New Club Manager Press Conferences: The Generic Anatomy of a Professional, Web-mediated Genre

The chapter presents the results of a qualitative analysis of a number of inaugural press conferences by native speaker football managers, available on football club websites and/or the video sharing website Youtube.com. Initially, the chapter identifies the characteristic communicative purpose and move structure of this genre. It then examines the principal discursive strategies implemented by these professionals in order to establish their credentials and suitability for the job, their enthusiasm for the plans of their board, their unswerving commitment to the team, to the club, and its traditions. The chapter also discusses how these media interactions are exploited to interact with various other members of the participation framework, like journalists, but also other legitimated overhearing audiences, for example, fans, players, and sponsors. The results of this analysis will illustrate how in this Web-mediated media genre the language of permanence and identification with the club brand is central in this professional role, even though the unpredictable nature of the game and a ruthless corporate logic have combined to create a dynamic of pervading job insecurity and impermanence.