Sports journalism is buried amid Lebanon's crises, political machinations and neglect
(The state of sports journalism)
Sports journalism and its audience are like a mother embracing her children.
The vast world, brimming with details that occupy its inhabitants, is this woman truly worthy of such attention? She stands like a woven compass around which the universe revolves. Her folds hold messages, and her stories offer countless lessons. She has become like a mother embracing her children, a focal point for a significant portion of the world.
This mother has traversed the earth, leaving her mark in every corner, until she settled in Lebanon. She has traveled, experienced, and worked tirelessly in her field, but life is inevitably filled with obstacles.
Who is this mother, with her numerous children, her weakened state, burdened by the ailments of life? She is the Lebanese sports journalism movement, ravaged by a cancer that has led to the deterioration of her story.
This story, chased by many, this story that was the last breath of air for many, has been consumed by this cancer, killing the heart of sports journalism and inflicting spiritual death upon its audience. It has even created a rift between Lebanon and its children, leading to the exodus of journalism's minds to the outside world.
Journalism is not the only victim; its damage was caused by multiple factors. This cancer has also devoured the sports upon which this journalism is built, the sports that Lebanese people live for.
Where did the setback of journalism begin?
Before delving into the meanings and terms that define journalism and give it its basic form in this rapidly evolving world, in Lebanon, journalism was like a holocaust. It went through periods of wars and its movement was paralyzed until it passed through many obstacles that affected the journalist as a person, and the profession itself. Some of the obstacles found solutions until the last setback, which is the fundamental gap that destroyed sports journalism in Lebanon. So, where did this setback begin and what are some of the factors that contributed to its setback? Here, it was necessary to talk to those who witnessed the flourishing of sports journalism and touched the doors of its setback, the Lebanese journalist Hussein Yassin, who worked as a sports journalist for years and who told us about the events of the journalism setback and how and from where it began.
2 It is true that some of the journalists' skills crystallize through their practice of journalistic work, and that some of them work in this field with determination, passion, and determination. However, this was not enough for Lebanese sports journalism to walk towards the path of the spotlight.
Sports media or sports journalism today, when we see it wake up, and then we disappear from its eyes and delight, we find that it has fallen greatly. And here it was necessary to talk to those who lived with sports journalism and found the paradox between it and the world through their work in more than one channel and in more than one country.
1 Sports journalism emerged as journalism of individual activities, hobbies, and entertainment before it branched out into specialized sports disciplines. But be patient, this is not in Lebanon but in the world. Lebanese sports journalism has been active in a large competitive market, in an atmosphere of professional and professional weakness, and as a specialized journalism that needs a lot of time to become like the specialization of the sports in his work.
3 So, it was necessary to talk to the Lebanese doctor Stephanie Saad, presenter and correspondent for Bein Sports channel, who said: "If we want to address the situation of sports journalism in Lebanon and the world, we must really separate between the two comparisons, or at least talk about each situation separately."
Between Lebanese sports journalism and world sports journalism, there is an area that does not invite comparison, as the space and field are different on several levels, which was confirmed by Dr. Saad, who said: "Despite the skills and passion of Lebanese sports journalism, this field needs a lot of support, by considering the field as any other field." This matter, which Dr. Stephanie talked about, in order to succeed, the sports sector and sports journalism must be given academic importance, reaching the practical stages.
Lebanon's crises
This sports media that has settled in Lebanon and which was bound to witness the development as witnessed now by some Arab sports media such as the Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Yes, it is a large Arab country, but Lebanon is also large with its audience that lives for this sport.
This Lebanese sports journalism appeared with the organized sports movement in the late 1930s, where it formed national federations for it. But the reality of this journalism showed that the collusion and the setback we talked about did not end, as its factors are many. The sports journalism sector is very large, and despite its large size, cancer infiltrated it and ravaged it. Cancer of transferring the reality of sports journalism from one state to another and from one era to another.
In an interview with media personality Hassan Sharara, Director of the Sports Bureau at Al-Jadeed Channel and Head of the Public Relations Unit at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Sharara answered about the reality of sports journalism today and its coverage as follows:
Sports journalism, as we said, used to rise and fall like waves. However, sports journalism in the past was experiencing better times than today, as we saw in the coverage of the Arab Games held in Lebanon in 1997, as well as in the Asian Football Championship, and many other Asian championships in basketball and other sports. However, the cancer that entered the bloodstream of journalism was when Lebanon entered a state of crises, to the point where these crises began to reflect heavily and violently on sports journalism, as the sports media relied on advertising. With the onset of these crises, the value of advertising began to decline, which means that sports journalism is also declining.
Undoubtedly, Lebanon is suffering and its people are suffering, and most of its sectors are fighting to stay in the spotlight. The sports media sector today, as a result of the economic crises that Lebanon has gone through and settled in, has created a major gap, hand in hand with politics, in killing the sports journalism sector and they were the biggest cancer that made its situation like this. We must also not forget that after the Corona crisis, the sports movement in the country came to a halt and most sports journalists lost their jobs, which further diverted sports journalism from its natural course. This was confirmed by sports journalist and commentator Ali Haddad about the reality of sports, where he said that "sports after the Corona crisis is over and has ended sports journalism with it."
Despite these crises that have befallen Lebanon, some sports journalists can be seen fighting to bring journalism out of the grave it is in. These journalists, despite the difficulties and economic and health fluctuations that have occurred in the country, have worked to raise their stature and write their name in sports journalism. An example of this is Mr. Amer Chamitli, who always strives to cover sporting events in Lebanon and reaches out to all age groups. But here comes the paradox of how a sports journalist distinguishes his work and abilities from others and how, with these abilities, despite the circumstances, he elevates the status of sports journalism in Lebanon.
For a sports journalist to succeed in their work, they must break free from all the constraints that limit them, especially the constraints imposed in Lebanon, which are in themselves a cancer for sports journalism and journalism in general. Once a sports journalist distinguishes themselves from others and frees themselves from their limitations, they will succeed. This is what sports journalist and content creator Hasan Atieh emphasized.
Political cancer in sports journalism
Lebanon is a stronghold of political parties and movements. These movements have seized control of many sectors that concern and affect the Lebanese people. Among these sectors is the sports sector, which has been politically controlled to the point where we now see some taking it towards their own political agendas.
This situation in Lebanon has overwhelmed the media institutions, which have come to place sports and sports media at the bottom of their priorities. When we follow sports matches and coverage, we see that priority is given to political news, especially in the last match on MTV, where they began to apologize to viewers for the delay in the news bulletin due to the basketball game. Yes, there is media coverage of sports in Lebanon, but it is very weak, as some institutions treat sports as news in their news bulletins. This was confirmed by Mr. Sharara, who said:
These factors and political pressures are like weights that break the back of sports journalism. In addition to that, the federations that are appointed as a result of these policies, each sports federation today is singing its own tune. And how can sports journalism succeed without sports? The cancer of politics, just as it has devoured the press, has penetrated and devoured the roots of sports. But here comes the role of the influential sports journalist in breaking out of the circle of political control and giving importance to sports journalism. We have seen the successful journalist, with all the political pressures and crises that Lebanon is suffering from, continue to defy all odds to continue his work and invest his skills in supporting this journalism and the challenges that prevented him from going to major coverage, are like the challenges of journalism itself. This is what journalist Hassan Atieh answered.
The coverages
Many Lebanese sports lack media coverage today. Some are covered a little, while others are completely ignored. In our search for these players, we found some of them, such as champion Muhammad Al-Hussein, who went to the World Bodybuilding Championship without any support from Lebanon. He won the championship, and no one talked about his achievement except for some people on social media. Others include the golden sprinter Maisa Mouawad, the brilliant gymnast Katarina Zgheib, and other Lebanese athletes who raise Lebanon's name in various countries around the world. These names were absent from media coverage. Journalist Hassan Atieh said, "There is news that we put out so that people can get their rights, but most of the people who are covered are those who take positions on the Palestinian cause."
The weakness of this coverage also ignores the age groups in sports, even in football. Young promising Ahli Nabatiyeh player Ali Rida says, "In Lebanon, no one cares about covering the age groups or conducting interviews and statements from players after each match except for Mr. Amer Chamitely, owner of the Arab Player page." This matter and the weakness of coverage in various sports, including some football and basketball matches, are due to many reasons. Mr. Hassan Sharaarah mentioned some of them: "The first blame falls on the sports media for not covering the events of these games, but there is something that the Lebanese must know: the sports media in Lebanon cannot keep up with all sports if there are no federations following up with the media that they have a championship here and a championship there due to the shortage of workers in the sports media sector and the shortage of researchers."
Players today are victims of media corruption in sports federations that lack or some of them lack journalists who understand modern media. Hassan Sharaarah said, "Any sports federation that respects itself and does not have a media official and a social media official is a federation that does not respect itself and has no right to blame the media for not covering the events of the games it manages."