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SPORTSCASTERS/SPORTSCASTING: Principles and Practices. New York: Routledge, 2008.

            Sportscasters/Sportscasting: Principles and Practices is a much-needed practical approach addressing a range of issues relative to sport, sportscasters, and sportscasting.  Beginning with an overview of the lucrative sports industry, it outlines the historical background to sportscasting, discusses its economic base (advertisers and advertising, sports tourism, sports marketing and management, the sports-media complex, sportscaster earnings, and sports sponsorship), audience(s)—U.S. and international sports spectators and audiences for special events, and the role of sportscasting relative to the media: print sports media (sportswriters/sportswriting, sports journalism/sports journalists), sports television, including case studies, sports broadcasting controversies, and topics beyond broadcasting.  Subsumed under the chapter on media is a special section on sportscasters: sportscaster recognition, the “jockocracy” issue, sportscaster celebrityhood, sportscaster signature statements, sportscasters as newscasters, sportscasters in the media, and in-depth profiles of more than 200 sportscasters.  Sociological perspectives on sports and sportscasting consider discussions on the pervasiveness and salience of sports (the sociology of sport, the language of sport, sport and religion, and sport in popular culture), role modeling/heroes (sport and identity, sport celebrityhood, and sport mentors), and some socio-cultural issues relative to sportscasting (gender, gender orientation, race, drugs/doping, gambling, and sports violence). A practicum on sportscasting rounds out the book, including section on becoming a sportscaster (sportscasting skills, jobs, preparation, sportscasting how-tos, and internships), sports journalism writing and broadcasting (the latter including sections on career moves, interviews, specific sports, and sports psychology).  Finally, the future of sportscasting takes on technology and topics such as sports stadiums, politics and legalities, ethics, and your role in sports and sportscasting.  In addition to some 1,000 sports-related references, there are 13 appendices including a number of helpful sportscasting-related resources.  As you can see, this is a multi-faceted, user-friendly volume.  But best of all is its Instructor’s Manual supplement: Exercises in Sportscasting—downloadable for free on this website, which will enlighten and educate you on these topics.

EXERCISES IN SPORTSCASTING. New York: Routledge, 2008.

Conceived as a supplement to Sportscasters/Sportscasting: Principles and Practices—available at no cost on the www.LKFullerSport.com webiste, this collection adds to the pedagogical mix.  Following the outline of a broad approach to understanding to the topic—which includes the history, economics, audience, media, sociology, practicality, and future concerns of sports and sportscasting, it has this general outline:

Chapter l: Introduction to the study of sportscasters and sportscasting

Chapter 2: The historical development of sports and sportscasting

Chapter 3: The economics of sports, sportscasters, and sportscasting

                        (Sports advertisers and advertising, sport tourism, sports marketing

and management, the sports-media complex, sportscaster earnings,

                        and sports sponsorship)

Chapter 4: Audience(s) for sports and sportscasting

                        (U.S. audiences, international audiences, and special events) 

Chapter 5: The role of the media in sports and sportscasting

                        (Print sports media, broadcasting and beyond, sportscasters—the

                        “Jockocracy” issue, sportscasters as celebrities, and sportscaster

profiles)

Chapter 6: Sociological perspectives on sports and sportscasting

                        (Pervasiveness and salience of sports, role modeling/heroes, and

                        issues—racial and gender consideration)

Chapter 7: How-tos of sportscasting

Chapter 8: Future concerns and considerations about sports and sportscasting

            Designed for teachers and students, as well as anyone interested in the topic, Exercises in Sportscasting includes a range of approaches.  The idea here is that, rather than simply having something like an Instructor’s Manual, participants in this process will want to learn as much as they can about the subject. 

            As you can see from the “List of exercises,” each chapter offers several ways to enhance the learning process.  A number encourage discussions of topics with family and friends and/or in the classroom, and most are meant to get you both thinking and talking about sportscasting-related issues. There also are a number of bibliographic lists, encouraging further research on various topics, along with an approach to reporting on your reading that encourages critical thinking.  Exercise 1-4 is constructed as a “Fill in the blanks,” with the answers on the next page, as is Exercise 2-3 on “Sport history firsts,” and the essays in Exercise 2-4 have suggested inclusions for answers.  If you are interested in doing survey scholarship, there are two examples: Exercise 4-5 offers directions on how to get information on audiences for the Olympic Games, along with a sample and coding forms, and Exercise 5-8 gives you a good background for interviewing sportscasters. Hoping you use soft drinks, as suggested, you should enjoy Exercise 5-6, “The Brent Musburger Drinking Game” as yet another way to monitor sportscaster-speak.  There actually are a number of fun exercises here, as you will see.

            In terms of the practicum, you are asked to consider the field of sport journalism, examine sports clichés, construct a resume, analyze your voice, and actually practice sportscasting.  As in anything else, the more you are willing to try these various activities, the more it will help you in the long run.  This is, after all, only your beginning. Sportscasters/Sportscasting: Principles and Practices is replete with tips and examples, and this accompaniment is meant to be just that. After the exercises in this volume comes a separate section focusing on the way this course has been taught in the past.  Introduced as “Suggestions for teaching Sportscasting,” it includes the following templates:

1. Syllabus
2. Critical Dates
3. Student profile
4. A suggested invitation for a sportscaster speaker

Obviously designed for teachers, this section is noticeably suggestive only, and is obviously open to input—as is, in fact, this whole project.  Your responses are encouraged.