The (un)level playing field: sport media during COVID-19

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research question : The creation of sport media content is guided by the need to cover live, seasonal events, which typically results in the greater coverage of men’s sport than women’s. However, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, live sport was halted. This paper presents the findings of a study into the media coverage of women in sport during the pandemic. Specifically, the study sought to answer the research question, how has Australian mainstream media covered women in sport during a period of time with no live sport on the global stage? Research methods : The study used quantitative content analysis to track the coverage from 20 media outlets using consistent one-directional coding practices, involving a single individual coder at the same time each day to focus on counting articles covering women in sport. Results and findings : The findings show a slight reduction in the coverage of women in sport at the start of the COVID-19 crisis in Australia and that low levels of coverage persisted throughout. This indicates that in the absence of live sport, media institutions reflexively revert to traditional ritualized, routinized practices to create sport media content, and women in sport stories are excluded regardless of the presence of play. Implications : The major contribution of this study is its demonstration that the ongoing dominance of men’s sport media coverage does not emerge as a result of weekly, seasonal coverage of live sport, but is founded on deeply entrenched notions of commercial value and upheld by newsroom routines and social rituals.