GlobalSport Matters website to examine sports, society across the globe
Thanks to the spread of information and technology, the world is more connected than ever before — and with the language of sport being so widely understood, the opportunities for connection can be even greater.
Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is looking to expand that connection with the launch GlobalSport Matters, a new website that looks at the intersection of sport and society across the globe.
A partnership with the Global Sport Institute, the new site will focus on five topic pillars — culture, business, science, health and youth — and will serve as a multimedia hub of content to tell those stories in a meaningful and impactful way.
"Our goal is to make content that is as accessible as possible," executive editor Kathryn Kudravi said. "We want content that people want to share. There's all this great research out there that no one knows is available, so we're looking for things that anyone who is interested can find and share with ease."
The new site will give writers and reporters a chance to take a deeper dive into the world of sport, and take a step back and see why something in Phoenix is meaningful to someone overseas.
Content for GlobalSport Matters will be curated from freelancers, Cronkite School students and undergraduates in Kudravi's Sports Knowledge Lab, which starts in earnest this summer on the Downtown Phoenix campus.
The Global Sport Institute is supported by a combination of funding from ASU and adidas, and its efforts are supported and integrated across the entire university, from engineering to the athletic department and beyond.
"It is going to be the concierge to everything we are working on at (the institute)," said Kenneth Shropshire, CEO of the institute. "It's a content hub that will push out all the great research being done at ASU and elsewhere and will allow us to reach people we may not have direct access to. So it will be pretty far-reaching beyond the typical informational website."
GlobalSport Matters will aim to reach people through sports content that extends further into the realm of activity and health around the world.
And at its peak, Kudravi hopes that the vast and diverse group of people that populate ASU will play a role in the site's extension across the globe.
"We want to engage people globally on every aspect of sport and society whether it's the best ways to hydrate when you exercise, to trends in elder activity, to what is the latest wearable technology," Kudravi said. "I'm hopeful that the wider ASU community involved in research that relates to sport will help work with us on this."
Top photo: GlobalSport Matters executive editor Kathryn Kudravi talks with students Emily Ducker (at the computer) and Colton Dodgson (standing right) on April 5. Photo by Summer Sorg/ASU Now
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