Sports Journalists and England’s Barclays Premier League: A Case Study Examining Reporters’ Takes on Modern Football

Abstract

England’s Barclays Premier League is one of the most successful and widereaching sporting organizations in the world, attracting the best football players and managers from around the world as well as a global audience. Since its formation in 1992, the Premier League has focused on commercial success for both the League and its constituent clubs. This emphasis has brought tremendous change to English football as a whole. This case study analysis seeks to understand the perceptions and experiences of sports reporters tasked with covering these Premier League sides. These football journalists describe limited access brought on by the clubs’ decisions to emphasize global brands and manage their own branded content through club-run websites and material. Respondents also perceive this limited access is exacerbated by increased multiculturalism and a growing culture of suspicion that widens the gulfs between teams and the reporters who cover them.