Our Position – Reporting Social Media

By Matt Finnis

Today’s reporting of a player’s personal relationship matter raises a number of questions. Including, does using an email about someone’s personal life as an example in an article on social media relationship trends make it newsworthy?

It’s called a personal life for a reason. Except that in this day and age reporting on athletes’ personal lives has become the norm rather than the exception. And yet it seems that there are no personal matters deemed private - indeed if you read today’s news you’d be forgiven for believing all personal matters relating to players are fit for public consumption.

Most people place an incredible importance on their privacy and an AFL player is no exception. And when your every success and failure on-field is played out for the public each week, it increases the value you place on your personal life, and the respect you have for privacy.

One implication with media reporting on players private lives is that players do have a right to choose who they are happy to be interviewed by, and they have long memories. The importance they place on their privacy and reputation should not be taken for granted. If a player does not feel a media organisation is giving due respect for his privacy, he will start making his own choices to deal with media that he respects – simply put, it’s a two-way street.

In a competitive media landscape where there are a growing number of requests from TV, radio, print and websites for interviews, it’s not surprising that a player would be mindful of how media organisations have treated him, his teammates and peers before granting an interview request.

Players cop their fair whack in the press on off-field matters, but journalists and editors should be mindful that when it comes to delivering news to their fan base, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if more players begin turning to their own media channels with exclusives and appealing content.