Journal of Sport and Social Issues

This article examines new media production in professional climbing through the prism of the work relationships between climbers and companies. The development of new media has driven significant transformations in the production, diffusion, and consumption of professional sports, notably in the relationships between athletes, companies, fans, and organizations. However, little is known on the influence of new media on the work of professional athletes and their relationships with companies. By drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Europe and the United States, I show that the production and diffusion of new media content have become key for professional rock climbers wishing to build their careers, and are complexly embedded in the organization of the labor market. This supports an understanding of the production of new media acknowledging the relationships between companies, athletes, and media producers. Indeed, producing and diffusing new media content have become a central part of the job of an athlete and brand ambassador for climbing companies.

The Class of ’92 is a documentary film featuring six Manchester United F.C. players who recount their time during a pivotal period for the club, English football and English society. The documentary claims to offer a commentary on Britain in the 1990s, but appears, without acknowledging the fact, to be a promotional vehicle to establish the six men as a brand labeled the Class of ’92 (CO92). Creating this brand necessarily involved presenting a selective account of their time and places with the film being little more than an advertisement, masquerading as an observational documentary. The film draws freely upon the symbolic capital held by the club and the city of Manchester and uses the Busby Babes/Munich chapter and the more recent “Madchester scene” to forge the Class of ’92 brand by editing out those elements that did not accord with this project. The article argues that a more complete representation of ’90s Britain, while disrupting the intended narrative, would acknowledge the significant structural and commercial changes experienced by the club, the sport, and the city in the last decade of the 20th century. We suggest that the Class of ’92 invites the viewer to consider how the documentary film genre can contribute to brand development and promotion.

Arguably, the later process of globalization served to reshape how socializations are fostered and maintained across time and space. In addition, in the last 15 years, a new phenomenon that reinvigorated time and space compression has emerged: social media. Moreover, it is argued that the conjunction of those processes can be seen as taking place on a distinct Age—the Anthropocene or the cosmopolitan epoch. Arguably, those processes have the capacity to alter the way individuals enact their football fandom. In this light, this article seeks to conceptualize one particular football support identity that takes into account this fragmented period. Based on an 18-month ethnographic research with supporters of one English Premier League club, this article conceptualizes the football fan in the Anthropocene as the cosmopolitan flâneur. I conclude by pointing out to some prospective avenues for future research based on a cosmopolitan imagination.

In October 2014, the International Safeguards for Children in Sport were launched. These Safeguards were developed, implemented, and evaluated based on a pilot process which took place over the preceding 2 years. Throughout this piloting phase, a range of qualitative techniques were employed to capture the experiences of people within 32 of the organizations that were working toward the International Safeguards. The participant organizations varied based on their geographical focus (e.g., local, national, and international) as well as their mission (e.g., participation, competition, and sport for development). Based on a thematic analysis, eight key pillars were identified on which systems which safeguard children can be built. These are known as the CHILDREN pillars: Cultural sensitivity, Holistic, Incentives, Leadership, Dynamic, Resources, Engagement, and Networks. Illustrative examples are provided and the future directions of this project will be discussed.