decade of the 21st century.
Furthermore, understanding who sport journalists are is an essential foundation for
broader examinations of the role of the sport media as an influential social institution the role of the newsmaker is as important, if not more so, than an analysis of the
meaning of sport media texts, or the ways in which audiences interpret or consume
these texts. This article reports on the findings of a study that attempted to redress the
absence of research into what remains the single largest specialty cohort in Australian
journalism (Lange et al., 2007).

Researching Australian Journalists

Henninghams (1995) study of sport journalists was part of a broader investigation
into the working lives and attitudes of more than 1400 Australian journalists (see
Henningham, 1998), which in turn was part of an international collection of studies
led by Weaver, an American researcher. The latter, along with Wilhoit, have been
pioneers in investigating the attitudes and professional lives of American journalists

for more than four decades (see, for example, Weaver and Wilhoit, 1991; Weaver et
al, 2007). Since Henningham, however, precious little large-scale research has been
conducted on Australian journalists (Hanusch, 2008: 99). Hanusch referred to the
work of Brand and Pearson (2001) as an exception, but noted that nobody had taken
up Forde and Burrows (2004) challenge to update Henninghams study. The research
gap remains.

A notable exception is Rodrigues study of Victorian journalists that built on and

borrowed from the work conducted in Australia by Henningham in 1992 (Rodrigues,
2008: 114) using a combination of survey questionnaires and follow-up in-depth
interviews that explored journalists perceptions of their roles and values. In the
context of this study it also examined generational changes within journalism by
comparing entry-level and veteran journalists. Hanuschs attempt to map Australian
journalism culture provided another important perspective on Australian journalism,
but not at the scale of the earlier Henningham (1998) study. Hanuschs interviews
with 100 journalists were designed to integrate with an international worlds of
journalisms survey, the mission of which was to allow for a standardised
comparison of journalists' characteristics, attitudes, views and role perceptions across
a number of different countries (Hanusch, 2008: 98).

Since then Australias Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) has
conducted two surveys as part of their Future of Journalism project. In the 2010
survey there were 1669 respondents, which included full-time, casual and freelance
journalists, ranging from editors and managers to reporters, production staff, digital
and online staff, photographers and artists (Este, 2010). While this study was

revealing in terms of the working conditions and selected practices of Australian

journalists, the survey was not linked to previous academic studies, and did not
specifically address the working environments of sport journalists.

Researching Sport Journalists

Wenner (1998) identified that the world of MediaSport is created by the interaction
of institutions, texts and audiences, and noted that the bulk of research in the field had
been concerned with texts (see also Bernstein & Blain, 2002). This emphasis was in
part driven by accessibility and the relative ease of conducting research, but also by
important issues such as racial and gender biases in reporting, particularly of major
events such as the Olympic Games. By contrast, institutions and audiences were the
subject of relatively little academic attention. These institutions and audiences have
more recently been examined, particularly through the lenses of policy and sport
fandom respectively. There has been a significant amount of work that has examined
the broader sport media institution in terms of government regulation, as well as the
impact of sport media on globalisation and globalisation on sport media. At the same
time, sport fandom has become a popular field of academic endeavour, particularly in
the area of sport marketing, however, there has been a paucity of studies that have
examined the ways in which audiences interact with sport media texts. So, while it is
no longer the case that analysis of sport media texts exclusively dominates the field of
sport media studies, there remains a paucity of research that examines specific aspects
of the production and consumption aspects of the sport media supply chain, such as
the profile and role of sport journalists. Since the hyper-commercialism of sport in the
1970s, sport journalists, a major component of Wenners institutions, have been the
subject of sporadic academic attention, which has often explored the tension between

the seriousness of news making and the fun of sports and games (c.f. Cotton, 1989;
Hardin, 2005; Koppett, 1981; Lowes, 1997; Lowes, 1999; Rowe and Stevenson, 1995;
Salwen and Garrison, 1998; Schultz-Jorgensen, 2005; Smith, 1976).

In 1989 Garrison felt sufficiently confident to claim in the American context that
sports reporting has become as sophisticated as the city desk and has turned the
corner into legitimate journalism. It will never turn back (p. 3-23; see also Garrison,
1993). Despite the confidence with which this pronouncement was made, the issue of
whether sport journalism is legitimate remains contentious, in part because little is
known about sport journalists and their work practices. As part of an international
study (Schultz-Jorgensen, 2005) in which he examined the sport content of several
Australian newspapers, Rowe (2007) considered the seemingly perennial question of
whether the pejorative jibe that sports journalism is the toy department of the news
media is justified:

The sports beat occupies a difficult position in the news media. It is

economically important in drawing readers (especially male) to general news
publications, and so has the authority of its own popularity. Yet its practice is
governed by ingrained occupational assumptions about what works for this
readership, drawing it away from the problems, issues and topics that
permeate the social world to which sport is intimately connected. In doing so,
it seeks reinforcement and affirmation from the largely closed circle of sources
that creates the insular world of sport in the first place. (p. 400)

These issues have also been taken up by Boyle (2006), who noted that sport
journalists are traditionally positioned towards the lower regions of any journalistic
hierarchy. In many respects this might be considered to be stating the obvious given
the long standing debate over the relative merit and professional standing of sport
journalists, yet he also warned against overgeneralising. Writing about the British
context, Boyle noted that internal divisions across sport journalism are still evident
but in many ways have become more complex and that given the expansion of
sports writing and the sportswriter to talk of sports journalism as if it were one
homogeneous body of work is simply to misunderstand the range of journalistic
output and practice that one can find under this rubric (p.166).

Boyles contention in part is that sport journalists are increasingly being perceived as
becoming more professional, however, the implications of what this might mean are
debatable, not least because defining just who is a sport journalist is itself hardly
straightforward. As Boyle (2006: 167) noted the boundaries between print and
broadcast sports journalists are more porous than was once the case; the boundaries
between traditional media forms and online journalism have exacerbated the trend
towards an occupational pluralism in which journalists can, in different contexts, be
commentators, editors or bloggers.

Boyle concluded a discussion of sport broadcasters selling international events

through their reporting by noting that sports journalism and notions of journalistic
impartiality remain a problematic area; however, perhaps no more so than it is for the
wider field of contemporary journalism, which is saturated with comment and opinion
as well as factual reporting (pp.174-5). This problematic, symbiotic relationship

between sport journalism and its industry has been an issue of significant academic
interest (see Knoppers and Elling, 2004; Lowes, 1997; Lowes, 1999; Rowe and
Stevenson, 1995; Salwen and Garrison, 1998; Schultz-Jorgensen, 2005; Wenner,
1989), although it is unclear, as Boyle suggested, whether sport journalism is more
greatly afflicted than other forms of contemporary journalism.

Within Australia the Henningham study remains a beacon in terms of understanding

who sport journalists are. Globally, the sport journalism cohort appears to exhibit a
stubbornly white male homogeneity (see, for example Dunne, 1985; Fountaine and
McGregor, 1999; Hardin and Shaine, 2005; Hardin and Whiteside, 2006). A
considerable amount of research into sport journalists has been conducted in America.
For example, Garrison and Salwens (1989) study of 249 members of the Associated
Press Sports Editors (APSE), a national group compromised mainly of sports section
managers as opposed to reporters, found that 96% were male, almost 99% were white,
the median age was 36 years, the median length of career was 14 years and
approximately 85% had a college degree or higher. Garrison and Salwen (1994)
conducted a follow-up study with the same APSE cohort and found that sports
journalists remained overwhelmingly white, male, college-educated and thirtysomething. Levels of education and media length of career had also increased
slightly.

This article seeks to address the research gap that exists by investigating the profile
and work practices of Australian sport journalists, and in doing so attempts to assess,
by contrasting contemporary data with Henninghams (1995) findings, whether sport
journalists as a cohort have changed.

Method
During late 2010, an email invitation (with two reminders) to participate in an online
survey was sent to sport journalists throughout Australia. These sports journalists
were identified through publicly available media guides, websites, broadcasts and
hard copy publications, as well as personal contacts. The total number of sport
journalists invited to participate was approximately 500. We are unable to provide a
definitive number because some organisations were unwilling to provide email
addresses, but delivered the invitation via email to staff through a central contact.
Thus, we have had to estimate the number of sport journalists that were sent the
survey. All efforts were made to make the list as representative as possible, including
types of media (print, online, television, radio and magazines) and location (regional
areas as well as major metropolitan cities). A total of 166 usable surveys were
completed through an anonymous online survey system. The survey consisted of a
series of questions related to the sport journalists demographic profile and work
practices.

Findings
In many respects the current cohort of sport journalists appears very similar to their
colleagues of the early 1990s. Henningham reported a median age of 32, whereas the
current studys sample is slightly older, with a median age of 36; 30% of the current
sport journalists are less than 30 years of age and 47% are aged between 30 and 45,
whereas it was 40% and 45% respectively in the Henningham study. While
Henninghams (1998) study found that journalism was a relatively young profession,
it appears that the workforce has aged, both in Australia and internationally (Hanusch,

2008), which is consistent with the findings of this research. Only 19% of current
sport journalists are aged over 50, illustrating that sport journalism is still a relatively
youthful profession. Similarly, the proportion of Australian and overseas-born sport
journalists has not changed significantly since the early 1990s. In the Henningham
study the proportion of Australian born sport journalists was 90%; in the current study
it is 88%. This data might be explained by the dominance of Australias indigenous
football code, as well as a preponderance of team sports in which Australia is highly
successful, but in which there is relatively little international competition, such as
netball, cricket, rugby league and rugby union.

Henningham reported that the sport journalists average number of years in

journalism was 12.4 years, slightly less than the average number of years for nonsport journalists. In the current study, 46% of the sample had been involved in
journalism between 0 and 10 years, with 54% of the sample 11 years or more, and
29.4% having worked in the profession for 21 or more years. The data was somewhat
similar for the number of years involved in sport journalism: 46% had worked 11 or
more years, with 22.3% involved for 21 or more years. Henningham also reported that
sport journalists are more likely to stay in journalism than their non-sport colleagues;
86% of sport journalists in the Henningham study planned to be working in
journalism or media in five years time. In the current study 95.4% of the sample
planned to be working in journalism or media in five years time, with 85.6% planning
to be working in sport journalism or sport media. By comparison, Este et al (2010)
reported that only 47% of Australian journalists in a study conducted by the MEAA
were positive or very positive about their career prospects. This data might be used

10

with caution to suggest that the current sport journalists are more satisfied or
contented in their work than their predecessors and non-sport contemporaries.

Based on the proportion of men and women, and their perceptions of workplace
prejudice, Henningham (1995) concluded that sport journalism is essentially a male
domain. Only 11% of his sample of sport journalists were women, while more of the
women and less of the men believed that it was more difficult for women to get ahead
in journalism and that women were victims of prejudice in the newsroom. The
proportion of women in the current study was 10.2%, a small decrease that indicates
that despite a much larger number of high profile female sport journalists, sport
journalism remains a mans domain. The data presented in table 1 contrasts the
current study with Henninghams (1995). Asked the question is it more difficult for
women to get ahead in journalism, 24.1% of journalists in the current study
responded yes, compared to 42.3% in the earlier study. However, as with the earlier
study, the current study reveals that there is a disparity between the views of male and
female journalists, with female journalists more inclined to answer yes to the above
question. Similarly, when asked have you had any personal experience or knowledge
or women being victims of prejudice in the newsroom, 82.7% of the current study
answered no, however 68.8% of female sport journalists answered yes to the
question, while only 10% of men answered yes to the question, compared to 85% and
32% respectively within the Henningham (1995) study. It is unclear whether there is
less prejudice within contemporary sport journalism, but it is clear that female sport
journalists perceive that it exists or have experienced it far more than their male
colleagues. The survey results also highlight the need to ask the question of genderbased prejudice amongst former female sport journalists. The authors are aware of a

11

female journalist who left sport journalism after several years to report in general
news because of her perceived or actual workplace prejudice.

**Insert Table 1 near here**

The perceptions of the importance of news media functions also appear remarkably
similar between the current and previous cohorts of sport journalists, as illustrated in
Table 2. Henningham (1995) found that the most statistically significant differences
between sport and non-sport journalists were for the following functions: (1) provide
analysis and interpretation of complex problems; (2) discuss national policy while it
is still being developed; (3) be an adversary of public officials by being constantly
sceptical of their actions; and (4) be an adversary of businesses by being constantly
sceptical of their actions. The first of these functions provide analysis and
interpretation of complex problems is more important for the current cohort, while
provide entertainment and relaxation is less important. These two results are more
aligned to Henninghams cohort of non-sport journalists, although given that we have
no data on the current cohort of non-sport journalists these findings must be treated
with caution. By contrast, the final three functions in which there was a statistically
significant difference in Henninghams original study all experienced a decrease in
the perception of importance in the current study, albeit a small one.

**Insert Table 2 near here**

Interestingly, the percentage of sport journalists who believe it is extremely important

to investigate claims and statements made by government has dropped considerably,

12

while the percentage who believe it is extremely important to discuss national policy
while it is still being developed is relatively low. These results are seemingly in
conflict with the relatively high proportion of sports journalists that believe that it is
extremely important to provide analysis and interpretation of complex problems. For
many non-sport journalists government policy, and the claims and statements made by
government, are essential to their working lives, especially political journalists. Policy
problems are by their very nature complex and the public relies on journalists to
provide analysis and interpretation, yet the same does not appear to be the case for
sport policy issues. This might be explained by the general apathy of sport media
consumers in relation to issues of public or sport policy, which in turn influences the
approach of sport journalists. It might also be explained by the relatively consistency
of Australian sport policy since the mid 1980s, particularly the prioritising of elite
sport success (Hoye and Nicholson, 2009); sport journalists might perceive that the
professional sport leagues, clubs and promoters have more influence than government
in the Australian sport landscape and government policy is therefore a relatively low
priority. Professional elite sport organisations also employ experienced and
professional media and public relations advisors who ensure there is a well managed
torrent of information on any particular issue. The designers of public policy, within
government and associated organisations, rarely initiate contact with sport journalists,
or do so with less system and resources than professional leagues and clubs.

In the context of the increasing commercialisation of sport media it is also worth

noting that the percentage of sport journalists who believe that it is extremely
important to be an adversary of business by being constantly sceptical of their
actions was the lowest in both the current and the Henningham (1995) study, as

13

illustrated in Table 2. The result in the Henningham (1995) study is perhaps explained
by the fact that at the time of the survey the commercialisation of Australian sport was
just beginning in earnest and that sport journalists were concerned more with match
and game reports than they were with an analysis of the off-field activities of leagues,
clubs and individuals. But, recording a similar result almost two decades later is a
surprising result to say the least, particularly given the hyper-commercialisation of
sport during the period between the two surveys.

In the last two decades Australian sport has experienced a significant transformation,
particularly within the major sports: rugby union was professionalised, rugby league
endured the Superleague saga, the Australian Football League added additional teams
from outside Victoria in attempt to nationalise it product, cricket was irreversibly
altered by the introduction of the twenty-twenty format, soccer was transformed via
the Crawford review and the subsequent establishment of the A-League and the
national netball competition was broadened to include teams from New Zealand. In
large part all of these developments were related to the relationship between the sport
and the media, and the pressure placed on leagues and teams to become a more
attractive media product. These developments have also meant that the relationships
between sport and business and sport and media are more complex now than they
have ever been. Media organisations are heavily invested in leagues through broadcast
rights deals, exclusive media partnerships and advertising and sponsorship deals that
are predicated on sport audiences, while in some instances the media organisations
own the content (the team or the league), as well as the means of distribution.

14

The increasing convergence of sport and media organisations is likely to have an

impact on public access to sport and the character of Australian sport consumption, as
media organisations explore ways to charge for previously free content and more
sport content is provided on a pay-per-view basis. Given these developments the
result recorded in this study related to sport journalists being an adversary of business
is of potential concern and perhaps indicates that sport journalists are less likely to be
critical than their non-sport colleagues. It is unclear how sport journalists will
interpret future developments, as they are often employed by organisations that are
the major players in the development of Australian media sport. An important caveat
here is that it is unclear what impact the wording of the statement might have had on
the responses by sport journalists. The notion of being constantly sceptical of their
actions might have caused sport journalists to respond differently, and as such it
would be worth future research exploring the nexus between sport journalists and the
impacts of the hyper-commercialisation of Australian sport in more detail.

The current cohort or sport journalists also differ from their predecessors in several
important respects. In the Henningham (1995) study, 0.9% of the sample had
completed a graduate degree and 30.2% had completed a diploma or bachelor degree,
compared with 6.6% and 60.8% of this sample respectively, as illustrated in Table 3.
Whereas in the Henningham study 56% of the sample had not studied beyond high
school, in the current study 67.2% had completed a qualification beyond high school;
it is clear that sport journalists are now far more educated, with a diploma, bachelor
degree or graduate qualification becoming the norm rather than exception for entry
into the profession. By way of contrast, Henningham (1995) referred to the Garrison
and Salwen (1994) study of sports writers and editors in the US, in which they noted

15

that 71% had a bachelor degree, and an additional 13% had undertaken postgraduate
study. More than 15 years later, the current Australian data is still not on a par with
the Garrison and Salwen data. This is perhaps due to the highly competitive nature of
the American sport industry generally and American sport journalism more
specifically. It also might reflect that sport journalism has been a serious career in
the US for longer than it has in Australia.

**Insert Table 3 near here**

The current sample also differs from the Henningham (1995) study in terms of their
location. Although New South Wales was the location for approximately a third of
sport journalists in the Henningham study, as it is in the current study (33.1%),
Victoria has risen from approximately 20% in the Henningham study to the number
one location with almost 37% of the sample. Queensland and Western Australia have
dropped from 18% and 12% to 7.2% and 7.8% respectively. The large number of
Victorian sport journalists in the current study may be an anomaly, or perhaps an
indication that since the mid 1990s the state has cemented itself as the sporting capital
of Australia, particularly with the growth and media coverage of major events such as
the Australian Open, Rip Curl Pro, Melbourne Cup, Australian Football League
Grand Final and the Formula One Grand Prix. As such, Victoria is perhaps the state
with the greatest demand for sport journalists.

In terms of the specific location of sport journalists, the current study revealed that
66.9% work in a city of more than one million people, while 92.8% work in a city of
50,000 or more people. Given the distribution of sport journalists by state, it is

16

reasonable to conclude that most of the nations sport journalists are working in
Melbourne and Sydney. The concept of sport journalists moving to live where major
events are located may also be linked to the comparative lack of employment
opportunities for sport journalists in states and territories other than New South Wales
and Victoria.

Table 4 shows the distribution of sport journalists in the different media forms. In the
Henningham study the categories were print, radio, television and wire services, while
in the current study print was divided into newspapers and magazines, the category of
online was added and wire services was omitted. In the Henningham study journalists
nominated the primary media form in which they worked, while in this study we
allowed sport journalists to nominate the percentage of their time allocated to the
specific media forms, cognisant of the fact that contemporary journalists may be
required to work across multiple forms. As such, the percentages for the current study
reported in table 4 do not represent individual journalists, but rather an aggregation of
the total time across the entire cohort. Of the 153 sport journalists who responded to
this question, 67 were employed 100% by a single media form. In other words, more
than half of the sport journalists who responded to this question work across multiple
media forms. For some this might be within a multi-platform organisation, such as the
ABC, while for others it might be the result of working for more than one employer.

**Insert Table 4 near here**

Perhaps not surprisingly, the percentage of sport journalists working in the print
media has declined significantly in relative terms. Even if the newspaper and

17

magazine data are added together to recreate the category print in the earlier study,
this category has declined by approximately 20%. By contrast, the proportion of sport
journalists employed in radio has increased, while the new category of online
represents 16%, the second largest category behind newspapers. Since the first survey,
Australia has seen the introduction of radio stations with formats that broadcast
predominantly, if not exclusively, sport related content. This may account, in part, for
the increase in the number of sport journalists who spend the majority of their
working week employed by a radio station. Newspapers remain the stalwart in terms
of sport journalism employers, yet it is clear that the profession is changing. It is
unclear from two time points (1995 and 2011) how rapid this change is; regular
follow-up studies are required to determine how quickly the print media is
diminishing and how quickly the broadcast media are ascending. The proportion of
sport journalists employed within television has remained relatively constant, which is
somewhat surprising given the introduction of pay television and the subsequent
proliferation of sport channels. The distinction between sport journalists and sport
presenters is worth considering in the context of these findings and any discussion of
professional boundaries. Television sport presenters may self identify as sport
journalists despite not having a journalistic role, that is, contributing to the editorial
content of a publication or broadcast. Is the presenter of a sport program on radio a
sport journalist? Should the producers of sport discussion programs on radio and
television be regarded as sport journalists? In September 2010, the former AFL
footballer, Garry Lyon, won the highest individual honour for journalism at the
Australian Football Media Awards for his columns on Australian Rules football. In
his acceptance speech, Lyon admitted he did not think of himself as a journalist and
that the award would challenge him to reconsider whether he should maintain that

18

view of himself. Defining who is and who isnt a sport journalist was not the subject
of this study but future research into this question would be useful for the analysis of
data relating to the profession. Further research may also explore the related issue of
whether the proliferation of sport channels has resulted in more sport journalists being
employed, and address the issue of the blurring of sport reporting and sport coverage.
The data from this survey indicates there has not been a marked increase in the
number of sport journalists employed. Again, this assertion relies on an existing
definition of a sport journalist which the authors acknowledge should be the subject of
further research.

There are also a number of findings from the current study for which we have no
comparative data, but are worth reporting given other research in the area. Given the
predilection of media outlets to hire ex-players and athletes as commentators,
broadcasters, columnists or reporters, we asked the current cohort whether they had
previously been paid to play sport in a professional capacity. The research revealed
that 7.8% of the sample had been professional athletes prior to their current sport
journalism career, perhaps indicating that the profession draws upon the industry on
which it reports for prospective talent more so than any other journalism speciality, a
predicament that is itself the source of some misgivings with the ranks of sport
journalists (Nicolea, 2010).

**Insert Table 5 near here**

The current study also sought to establish the types of sports that sport journalists
were allocated to. As such, we asked the survey respondents to nominate the

19

percentage of their time allocated to specific sports. As with the data related to the
journalists distribution across media forms, this data on types of sports has been
aggregated into a total number of people, from which a percentage of the overall
cohort has been derived. Table 5 shows that the AFL is the dominant professional
league in Australia in terms of the number of journalists allocated to its coverage
(25.8%). The AFL, rugby league and soccer combined represent more than half the
total number of sport journalists, while the top ten sports account for almost 90% of
Australian sport journalists. Of course, these figures do not necessarily reflect the
quantity of coverage each sport receives, as specific journalists may be required to
produce more copy than others. In order to get a sense of the content being produced
by the sport journalists, we asked them to identify, in the main, what type the articles
or segments they were writing or broadcasting were according to the following
designations: international; national; state and local. The data revealed that 51.9% of
the content produced was national in orientation, 21.8% was state-based and 19.5%
was locally orientated. Only 6.8% of the content was internationally orientated, which
might indicate that Australian sport content is fairly parochial and that much
international content is not produced by Australian sport journalists, but is imported.

Conclusions
In many respect contemporary sport journalists are not too dissimilar to their
predecessors. Although slightly older, they are still thirty-something, remain
overwhelmingly Australian-born, work in a male dominated environment, have a
similar duration of career in journalism generally and sport journalism more
specifically, have similar expectations of their career in the next five years and have
very similar views on the functions of the news media. These findings appear to

20

suggest that the profile of sport journalists has remained a dependable constant amid
the seemingly dynamic and highly fluid media and sport media environments.

By contrast, the findings of this research also suggest that there are some important
changes occurring within sport journalism. Contemporary Australian sport journalists
are now far more educated than their predecessors, indicative of sport journalisms
growing professionalisation, and are more likely to work in Victoria, a state which has
cemented its place as Australias sporting capital since the mid 1990s. Perhaps most
significantly, the proportion of sport journalists working in the print media has
declined, which is in line with the financial pressure many newspapers are under,
given a decline in the circulation of the printed version of most newspapers. However,
sport journalists who derive the majority of their income from newspapers are the
most sought after by television and radio when it comes to the reporting of sport news
(in programs other than their nightly news bulletin). Many sport programs on radio
and television employ former professional athletes, most of whom are not trained in
journalism and do not see themselves as journalists, but as presenters or
commentators a trend that has its parallel in other areas of the media, such as
political reporting, where former parliamentarians are swelling the ranks of the
commentariat. Identifying the extent to which the professional activities of such
commentators can be classed as journalism remains open to question: as Zelizer
(2004: 22) noted, tensions over the boundaries of who is a journalist persist. That
noted, it is clear that by contrast the proportion of sport journalists employed in radio
and the growing online category has risen. The data presented in this article did not
explore the inherent tensions that have been created by the growth of online sport
journalism and the fusing of traditional and new media, such as the use of Twitter,

21

blogs and other social media platforms by journalists and athletes alike. The impact of
Web 2.0 on the work practices of sport journalists is worthy of more sustained
analysis and it is likely that more qualitative or ethnographic studies might be usefully
employed (see Lowes, 1999, for example). Despite the fact there are now many more
sport-related shows on television, the survey indicated the number of sport journalists
in television has remained constant since Henninghams survey. This may be due in
part to cost-cutting experienced by all metropolitan and regional television
newsrooms around the country. The requirement to do more with fewer resources is
not unique to sport journalism, but the paradox between the number of exponents and
the number of sport-related programs is. As noted earlier in the article, it is unclear
whether this change has been gradual over the last twenty years, or whether it has
been relatively rapid over the last five to ten years. More research is required to
confirm the nature of this important change within the sport journalism industry.

The research also found that a small but significant proportion of contemporary
Australian sport journalists have previously been paid to play sport in a professional
capacity. More research is required to establish to what extent other journalism
specialities hire from within the industry, and to what extent sport journalism is a
unique case. The current research also found that a relatively small number of sports
in Australia are allocated almost all the available sport journalists; 90% of sport
journalists are allocated to ten sports and the AFL, rugby league and soccer, three of
the most prominent national leagues, account for more than half. The distribution of
sport journalists is an important challenge and problem for smaller sports, as well as
an interesting perspective on the interdependence of sport and the media, particularly
the major professional leagues and the media. Further research is required to

22

determine whether the allocation of sport journalists to specific football codes and
leagues leads to particular styles and types of reporting.

This article has revisited the seminal work of Henningham (1995) in order to provide
a new profile of Australian sport journalists, and has reported a dichotomous set of
findings. Contemporary sport journalists are similar yet different to their predecessors
of twenty years ago. The similarities, particularly the proportion of male and
Australian-born sport journalists, suggest that sport journalism is very conservative,
traditional and entrenched in its ways. But, on the other hand, the educational profile
of sport journalists and the growing range of media in which they work suggests that
as a career in sport journalism is at once becoming more professional and - as it is for
other media workers - less predictable (Este et al., 2010). Who are sport journalists
is an important question. The quantity of sport coverage across a range of media
forms is such that its influence cannot be ignored, however, while it is relatively easy
to speculate about the meaning, inferences and indeed the impact of sport media texts,
or to comment on the impact of new broadcast rights deals or regulations, it is far less
easy to understand the role of the people who make the sport news. An insight into
who these people are is an important first step in further exploring their role in news
production and selection, and the way in which their attitudes, views and agendas
shape the ways in which sport is consumed. It remains for future research to further
examine in greater details through both quantitative and qualitative methods of
inquiry the significance of the changing practices of sport journalists in Australia, and
what this means for not only sport journalism specifically, but also the place of sport
journalists within a rapidly evolving mediascape.

23

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Table 1: Judgements on Difficulties Faced by Women

Yes

No

Current Study, 2011 (n=133)

24.1

75.9

Henningham, 1995 (n=111)

42.3

57.7

Current Study, 2011 Male (n=117)

17.9

82.1

Current Study, 2011 Female (n=16)

68.8

31.2

Henningham, 1995, Male (n=97)

36.1

63.9

Henningham, 1995, Female (n=13)

84.6

15.4

29

Table 2: Importance of news media functions (percentage saying extremely

important)
Current Study,

Henningham,

Media Function

2011 (n=132)

1995 (n=116)

Get information to the public quickly

78.8

82.8

Provide analysis and interpretation of complex problems

68.2

59.5

Provide entertainment and relaxation

28.8

36.2

Investigate claims and statements made by the government

50.8

72.4

Stay away from stories where factual content cannot be verified

42.4

46.5

Concentrate on news of interest to the widest possible audience

39.4

44.8

Discuss national policy while it is still being developed

30.3

37.1

Develop intellectual and cultural interests of the public

22.7

29.3

Be an adversary of public officials by being constantly sceptical of

17.4

18.1

15.9

16.4

their actions
Be an adversary of business by being constantly sceptical of their
actions

30

Table 3: Highest level of education completed

Education level

% (n=166)

Postgraduate degree (PhD, Masters or Postgraduate Diploma)

6.6

Bachelor Degree

54.8

Advanced Diploma or Diploma (TAFE)

6.0

Secondary Education

30.1

Other

2.4

31

Table 4: Distribution of Journalists across Media (%)

Current Study, 2011

Henningham, 1995 (n=116)

(n=153)
Print

79.3

Newspaper

48

Magazine

12.3

Radio

8.6

1.7

Television

15

14.7

Online

16

Wire Service

4.3

32

Table 5: Percentage of sport journalists allocated to specific sports (n=132)

Sport

Allocation (%)

AFL

25.8

Rugby league

13.2

Soccer

11.6

Cricket

10.9

Horse Racing

8.0

Rugby union

5.9

Cycling

4.9

Golf

4.4

Basketball

2.4

Tennis

2.1

Netball

2.0

Motorsport

1.8

Other (including Gymnastics, Athletics, Baseball, Boxing, Lawn Bowls,

7.0

Hockey, Diving, Rowing, Surfing, Sailing, Touch, Triathlon, Volleyball,

Water Polo, Greyhound Racing and Surf Lifesaving) (range: 0.1-0.9)

33