New Study Explores How Journalists Perceive Sports Press Conferences

A new study by Roxane Coche, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Media Production, Management, and Technology associate professor and department chair, examines professional tennis player Naomi Osaka’s decision not to take part in 2021 French Open press conferences and a subsequent debate among Francophone journalists over the normalization of these events.

The article, “Good for the profession or the trash? Press conferences in sport,” was published in the French Journal Études de communication, one of the most prestigious Francophone peer-reviewed journals in communication and information sciences. The article was published in edition 62 which focused on “The Sports Journalist: An Actor in a Changing Society.”

According to the article’s abstract, “Naomi Osaka’s decision not to take part in press conferences during the 2021 French Open, followed by her withdrawal from the tournament, sparked a debate among journalists over the normalization of press conferences. This study uses meta-journalistic discourse to explore how journalists perceive press conferences in the sports world, and their use for and effects on journalistic narrative.”

From the study of 65 articles, the research showed that journalists defended their profession and the practice of conferences, as Francophone journalists developed an accusatory discourse. The questioning of professional practices appeared only rarely in the data.

Posted: July 17, 2024
Category: College News, Sports
Tagged as: Roxane Coche, Sports Press Conferences