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How citizen journalism helped to reveal athletes´ lacks of opportunities to dissent

Introduction

Communication is more than a constitutional right, but an important power that can be

used to uncover the sources of wickedness in our society. In modern days, people use social

media to communicate because of its capability to reach other people almost instantly. Through

social media we can discuss ideas, comment on issues that occur in our community or form

bonds of unwavering friendship. However, social media can also be used to disseminate

information that is very harmful to people's dignity. It also can be used to expose some kind of

activities that can be prosecuted as a criminal act. Another topic that is related with

communication is the communication network that is formed between athletes and their coaches

within sports teams. This communication network is complex and controlled, either by the

coaches who do not allow dissent within their ranks so that the group cohesion is not affected or

by athletes who become partners in all their acts, no matter if they are good or bad.

In this paper we are going to talk about two different forms of communications: social

media citizens journalism and athletes´ opportunities to dissent. We selected these topics because

in some ways they are related to the facts that were related in tahe film "Roll Red Roll". This

film was made possible in part to the blog of a Steubenville´s resident who began investigating a

16-year-old girl rape that was circulating on social media. In this case, the social media became,

both a means to demand justice for the victim of rape, Jane Doe, but also to defile the reputation

of this young woman and disclose acts that reflect a total disrespect for the dignity of a human

being. We might ask ourselves, what does this have to do with communication between athletes?
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In this film, the perpetrators of this event were members of the Steubenville High School

football team. For many in that city, football is everything, therefore, they had to defend their

athletes as it would. Among the athletes who knew what had happened and their friends, there

was a kind of code of silence to prevent that information about what happened that night could

be considered a crime. In this sense, the communication networks that are created within the

sports teams´ members are closed and where dissent has no place. Therefore, in this paper we

will be talking about these two issues as representative of two opposite poles in which

communication can become a weapon to discover or uncover the truth.

Citizen journalism though social media

The public debate has found in social media, especially blogs, a new tool where bloggers

can present ideas, comment on events or invite people to share their thoughts (Sánchez-Villar,

2019). Blogs have become a revolutionary tool because they allow the blogger to create content

and receive feedback from readers almost instantly. However, this type of debate previously

occurred in the mass media where a series of dynamics occurred that affected the credibility and

spontaneity of the debate. In addition, these mass media mean of communication were controlled

by certain factions within society that tipped the balance for their side in support of their

particular interests. It is for this reason that blogs are so popular because they are considered to

have greater credibility than even the written press (Sánchez-Villar, 2019). The development of

blogs as a mean of communication has been so surprising in recent years that even social

networks and groups that share opinions and interests have been created. In some cases, we seen

that professional blogs have been created with contents within various sections to present the

information (ex: general topics or specialized columns) (Sánchez-Villar, 2019).

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Blogs are also being considered a forum for public debate because it encourages the

democratization of political affairs. Through blogs, it has been possible to activate, mobilize,

raise awareness and engage people in a common cause (Sánchez-Villar, 2019). In recent years, it

has been seen how people have appropriated of social networks to discuss problems that affect

their community. These problems are not denounced lightly, but many citizens carry out

thorough investigations to prove their arguments with facts and evidence. Precisely this is what

citizen journalism is about, a type of journalism that arises within a community that discusses

issues that affect them as a group producing news, information or opening the platform for

debate (Sánchez-Villar, 2019). At this moment, these blogs created by citizens of a community

can be considered a form of journalism because they use research techniques in support of the

information they provide.

One of the reasons why a blog where citizen journalism is created has become so popular

is because its content is not tied to a particular agenda as it happens with the mass media

dedicated to news. Therefore, this allows the blogger to create and disseminate information on

many critical issues within a community from various points of view. In the words of Sánchez-

Villar (2019), this makes blogs “more plural and more qualitatively enriched”. On the other

hand, critics who resist considering these blogs as a type of journalism base their opinion in the

argument that these people lack the necessary skills to perform a good analysis or the rigor of a

communication expert. Against this argument it can be said that blogs can be considered less

prone to bias because they are not influenced by ideological interests, economic pressures or lack

of independence that traditional journalism has to face (Sánchez-Villar, 2019 ).

Sánchez-Villar (2019) goes further by saying that citizen journalism can even denounce

partiality of the media by covering an event in their community or simply bringing to light public
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matters that have been omitted, deliberately or not, from the public discussion These blogs are

nurtured by a series of resources and contacts within their own community, but they can also

expand their research to resources or contacts from abroad. Another characteristic of this type of

journalism is an incredible capacity to mobilize public opinion. This mobilization operates as a

domino effect in the creation of information related to an issue, both in terms of volume and

scope (Sánchez-Villar, 2019). Therefore, it can be said that citizen journalism has a solid base in

the participative journalism because it creates a new method and structure where the blogger can

ventilate issues that are important for a community, foster socialization or raise a collective

conscience (Sánchez-Villar, 2019 ).

In the film "Roll Red Roll" a blogger who was a resident of the Steubenville community

came across a news of a rape that had occurred in her former community, but of which there was

not much information to write an article for her blog. What seemed an open secret among young

people within the Steubenville High School was a motivation for this community be divided in

favor or against a situation that was escalating in intensity until reaching possible criminal

charges to those who had participate on a night of celebration for the football team. The students

have been drinking, including the rape victim, which was one of the reasons why this case was

not given the importance it deserved. However, this blogger began her own investigation of the

event by accessing post on Facebook and Instagram, photos and videos where, not only provide a

solid evidence of what had happened, but shows the lack of consideration for the dignity of a

human being.

The desire of the Prinniefied´s blogger to discover the truth opens the Pandora's box of

the occurrence of a crime that was clearly on the road to never being solved, much less to

criminally prosecute those responsible because they are member of the football team. Precisely,
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this is one of the motivations that lead Prinnie in her crusade for the truth, since the football team

was so important for that city that she knew that the community was going to favor athletes over

the helpless victim. In addition to the obvious interest that Prinnie has in this matter, she can be

considered a citizen journalist because she had been covering crime cases that had affected

different communities in Ohio for years. However, this case was different because she knew that

this was a big news that will affect an entire community and the support of its football team.

In Prinnie´s own experience commenting on real criminal cases she knew that facts do

not always say everything, but that there are always things that remain forever locked inside a

drawer or that the facts provided do not always represents what actually happened. It is because

of these elements that Prinnie´s blog can be considered citizen journalism since it covers issues

that are of interest to a particular community. Prinnie´s blog in this case had the capacity to

mobilize different groups, including Anonymus dedicated to denounce acts that go against what

is expected in society. Likewise, his blog was the trigger for several women to dare to report acts

of rape that had occurred in that community before, whose victims did not report because of their

fear, shame and desire to erase that bad memory from their memories. The last element that

makes Prinniefiel a citizen journalism blog is its ability to change public opinion in favor of the

victim by uncovering the veil that had been clouding the minds of those citizens by offering

unconditional support to their football players having the effect of creating a collective

consciousness.

Athlete´s lack of opportunity to dissent

The second topic that we are going to discuss is also related to the facts in the

Steubenville´s rape case. To understand our arguments, it is necessary to begin by describing the

dynamics that occur within sports teams in terms of their communication. For a sports team to be
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functional and coordinated, it is necessary that its members can overcome the differences in

criteria that forms a dissenting opinion. The dissenting opinions in these teams are produced by

exposing discrepancies regarding the policies, procedures and practices of the team. The way the

coaches handle this dissenting opinion will promote or suppress those expressions. The

dissenting opinion is also related with the subculture that is created within sports teams where

there are implicit rules that suppress dissidents to maintain the functionality of the team.

In the handling of dissident opinion there are two paths that the dissident can explore, the

upward dissent that goes up to the coach or the lateral dissent that goes among the teammates.

Generally, team members will go to the coach to present their views because they have the

ability to promote the change of policies or procedures that are needed. However, this will

depend on the position of prominence that occupies that athlete inside the team or the coach's

openness to listen to opinions. On the other hand, the opinions of the athletes will also be

influenced by other team members´ thoughts. That influence may motivate the dissident athlete

to express his/her opinion or to suppress it. Likewise, this motivation to dissent will be

influenced by the dynamics within the team, who is developed through a particular culture that

possesses its own rules, supports and ways of controlling what is communicated outside the

group.

In the film we can see how the dynamics of the Steubenville High School football team

operates. This team operates as a kind of brotherhood where its members protect each other.

Similarly, within the culture of this team, certain pressures are exerted on its members that led

them, as happened in this case, to participate and subsequently hide their bad doing or

commission of a crime. These athletes felt infallible because they received the unconditional

support of their coach and the community. This support was the same that hindered the
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investigation into the facts, called into question the reputation of the victim and motivated the

division of the community due to the perversity that some saw in the acts committed. In this

group it could be seen that there was not much freedom to dissent because the majority´s opinion

led others to minimize their voices. Similarly, the coach did not pay much attention to the rumors

circulating in the school and even during the investigation he downplayed the matter in order to

suppress any information that can damage his football team reputation.

In one of the scenes it can be appreciated how one of the team members tells his

teammates that what they were doing was bad, but his opinion was suppressed by those who saw

that what they were doing was a means of entertainment. This member eventually regrets what

happened to his friends because he could not prevent the consequences of his actions. This only

act of conscience in the entire case is the one that can be classified within the lateral dissent. On

the other hand, the coach was indifferent to the events, nor did he exercise his responsibility to

discipline the perpetrators and other participants. This lack of action can be considered as a way

to suppress the upward dissent, which cost him to be subsequently criminally accused of not

reporting another violation that had been committed by one of the same athletes who were now

involved in this case.

Conclusion

In conclusion, communication is a very important power that we have in our hands that

should always be uses wisely. This power has the ability to create awareness in others and

provoke the discussion of issues that affect all of us. In this essay we explore two types of

communication that we can use to express our ideas: citizen journalism and dissenting opinions.

Citizen journalism is a tool that can occur through a blog, allowing the blogger to bring news,

information or open platform for the discussion of issues that are important to a community. On
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the other hand, the dissident opinion is a means that we use when we disagree with something or

our ideas are not in the same line with the majority´s opinion. In both types of communication,

the aim is to promote change, to move people from their comfortable zone to reflect on the issues

that affect them. These two means of communication are born from a genuine interest of the

person to create awareness and offer support of what should be the best for that individual or

community. In summary, communication is one of the most important capacities we enjoy,

which can make a difference in our lives if we know how to use it wisely. However,

communication can also sink us into an abyss when we do not use it when it is necessary to let

our opinions count.

References

Cranmer, G.A. & Buckner, M.M. (2017). High school athletes´ relationships with head coaches

and teammates as predictors of their expressions of upward and lateral dissent.

Communication Studies, 68(1), 37-55.

Sánchez-Villar, J.M. (2019). The use of blogs as social media tools of political communication:

citizen journalism and public opinion. Communication & Society, 32(1), 39-55.