This study examined print-media portrayals of women’s and men’s basketball teams, players, and coaches during the 2006 NCAA Division I tournaments. Drawing principally from Gramsci’s hegemony theory and Connell’s theory of gender power... more
This study examined print-media portrayals of women’s and men’s basketball teams, players, and coaches during the 2006 NCAA Division I tournaments. Drawing principally from Gramsci’s hegemony theory and Connell’s theory of gender power relations, we analyzed article narratives published over a 26-day period during spring 2006 in four major media outlets: newspapers, The New York Times and USA Today, and online sport publications, ESPN Internet and CBS SportsLine. A total of 508 articles were coded and analyzed for dominant themes. Six primary themes emerged from the data. Although the data revealed shifts in media representations of gender relations, overall these themes mostly supported Connell’s theory about the gender order.
Cette étude porte sur les médias écrits et leurs représentations des équipes féminines et masculines de ballon-panier, des joueurs et des entraîneurs pendant les tournois de la première division du NCAA en 2006. À partir de la théorie de l’hégémonie de Gramsci et de celle des relations de pouvoir liées au genre de Connell, nous analysons des récits publiés pendant 26 jours au printemps 2006 dans quatre médias majeurs : deux quotidiens (The New York Times et USA Today) et deux publications en ligne (ESPN Internet et CBS SportsLine). Au total, 508 articles ont été codés et analysés. Six thèmes principaux sont ressortis. Quoi que les données aient révélé des changements dans les représentations médiatiques des relations de genre, en général les thèmes ont surtout confirmé la théorie de Connell en ce qui a trait à la hiérarchie des genres.
Cette étude porte sur les médias écrits et leurs représentations des équipes féminines et masculines de ballon-panier, des joueurs et des entraîneurs pendant les tournois de la première division du NCAA en 2006. À partir de la théorie de l’hégémonie de Gramsci et de celle des relations de pouvoir liées au genre de Connell, nous analysons des récits publiés pendant 26 jours au printemps 2006 dans quatre médias majeurs : deux quotidiens (The New York Times et USA Today) et deux publications en ligne (ESPN Internet et CBS SportsLine). Au total, 508 articles ont été codés et analysés. Six thèmes principaux sont ressortis. Quoi que les données aient révélé des changements dans les représentations médiatiques des relations de genre, en général les thèmes ont surtout confirmé la théorie de Connell en ce qui a trait à la hiérarchie des genres.
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Research falling under the broad field of sport communication has become commonplace in academic scholarship over the past 30 years. Scholars in fields such as journalism, communication, communication studies, sport studies, sport... more
Research falling under the broad field of sport communication has become commonplace in academic scholarship over the past 30 years. Scholars in fields such as journalism, communication, communication studies, sport studies, sport management, and sport sociology, among others, have contributed to the burgeoning research in this relatively new genre. However, the majority of those studies focused on analyzing published content from a variety of mediums (e.g., Internet, print, television). Some of these scholars attempted to ascribe motives, attitudes, views, opinions, bias, etc. to the sport journalists and gatekeepers who produce and oversee sport media content. A more sensible approach, but one that has been far less utilized, would be to study the actual producers of such content, rather than just inferring motives based on published content.
Scholarship on sport media professionals is especially needed now due to the advent of the Internet as a dominant medium and the increased demand for convergent media skills (e.g., print reporting, shooting video, appearing on camera, production) in most current sport communication positions, regardless of the medium. Fortunately many scholars are now researching sport communication professionals throughout the world, evident by the interest in this special issue.
http://journals.humankinetics.com/ijsc-current-issue/ijsc-volume-6-issue-4-december/introduction-to-this-special-issue-of-ijsc-on-21st-century-sport-communication-professionals
Scholarship on sport media professionals is especially needed now due to the advent of the Internet as a dominant medium and the increased demand for convergent media skills (e.g., print reporting, shooting video, appearing on camera, production) in most current sport communication positions, regardless of the medium. Fortunately many scholars are now researching sport communication professionals throughout the world, evident by the interest in this special issue.
http://journals.humankinetics.com/ijsc-current-issue/ijsc-volume-6-issue-4-december/introduction-to-this-special-issue-of-ijsc-on-21st-century-sport-communication-professionals
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Interviews were conducted with select U.S. newspaper sports writers to gauge their experiences and attitudes toward the advent of Web 2.0 and Twitter. Focus was placed on the impact of Web 2.0 on work routines, reporting, expectations,... more
Interviews were conducted with select U.S. newspaper sports writers to gauge their experiences and attitudes toward the advent of Web 2.0 and Twitter. Focus was placed on the impact of Web 2.0 on work routines, reporting, expectations, and job security. Results showed technological advances of Web 2.0 made news-gathering much easier, but placed greater demands on journalists. Web 2.0 contributed to many newspaper layoffs, but yet gave greater prominence to top reporters. All of these journalists developed convergent media skills to keep up with changing technologies. All are on Twitter for research purposes, but most do not use the microblog for socializing.
https://online.journalism.utexas.edu/journals.php
https://online.journalism.utexas.edu/journals.php
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American football has long been central to the construction of masculinity in the United States. Of the multiple masculine scripts promoting professional players’ hegemonic masculine status, sacrificing one’s body for the sake of sporting... more
American football has long been central to the construction of masculinity in the United States. Of the multiple masculine scripts promoting professional players’ hegemonic masculine status, sacrificing one’s body for the sake of sporting glory is a key tenet. Sport journalists have traditionally used their media platform to reify this social script, an act which simultaneously promotes their own masculine capital. However, this article investigates a crack in this hegemonic system. Through a media analysis of the reporting on Aaron Rodgers’ self-withdrawal (after hitting his head) from an important National Football League (NFL) game, we argue that increasing cultural awareness as to the devastating effects of concussions, in the form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, combined with a softening of American masculinity is beginning to permit some prominent players to distance themselves from the self-sacrifice component of sporting masculinity. Concerning concussions, we conclude major sport media are beginning to support the notion of health over a masculine warrior narrative.
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The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if gender-specific descriptors regularly found in television and newspaper sport coverage were present in two popular online sites from the emerging medium of Internet sport... more
The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if gender-specific descriptors regularly found in television and newspaper sport coverage were present in two popular online sites from the emerging medium of Internet sport journalism. Descriptors given to players and coaches during the 2006 NCAA Division I women’s and men’s basketball tournaments by ESPN Internet and CBS SportsLine were examined. Results contradicted gender-specific descriptors found in previous studies on sport media coverage that scholars have argued help uphold hegemonic masculinity in sport.
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A textual analysis examined US media framing of National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jason Collins’ coming out as the first ‘active’ gay athlete in one of the four most popular US professional men’s team sport leagues. We analyzed... more
A textual analysis examined US media framing of National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jason Collins’ coming out as the first ‘active’ gay athlete in one of the four most popular US professional men’s team sport leagues. We analyzed all articles on Collins published over a four-day period in the five most circulated US newspapers and five most trafficked USA-based sport websites after he came out publicly, and then analyzed those same publications over a three-day period following his signing with and playing for the Brooklyn Nets as an openly gay player. Journalists framed Collins’ self-outing as a landmark for US sport, noting that both sport and the USA are now far more accepting of sexual minorities. The few media members and athletes who criticized Collins or homosexuality were framed as antiquated outliers. Sports journalists continued to frame Collins as a hero after he signed with the Brooklyn Nets. Upon his return to the NBA nearly 10 months after coming out, prominent African-American basketball players and Collins’ teammates with Brooklyn were quoted as equating homophobia with racism in offering their support for Collins. Overall, media framed sport as an inclusive, accepting institution for gays, countering most previous research on homosexuality in sport media.
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This article analyzes 5,128 comments from thirty-five prominent football fan online message boards located across the United Kingdom and 978 online comments in response to a Guardian newspaper article regarding the decision by former... more
This article analyzes 5,128 comments from thirty-five prominent football fan online message boards located across the United Kingdom and 978 online comments in response to a Guardian newspaper article regarding the decision by former German international footballer, Thomas Hitzlsperger, to publicly come out as gay in January 2014. Adopting the theoretical framework of inclusive masculinity theory, the findings demonstrate almost universal inclusivity through the rejection of homo-phobia and frequent contestation of comments that express orthodox views. From a period of high homophobia during the 1980s and 1990s, just 2 percent of the 6,106 comments contained pernicious homophobic intent. Rather than allow for covert homophobic hate speech toward those with a different sexual orientation, 98 percent of the comments illustrate a significant decrease in cultural homophobia than was present when Justin Fashanu came out in 1990.
Research Interests: Sociology, Cultural Studies, Social Change, Sociology of Sport, Gender Studies, and 41 moreMedia Studies, New Media, Media and Cultural Studies, Cultural Sociology, Social Sciences, Football (soccer), Internet Studies, Masculinity Studies, Digital Media, Qualitative methodology, Online Communities, Qualitative Methods, Virtual Communities, Sexuality, Gender and Sexuality, Gay And Lesbian Studies, Gender, Culture, Gender Equality, Masculinity, Social Media, Soccer, Qualitative Research, Masculinities, Media, Fan Cultures, Homophobia, Sports Fans, Studies On Men And Masculinity, Virtual Worlds, Qualitative Research Methods, The Internet, Online Communication, Homosexuality, Football, Online Research Methods, Football Culture, Hegemonic Masculinity, Qualitative Methodologies, Sociology of Football, and Qualitative Analysis
In this research, interviews were conducted with 10 U.S. newspaper sport journalists to gauge their experiences and attitudes toward issues and coverage of open and closeted gay men in sport, sport media, and within society. Concerning... more
In this research, interviews were conducted with 10 U.S. newspaper sport journalists to gauge their experiences and attitudes toward issues and coverage of open and closeted gay men in sport, sport media, and within society. Concerning closeted athletes, most of these journalists are reluctant to report on athletes’ non-normative sexual orientation, even if that means a competitor could scoop them on a story about a major athlete being gay. Most of these reporters believe that U.S. sport fans are ready for openly gay athletes in professional men’s team sports, but that locker rooms might be slower to adapt. Despite these progressive attitudes and more than 220 years of collective professional media experience, none of these journalists ever worked with a sports reporter who was openly gay to all of their colleagues. Therefore, it was not surprising that most believed sport journalism would be a challenging career for openly gay men, particularly if those individuals also did not conform to gender-normative notions of masculinity.
http://irs.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/10/01/1012690213504101.abstract
http://irs.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/10/01/1012690213504101.abstract
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This study examined effects of the sex of sports writers on the framing of athletes in print-media coverage of intercollegiate men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The number of articles by female and male authors and the frames used... more
This study examined effects of the sex of sports writers on the framing of athletes in print-media coverage of intercollegiate men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The number of articles by female and male authors and the frames used were analyzed. Descriptors of players, coaches, and both tournaments in articles from CBS SportsLine, ESPN Internet, The New York Times, and USA Today were coded with the authors’ names initially hidden. Results showed that female journalists were more apt to cover women’s basketball, and men predominantly wrote about men’s basketball. The sex of writers also influenced the ways female and male athletes were presented. Male writers were more likely to reinforce gender stereotypes by praising the athleticism of male athletes. In contrast, female writers more often framed female athletes for their athletic prowess. The results suggest that female sports writers can make some difference in framing, but institutional structures minimize their impact.
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Areas examined in this chapter include (1) Sport media as a gendered institution that is statistically dominated by men at all levels; (2) A brief synopsis of Cultivation Theory and framing by mass media; (3) Framing of gender by sport... more
Areas examined in this chapter include (1) Sport media as a gendered institution that is statistically dominated by men at all levels; (2) A brief synopsis of Cultivation Theory and framing by mass media; (3) Framing of gender by sport media, specifically the use of gender-stereotypes and descriptors, and media construction of ‘gender-appropriate’ and ‘gender-inappropriate’ sports for men and women; and (4) Coverage and framing of sexuality by sport media, with a focus on coverage (or lack thereof) of lesbian and gay athletes.
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Sport philosophers have long debated the ethics of running up scores on opponents. However, teams’ willfully scheduling contests against inferior opponents resulted in less attention until recently. Such practices are common in major... more
Sport philosophers have long debated the ethics of running up scores on opponents. However, teams’ willfully scheduling contests against inferior opponents resulted in less attention until recently. Such practices are common in major college football, where a vast majority of marquee programs in the NCAA Football Subdivision (FBS) annually schedule a non-conference game against a smaller program from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Many athletics directors and coaches claim these games are a necessity. The powerful teams point to an economic boost for their athletics programs and communities due to an extra home game. Such matchups often help fund the smaller programs’ entire athletics departments. However, national media and many fans have begun expressing outrage at powerhouse programs that schedule FCS teams, pointing to potential damage for FCS players, as well as absurdly lopsided results.
Some smaller media outlets maintain national followings for their coverage of college football programs, including independent, subscription fan sites on the Rivals.com network. Would such sites publicly question the practices or sportsmanship of the coaches and administrators who provide them access to events? Thus, the purpose of this exploratory chapter was to examine how Rivals.com team sites for one BCS conference (the Big 12) framed their schools’ games against outclassed FCS opponents.
We used open and axial levels of coding in a textual analysis of Rivals.com articles by outlets covering Big 12 Conference football programs the week before and after their 2012 games against FCS opponents. Each article was read and coded by three researchers, all initially working independently before the constant comparative method was employed in the search for dominant themes. Results were analyzed in context with various theories on sportsmanship.
Results showed that the Big 12 Rivals.com sites framed games against FCS opponents as meaningless, with a forgone conclusion that the Big 12 team would win in a blowout. Players and coaches from FCS programs received minimal coverage. Moreover, Rivals.com writers showed little sympathy for the outmatched FCS opponents or concern for their players’ health. Further, they never questioned the sportsmanship exhibited by the Big 12 athletic directors and coaches in scheduling these contests, which are a prime example of the growing inequities between the “haves” and “have-nots” in college sport.
https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=48387
Many athletics directors and coaches claim these games are a necessity. The powerful teams point to an economic boost for their athletics programs and communities due to an extra home game. Such matchups often help fund the smaller programs’ entire athletics departments. However, national media and many fans have begun expressing outrage at powerhouse programs that schedule FCS teams, pointing to potential damage for FCS players, as well as absurdly lopsided results.
Some smaller media outlets maintain national followings for their coverage of college football programs, including independent, subscription fan sites on the Rivals.com network. Would such sites publicly question the practices or sportsmanship of the coaches and administrators who provide them access to events? Thus, the purpose of this exploratory chapter was to examine how Rivals.com team sites for one BCS conference (the Big 12) framed their schools’ games against outclassed FCS opponents.
We used open and axial levels of coding in a textual analysis of Rivals.com articles by outlets covering Big 12 Conference football programs the week before and after their 2012 games against FCS opponents. Each article was read and coded by three researchers, all initially working independently before the constant comparative method was employed in the search for dominant themes. Results were analyzed in context with various theories on sportsmanship.
Results showed that the Big 12 Rivals.com sites framed games against FCS opponents as meaningless, with a forgone conclusion that the Big 12 team would win in a blowout. Players and coaches from FCS programs received minimal coverage. Moreover, Rivals.com writers showed little sympathy for the outmatched FCS opponents or concern for their players’ health. Further, they never questioned the sportsmanship exhibited by the Big 12 athletic directors and coaches in scheduling these contests, which are a prime example of the growing inequities between the “haves” and “have-nots” in college sport.
https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=48387
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In this phenomenology, interviews were conducted with former newspaper reporters now working for prominent Internet sports sites. Krumboltz’s (2008) Planned Happenstance Learning Theory on career development was used as a guiding... more
In this phenomenology, interviews were conducted with former newspaper reporters now working for prominent Internet sports sites. Krumboltz’s (2008) Planned Happenstance Learning Theory on career development was used as a guiding framework. Data were transcribed and coded by two researchers. Most of the journalists decided to be newspaper sports writers early in life and began garnering professional experiences in their teens or in college. None planned to work for Internet outlets. However, all foresaw the demise of newspapers and landed with Internet outlets through media connections initially formed through newspapers. All but one expressed high satisfaction in their current jobs, citing large travel budgets, freedom to choose writing assignments, national platforms, and no hard time deadlines for submitting stories. These reporters find the future of sports journalism unpredictable, but believe they will be ready. Lehman-Wilizig and Cohen-Avigdor’s media life-cycle model (2004) was used to understand results in a broader context.
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In 2007, John Amaechi became the first former National Basketball Association (NBA) player to publicly announce he was gay. Former NBA star Tim Hardaway made a series of homophobic remarks a week later. A textual analysis was used to... more
In 2007, John Amaechi became the first former National Basketball Association (NBA) player to publicly announce he was gay. Former NBA star Tim Hardaway made a series of homophobic remarks a week later. A textual analysis was used to analyze narratives on Amaechi's revelation and/or Hardaway's comments published in 50 international newspapers. Four dominant themes emerged from the data. While most of these themes supported narratives that gay males remain unwelcome in men's team sports, all were challenged consistently, thus, showing the fluidity of hegemonic masculinity and the increasing societal acceptance of gays and gay lifestyles. Moreover, print media writers exhibited little homophobia and frequently called for more acceptance of gays, particularly within sport.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This article examines German print sport journalists’ perceptions, experiences, and relationships with Bundesliga clubs’ public relations (PR) staffers and each club’s designated press spokesperson, as well the impact of a competitive,... more
This article examines German print sport journalists’ perceptions, experiences, and relationships with Bundesliga clubs’ public relations (PR) staffers and each club’s designated press spokesperson, as well the impact of a competitive, multitier 21st-century media environment on their jobs. All Bundesliga clubs are now disseminating more multimedia content on their own through official Web sites and social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Meanwhile, the German newspaper industry is in a state of transformation and decreased prominence among mediums in German sport journalism. A survey of print journalists who cover Bundesliga clubs showed that these changes have affected the historic symbiotic relationship between the sporting press and Bundesliga clubs. Power and media autonomy have increased for Bundesliga clubs and their designated press spokespersons, while print reporters are more dependent on the clubs’ PR staffers to provide access. The surveyed journalists recognize the increasing power of television in German sport journalism, but nearly half do not consider this as negative for their jobs. These print sport journalists are called on to find new ways and types of media content to begin restoring the needed balance in a symbiotic relationship between independent press and PR, while also distinguishing their work from televised media content.
http://journals.humankinetics.com/ijsc-current-issue/ijsc-volume-6-issue-4-december/reflections-of-german-football-journalists-on-their-relationships-with-bundesliga-club-public-relations-practitioners
http://journals.humankinetics.com/ijsc-current-issue/ijsc-volume-6-issue-4-december/reflections-of-german-football-journalists-on-their-relationships-with-bundesliga-club-public-relations-practitioners
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An Internet-based survey was posted on the Twitter feed of a retired female athlete to ascertain the demographics, uses, and gratifications of her feed’s followers. Analysis of the data revealed that followers were predominantly White,... more
An Internet-based survey was posted on the Twitter feed of a retired female athlete to ascertain the demographics, uses, and gratifications of her feed’s followers. Analysis of the data revealed that followers were predominantly White, affluent, educated, and older than prior research into online audiences has shown. The perception of the athlete as being an expert at her sport was the most salient reason reported to follow the Twitter feed, followed by affinity for the athlete’s writing style. Analysis of variance uncovered 5 significant differences in item salience between male and female followers, with women more likely to use this Twitter feed because of affinity for the athlete and men more likely to use it because of perception of the athlete as physically attractive. Factor analysis uncovered 3 dimensions of gratification: an organic fandom factor, a functional fandom factor, and an interactivity factor.
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Research Interests:
Little is known of Internet sport bloggers, who increasingly are becoming important cogs in sport journalism. In this phenomenology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with highly prominent sport bloggers. All were recorded,... more
Little is known of Internet sport bloggers, who increasingly are becoming important cogs in sport journalism. In this phenomenology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with highly prominent sport bloggers. All were recorded, transcribed, and coded. A total of five dominant themes emerged from the data that focused on the shared experiences and learned attitudes toward Internet sport journalism. Overall, these themes showed sport bloggers were highly educated and very happy with their jobs, had a wide array of past work experiences that often had little to no relation with blogging or sport journalism, consider their jobs too varied to fall under one title, primarily work from home, and rarely attend sporting events they write about.
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Although a homophobic and sexist archetype of heterosexual masculinity has been thought to permeate competitive teamsport, matters have been rapidly changing. This is evident in research on openly gay athletes, attitudes among... more
Although a homophobic and sexist archetype of heterosexual masculinity has been thought to permeate competitive teamsport, matters have been rapidly changing. This is evident in research on openly gay athletes, attitudes among heterosexual athletes, and recent studies on decreasing homophobia among sport media content. In this research, however, we examine how some men still adhere to a homophobic and sexist masculine deposition when discussing sport on the Internet. A textual analysis was used to analyze hegemonic masculinity from a popular American football message board. Although posts related to hegemonic masculinity did not permeate the data, we found that this traditional form of masculinity was upheld through misogyny, homophobia, and the objectification of women. Thus, whereas mainstream sport media is increasingly policed for homophobia and sexism, this research shows that the anonymity of the Internet permits hegemonic masculinity to flourish in specific locations, without contestation.
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Over the past 25-30 years, sport management has been among the fastest growing academic disciplines in higher education within the United States. However, the few universities producing sport management doctoral graduates have seemingly... more
Over the past 25-30 years, sport management has been among the fastest growing academic disciplines in higher education within the United States. However, the few universities producing sport management doctoral graduates have seemingly been unable to meet the demands for qualified individuals to teach at the university level.
This study analyzed each of the 124 professorial advertisements for sport management/administration placed by U.S. universities over a one-year period, encompassing the 2005-06 academic year. The majority of the openings were in the Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest, with few listings in the Southwest or West. Nearly half of all listings were at institutions offering sport management only at the undergraduate level.
A phone survey revealed only 69% of advertised positions were filled, with 53% of schools with failed searches citing a lack of desired applicants. A majority of schools that did not hire planned to re-post their positions the following academic year.
This study analyzed each of the 124 professorial advertisements for sport management/administration placed by U.S. universities over a one-year period, encompassing the 2005-06 academic year. The majority of the openings were in the Southeast, Northeast, and Midwest, with few listings in the Southwest or West. Nearly half of all listings were at institutions offering sport management only at the undergraduate level.
A phone survey revealed only 69% of advertised positions were filled, with 53% of schools with failed searches citing a lack of desired applicants. A majority of schools that did not hire planned to re-post their positions the following academic year.
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The essence of global sports has been competition among nations at the international level. For football, arguably the world’s most popular sport, global rivalries are paramount, and every four years since 1930, it has been the World Cup... more
The essence of global sports has been competition among nations at the international level. For football, arguably the world’s most popular sport, global rivalries are paramount, and every four years since 1930, it has been the World Cup that has provided this excitement. English newspaper narratives about the English men’s national football team competing in the 2006 World Cup were examined to gain insight into how English national identity was portrayed. Using a qualitative textual analysis methodology, this study drew on Anderson’s (1983) theory of the imagined community, Hobsbawm’s (1983) notion of invented traditions, and the Eliasian (1991) concept of habitus codes. Set against the contemporary trends of devolution, globalization, and a post-7/7 discourse the newspapers relied on a reductionist, essentialist construction to elicit an emotional connection with a homogenous form of English national identity. The narratives seemed designed to galvanize support for the English team through references to historic English military victories and speeches. These served to rekindle images of bygone, mythical, and imperialistic eras. The newspapers also reverted to an ‘us vs them’ invective in blaming Swedish manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson, for England’s failure to win the tournament with the ‘greatest generation’.
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This study examined content differences in the framing of men’s and women’s tennis coverage based on the sex of sports writers. Articles on the 2007 U.S. Open in six popular Internet sites and newspapers were examined. Results showed both... more
This study examined content differences in the framing of men’s and women’s tennis coverage based on the sex of sports writers. Articles on the 2007 U.S. Open in six popular Internet sites and newspapers were examined. Results showed both female and male writers wrote a higher percentage of articles exclusively on men’s tennis than on women’s tennis. Female journalists accounted for more overall newspapers articles than male reporters, whereas online articles were mostly writ¬ten by male authors. Framing results showed female journalists largely reinforced hegemonic masculinity through the use of sexist and stereotypical descriptors that de-valued the athleticism and accomplishment of female athletes. In contrast, male journalists were more likely to challenge the traditional gendering of sport media content by praising the athleticism of female athletes. The contrasts suggest the potential presence of subtle shifts in traditional, masculine framing of sports by male reporters, who dominate the ranks of sportswriters.
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The vast majority of sport media content is devoted to men’s sports regardless of the type of medium or host country of media outlet. Along with professional tennis, the Summer Olympics is the only major international sporting event where... more
The vast majority of sport media content is devoted to men’s sports regardless of the type of medium or host country of media outlet. Along with professional tennis, the Summer Olympics is the only major international sporting event where female athletes generally receive television coverage that is quantifiably comparable to that given to male Olympic athletes. However, scholarship showed that even Olympics sport broadcasts are chauvinistic, evident by the language used by journalists covering female athletes and media focusing on specific women’s sports that offer the most heterosexual sex appeal. However, the 2012 London Games were dubbed ‘the Year of the Woman’ by the media, because these marked the first Olympics for which every participating nation sent at least one female athlete, women comprised the majority of athletes from several countries’ delegations (including the United States), and were some of the most publicized stars of the London Olympics. Nevertheless, preliminary analyses cited in this article indicate that sport media, including television, still treated female athletes in London as ‘girls’ rather than women, gave them secondary status compared to male athletes, and mostly focused on women – and their body parts – deemed appealing to the, mostly male, journalists who covered the Games.
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The purpose of this study was to determine any significant differences in how reporters for newspapers and online sites framed men's and women's tennis. Articles on the 2007 U.S. Open in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA... more
The purpose of this study was to determine any significant differences in how reporters for newspapers and online sites framed men's and women's tennis. Articles on the 2007 U.S. Open in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, and online sites produced by ESPN, Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated were examined. Results showed newspapers were more likely to minimize the athleticism of female athletes, thus strengthening hegemonic masculinity more than the newer medium of online journalism, which produced mixed results.
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This essay analyses selected English newspapers’ gendered narratives about the English soccer team’s star player, Wayne Rooney, and the captain, David Beckham. Narratives are compared with those devoted to Rooney’s fiancée, Coleen... more
This essay analyses selected English newspapers’ gendered narratives about the English soccer team’s star player, Wayne Rooney, and the captain, David Beckham. Narratives are compared with those devoted to Rooney’s fiancée, Coleen McLoughlin, and Beckham’s wife, Victoria, who with other players’ wives and girlfriends (WAGS) traveled to Germany to support England during the 2006 World Cup. It uses textual analysis to examine how the newspapers’ gendered narratives intersected with nationalistic discourses. Theoretical insight is drawn from Connell’s theory of gender power relations. Narratives about Rooney emphasize his northern working-class roots in the construction of his hegemonic hypermasculinity and role as a ‘patriot at play,’ while narratives about McLoughlin illustrate her subordinate role. More fluid and contradictory narratives are reserved for Beckham, who is known for his more androgynous image, and his wife Victoria, whose strong influence over ‘the skipper’ challenged the traditional gender order.
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This study examined individual branding efforts of marquee high school football prospects in the United States who had verified Twitter accounts. Specifically, this study investigated if top recruits who delayed public announcements of... more
This study examined individual branding efforts of marquee high school football prospects in the United States who had verified Twitter accounts. Specifically, this study investigated if top recruits who delayed public announcements of their college choice impacted their number of Twitter followers before and after they selected a specific school on National Signing Day, compared to recruits who committed early to one university long before National Signing Day. Results showed that recruits who may have attempted to increase their notoriety and Twitter followers by waiting to announce college choice are no more successful in doing so than those who commit to one school early. Further, uncommitted recruits generally did not have more followers than those who had been consistently committed to one school before signing day. Most prospects – regardless if they committed to a college long before or on National Signing Day – gained and did not lose Twitter followers over the entire examined period. This could be because sports fans on Twitter generally do not stop following athletes. It could also be that these fans found specific athletes interesting to follow and thus plan to continue doing so.
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Research Interests:
Sport newspaper departments are regularly mocked for employing hometown journalism deemed too partial in favor of local teams. However, national media are increasingly criticizing affluent, major college football programs for scheduling... more
Sport newspaper departments are regularly mocked for employing hometown journalism deemed too partial in favor of local teams. However, national media are increasingly criticizing affluent, major college football programs for scheduling games against smaller schools from the Football Championship Subdivision, most of which end in lopsided blowouts. Whereas media and sport teams have long formed a symbiotic relationship, major college athletics programs need local media less now due to the ability to post content on their own Web sites. A textual analysis was used to examine hometown media framing of these mismatches by community newspapers that cover football programs in the Big 12 Conference. Results showed newspapers rarely criticized near-by, powerhouse college football teams, but framed FCS teams as inferior. The larger the newspaper examined and the further they were away from the team covered in distance, the more likely they were to criticize hometown coaches and athletic directors. This topic has practical applications for sport mangers who face potential media criticism for scheduling contests against inferior opponents, especially in major college football.
http://thesportjournal.org/article/watchdogs-of-the-fourth-estate-or-homer-journalists-newspaper-coverage-of-local-bcs-college-football-programs/
http://thesportjournal.org/article/watchdogs-of-the-fourth-estate-or-homer-journalists-newspaper-coverage-of-local-bcs-college-football-programs/
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The information leader in physical activity and health.