Entry 2:  New Media and College Sports

In modern America, college sports is as connected to the culture as baseball, apple pie, and McDonald's.  As a result, coverage and support for the hundreds of teams across the nation can often get as prominent as the major professional sports if not bigger.  Obviously, with the age of new media catching on, this means that college sports has also fallen under the umbrella of this new technology.  New media is commonly described as information which can be instantaneous, easily edited by the public, and available anywhere there is an internet connection.  With this, it can mean that coverage for the big teams and athletes can be as intimate and up-to-date as possible.
Of course, with the ability for almost anyone to contribute to new media, there is a distinct double-edged sword popping up.  The benefit of having information spread instantaneously can be that feedback can be just as quick, but with fast spreading of information also comes the fast spreading of mis-information.  A good analogy on this would be like saying that information is like butter, but in the rush to obtain and spread it some people may grab the mayonnaise (aka mis-information) instead and spread it like butter before realizing their mistake.  As a result, more than it seems that corrections are being made to news and stories about college athletics.  As well, since anybody can access and contribute to new media, this gives the personnel on the college teams more access to their fan base.  Sometimes this can be good as it gives players and coaches a chance to communicate more directly with their fans.  Other times, it can backfire, as some of them may end up commenting or posting a status that could reflect badly on not only them, but the team as well, especially since new media has no filter so to speak.  Conversely, with the ability for fans to connect with their teams more than ever, it can mean that many more unsavory posts about said teams can be spread more easily as well.
In conclusion, new media is a great tool for college sports, both for the personnel and the fans, but they need to better learn how to control the information input and output going forward to continue the success it currently has.