My final project looks into a significant aspect of sports journalism today and how it has shifted from its historical roots, especially in terms of defining the “Athletic star”. By comparing a hero like Babe Ruth, and highlighting his portrayal in the media, to that of a modern celebrity like A-Rod, many conclusions can be made about these generational journalistic differences. The interactive slideshow below demonstrates this comparison further, emphasizing along the way what has ignited this athletic coverage transformation. Of these changes, perhaps the most important is the fan based redefinition of the term “celebrity”. In a world where the media has so greatly shaped the world of journalism, we must stop and think about what negative attributes this technology driven force has added to industry as well.

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In conclusion, there are many factors that have contributed to the new definition of the term celebrity. Placing Babe Ruth in a modern context, would allow us to better understand just how significant these cultural shifts really are. A-Rod is a great example of a modern day athletic celebrity who will most likely be remembered most for what he did wrong off the field than what he did right on it. Comparing him to someone like Babe Ruth, who will always be remembered for his athletic greatness despite the many (some similar to A-Rod) attributes he had, is further a direct reflection of the technology driven, often times evasive, media the athletic star must face today.

Interactive Media Works Cited: http://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/01.05.html?scp=3&sq=journeyman&st=cse
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/a-rod-10-worst-moments-peds-lawsuits-insane-vanity-article-1.2742912
https://nypost.com/2017/07/12/if-baseball-cant-keep-kids-playing-it-will-slowly-go-extinct/
Reconnecting the Baseball Star, Rein and Shields