Page 87 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

76 • Sport, Media and Society

Narrative in News Stories

A first step in unpacking the way the sport news story is constructed is to distinguish
between the content of the report and the way the story is presented. Events in a
news story are rarely introduced in the chronological order in which they happened.
As a result, we need to isolate the form of the narrative from its content. Richardson
(2007) argued that the news is generally structured around a three-part plot: the set-
ting, the event and the outcome. News stories presented as unfolding events often
ask readers to make links between people and situations, relating current happen-
ings to their wider knowledge of the world. As a result, the presentation of current
news as an ongoing narrative requires much meaning work on the part of the news
consumer.
Sport narratives are often organised around a central question: who will win? Pre-
match stories generate interest in upcoming events, while postmatch stories recount
explanations for the outcome and implications for the future. Harris and Hills (1993:
108) suggested that sports have an ‘inherent storylike structure. Whether the story
involves a single game, a tournament, a season, or a series of seasons, initial tensions
or uncertainties—usually connected with winning—are at least partially resolved as
the actions unfold.’ Sporting narratives must also keep readers interested in the next
‘instalment’ and provide an ongoing sense of the importance and uncertainty of up-
coming events. Why/when/how suppositions speculating on the reasons for winning
and losing, the contribution of various characters (athletes, coaches, crowds, owners,
etc.) and the possible repercussions of a particular outcome create a sense of drama,
generate interest and sustain tension.
Richardson (2007) pointed to the prevalence of the inverted pyramid format for
the presentation of hard news narratives. This organisation of news differs from many

fictional narratives by presenting the climax first, with all the who, what, where and
when information in the opening paragraphs. As Bell (1991: 149) explained, the
‘lead as summary or abstract is obligatory in hard news . . . [it] is the device by which
copy editor or audience can get the main point of the story from reading a single
opening sentence, and on that basis decide whether to continue.’
In sport stories, often the who, what and where information is contained in the
scoreline preceding the actual story, reinforcing the emphasis on victory and success
in sport (Carrard 1988). For example, a story in The Observer about a fi fth-round
Football Association Cup match between the two English soccer teams Liverpool
and Barnsley (Jackson 2008: 2) presented the following information about the fi nal
score, players who scored and times of the goals, as a lead:

Liverpool 1
Kuyt 32
Barnsley 2
Foster 57 Howard 90