Blue versus green: the role of sports journalism in the Ateneo-La Salle UAAP basketball rivalry.

Abstract

The general objective of this exploratory case study is to identify the role of sports journalism in promoting and propagating the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU)-De La Salle University (DLSU) University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) senior men’s basketball rivalry. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. For the quantitative approach, content analysis of quota sampled print and online sports articles was done to measure the emphasis given by sports journalism to the Ateneo-La Salle UAAP basketball rivalry. For the qualitative approach, focused interviews were conducted with sports writers, analysts/experts; former Ateneo and La Salle coaches and players; and fans of Ateneo and La Salle to find out their responses to the print and online coverage of the Ateneo-La Salle basketball finals series in the years 2001, 2002, and 2008. The study concludes that sports journalism indeed played, and continues to play, a pivotal role in hyping up the Ateneo-La Salle UAAP basketball rivalry. However, the researchers found out that media only placed second to the role played by the traditions of the institutions themselves in fanning the flames of the rivalry.

Subject Index: Sports journalism--Philippines, Mass media and sports, Competition