Posts Tagged ‘United States’

11 Feb

I like who I am.

Posted by Isaac Woo in Social Media and PR, Sports PR. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .


My first publication of the year of 2011 was delivered. I am the second author of the article with the first author, my colleague, Steve Hill.

I just got Journal of Sports Media with my study in it.

Title of our article is “New Media, New Audiences, and New Questions: Exploring a Communication Research Agenda for Fantasy Sports.” (Journal of  Sports Media, 2011)

Here is our abstract

Despite the popularity of fantasy sports, scholarly exploration of the topic has been rare. This study explores a communication-oriented research agenda in that area, using a qualitative analysis of data from in-depth interviews with U.S. fantasy-sports industry leaders. In addition to extending the limited body of literature on fantasy sports, the analysis revealed potentially fruitful research topics, including consumer motivations to use fantasy sports product, information, and services; perceptions of gambling; content quality of fantasy sports information; and others. (p.85)

I really appreciate Steve for his idea and endeavor he put in this article. After we finished writing this article, I, actually, told him, “Man, I like this article. This is really good.”

And, when Journal editor, Dr. Brad Schultz , a professor at Ole Miss, asked us a short author bio, Steve sent me this one.

Chang Wan Woo is an Assitant Professor of publc relations in the Division of Communication at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. His research interest is sports organizations’ relationship with publics including fans, media, and players. Also known as “PointTide,” he is founder and commissioner of NFL Korea, a first-year fantasy football league on the NFL.com site with eight members across the United States and Korea who gather virtually via Twitter. (p.110)

Steve asked me, “Do you think Brad allow us to have this bio?” I told him, “well…. (big & huge pause)… We will see. At least, I like it!!”

And, here we go.

I like it because this is who I am.

And, I like it. Because this is exactly who I am.

Thank you, Steve and Brad. You made my day today!!

Related Articles

25 Nov

Rollerball – Freedom or Comfort?

Posted by Isaac Woo in Sports PR. Tagged: , , , , , , , .


Picture obtained from Yahoo Movie

My good colleague Dr.Mark Tolstedt is an info-savvy. My another colleague, Dr. Steve Hill also refers Mark a lot. As a matter of fact, Mark is like an information bank. He always gives me very good ideas!!

Mark lent me a movie Rollerball (1975), when I told him my vision as a sports communication scholar. I really think sports can play a positive role in society. Robert Putnam said, sports can bond members of society, but not bridge members of different societies. Mark suggested me to watch Rollerball when I told him sports may be able to bridge societies, too.

And, finally, I had a time to watch this movie made by Norman Jewison in 1975.

It was very interesting. Rollerball game in the movie looked like a combination of football, ice hockey, rugby, soccer, boxing, and even NASCAR race. Every city is playing this game and competing for the championship. The world consists of some corporations and each city produces the product decided by corporation owners. For example, Houston, which is the team of the main character, Jonathan E., produces energy for whole world. Chicago produces food for the world in this movie. Everyone follows the rule the corporation world decides.

Jonathan always had some questions, since his first wife had to leave him because of the corporate decision. Then, he finally, tries to resist, when the team wanted him to retire. The corporation put him on the TV show and wanted him to announce his retirement, but, Jonathan did not want it.

Finally, powers of corporations changed the rule of Rollerball game to kick out Jonathan from the league. They removed substitutions and even removed penalties. Being a very violent game itself, in a rollerball game, players could die and many players had to get injured. No substitution and no penalty means more possibility of death. Jonathan E. continuously resists and questions who really controls this society. At the almost end of the movie, his first wife comes back and tries to convince him to retire. Jonathan knows he can choose a comfort, if he gives up his freedom. His first wife, Ella, says, comfort is a freedom. And, Jonathan just feels he has no hope, when Ella, whom he really loved and tried to find, asks him to follow the rule and live in the system. In the final game between Houston and New York, the corporation power even removed the time limit. Jonathan survives at the end, while all other players either died or injured.

Can this kind of thing happen?

I was continuously thinking it might not happen. And, I had to ask to myself, is it the social bridging by sports I have thought for a long time?

Then, I thought, this movie might try to show the world  where communism conquers.Considering that this movie was made in 1975, which was during the cold war era, I think my impression from the movie might be right.

Well, then, is the social bridging idea very similar to communism?

I always thought communism is not an evil ideology, if it works correctly. One problem of communism is, it cannot work correctly.

Then, is the social bridging by sports impossible? If the movie suggested the social bridging of sports, it might be scary to see that happens. I don’t want to see that happens.

Mark also gave me the remake version of Rollerball (2002). Cold War era has been gone already, even though there still exist some crazy countries like North Korea. Well, then, I have to say I am still living in the cold war era. So, overall, tt was a good movie, overall, because it made me think. I don’t know, though, if my students, who may never have thought or experienced the ideology of cold war era, can understand this movie, if I show them in my sports PR class.^^

Anyway, I may need to watch the remake version. It might not have any ideology, hopefully. 🙂 Then, I may show my students the remake version. Should I? I don’t know.

Oh… It’s all happy white Thanksgiving morning  in Wisconsin.

20 Nov

Fantasy Sports Study

Posted by Isaac Woo in Sports PR. Tagged: , , , , , , , .


I now would like to approach fantasy sports study using public relations perspective.

I am interested in many publics of sports organizations and one of them is a fan.

My friend, Dr. Nick Bowman, proposed some interesting model for fantasy sports here.

It is overall very interesting. It looks like a fantasy sports version of disposition theory.

And, it is a good sign that there are more people who now study fantasy sports.

My colleague, Dr. Hill and I figured out there were not many studies done out there, even though

Now an estimated 27 million American adults play fantasy sports, translating to annual revenue between $800 million and $1 billion, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, an industry organization that represents more than 110 companies. About 85 percent of gamers play fantasy football, and 40 percent participate in fantasy baseball. The average player is male, between the ages of 18 and 49 and boasts above-average income and education levels – in other words, a marketer’s dream. (Ankeny, 2009)

Our paper was accepted by Journal of Sports Media last summer and will be published during next year. We interviewed fantasy sports leaders and asked them what kind of communication research they would like to see in the near future. One of them was about fantasy sports users.

My next study will use expectation questionnaires I used for my dissertation study. My hope is that I can develop index for sports media expectancy.

I think my colleague and I just finished our first step. Nick made a big jump on it. And, I hope to be able to add one more leap there with my study.

It is good to see I have many colleagues who have similar interest with me. It’s boring world of scholar, probably, but, it’s really fun, fun, fun. I love it.