ABSTRACT
Sports reporting has a long tradition in the press, but has often been seen as ‘soft’ journalism. However, during recent times, sports journalism has moved from the toy department to the finance department. Where once the profession was looked upon with amusement or scorn, it is now seen as crucial to the incomes and audiences of many media organizations. As Steen (2008, p21) says: ‘Newspaper editors once referred to their sports desks as the toy department. In recognition of the seemingly unslakeable public thirst for information, and the profits engendered by satisfying that demand, the sneering has all but abated.’
