My media niche is looking at cricket newsletters on Substack, and how writers use this platform, and others, to engage viewers in different ways. As I outlined in my first blog post, I have aspirations to become a cricket writer in my future professional life, and will be looking to use this online ethnographic analysis to help with these pursuits. Since writing this post, I have mapped out some of my favourite Substack writers, and narrowed my approach towards looking at conventional (Neil Manthorp) vs new age (Jarrod Kimber) online cricket personas, which I’ll explained in the video and on the map below.
In this ethnographic research process, I will be looking to Moore, Barbour and Lee’s Five Dimensions of Persona (2017) for guidance on how I can best present myself online within the audience of the writers I am focussing on. While I feel I have a decent amount of expertise in this niche, the game and the media around it is forever changing, so it will be important for me to continue taking in content to develop my persona and keeping an open mind to what I see.
Public – Substack tends to be a bit more private than other platforms I will be absorbing content from, so I will be a little more reserved there, and more open on other platforms that the writers I am observing use, as shown in the above map.
Mediatisation – I will be mediatising myself in this process, and am planning on doing so after a fairly lengthy amount of research on the field and how I personally absorb the content of those I am focusing on. This will be done through comments, likes, posts and other forms of feedback.
Performativity – While as part of my persona I will want to be fairly friendly and conversational in my writing and/or video production, there will be times when I look to use more heightened language or in-depth analysis than what I would give in a normal conversation, and will do so using engaging visuals as part of my pieces.
Collective – I will remain open at all times to following other users and creators and interacting with them on their work, and hope to have my work, which I will produce later in the semester, interact with by others in this community.
Value – I am hoping that my research has value not only for my knowledge of cricket and my interaction with its media, but for general research practice in qualitative and quantitative data for online creators, as well as those considering their own personas in their own niche.
I feel that ethics will be one of if not the most important things to consider when conducting this research. I will be looking to get an idea of public feeling on the different mediums, starting with Substack and venturing into other platforms, by reading comment sections and making notes that help my research, but allow other users to remain anonymous. Because of these ethical considerations, I will be looking to make a major point of analysing how I take the media in, looking at this in a more thought out way to work out more about my persona, and potentially give insights into the thoughts of others. While reading pieces and watching videos, I will keep a document that considers my level of engagement, as in where I’m watching from, am I pausing or am I reading all the way through, am I using hyperlinks to learn more about a story, or just scrolling through. These considerations and more are some of the things I am most interested in documenting throughout the process of this DA, and will certainly affect the content I end up creating for the niche audience I become a part of.
Below is a Gantt Chart that I will be aiming to follow for the remainder of the semester, starting by comparing Jarrod’s work with Neil’s work and documenting myself and others, before hopefully finding more interesting creators that help me put together some pieces myself, and then compiling the research report as my final product.
Overall I feel that if I can follow this chart and develop my persona in the ways that are listed above, I will be able to create a DA of value to others interested in cricket, sports media, or just online and self analysis of content in a particular niche.
Russ Haylock Sportswriting 
Hey Russ,
I love the implementation of the Gantt chart to show your timeline, I think you have really thought about the structure and person you will present and analyse through your DA so good job. It is clear you have been partaking in the weekly activities through you outlining the aspects of mediatization, value, collective and public. I like how you acknowledged that you are part of the audience and how you can use the ethnogrpahic research to devlve deeper into the niche to potentially find another niche which you could target. Good job
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Hi Russ
This is a great DA topic, it is clear that you are passionate about cricket and that shines through your digital persona. Your set up of your pitch makes it very easy to follow, helping showcase your focus points. Potentially to improve your blog you could add some links or extra references for readers to easily go to to help inform what you are talking about. This could have been helpful when talking about other writers liking their work which inspired you would help the reader gain a larger understanding of your niche and process. I like the set out of your video. I think it is very clever doing it in a podcast style foreshadowing the content you are planning on creating in the future potentiality. Your focus on ethical research is great how you have considered it from a lot of standpoints. Overall I think this is a great pitch and it fits the requirements very well, as it shows clear direction and I look forward to seeing more from this DA.
-Charlie
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I think this is a strong pitch that clearly explains your media niche and your auto-ethnographic approach. In particular, your map of the field site is a very comprehensive take on your niche that simultaneously highlights where your subject matter sits in a broader context while making your focus clear. Your application of your research is strong and relevant. I also find it interesting how you are choosing to document your levels of engagement with the media niche. For my own project, I had not considered this method and this has inspired me to adopt a similar process. As your auto-ethnography continues, I would add more research around the significance of turning to hobbies or interests during moments of stress or relaxation. This could provide some insight into your own habits and demonstrate the application of these kinds of theories.
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