Sports Media Coverage Research Articles

Questioning Sports Journalists: Stereotypes, Work Routines, and Color-Blind Racism in Sports Press Conferences

Sports scholars have long studied how stereotypes pervade sports. However, little if any of this research has examined the origins of these stereotypes and how they influence journalistic practice. This study explores sports journalists’ work routines, their perception of stereotypes in sports, and whether there is a connection between the two. The authors conduct a critical discourse analysis of in-depth interviews with 13 sports journalists from across the U.S. Results show that journalists are (sometimes) aware of stereotypes, downplay their role in perpetuating them, and engage in color-blind rhetoric about the prevalence of stereotypes in sports media coverage of college sports. Additionally, the sports journalists interviewed as part of this study outlined the various constraints on their jobs that might impact their ability to establish rapport with athletes, which might result in an increased likelihood of the perpetuation of stereotypes. The findings underscore the need for more scholarly inquiry about sports press conferences and the connection between journalistic practice and ideology, particularly as it relates to race.

Black U.S. Military Affiliated Perspectives on Sport Media's Coverage of Racial Representation and Athlete Activism

Black U.S. military affiliated sport fans hold a unique place in society, as their multiple identities (i.e., racial and career) may possess conflicting elements. Militarism preaches nationalism, meritocracy, and bootstrapism, whereas Black sport activism questions if these “American” values extend to people of color. The current study interviewed Black military affiliated individuals ( N = 10) to understand their perceptions on nationalism and racism within the landscape of contemporary sport activism. The protests initiated by Colin Kaepernick of the National Football League, who took a knee during the pregame national anthem, was a focal point for discussion with the participants. Three main themes were identified in the interviews: (a) protectors of the first amendment, (b) the “right” and “wrong” way to protest, and (c) new racism and color blindness in sport. This study allows a group that is not often studied to voice their perceptions of nationalism and racism in the context of sport activism.

“What if they need to block her on a kick return?”: media framing and self-representation of Sarah Fuller’s historic season as a Vanderbilt soccer player and football kicker

ABSTRACT This paper assesses the representation and self-representation of Sarah Fuller before, during and after her historic kick for Vanderbilt’s football team in 2020. Through an analysis of 193 social media posts and 397 articles, the findings from this study demonstrate that, even in seemingly celebratory coverage of Fuller’s experiences as a football player, media members employed gendered language that “othered” Fuller in relation to her male teammates. Meanwhile, Fuller used her own social media accounts to present herself as a two-sport athlete and occasionally respond to critics. This research concludes that hegemonic themes and patterns remain prevalent in sports media coverage of women athletes. Incorporating women athletes’ voices or perspectives from their personal social media accounts more frequently in sports reporting, however, could serve as one way to increase the depth and quality of such coverage. Building on feminist sports media literature and frameworks around hegemony in sport, the results from this paper ultimately contribute to a robust field of research on women athletes’ representation in the press and on personal social media pages.

HoopGurlz’s biased recruiting: racial and positional stereotyping in girls’ basketball scouting reports

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study considers whether racial stacking and stereotypes inherent in media coverage of professional and college sports translate into girls’ high school basketball through written content in basketball recruiting profiles. Leaning on whiteness studies and a call for intersectional empirical work (Leslie McCall 2005), this research shows how ESPN’s HoopGurlz rankings reify racial stereotypes toward girls’ basketball recruits. Seventeen descriptors are operationally defined and coded by race and playing position into one of two success/failure categories: (1) athletic attributes and (2) personality or physicality characteristics. A content analysis of 499 HoopGurlz recruiting profiles uncovered 4,519 descriptors of girls’ basketball players listed in the top 100 rankings between 2016 and 2020. Results indicate race and playing position descriptors focus on strength for Non-White recruits while White recruits were favored for intelligence and commitment to the team. Guards were highlighted for athletic talent and intrinsic, learned qualities. The findings contribute to feminist studies by illustrating how empirical mapping of online recruiting content emphasizes the symbolic impact of whiteness inherent through media discourse. Specifically, it reveals racial stereotypes in sports media discourse remain as historically covert discursive practices embedded in basketball language through an underexamined space of girls’ basketball recruiting.

The extent of sports media coverage of school sports from the point of view of physical education teachers

هدفتْ الدراسة التعرف إلى مدى تغطية الإعلام الرّياضي للرّياضة المدرسيّة من وجهة نظر معلمي التربية الرياضية، تم الاعتماد على المنهج الوصفي المسحي من خلال استخدام الاستبانة بوصفها وسيلة لجمع البيانات، وتكوّنت من (40) فقرة، موزعه على (4) مجالات رئيسة هي: مجال واقع الإعلام، والمجال التربوي، والمجال الصحي، والمجال الاجتماعي، وأجريت الدراسة على عيّنة تكوّنت من (112) معلم تربية رياضية من مدارس مديرية قصبة المفرق، ومديرية تربية البادية الشرقية الغربية، والبادية الشرقية الشمالية، ومديرية تربية جرش، تم استخدام العمليات الإحصائية الآتية: المتوسطات الحسابية، والانحرافات المعيارية، وتحليل التباين الأُحادي، واختبار شيفية للمقارنات البعدية، وأظهرت النتائج أنّ آراء معلمي التربية الرياضية لمدى تغطية الإعلام الرّياضي للرياضة المدرسية كان متوسطًا، وأظهرت النتائج كذلك وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى الدلالة بين متوسطات التغطية الإعلامية للرياضة المدرسية تبعاً لمتغير الجنس كانت لصالح الإناث، كما أظهرت النتائج فروقًا ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى الدلالة بين متوسطات تبعًا لمتغير المدرسة ولصالح المدارس الحكومية، وبناء على النتائج السابقة، أوصت الدراسة بتفعيل دور الإعلام الرّياضي في تغطية الرّياضة المدرسية، حيث يتم تشكيل لجان متخصصة بالإعلام الرّياضي داخل المدارس ومديريات التربية لمتابعة مراحل منافسات الرّياضة المدرسية.

“The women are every bit as good as the men”: a postfeminist critique of LPGA players’ quest for equity in golf

ABSTRACT This study featured a survey of 32 LPGA athletes and follow-up interviews. We employed a postfeminist critique, highlighting the contradictions of modern feminism in a patriarchal, capitalist society . Findings reflected the athletes’ conflicting views on their place in the sports world. They noted the hegemonic masculinity that has always existed in sports and media coverage of sports, but some viewed this as a problem for individual women rather than for the LPGA collectively. Some respondents said the LPGA did not need to take action as a whole, when such action clearly would benefit them. Some accepted women’s bodies as a commodity to be traded in the sports marketplace. Some responses revealed ugly racism toward Asian players. Overall, the women’s words raised questions and reflections on how to respond to structural sexism in sports, why the women believe they are treated unequally to men, and how to improve media coverage of women’s golf by humanizing players. We also make recommendations on how an intersectional approach to the sport might improve its revenue, media treatment, and quell racist attitudes. We acknowledge that real change will require institutional responses to these problems.

Gender Disparities in Sports Media Coverage: Phenomenon, Analysis, and Transformation

Gender Disparities in Sports Media Coverage: Phenomenon, Analysis, and Transformation

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

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.

Arab Athletes’ Gender Displays as a Form of Self-Presentation on Instagram during Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics

Drawing on Goffman’s (1959, 1979) influential work on self-presentation and gender displays, this study was designed to analyze the differences between Arab athletes’ self-presentation on social media based on gender. It used content analysis to examine the self-presentation styles of Arab athletes of both genders by analyzing photographs and captions on Instagram. Surprisingly, this study did not find a difference between Arab male and female athletes regarding gender displays. The vast majority of the pictures of both genders did not suggest sexual activity. This study extends the literature by analyzing Arab athletes’ self-presentation across gender, comparing males’ and females’ self-Presentation on Instagram during Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Contrary to previous research that noted that female athletes emphasize sexuality on Instagram, we argue that Arab female athletes used Instagram to create a contemporary image of sporting femininity image as enabled, empowered, and strongly individualized. As women’s representation in sports media coverage seems to remain at a disadvantage compared with men’s, social media can be exploited as an effective tool for Arab female athletes to redress this shortage of coverage and challenge the normative gender and sexual identities in sports.

Insider Perspectives on Saudi Arabia’s Fakher Disability Sports Programme

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made many efforts to support people with disabilities. One of these efforts is the Fakher Programme Initiative. The programme provides substantial financial support and training for around 350 para-athletes with physical disabilities or cerebral palsy. This research sought to provide a thick description of the programme’s aims, its successes, and the challenges faced, based on the reports of significant stakeholders. In-depth interviews with 26 participants from different stakeholder groups (para-athletes, coaches, administrators, para-athlete families, individuals interested in para-sports, and the CEO of the Fakher Programme) were conducted individually to provide rich insider perspectives. An interpretive phenomenological analysis approach was applied to analyse the interviews. Two main dimensions were identified: (i) the positive impacts of the Fakher Programme Initiative and (ii) further recommended improvements to the Fakher Programme Initiative. Although most of the participants expressed positive perspectives on the programme (e.g., developing collaboration, health benefits, infrastructural support, and raising awareness of people with disabilities), improvements can be made in the form of psychological support for elite para-athletes in training and more developed national and international media coverage of disability sports in Saudi Arabia.

Sport, gender, and national interest during the Olympics: A comparative analysis of media representations in Central and Eastern Europe

Researchers have documented patterns in sports media coverage across a variety of geographical and media contexts extensively, but relatively few studies focus on the Central and Eastern European region. This study examines the agenda diversity of European public service media in Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia on their sport-related Facebook accounts during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. A content analysis identified featured sports, gender balance, and the role of national interest in the events and athletes represented. Sports agenda diversity was driven by the hegemony of men's football and national success at the Olympics. Gender imbalance in media coverage persists in the region even on public service broadcasters’ social media accounts. Women received coverage only when representing the home nation at an Olympic event. The hegemony of men's football is a transnational phenomenon, while Olympic coverage emphasizes sports that share historical associations with national identity. Sports agenda diversity in the three countries is heterogeneous and regionally distinct. In practice, broadcasters might temporarily minimize gender imbalance in Olympic coverage, but in ways that routinizes the national focus. Theoretical developments in agenda setting in coverage of international events should account both for transnational patterns in public service media in the region and local particularities.

Does sport media raise her name? Examining intersectional representation in media narratives

PurposeThe purpose of this research was to examine the role of intersectionality (multiple marginalized identities) in narratives used within online media coverage of women's sports. The authors adopted an intersectionality lens and drew from sports media literature to explore the representation of Black athletes in women's sport.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a quantitative content analysis of online articles from ESPN, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated from the 2020 WNBA Season. The authors coded the number of times an athlete was mentioned in an article, the athlete's race, publicly disclosed sexual orientation and gender expression. The authors used hierarchical regression to examine the relationship between an athlete's social identities and frequency of media mentions.FindingsWithin mainstream online sport media, Black WNBA athletes receive less media attention than white WNBA athletes. Black athletes who do not present in traditionally feminine ways receive the least amount of media attention, while white athletes have the freedom to express their gender in a variety of ways and still capture media interest. Within league press releases, however, there is no difference in media mentions based on race, sexual orientation or gender expression.Practical implicationsThe findings in this research are important for sport media professionals who write stories and player-activists who are pursuing racial justice. Outlets should commit to antiracist storytelling practices. Players, player agents and players' associations—all of whom have shown their power to create change for a more equitable industry and society—should also advocate for and organize around practices that create more equitable media coverage.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few empirical investigations of women's professional sport that examines the influence of intersecting social identities.

National Stereotypes in Sports Media Coverage: Focusing on Football Magazines

National stereotypes found in Japanese sports media coverage are examined in this study. In the English-speaking world, there are international comparative studies on national stereotypes found in sports. However, no such empirical studies have been conducted in Japan. We therefore conducted the following two analyses of the national stereotypes found in Japanese football magazines. First, we quantitatively analyzed the distribution of stereotypes related to the nationality or playing style of national teams. As a result, we found four patterns: solid defense and counterattack; brilliant technique; great physical abilities; and mental toughness and physical abilities. Second, focusing on African national teams, we found that these teams are often evaluated as having high physical abilities but poor organizational strength.

Content analysis of biological sex-specific media coverage of sport: The case of National Collegiate Athletic Association athletic department home webpages

Studies have found that media coverage of women's sports is inadequate when compared with coverage of men's sports with regards to the amount of coverage as well as the type of coverage across men's and women’s sports. With few exceptions, past research has found inequitable coverage of female and male athletes in every media form studied, from print and television to the internet. Some exceptions to the findings include not-for-profit media, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association News, and internet-based publications. The current study combined the two media types to determine if athletic departments that are affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association offer more balanced coverage of female and male athletes on their official websites than has been found in past research. The results revealed that although the type of coverage the athletes received was similar, the amount was not. In articles and photographs on National Collegiate Athletic Association athletic department home webpages, females were underrepresented in comparison to their participation rates in collegiate athletics. These webpages from 30 not-for-profit, National Collegiate Athletic Association affiliated institutions, across six conferences, did not lead to the overall balance in coverage that was originally expected. implications for Title IX are discussed.

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

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.

Windows of equity? Media review of Czech gender hegemony during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games

Background: Sport media coverage of women's participation has long been viewed as perpetuating hegemonic masculinity. Yet several authors have found recent coverage of mega, multi-sport events, such as the Summer Olympic Games, to be more equitable towards women, particularly when examined proportionally to participation. The Czech Republic for various reasons has traditionally been resistant to feminist ideology, marking its unique positioning in providing an equitable presentation of women's participation. Objective: To examine the influence of hegemonic masculinity in an Eastern European culture, portrayed through Czech online media coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Methods: Online media coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games was examined for gendered differences of Czech athletes. Analysis of number of articles, length of articles, type of sport, and whether the article was about domestic or foreign athletes, was evaluated over 17 days of media coverage on two dominant Czech sport media websites. Results were compared in relation to gender, participation rates and medal success. Results: A total of 860 articles were reviewed, with 49.7% favoring male athletes, and 38.6% female. Articles about female athletes were largely composed of reporting on female medal winners (medal winning: media coverage correlation .845, p < .001), while those on male athletes were predominantly from the cultural dominant sport of men's ice hockey (25.1%). Conclusions: The findings suggest that success is more important than perpetuations of hegemonic masculinity when men and women are competing in mega, multi-sport events. Implications of these findings are also provided in terms of type of media coverage and influences of equity in media coverage for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

AUTOAPRESENTAÇÃO CORPORAL DE LUTADORAS DE ARTES MARCIAIS MISTAS (MMA) NO INSTAGRAM

Objetivamos analisar a autoapresentação corporal de lutadoras de MMA no Instagram. Foram analisadas imagens postadas por lutadoras campeãs do Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), considerando a representação midiática da imagem da mulher atleta, a objetificação e a hipersexualização de seus corpos. Para tal, utilizamos um esquema de codificação com categorias para análise de imagens baseado nos estudos de Goffman. Evidenciamos que, em geral, as imagens analisadas não apresentam a tendência, persistente na cobertura da mídia esportiva, de sexualização do corpo das mulheres atletas. As imagens que remetem a essa representação foram observadas nos contextos específicos que envolvem a organização UFC – a marca do UFC aparece com frequência nas imagens postadas por todas as lutadoras. Não evidenciamos representação baseada em normas e expectativas convencionais de comportamento de gênero; as imagens analisadas mostram uma feminilidade plural.

The White Racial Frame in Sport Media: Framing of Donald Trump and LaVar Ball’s Public Feud Following the UCLA Basketball Player Arrests in China

This article utilizes the “white racial frame” to analyze the sport media coverage of the public feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and basketball celebrity entrepreneur, LaVar Ball. The feud originated in November 2017, when LaVar’s son—University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) player LiAngelo Ball—was detained in Hangzhou, China, for shoplifting along with two of his UCLA teammates. After some tense moments, the three players were released and flown back to the United States. The U.S. President Donald Trump took credit, leading to a prolonged, prickly exchange with LaVar Ball. This article analyzes six major U.S. newspapers and six sports-specific outlets that covered the Trump–Ball feud. First, we identify the predominant frames that appeared in coverage. Second, we track whose views were included in the news and how sourcing inflected the appearance of particular frames. The incident highlights how racialized language—if coded and dog whistled—enters public discussion through the lens of sport. It also highlights the role of social media, especially Twitter, in influencing news production.

Do jornalismo esportivo ao infotretenimento: o caso do contrato entre Neymar Jr. e Globo como paradigma

O presente artigo parte do desenvolvimento teórico de uma Economia Política da Comunicação voltada aos estudos do Jornalismo para analisar as mudanças na cobertura esportiva midiática nos últimos anos, tendo como objeto de análise as mudanças no jornalismo esportivo do Grupo Globo, das questões estruturais do setor no conglomerado ao contrato com Neymar Júnior, vigente nos anos de 2014 e 2015. Mais que um legado comunicacional da Copa do Mundo FIFA Brasil 2014, esse fato representa o ápice das mudanças da cobertura esportiva cada vez mais voltada ao entretenimento que ao jornalismo.

Sport in the new media. Media coverages of selected sport disciplines during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

Organista Natalia, Halter–Bogołębska Martyna, Sport in the new media. Media coverages of selected sport disciplines during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Culture – Society – Education no 2(16) 2019, Poznań 2019, pp. 203–224, Adam Mickiewicz University Press. ISSN 2300–0422. DOI 10.14746/kse.2019.16.13.&#x0D; This study concerns the online sports media coverage, a topic that has not been previously analyzed in Poland. In recent decades many studies (in Anglo–Saxon countries in particular) indicated the major underrepresentation of women’s sport and different framing of sportswomen andsportsmen. Those studies showed that the media plays important role in upholding gender stereotypes in sport and hindering empowerment of sportswomen. This study analyzes media coverage of three sports disciplines (gymnastics,swimming and weightlifting) during Rio Olympics on five websites. Findings revealed underrepresentation of women’s sport and setting the trend to write about women’s sport in disciplines consider as appropriated for women. The qualitative analysis did not indicate gender–specific descriptors in materials about sportspeople.