Media changes

I am a member of the RYA’s Paralympic Steering group, which decides policy and selection for the British Paralympic sailing effort. Recently one of us attended an update on 2012 www.london2012.org for our group and he reported back on a presentation from the BBC.

A very effective presentation (to be expected!) pointed out that the techniques for reporting on sport in 1948 (the last time London hosted the Olympics) and Sydney 2000 were essentially the same. Then there was more change between 2000 and 2004 than the previous 52 years. And the speed of technological advancement continues to heat up, to the point that every minute of sport in Beijing 2008 www.en.beijing2008.cn will be available somewhere (traditional media, websites, blogs) to anyone who can find it.

I am reminded to be grateful that I pay my license fee for the BBC www.bbc.co.uk since the freedom this gives them to stay at the forefront of such changes means 2012 will be great viewing, and will probably set new standards for sports reporting in the world.

In the meantime, one of the sailing magazines, Yachting World www.yachting-world.com is filling a gaping gap in sailing media with their Editorial blogs and podcasts. The international sailing community adopted internet communication very early on, and we have excellent ‘newspapers’ such as the Daily Sail and newsletters such as Scuttlebutt as well as websites galore, but the use of new media by Andrew Bray, David Glen, Elaine Bunting and Matthew Sheahan add comment and opinions more along the lines of the serious traditional paper newssheets such as the Guardian, the Times etc. I applaud the initiative.