New Social Media Blast: Effects on Collegiate Athletes

Media has always had a profound affect on athletics specifically majors sports such as football, basketball and baseball. Understanding how the media shapes their views on players in different stories can somewhat sway viewers and fans of teams and players to have a better understanding of these athletes. Athletes have the ability to help or hurt their self image in the media but either remain under the microscope by reporters, fans and civilians around the world. Understandably so, many athletes in professional sports make a lot of money and do not uphold a good self-image by some of the mistake they make or things they have said to the media. Today, the recent boom in social media has taking this process a step further by allowing these players collegiate and professional to connect with people and a large scale with the push of a button. In essence becoming their own capable new sources with every tweet on twitter or post on Facebook. This raises the question of how the new rise in social media is effecting these organizations but specifically the players and how they go about managing this new wave of technology so that is does not have a negative impact on the players career. Talking with Justin Anderson of the University of Maryland football team I asked him how he felt the new social media affects him and his ability to be a collegiate athlete:



 Looking into Justin's response there has been a recent issue with the University of Maryland football team and that is why I thought it would be appropriate to interview him on his take. Recently a player on the University of Maryland were suspended for the last football game of the season due to academic reasons and some players took to twitter to express their feelings about the suspension after it was made public. Then Dan Steinberg reporter for the Washington Post decided to write and Article about the recent suspension and the players reactions. The article made the players seem rebellious and against the suspension and caused a uproar in the UMD football community. Whether the players meant the tweets in a negative way there tweets can not be taking back and thousands of people are left to interpret the integrity of these players.

Here is another student athletes at the University of Maryland's respective opinion on the article and how they feel social media can affect these athletes:

listen to ‘Student Athlete 1’ on Audioboo

Being a student athlete I understand the strains of being an athlete and having to watch what you post on social media. Most athletes say there are just normal people and deserve to be able to say whatever they feel on social media but this is far from the truth. When you are an athlete and a part of an organization you are representing something bigger than yourself so based on the information you put on these sites you as an individual will be judged along with whatever organization you associate yourself with. Due to this athletes in all of their respective sports from the collegiate to professional level need adhere to a certain personal conduct to not embarrass themselves, their family and the organizations in which they are briefly representing.

Major Division 1 Athletics/Academics: Balancing Act

In this video interview I spoke with Davin Meggett a member of the University of Maryland football team who talks briefly about his trials and tribulations as a student athlete here at UMD. Davin was a star running back who hopes to play in the NFL next years but more importantly has graduated with his degree in hopes to one day become a lawyer. Talking to Davin he had positive and negative feedback about his journey to his Bachelors Degree at the University but speaks of the process helping him grow into a better person which will help him in his future endeavors. There are many challenges to being a student athlete and by being one myself I have my own outtake on the various problems that can occur while trying to manage a successful football career but also trying to excel in the classroom. Although from talking to Davin and seeing other athletes succeed it does show that is possible with hard work and dedication.

Sports Radio Expansion

Radio is a convenient way that most people take advantage of there morning and evening rides to and from work. Sports radio seems to be one of the most popular and expanding forms of radio according to Daniel Galdi.

listen to ‘Expansion of sports radio’ on Audioboo

Daniels belief in greater output in live streaming of events seems accurate when looking at the multiple ways that radio is being used today. Streaming events and using XM radio will help radio stations to create revenue and further advance their stations. Also looking into the future with radio I wonder if sports radio what continue to exist and Daniel also gave a few valid points about the reasons why sports radio and radio in general will continue to be important.

listen to ‘Success with mediums’ on Audioboo

Seemingly so, radio will continue to be apart of American culture because of the laws that restrict other types networking such as cell-phones and internet usage in cars. Therefore, radio expansion will continue for many years as they try to fine tune ways to get the most out of the radio experience. Specifically with sports, radio will be important to the individuals looking for statistical and analytical data during there car rides which will always be essential as long as we use mobile transportation

Individualism in College Athletics:UMD Football Jerseys

University of Maryland football team and many other sports have decided to take the names off the back of the Jerseys for a new era of athletic prowess at the school. Most people think this is a simple change with little drawback but this is certainly not the case to many student athletes, their families, and people around campus. Having the name on the back of jerseys is more than just and individual achievement but a important moment in many student athletes lives when they get to college and get to see their last name on the back of the Jerseys. UMD student Cassie Perez has her perspective on the new uniforms not sporting names on the back of the Jerseys; the positive and negatives, and also the effect on a student athlete from her perspective. The clips below are her take on the matter:

Individualism in College Sports: UMD Football Jerseys

listen to ‘Interview 1’ on Audioboo

listen to ‘Interview’ on Audioboo

University of Maryland football team and many other sports have decided to take the names off the back of the Jerseys for a new era of athletic prowess at the school. Most people think this is a simple change with little drawback but this is certainly not the case to many student athletes, their families, and people around campus. Having the name on the back of jerseys is more than just and individual achievement but a important moment in many student athletes lives when they get to college and get to see their last name on the back of the Jerseys. UMD student Cassie Perez has her perspective on the new uniforms not sporting names on the back of the Jerseys; the positive and negatives, and also the effect on a student athlete from her perspective. The above clips are her take on the matter:

WMUC Radio

WMUC radio station has been around for many years and has seen great expansion over the years at University of Maryland College Park. Being that it is a campus radio station you would think that many people don't attend or listen to the information, entertainment or music being pushed through this station but that doesn't seem to be the case. With the expansion of technology WMUC has expanded and has many different ways of communicating to the population in and around College Park.

On the WMUC website they show many different options and in communicating including Their schedule WMUC 1 and 2 channels, sports, WMUC Blog, discussion board, DJ profiles and calendars. Looking at the different aspects of the station it shows that the station is not only available to just be listen to be for interaction from the population that its reaching out to. Looking at things like blog and discussion board it showing an effort to involve individuals with there station and to have an interactive experience with the station which wasn't available two or three years prior. There is also a link for PSA announcement to allow student organization groups on campus to announce different events to the University of Maryland Students and being that WMUC is the main station on campus this is another aspect that can draw various students to the station if only for quick campus news. WMUC also has created many social networking pages such as myspace twitter and Facebook to also extend the experience online so that it is more applicable for students to get quick news about many events and things that will be taking place in the near future on campus.

Campus radio plays a role in their respective industry because even though many listen to radio only for musical purposes many still listen to the broadcast for quick news and information which is especially important in somewhere fast pace lifestyle such as a college campus. College campuses need radio stations to maintain there prowess because they are a source of information in which is important in an area in which most of the population do not get involved with the local news or radio in which the college they attend. Having a radio station like WMUC shows that it is possible for radio to still exist and be important on a college campus and that the industry is adapting and evolving with the technological advances that are happening today.

ESPN The Magazine

ESPN Magazine is the number one source for sports related news in the world. The magazine offers analyst and insight from some of the best sports writers around the Country and popular news that is fresh around in the sport world around the United States and beyond. The magazine offers news about all sports that exist in our popular culture and even sports that aren't heavily favored in the US. The magazine allows for readers to take the latest sports information monthly and understand all sports breaking news.

The magazine come in both print and web formats and does offer a subscription package of 26$ for the first year of reading the magazine. You must be 18 or older to order the magazine and if not you need parental signature to apply.

From Books to EBooks: A Difficult Adjustment for Many

For many readers the idea of the electronic book doesn't satisfy their taste for reading. I can relate because I have never had the urge to read and ebook specifically because it doesn't seem appealing and the brightness of the screens gives me mild headaches over time. Diving further into the issue we can look at something like a painting and digital art. Although both can be appealing to the eye there is something about a hand drawn piece that makes you appreciate the time and effort that was spent making it that a digital piece doesn't seem to explicate. In this Link a study was done to show many individuals prefer paper over and ipad or and other electronic book source for many reasons.

I believe the same thing can be applied to the idea of a book. In our generation and prior to, we grew up with and appreciate for man made objects. Although a book is made by a printing press and isn't hand woven and made individually there is something about it that suggest that its real and that is was made from a human for a human. The idea of an ebook takes away that personal feeling of reading and thrusts you into the new realm of the technology that we live in. Reading has always been an intimate and personal situation for the most part. Flipping the pages; although a small act, was a physical thing and something that a reader can see pleasure in awaiting the surprises of the next page. On an Ebook pressing next page doesn't allow that same sense of gratification because you don't feel as if your doing the act book the technology is doing it for you.

Books are one of our final sources of communication where no electronic means need to exist for you to receive a fulfilling experience and many people see it as a hamper instead of a means to an easier reading experience. Many will argue that an Ebook is smaller is size and gives the ability to carry many books with you at once without the physical strain that carrying many items my bring. But, most people who read for leisure rarely read multiple books at once and might enjoy carrying that book around with them because it gives them a more personal experience while reading. There has been studies that also show that people read Faster with paper books. With all the different lighting situations and trying to adjust while indoors and outdoors can be very time consuming which having a paper book can eliminate by easily just turning a light on or reading outside with comfort.

Many technologies that we use today have made a vast improvement on the quality and efficiency of our life. They allow us to do things faster and easier and to multi-task in ways that weren't thought of even ten years ago. But in our society books have been a fundamental way of communication so its a hard adjustment to think that hand written and printed books might not exist, especially growing up with them.

In the next century children might not actually know what a real book looks like or feels like therefore, they won't have the emotional attachment that takes place when thinking about the intimate and personal relationship with a book but for our generation its just something that we will have to get use to.

J150 Intro

My names is Tony Logan and I am currently a student-athlete at the University of Maryland. I recently completed my bachelors of arts in the communication field in fall 2010 and Im not pursuing a second degree along with trying to further my education in graduate school in the near future.

I've always been fascinated with technology and how to use it and the advancements that have been taking place in the last few years. Apple has changed the way we see most technology and has made it easier for us to share information and entertain ourselves with out anyone even being around. Technology and media go together in todays world and I see that being more apparent specifically with sports. On ESPN they show daily tweets of some celebrities and there views and many things when many years ago a personal quote was only able to be found in a news article or from a interview. Now they are able to directly extract information from athletes personals accounts and right stories on based on them.

A great example recently is looking at Lebron James and his tweet while watching the University of Maryland football game vs Miami on September 5, 2011 which was later shown on ESPN and discussed further nationally.