People who follow a sport want to read or listen to reports about their team’s matches, especially if they are winning. They also want to see league tables published, so that they can keep track of their team’s position in the table. In addition, people who play sports at a fairly low level may want to see the results of other teams in their league, so that they can get a better idea of how good or bad their own team is.
A journalist must be careful not to let his or her own interest in a particular team influence the way that he or she covers a match. If a reporter feels that they are biased in some way, then this could damage their credibility as a journalist. It is also important that journalists don’t cheer during a match, even if they are supporting the team which is playing. This can be distracting to the players and other spectators, and it is against journalistic ethics.
It is often difficult to decide how much coverage to give to a sport. Decision-makers must consider whether it is more important to cover spectator sports, or to focus on participant sports, and also which sports are popular in a given country. Obtaining accurate statistics is often difficult, but researchers at sports institutes and the government’s national census can sometimes help to provide some indication of which sports are popular in a particular country.
