With the departure for my trip to the U.S. less than a week away, my lecturing materials should be ready. Several groups of students of the College of Communication & Information Sciences at the University of Alabama will hopefully enjoy a lecture which I have renamed “Cultural Diversity in Sports Broadcasting: Notions of Identity on Slovenian Television,” while those attending the Summit on Sport and Communication will have a chance to learn about “Representation of Nationality and Gender in Slovenian 2008 Summer Olympic Television Coverage.” Twitter users may follow the Summit on @sportsummit and during the conference use the hashtag #sportsummit12. People attending the event hosted by Bradley University may see the only presenter that is not affiliated to an American university on Saturday morning—look for a Simon Licen…
In my previous post, I breathed a sigh of relief when members of parliament in Slovenia rejected Peter Vilfan’s request to work (part-time?) as a sportscaster despite being a member of the National Assembly. Truth be told, my account of the story has not been completely accurate as the Committee on Mandates and Elections deemed Mr. Vilfan’s application incomplete and asked him to amend it. The revised request has now been accepted and deputy Vilfan—who was heard signing off basketball broadcasts as “your City Councillor, Peter Vilfan” during his recent stint as Councillor of Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital—has now obtained official permission to run simultaneous careers as both member of the national assembly and sports broadcaster.
Sports announcers provide the spectators with more than restatement of athletic contests: they actively shape the viewers’ perceptions of the action. Media discourse contributes to the formation of identities and shapes perceptions of societies and people within it. I deem this task much too important to be entrusted to sporadic collaborators, even more so when they are professional politicians; hence, I disagree with the Committee’s decision. Now I wonder what will Mr. Vilfan give priority to if his beloved team will play a decider on the same night as a budget vote.
In turn, this latest exploit by Slovenian sports broadcasters provides me with yet another topic I might engage in when speaking to students (a slide on the topic has already been added to the lecture presentation) and discussing with collegues. I will try to communicate their reactions through this website. Stay tuned if you wish to read about personal ‘Bama and Illinois impressions!
About Simon Ličen
Simon Ličen is a researcher, lecturer and author in sport, media and communication.
“Reporting live from the Parliament…”
With the departure for my trip to the U.S. less than a week away, my lecturing materials should be ready. Several groups of students of the College of Communication & Information Sciences at the University of Alabama will hopefully enjoy a lecture which I have renamed “Cultural Diversity in Sports Broadcasting: Notions of Identity on Slovenian Television,” while those attending the Summit on Sport and Communication will have a chance to learn about “Representation of Nationality and Gender in Slovenian 2008 Summer Olympic Television Coverage.” Twitter users may follow the Summit on @sportsummit and during the conference use the hashtag #sportsummit12. People attending the event hosted by Bradley University may see the only presenter that is not affiliated to an American university on Saturday morning—look for a Simon Licen…
In my previous post, I breathed a sigh of relief when members of parliament in Slovenia rejected Peter Vilfan’s request to work (part-time?) as a sportscaster despite being a member of the National Assembly. Truth be told, my account of the story has not been completely accurate as the Committee on Mandates and Elections deemed Mr. Vilfan’s application incomplete and asked him to amend it. The revised request has now been accepted and deputy Vilfan—who was heard signing off basketball broadcasts as “your City Councillor, Peter Vilfan” during his recent stint as Councillor of Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital—has now obtained official permission to run simultaneous careers as both member of the national assembly and sports broadcaster.
Sports announcers provide the spectators with more than restatement of athletic contests: they actively shape the viewers’ perceptions of the action. Media discourse contributes to the formation of identities and shapes perceptions of societies and people within it. I deem this task much too important to be entrusted to sporadic collaborators, even more so when they are professional politicians; hence, I disagree with the Committee’s decision. Now I wonder what will Mr. Vilfan give priority to if his beloved team will play a decider on the same night as a budget vote.
In turn, this latest exploit by Slovenian sports broadcasters provides me with yet another topic I might engage in when speaking to students (a slide on the topic has already been added to the lecture presentation) and discussing with collegues. I will try to communicate their reactions through this website. Stay tuned if you wish to read about personal ‘Bama and Illinois impressions!
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About Simon Ličen
Simon Ličen is a researcher, lecturer and author in sport, media and communication.