Revisiting Nieman ‘Shifting Power’ series

As my class shifts into discussions about who controls the message in sports journalism, it only makes sense to revisit the Nieman Journalism Lab’s smart and important series that debuted last summer, Shifting Media Power in Sports.

I’m reminded of the NFL’s attempt a few years back to force every photographer covering the event to wear a vest with the Canon logo. And Tracy McGrady’s decision to announce last year’s season-ending injury on his blog. He bypassed not only the media, but his general manager.

When that happens – when the option to break news is taken away from the media – what role remains for media?

And of course Nieman studied professional organizations such as the NFL and Major League Baseball starting their own networks.