I have been leading a research project examining how violence and conflict are covered in sport-related media, with a particular emphasis on what might be considered peace-promoting journalism (or what our research group has termed ‘sport journalism for peace’, or SJP) (see Wilson, 2012, Sport & Peace: A Sociological Perspective, chapter 9). The project is funded by a SSHRC Insight grant entitled “Fostering ‘Sport-for-Peace Journalism’ and a Role for Sociologists of Sport.” Research to date has focused on: (a) media coverage of activism around the 2014 Sochi Olympics and 2010 Vancouver Olympics; (b) perceptions of ‘what is possible for sport journalism’ according to journalists publishing social issues-focused commentary pertaining to sport in ‘alternative’ venues; and (c) lessons offered in textbooks for sport journalists about how to cover socially-charged issues.
Outcomes to date on the project include:
Wilson, B. & Yoon, L. (2023). A Proposal For An ‘Environmental Sports Journalism’ (ESJ) Approach: Principles and Illustrative Examples Drawn from Reporting on Environmental Issues at Sport Mega-Events’. Sociology of Sport Journal. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0149
Yoon, Liv & Wilson, Brian. (2020). Reflections on an attempt to do “environmental sports Journalism”: The behind-the scenes story of the documentary Mount Gariwang: An Olympic casualty (pp. 179-198). In Brian Wilson & Brad Millington (Eds.), Sport and the Environment: Politics and Preferred Futures. Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Weedon, G., & Wilson, B. (2020). Textbook journalism? Objectivity, education and the professionalization of sports reporting. Journalism, 21(10), 1375-1400.
Wilson, Brian & Van Luijk, Nicolien. (2019). Covering protest at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics: A peace journalism inspired analysis. Sociology of Sport Journal, 36(1), 32-47. (Note: Article was ‘Runner-Up’ in the Sociology of Sport Journal’s Outstanding Article Competition).
Yoon, Liv & Wilson, Brian. (2019). Journalism, Environmental Issues, and Sport Mega-Events: A Study of South Korean Media Coverage of the Mount Gariwang Development for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games. Communication and Sport, 7(6), 699-728.
Forde, Shawn & Wilson, Brian (2018). Radical Sports Journalism?: Reflections on ‘Alternative’ Approaches to Covering Sport-Related Social Issues. Sociology of Sport Journal, 35(1), 66-76.
Weedon, G., Wilson, B., Yoon, L., Lawson, S. (2018). Where’s all the ‘good’ sports journalism?: Sports media research, the sociology of sport, and the question of quality sports reporting. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 53(6), pp. 639 – 667.
Wilson, B. (2016). ‘Sport Journalism for Peace’: Reflections on a Research Project and an Argument for Taking Sport Journalism Seriously. Presented at the International Peace Research Association Meetings. Freetown, Sierra Leone. November 27-December 1.
Van Luijk, N., Waldman, D., & Wilson, B. (2015). Experiments in ‘Sport Journalism for Peace’ (SJP): Reflections on Coverage of the Vancouver and Sochi Olympics. Presented at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Nov. 4-7.
Forde, S. & Wilson, B.. (2015). Radical Sport Journalism?: Reflections on ‘Alternative’ Approaches to Covering Sport-Related Issues. Presented at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Nov. 4-7.
Weedon, G. and Wilson, B. (2015). Sociologists of Sport and ‘Best Practice’ Sport Journalism. Presented at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Nov. 4-7.
Weedon, G., Lawson, S., Yoon, L., & Wilson, B. (2014). No news is good news?: Sport media research and the question of good journalism. Presented at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Conference in Portland, Oregon, Nov. 5-8.
Wilson, B. (2014, invited speaker). Sport Journalism for Peace: A proposal, a movement and baseline findings. University of Bath, UK, Physical Cultural Studies ‘International Festival of Ideas’, June 23.