3pm Journal of Digital research & publishing - artichoke web design
3pm Journal of Digital research & publishing - artichoke web design
3pm Journal of Digital research & publishing - artichoke web design
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<strong>3pm</strong> <strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Digital</strong> <strong>research</strong> & <strong>publishing</strong><br />
co-operative SANZAR 8 responsible for the development and administration <strong>of</strong> a new<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essional regional competition and entertainment product – Super 12 Rugby 9 -<br />
comprising provincial representative teams from Australia, New Zealand and South<br />
Africa. While it was essentially a new and improved version <strong>of</strong> the Super 10 series, added<br />
was the commercial broadcast media commitment (rugby as entertainment for mass<br />
market consumption) via a record multi-million dollar broadcasting deal with global<br />
corporate Murdoch media empire in the form <strong>of</strong> Pay TV entity, Foxtel and its affiliates in<br />
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa 10 . While financially this enabled pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />
rugby operations, it also introduced new corporate structures that essentially reinforced<br />
the existing fields <strong>of</strong> power 11 within the traditional institution <strong>of</strong> the game itself. Effectively<br />
extending the sphere <strong>of</strong> influence from the local to the regional 12 .<br />
In 1995, two things happened: rugby turned pr<strong>of</strong>essional, and the internet (formerly<br />
ARPAnet) and the indexed <strong>web</strong> – what we know as the world wide <strong>web</strong> (www) became<br />
public 13 . Open source s<strong>of</strong>tware and ICT technology developments introduced new group<br />
capabilities to <strong>web</strong> users that made the www a ‘conversation place’. In 2004, Harvard<br />
student, Mark Zuckerberg launched a social networking site www.facebook.com 14 and<br />
8 SANZAR is a ruling body and by definition a well-funded institution <strong>of</strong> power in<br />
rugby union administration in the southern hemisphere. Housed within the established<br />
power structures <strong>of</strong> the Australian, New Zealand and South African rugby unions. Its<br />
entertainment product, Super 12 is housed within the traditional places <strong>of</strong> rugby worship<br />
(the stadium) and distributed via the SANZAR FOXSPORTS affiliates. The promotion and<br />
scheduling <strong>of</strong> which is re-negotiated between rugby and media executives intermittently,<br />
highlights the co-dependency <strong>of</strong> the media and rugby relationship for the purposes <strong>of</strong><br />
distributed entertainment. SANZAR’s codes <strong>of</strong> conduct and rules <strong>of</strong> governance are written<br />
and enforced by the traditional rugby ruling institutions <strong>of</strong> the national rugby union under<br />
the auspices <strong>of</strong> the International Rugby Board - www.irfb.com<br />
9 Super 12 has subsequently expanded twice and will be known as Super 16 from season 2011.<br />
10 For more information on the history <strong>of</strong> SANZAR refer: www.rugby.com.au<br />
11 Bourdieu talks <strong>of</strong> the ‘fields’ <strong>of</strong> knowledge that can restrict, enable and maintain<br />
agency within institutional and social constructs. This is acutely obvious within elite rugby<br />
communities.<br />
12 McLuhan introduces the idea <strong>of</strong> the evolution from the local to the regional and<br />
beyond in The Guttenberg Galaxy<br />
13 For a complete history on the development <strong>of</strong> the internet and the world wide <strong>web</strong><br />
refer: Henninger’s (2008) The Hidden Web<br />
14 According to Zuckerburg, facebook.com is founded on the idea <strong>of</strong> sharing<br />
information within networks: http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=2208562130<br />
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