Media and Women Elite Athletes in the Arab World: Current Status and Perspectives for Developments

Abstract

Media coverage of elite sport dates back to the 1960s, and ever since, media coverage of sport has been highly prevalent. This significant relationship has an impact on many factors including the social status of elite athletes. Thus, this paper first highlights the growth of media popularity in elite sport, and then proposes a new method of measurement of the media popularity of recognized sports, based on the methodology of the World Ranking of Countries in Elite Sport. This innovative index will allow the identification of the most popular sports around the world within the Arab context. After providing this data, this paper seeks to evaluate whether the popular sports indeed provide social advantages to the elite athletes who practice them, and to estimate accurately the impact that media have on the development of elite sport. These concepts extend to show the disparities between media coverage of male and female athletes and its wider impact on the athlete, sport, and/or culture. Recommendations for development of media practices are noted, including the proposition to refer in media contexts to sportspersons as athletes, as opposed to the use of terms which reinforce stereotypical divisions (male vs. female) thus challenging the reinforcing of gender stereotypes within the media.