AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

1.Knowledge outcome: to know the evolution of sports journalism. 2.Competence outcome: to be able to identify the main historical and historiographical issues, and the use of the relative sources to investigate them. 3.Behavioral outcome: to be able to elaborate a critical reflection on the relationship among communication, information, disinformation and society.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Ability to understand the main historical and cultural turning points in sports journalism, with particular focus on the evolution of football reporting and media transformation.

• Ability to critically analyse and interpret sports journalism texts, evaluating their historical context, narrative choices, and cultural, political or ideological implications.

• Ability to communicate, using appropriate language and critical awareness, contents and issues related to the history and evolution of written and audiovisual sports narratives.

• Acquisition of basic tools for reading, writing, and contextualising sports journalism texts, and the ability to apply them independently in study, research, or in professional fields related to journalism, communication, and sports culture.

TEACHING METHODS

Lessons will be mainly lecture-based, but will also include participatory teaching activities through the presentation, analysis, and discussion of articles, journalistic sources, and audiovisual materials.
Slides and other materials will be shared via Aulaweb and/or Microsoft Teams.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course explores the evolution of sports journalism from a historical perspective, with a focus on football and the Italian context, but also with references to international experiences. Topics covered will include:

• The origins of sports journalism

• The role of the press during the Fascist regime and in the Italian Republic

• Leading journalists and stylistic evolution in the late 20th century

• The relationship between sport and media: radio, television, internet

• Sports journalism in England, France, and Spain

• Coverage of other sports (cycling, Formula 1, Olympic Games)

• The impact of digitalisation and social media

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The instructor will provide lecture slides and study materials via Aulaweb and/or Microsoft Teams.
For optional in-depth study, please refer to the following book (or contact the instructor for non-Italian texts and case studies):
I. Cucci & I. Germano, Tribuna stampa. Storia critica del giornalismo sportivo da Pindaro a Internet, Il Minotauro, Rome, 2003

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LEONARDO SCAVINO (President)

GIUSEPPE RUSSO (President Substitute)

SALVATORE BRUNO BARBA (Substitute)

LUCA DOMIZIO (Substitute)

LUCA LO BASSO (Substitute)

LARA PICCARDO (Substitute)

RENZO REPETTI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

30th September 2025

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of a written test lasting one hour.
It will cover topics addressed during the course and included in the materials listed in the “Programme and Course Content” section. The written test consists of three questions: all answers must be sufficient in order to pass. Each answer is graded on a scale from 1 to 10. To pass, each answer must score at least 6/10. The final grade (out of 30) is the sum of the three partial scores.

Students who attend the course may also choose to give an individual oral presentation on a topic agreed upon with the lecturer and related to the course contents. The presentation is not compulsory and replaces one of the three questions in the written test. In this case, the final assessment will be composed as follows:

• individual oral presentation: up to 10 points;
• reduced written test, consisting of two open-ended questions: up to 20 points.

The oral presentation will last approximately 15 minutes and must be based on the analysis of a case study, a journalistic, audiovisual or digital source, or a topic relevant to the history and development of sports journalism.

Before the presentation, the student must submit a short written paper, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 words in length, on the chosen topic. The paper must introduce the case study, place it in the context of the course topics, and indicate the sources and materials used. The paper must be submitted according to the procedures and deadlines communicated by the lecturer.

The materials produced for the presentations, after validation by the lecturer, may be made available on Aulaweb and/or Microsoft Teams and become an integral part of the course materials. These materials may therefore be included in the examination.

The presentations will take place only on the dates indicated by the lecturer during the course, within the limits of the available time slots and according to a schedule defined by the lecturer. If the number of requests exceeds the available slots, access to the presentation option will be regulated according to the order of request and/or the coherence of the proposed topic with the learning objectives of the course.

Students who do not give a presentation will take the standard written test, consisting of three open-ended questions. Students who give a presentation will instead take the reduced written test: the exam will still include three questions, but only two answers will be assessed, with the possibility of excluding one of their choice. No additional oral questions are provided for the purpose of increasing the final mark.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The assessment of the written test will be based on knowledge of the main historical developments in sports journalism, understanding of the topics discussed during the course, and the ability to establish critical connections between events, contexts, languages and media transformations. The ability to summarise, clarity of expression and appropriate use of historical and journalistic terminology will also be taken into account.

For students who choose to give an individual oral presentation, the assessment will take into account the ability to select and contextualise the case study, the quality of the analysis, the informed use of sources, clarity of presentation, and the ability to connect the chosen topic to the general themes of the course.

The written paper submitted before the presentation will be assessed together with the oral presentation. It will be used to evaluate the student’s ability to construct a coherent analytical path, to contextualise sources and materials, and to present the results of their work clearly.

The oral presentation is not an additional test, but an alternative way of assessing part of the learning objectives of the course. In particular, it aims to assess the students’ ability to communicate clearly and critically on topics related to the history of sports journalism and the development of sports narrative across different media.

The final mark will be expressed out of 30. In order to pass the exam, students must achieve an overall passing mark and, in the case of the written test, obtain a passing mark for each answer.

FURTHER INFORMATION

To request compensatory tools or dispensatory measures, students with disabilities or SLD must fill in the dedicated Webform available at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa, at least 7 working days before the exam.
Students with SEN may instead send their request by e-mail to the lecturer, copying the Department Representative, Prof. Aristide Canepa (aristide.canepa@unige.it) and the Inclusion Office (inclusione.studenti@info.unige.it).
Requests from students will be assessed by the lecturer and may be approved or rejected.