Irresponsible - Bold Statements and the Reporting Trade

In a certain sense, by writing the posts in my column "So schaut's aus," I belong to this group too, but I'm not proud of it. Actually, I wanted to dedicate the new article once again to the important topic of "parents" in connection with talent development, but the immediate influence of the media and current reporting gave me no peace, so I'm picking up the topic of "current, especially web-based reporting" and the dangers associated with it once again. In my second post, ...Wandel der Gesellschaft (...Changes in Society), I wrote about the effects of using digital devices and about social platforms.

Today I'd like to add a few aspects, and I'll say right away that I'm enthusiastic about web-based reporting — for example, Michael Wagner's idea of presenting news around amateur football on his site FuPa. Since 2006, FuPa has provided facts and short summaries from various perspectives on matches outside the professional ranks. Initially, the idea was that clubs from the Passau district would write their own match reports and post them "online," but demand and FuPa's growth quickly took off.

Today, there's even extensive video material on some matches that an interested football fan can consume via FuPa. This was made possible, among other things, by the technological development of recent years, and the exponential trend continues. In the tech industry, this is known as "Moore's Law."

With technological progress, it wasn't just FuPa that grew — many platforms emerged that spread "news" about football. And unfortunately, that isn't always positive, and needs to be critically questioned in connection with talent development.

Right now, there are many hot-off-the-press posts from the most varied of actors — for instance, from Bundesliga coach Steffen Baumgart (Baumgart too takes aim at the DFB's youth football reform), who speak critically about the DFB's reform in youth development. Fundamentally, there's nothing wrong with criticism. On the contrary: criticism is often an opportunity for development!

But why am I taking issue with these statements, which, incidentally, weren't made by Baumgart alone?

People who enjoy a certain degree of public interest, as well as journalists, carry a responsibility that, in my view, they're living up to less and less.

I don't know Mr. Baumgart personally, and I find his manner, as well as the way he has his teams play football, very refreshing and pleasantly nuanced. And maybe that's exactly why his statements affected me so much. In the article mentioned above, he claims that we're a generation that only ever takes the soft, shallow path. It's not so bad, he says, if a child loses. They have to learn to deal with defeats. I have to learn to enjoy the sport, not only when I score ten goals.

And this is exactly where I want to urge journalists, Mr. Baumgart, and everyone else who likewise acts in the public spotlight, to voice criticism on solid grounds! What do the changes set to be implemented in connection with the DFB's youth reform have to do with the claim that our society takes the soft, shallow path, or that children supposedly no longer have to accept defeats in football? NOTHING!

Surely it can't be about being honored for the quote of the year if the facts fall by the wayside in the process.

(Steffen Baumgart was in fact honored for the quote of the year in 2021. In a completely different context, though: "A match isn't over until the referee blows the whistle and I stop shouting.")

Why do I also mention journalists in this context? Because when it comes to reporting, a professional should care more about a fact-based, honest portrayal than about sensational headlines that may generate a lot of "clicks" but only have marginal points of contact with reality.

At the outset, I mentioned the platform FuPa in the context of amateur football reporting, and youth football too — especially the DFB's national squads — is increasingly moving into the focus of reporting. And here, all of us carry a particular responsibility! Let's not badmouth reforms across the board; let's report responsibly! Because our young players — as you can read in my post "...Wandel der Gesellschaft" — most likely have electronic devices and will read articles related to their sport!

But perhaps our young football players aren't yet at the stage where they can analyze reports in a differentiated way and put their content into context.

So let's live up to our responsibility: let's report truthfully, and with less appetite for sensationalism!

Being honored one time less for the quote of the year, and orienting one's statements toward the facts instead, would be especially fitting with a view to the development of our talents!

I look forward to addressing another topic in talent development with you next week under my column "So schaut's aus." Until then! Stay healthy, and always a good ball!