Globalisation aggravates problems of slack sports journalism

Let's begin with a familiar, if somewhat increasingly old fashioned, notion that journalism is unique to a culture. That independent, reliable and comprehensive information is something every citizen requires to be free. And that when we are asked to provide something more than this, we subvert democracy.

This idea of a free press has been with us since the first days of democracy and it has survived more or less intact over the years. But in a world of globalisation, which offers through new technologies unprecedented opportunities for communication between communities, we see this fundamental concept under greater pressure than ever.

The balance of power between the powerful elites in society: trade bureaucrats, corporate leaders and political leadership and journalism has never been perfect, but it is more uneven and dangerously out of line than ever before.

I share the frustration of the organisers of Play the Game when the leaders of bodies such as UEFA, FIFA and the IOC are arrogantly dismissive of attempts to engage them in dialogue over the crises within sport. Theirs is a scandalous neglect of public duty to engage in dialogue and failure to take collective responsibility for what many see as corruption in sport and the poisoning of the ideals and aspirations upon which sport is based.

The complicity of the media in bad sports journalism
But the problem is not just that the powerful leaders of world sport are increasingly invisible and unaccountable; media, too, are complicit in this lack of transparency.

The degree of economic interdependence between media and the world of sports whether through advertising, sponsorship or negotiation of television rights has led to complacency and worse in the editorial approach to sports reporting.

Self-censorship is rife, not only because invisible powers work their magic in the news room, but also because journalists themselves often opt for the comforts of close association with their official sources rather than establishing professional distance.

Within sports journalism there is a range of clubs and associations of journalists and writers attached to specific disciplines that have a sometimes unhealthy relationship with sports federations. Who will ask the difficult and awkward questions if the consequences are potentially damaging to the advertising department, to the sponsorship of events or television revenues or may undermine access to covering major sports events?

The problem is that globalisation brings with it a new set of self-centred values. There is less investment in investigative journalism, weaker dialogue and much less risk-taking. Traditional notions of reporting integrated into the larger world of communications with journalism being subsumed into advertising, entertainment, electronic commerce and, increasingly propaganda, in step with the militaristic and unilateralist tone of contemporary world politics.

The growth of media monopolies on a national and global scale have cut deep into the culture of press freedom and diversity upon which notions of democratic pluralism are based.

Media conglomerates have come a long way since William Randolph Hearst used his chain of US newspapers to instigate war with Spain in 1898. But the political punch of concentrated media remains as powerful today as it was 100 years ago.

In Canada, one of these regional groups, CanWest Global has compromised the spirit of journalistic mission and public trust by seeking to impose a centralized editorial policy which from Quebec to the Rocky Mountains provides a corporate media megaphone that uses a network of newspapers and television stations giving access to more than 90 per cent of English-speaking Canada.

In Italy, Mediaset owned by Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister and media magnate, has a stranglehold on 90 per cent of the country's broadcast media including the public broadcaster. His conflicts of interest are notorious: he is also the owner of Milan football club.

Not to act now would be irresponsible. As George Orwell wrote in his unpublished introduction to Animal Farm, censorship in free societies is infinitely more sophisticated and thorough than in dictatorships because 'unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without any need for an official ban'. Journalists can go along with that or they can demand a change of approach.

Above all, we need to build coalitions, not only within journalism, but also with those in society who are striving for a broader social and moral obligation for journalism. Certainly, we should get back to some basics as we were urged earlier in this conference and perhaps we should take up the challenge of one of the most successful globalisers of all.

In his address to world journalists in the jubilee year 18 months ago Pope John Paul II said: "with its vast and direct influence on public opinion, journalism cannot be guided only by economic forces, profit and special interests. It must instead be felt as a mission carried out in the knowledge that the powerful means of communication have been entrusted to you for the good of all."

Anyone seriously concerned for the soul of journalism would say Amen to that.

Thank you.