E-Book Overview
At one time, sports coverage was scores, standings, and star performances. However, sports has evolved into a profitable, complicated, and multi-dimensional business, as broad and complex as any. This book explores the business aspect of sports with an orientation to those topics that are most relevant to journalists, providing the foundation for understanding the various parts of the sports business. Moving beyond sports writing, this text offers a distinct perspective on professional, college, and international sports organizations—structure, governance, labor issues, and other business factors within the sports community. Written clearly and compellingly, The Business of Sports includes cases (historical, current, and hypothetical) to illustrate how business concerns play a role in the reporting of sports. Offering critical insights on the business of sports, this text will be a required resource for sports journalists and students in journalism.
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THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS A Primer for Journalists Mark Conrad The Business of Sports A Primer for Journalists LEA’S COMMUNICATION SERIES Jennings Bryant/Dolf Zillmann, General Editors Selected titles in Journalism (Maxwell McCombs, Advisory Editor) include: Friedman/Dunwoody/Rogers • Communicating Uncertainty: Media Coverage of News and Controversial Science Garrison • Professional Feature Writing, Fourth Edition Iorio • Taking It to the Streets: Qualitative Research in Journalism Merrill/Gade/Blevens • Twilight of Press Freedom: The Rise of People’s Journalism Merritt/McCombs • The Two W’s of Journalism: The Why and What of Public Affairs Reporting Roush • Show Me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication Salwen/Garrison/Driscoll • Online News and the Public Titchener • Reviewing the Arts, Third Edition For a complete list of titles in LEA’s Communication Series, please contact Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, at www.erlbaum.com. The Business of Sports A Primer for Journalists Mark Conrad Fordham University 2006 LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS Mahwah, New Jersey London Copyright © 2006 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means, without prior written permission of the publisher. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers 10 Industrial Avenue Mahwah, New Jersey 07430 www.erlbaum.com Cover design by Tomai Maridou Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Conrad, Mark, 1958The business of sports : a primer for journalists / Mark Conrad. p. cm. — (LEA's communication series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8058-5044-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Sports—Economic aspects. 2. Sports administration. 3. Sports journalism. I. Title. II. Series. GV716.C665 2005 796'.06'9—dc22 2005040116 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Kaz and Josh, the stars of my home team, and to my parents who brought me into the big leagues. Contents in Brief Preface xix Introduction—What Makes Sports a Unique Business? xxi 1 The Structure of Professional Team Sports 2 The Structure of Individual Sports 22 3 The Structure of College and High School Sports 31 4 The International Sports System 61 5 Sports Contracts 83 6 Labor Relations in Sports 108 7 Sports Agents 158 1 vii viii CONTENTS