Relaciones entre periodistas y gabinetes de comunicación de los clubes de fútbol en España

In: Revista Internacional de Relaciones Públicas, Band 12, Heft 23, S. 207-224

Abstract

Football clubs in Spain, mainly the First and Second Division ones, have experienced a few changes regarding the forms of communication in the last ten or fifteen years. The communication offices are so professionalized areas that they carry out an intense informative activity, using all the channels at their disposal to get the message to all their audiences, including the media. This study will give a specific vision regarding how these departments behave with news reporters that usually give out information about these clubs; what assets they have, what inconveniences are there, what can they do when they are broadcasting information on a football match, or a training session. In addition, the role of social media will be examined, both the club as a whole and the individual players'. For this, the in-depth interview technique has been used, taking the pulse of eighteen journalists who daily cover the information of the main soccer clubs that are the object of this investigation. The results show that clubs, and therefore the communication departments, do not need the journalist to inform, as the informers have had to develop new habits and, the greater the importance of the entity, the greater are the inconveniences regarding the developing of its informative duty. The way of this research has been more complex than expected. Not all journalists have been open to carry out this work, for this reason the time for its development has been longer than expected. It can be noted that at least one journalist who has been interviewed works in cover the work of the main soccer teams in Spain, most of them in the First Division and others historical at the moment play in the Second Division. Those who have seen fit to ask the interview for the investigation were predisposed from the first moment, even offering to provide data and comments on the differences that exist between their first years of work as journalists of these clubs to current days. They find more difficulties than facilities, which prevent them from carrying out their work as journalists. One of the most important details during the conversations has been the speed with which they have had to adapt to the new demands, having to be up-to-date as far as social networks are concerned. These tools are essential to be able to be informed, in many cases, of what footballers do or say when they do not want to attend to the media, either due to the demands of the club or the player, who is reluctant to answer the questions from journalists. Applications such as Twitter or Instagram have become the best allies for journalists to reach the news on more than one occasion, considering themselves as a primary source. Thequestion is different nowadays because these football players' messages can be read at the same time for the followers. Another surprising aspect of the investigation is the different way some clubs treat journalists. There are remarkable differences between the so-called 'big clubs' with the rest of them. There are clubs that prohibit the access to team training sessions or that open the possibility that fans can see how some squads work.