Final Project

30-minute Radio Documentary

Title: Chasing the American Dream: Do British Basketballers Have a Route to the NBA?

My Aims and Objectives

My documentary would be based on whether there is a clear pathway for British Basketballers to reach the NBA, because there are currently only four British Basketball players in the league, and I wanted to investigate the reasons behind that. It is relevant because the NBA held its first regular season match in the UK for the first time in six years and the NBA commissioner, Adam Silver has announced plans for a Euro League which will involve teams from London and Manchester. I am to investigate whether the answer is around a lack of funding or young children not going into basketball. I think it is something worthy of looking into.

My chosen media medium will be a 30-minute radio documentary, which will be very detailed and descriptive in my approach to storytelling. I want not only sports fans but people looking to get into the sport to understand what I am trying to investigate. The audio sounds I could include are basketball games, buzzer beaters, squeaking from the shoes, famous commentary, basketball-related music etc. My target audience would be Basketball fans who want to learn about this subject and to understand what to do if they experience this situation.

They would care about this story because there needs to be more representation in English basketballers, and what happens to players if they can’t afford to move to America for college etc. I intend to appeal to them by interviewing experts in this field, such as Basketball coaches, sports analysts, Former players, Basketball marketing people etc. I believe my documentary would aid authenticity, relatability, and emotional connection, because of the serious nature of this affecting people’s sporting careers. The reliability and emotional connection will come from the audience being able to find a sense of togetherness, considering they might have experienced something similar.