The role of print sports journalism in crisis management in Algerian football clubs

Abstract

Sport has become an influential social reality in most contemporary societies, a representative face of national culture on the international stage, and a measure of excellence and development in all fields. Sport has even entered areas that neither economic, military, nor political power could penetrate, such as fostering rapprochement between adversaries and enemies and calming tensions in some conflict zones. Due to its value, sport now boasts international institutions, national federations, training academies, and universities. At the competitive level, it has reached a high degree of professionalism, whether in the field, management, advertising, commercial aspects, tournament organization, or in terms of the funds spent on players and the development of training methods. Sport has also received significant media attention across all platforms—visual, audio, and print—covering various competitions, especially football. In our country, sport receives similar attention. As for its relationship with the media in our country, it has gone through two phases. The first was before the transition to a market economy, where the media was controlled. The second phase was the transition to professionalism, during which sports media, especially print media (specialized sports journalism), tried to keep pace with the times. This was evident in the emergence of new daily and weekly sports newspapers. However, some chaos and self-interest prevailed in the sports scene, leading to crises within sports clubs. Politics, one-upmanship, and mudslinging between teams and their presidents, along with accusations and bias, became dominant. Therefore, our country's transition to professionalism has not been without problems and crises, and it is still in its transitional phase. The same can be said of sports media. Sports media, in all its forms, especially specialized print sports journalism, has tried to enrich the sports scene by providing media coverage of most sporting events and issues, particularly those related to sports clubs. The latter is one of the administrative and social institutions that includes many human segments, such as members of the administrative body, coaches, players, workers and the public that encourages the club and supports its activities (1). It is no secret to anyone that the specialized written sports press is not like yesterday, after it was limited to delivering news in an abstract manner and its message did not carry civilizational dimensions that relate to society and sports, such as development and prosperity. But today, thanks to the data known in the era, its tasks have increased and its functions and types have diversified. The specialized written sports press, with all its means, has come to bear the great weight and burden in advancing sports life in the social environment, and this is by virtue of the material and moral capabilities it possesses that qualify it to achieve this. This has led to it being placed before an urgent need to express itself in the patterns of its work and activities in the selection of media material, so that the latter contributes to influencing the sports scene and sports, especially in Algerian sports clubs in general. It is worth noting that it is rare for a crisis to appear with one dimension and limited effects. Therefore, it is a mistake to leave crisis management to management science or politicians only, but rather the process of confronting and managing crises must be based on cooperation and joint efforts of the crisis work team from different specialties. It is necessary for this team to be characterized by a high degree of coordination and the ability to work collectively under the material and moral pressures that the crisis situation brings about. Undoubtedly, media and communication (crisis communication) are essential and indispensable disciplines within crisis management. However, despite the importance and vitality of media activity during a crisis, there is significant neglect and a severe lack of attention to this aspect. Furthermore, a very superficial view of crisis communication often leads officials to assign crisis communication tasks and functions to non-specialists, or to media professionals who are successful in their media performance in ordinary situations but may not be as effective in dealing with crises, as a crisis situation requires a specific type of media management and handling. This underestimation of the role and importance of crisis communication has sometimes led to errors that caused crises or exacerbated them. Therefore, studies and research—especially since the beginning of this century—have focused their attention on highlighting the significant role that media can play globally. Algerian football clubs (both professional and amateur), like other administrative and social institutions, are exposed to numerous crises, whether material or moral. Despite the efforts made by official bodies to address these crises, the scale and level of material, human, and moral losses resulting from some of them remain significant and impactful. These crises naturally vary in their nature, scale, complexity, severity, and impact on the sports club. Because we live in the age of media, an era that has become the lifeblood of society, the various media outlets have become influential factors in the events the world witnesses daily, indeed, they are the driving force behind them. Muhammad Rashad al-Hamlawi states, "...It is established that crisis communication and media represent a crucial aspect in researching crisis management strategies, plans, and programs. Hence, the 1980s witnessed a significant increase in research and studies addressing communication and media aspects during crises (1). It has become essential for the media to deal with various societal crises. The media may be the first—if not the only—refuge for individuals seeking to understand the crisis facing society, learn appropriate methods for interacting with it, and how to overcome and transcend it. This necessitates that these media outlets handle the crisis wisely and professionally to ensure its resolution. This is known as crisis management, a relatively recent branch of management science. Simply put, this science involves anticipating potential crises and planning how to manage them to emerge with minimal losses. Crisis management is both a science and an art. It is a science in that it is a methodology with its own principles and rules, and it is an art in that it involves..."