Saturday, July 15, 2023

Basketball: Manufactured Consent - Spin, Propaganda, Manipulation

Think for yourself. Evaluate information based on source, accuracy, and your analysis. "What if" this is true? Do we care?

Noam Chomsky, author and thinker, discusses manufactured consent, which we could rephrase as 'manipulation' of sentiment. 

  • Ownership - who owns the source sharing the 'news'
  • Advertising - spreads the news to shape opinion
  • The Media Elite - "Official Sources" Who are the experts?
  • Flak - "critical voices are not honored" - Freedom of speech means having a choice among multiple positions
  • Fear and the Common Enemy - the media amplifies the 'official voice' against the 'common enemy'
Sport is not immune to manipulation. Professional sport hierarchy sells less to us as individuals than to advertisers who operate through intermediaries (media organizations - Networks, Amazon, Apple).

Broadcasters don't just 'show up and talk'. They prepare for the broadcast with input from researchers and multiple sources.

Take a moment to think of examples. <Pause>

Heroes and villains. It's not professional wrestling, but to an extent there are always 'heroes' and 'villains'. How do they compete and coexist? The heroes are obvious. The villains? The NBA 'dark side' includes impactful players like Draymond Green and Kyrie Irving. In some domains, villains are 'cancelled' but in others they're vital to the show. Some villains, like Donald Sterling, earn cancellation. 

The Next New Thing. There's always a 'next new thing'. That's necessary to grow your market. Introduce new flavors, packaging, and marketing of your product. It's no accident each team has a panoply of uniforms and swag. 


NBA flavor of the month? It's Victor Wembanyama, already touted as the future NBA MVP four years from now. The youthful sensation is already tied with Chet Holmgren for career points, rebounds, and assists. "Have you seen the way that young man ties his shoes?"


Cinderella Story. Everyone loves an underdog story. It's foundational for Pygmalion and My Fair Lady, Notting Hill, Rocky, and Saint Ralph. In the NBA, the Heat go to The Finals but come up short. Sometimes there's a "Great White Hope" element, the Austin Reeves story. And don't forget Cooper Flagg. 

Protect the Shield. In the NFL, they call it protecting the shield. Pro sports wants gambling revenue derived from advertisement or ownership, but don't want negative press. Worst of all is the spectre of athletes betting on their own sport. Sports want to grow markets and revenues, but are wary of the internal politics surrounding Human Rights...especially the NBA and China. "The NBA says it is committed to social justice everywhere — apparently except in China, its No. 1 profit partner."

Larger than Life. Every story needs the backstory retold. Sports are no exception. 


Advance the story. Tell the truth. "This is what I do." 

A recurrent theme espoused here from Chuck Daly, "I am a salesman." Be aware that others are continually selling to us. A data set exists and we choose how to interpret and use the data. We can love basketball and have valid disagreements with how the pieces fit together. Think for yourself. 

Lagniappe. Small-sided games.

Example: 


Lagniappe 2. Horns Chin... 

 








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