:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/XTDL6OYUUVH5NOKCS5DNTYIXYI.jpg "“Fifty Years of Journalism”: Today’s Sports Journalist Writes, Takes Photos, Takes Videos, Sweeps, and Serves Coffee World Football | Game-Total")
“Science advances, technology advances, the only thing that does not advance is man”, that exemplary citizen and remarkable writer, Ernesto Sabato, died before inclusive language was invented. This phrase applies perfectly to journalism. Over the past fifty years, we have seen the industry modernize and degenerate.
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I started in this field towards the end of 1973. From a functional point of view it was all manual, artisan, old Olivetti olive green typewriters or black Remington, white shirts, thin ties and cigarette smoke permeated throughout. The room, the atmosphere. And on some tables, cane bottle. Not even paper towels. Enormous rolls of newspaper-printed paper were guillotined to letter size, with which we wrote. But it’s not just about piling up letters, you need to know… every classmate looked up and enjoyed typing. There were many cracks. That is what he demanded. You have to play the ball with your feet, not hit the ball. None studied journalism, they came from public school, but they were ethnic writers who were familiar with great writers. They were created practically. The director was a key figure who exuded wisdom. My first commission involved a meeting of members in Boca. I don’t know anything about that, I said. I liked the ball. “You go, write everything, then come here and write” is a simple instruction. Scratchy, but I passed the test.
An important football match meant we finished at twelve o’clock at night Libertadores Cup, twelve hours and thirty minutes. The newspaper still came out on time and the code dictated: the match sheet, a thoughtful commentary, a couple of photos, locker room notes and a separate box with news coming out of the game. Now that everything is satellite, the blinds have to be taken down at five in the afternoon “because it’s an executive order.” Soon we will have to comment before playing the games. Newspapers include HR, Advertising, Distribution, Marketing, Workshop… Formerly Journalism, News, Governance. After the shift, we would have coffee and go to the base of the press to wait for the newspaper to be printed at three in the morning. We walked in the early morning with the copy under our arms. It is dictated by passion. A journalist at heart has no schedule.
The newspaper industry was basically mechanical, then came electronic and finally digital. We saw telex and fax go. Disneyland press practice today, all by hand, you go to Germany, and you push a button and Beckenbauer appears. One can write a column on their laptop, tablet or even phone. No drama with Wi-Fi. From the stadium, while traveling, write from the top of the obelisk or the Eiffel Tower. The aim is to make it better. It’s the same with radio or television. The boys who made the playground (Dinelli was one of them) sweated tons of cables and dragged them to where the hitter was. And the beater joined them. Zoom, WhatsApp, Twitter, cell phones are all available. Go to Google and get the exact information you would have previously found in a book. If you have… an app that notifies you of messages and goals instantly. Watching the game on television with twenty cameras is even better than going to the stadium. It has also created an office magazine. No one wants to move their bones to get to practice, club or association.
There are new ways to do journalism. Every time someone in Silicon Valley invents a new app, another way to get the news is created.
Mutual respect. Earlier, one would ask a footballer for an interview and he would happily grant it, even arranging it in his own home. And the historian was given the necessary time. If you want a note with Pele, that’s no problem, you go to the Santos stadium one morning and from the edge of the field, during that genius training session, you shout to him: “Edson, we faller con voce…? ” and the athlete of the century replied: “Sim, depois du traino”. And one would sit with O Ray in the club canteen and chat with him. It was lost. Now, to talk to someone who scored two goals against, it is necessary to negotiate with the president of the club.
“If you want a note with Pele, it’s not a problem, you went to the Santos stadium one morning and from the edge of the field, during that genius training, The player replied: “Sim, debois du traino.” And one sat down with Oh Ree in the club canteen and chatted with him.”
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In 2014, I asked Real Madrid for a meeting with James Rodriguez. I went to Spain with that sole purpose for a book. From the communications department of the White Club they said yes. But only ten minutes. It is a table for five. You have to sit with James, a journalist from Jestfit (the agency of his agent, Jorge Mendes), another from Adidas, a brand where he was a model, a Madrid official and me. Questions must be submitted in advance for review. And many topics are not allowed, for example talking about Messi. Stupid, superficial questions. No, thank you.
In the past, things may have been more sacred, that’s true. But, in general, no codes are violated. Off the record is sacred. The protagonist clarified: “I’m telling you this, please don’t publish it.” oh “don’t put it in my mouth”It was fulfilled. A tweet appears after ten minutes today. Corruption is more important than opinion. On TV, panelism is fashionable, five- or six-person shouting shows, one-upping each other, competing for the fattest phrase that will boost the networks and give them some notoriety. You can see a director of a major media outlet yelling on television “Don’t come, Messi, don’t come again…!” In Spain, another director of a Real Madrid-related sports newspaper tells the cameras: “Messi should be suspended for civil or criminal reasons”. And nothing happens. We are witnessing an era of militant journalism, a shameless profession.
The concept is lost in televised contests, where the televangelist is “informed” that he is selling a product and that he should take care of it. Selling matches is like selling slippers, which is not to say that slippers are ugly. They also take care of the federation president because he is the one who gives them the TV rights. The analysis of the game focuses on tactical speculation and statistics, dozens of North American-style data, ball possession, passes, shots, recoveries, which explains in part, but does not say everything, that observation is the queen of the game. Comment. Football should be described as a global spectacle, not just 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.
The written journalist became versatile: he writes, takes photos, makes videos, he has to sweep and serve coffee, but it’s good, he learned.
What does not change are the essential values of the profession: Ethics must be sacrosanct. He who is passionate comes, he who is ready comes. Training, experiential, academic and personal, is critical to shine, transcend and endure. All freedoms have limits, even freedom of expression. An objective person stands out. He who delivers the noblest object wins. Not being friends with a football player or coach compromises your opinion. Always be equal. Never give up. Never lose your toughness. Don’t give in to cronyism.
When the great Colombian referee Oscar Julián Ruiz was about to start refereeing, his father and first division judge gave him a brief piece of advice: “What you see is what you get”. Journalism is fine: tell what you see.
