ABSTRACT
There is an ongoing debate in journalism regarding how to view the sports media. In general, the issue centers on whether the media should present sports in a serious or a nonserious manner.
There are several arguments for both sides. Those that favor the serious approach point to the tremendous amount of money involved in sports. There are literally billions of dollars spent every year in activities related to professional, college, and amateur sports. The economic impact is staggering and can have important consequences in a variety of ways. For example, whether a professional sports team decides to build a new stadium or relocate to a new city can literally make or break a local economy. In 2004, the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL reached a tentative agreement with the suburb of Arlington to build a new stadium at a cost of $650 million. The money will come from an increase in local sales taxes, which voters approved in a special referendum. The new stadium will take 4 years to build and will have obvious economic consequences for Arlington, which will gain around 2000 new jobs and more than $2 million per year in revenue. The suburb of Irving, where the Cowboys currently play, stands to lose millions of dollars.
