2. Mass Media & Sports Jack Watson SEP 271

3. Topical Outline  Roles of Mass Media  Sport Journalism  Media & Gender & Sport Inequities  Television’s Manipulation Aspects  Television’s Influence over Sports

4. Roles of Mass Media: Prominent & Subtle  Information/Communication  Entertainment  Social Integration  Promotes shared values and norms  Social Change  Presents “cutting edge” research  Critiques contemporary attitudes & behaviors  Supports social change

5. Group Activity  Pick a Media Source Related to Sport  Gender primarily discussed (percentage)  Primary gender of the writers  Who is make the decisions about articles  Who is the audience  Age  Gender  Reading level  What types of information are they presenting

6. Influence of Journalist So how influential is the source of which the information is coming from???

7. Sport Journalism  Names seen & heard daily  Expected to report outcomes, provide inside info, & give opinions to public  Often criticized for “jock worship”  Job Duties  Attract & hold attention  Selling the sport organization, leagues, network… why??  Prevent boredom  Construct themes  Highlight “match-ups”  Framing the game as crucial  Include personal stories, stats, stories

8. Sport Journalism  Who are they???  Former pros, white, men  Are they objective???

9. Newspapers  1890s first regular sports section  W.R. Hearst, New York Journal  1900s 15% sports news  Up to 50% in some  Sports pages 5x the readers

10. Books & Radio  Books written about sport  Books written by athletes  Name some  1920, KDKA in Pittsburgh – 1 st perm commercial radio station  What happened in the 1950s to affect radios popularity?  11,000 radio stations in N. America

11. Television  1930s  1942 – 4 commercial TV stations  1970 – 4-5 channels  1950 <10% with T.V  11K cable TV systems  2001 – 1000+  2001 – 55 channels  2001 – 98% (1 set)  34% (2 sets)  40% (3 sets) 1/3 worlds total Most popular leisure activity Watch more than 8hrs a day

12. Media Sport & Gender & Minority Inequities  Media sport is main site for Western cultural ideals of masculinity  Media sport marginalizes nontraditional images of masculinity for men  Media sport marginalizes and subordinates women  Media does not represent women well in sport articles  Tramples over women, GLB issues, people of color

13. Media Sport & Gender & Minority Inequities  15:1 ratio reports on men’s to women’s sports  1996, 1 st women’s professional league with national TV contract  Under representation of African- American/Minority male athletes in print or electronic media  Media sport has subtle racial stereotyping

14. Television’s Manipulation Aspect  Selects & excludes certain sports  Covers male & team sporting events  Highlights exciting aspects (bias for certain sports: TDs, HRs, slam dunks goals)  Builds dramatic tension  Keeps viewers “hanging on”

15. Television’s Manipulation Aspect  Misleads Views about delayed & live telecasts  Olympic Gymnastics  Focuses on winning & sacrificing to win  Withholds or distorts reporting of events

16. For the first time in Olympic or World Championship history, the USA women's team won the gold medal. Kerri Strug was the last competitor for the USA team, and punctuated the victory with one of the most heroic moments thus far in the history of American gymnastics. Strug fell on the landing of her first vault, a Yurchenko with one and a half twists, injuring her left ankle. The USA already had one low vault score, thus putting the pressure on Strug to hit her second vault. In a dramatic finish, Strug vaulted a clean Yurchenko with one and a half twists, landing with both feet but immediately lifting her left leg in pain. Balancing on her right foot, she turned to salute the judges, and then fell to the floor until the coaches were able to reach her and carry her off the podium. Following the awarding of the medals, for which she was carried onto and off the stage by her coach, Bela Karolyi, Strug was taken to a Crawford Long Hospital for x-rays. According to U.S. team medical staff, the x-rays were negative; Strug suffered a third-degree lateral ankle sprain. Strug's courageous performance on vault led to her winning the Olympic Spirit Award, which was also presented to Carl Lewis at the 1996 Olympic Games. Strug and her teammates were featured on the Wheaties cereal box after winning the gold medal. Strug and her teammates have appeared on many television talk shows. She has appeared on the cover of Time and People Magazine, along with appearing on "Beverly Hills 90210," "Saturday Night Live" and "Touched By An Angel".-www.usa-gymnastics.orgKerri Strug

17. 1996 Olympics “On July 23, 1996, with a hurt ankle, she vaulted Team USA to its first US Women's Gymnastics team gold medal. Her bravery inspired millions of Americans, including the making of this page. Before that infamous vault, she was practically an unknown to the public. She left the Olympics with more than just a gold medal, but as the most famous athlete of the games. She is Kerri Strug, America's Hero.” - http://aff.weatherbug.com/aff/default.asp?zcode=Z37 09

18. Television’s Influence on Sport  Increases Modification in Sports to accommodate TV  Examples?  Creates made-for-TV sports  Examples?

19. Television Modification Effect on Sports  NFL rule changes  Instant replay  TV time outs  NBA shot clock, 3 point shot  Golf Medal Play  Tennis Tie Break System  Sudden death tie rules  Influences schedule/location  WVU 2003 Football  Wednesday night game vs. VT  PITT game changed to night game

20. Television’s Influence on Sport  Increases in sport revenue  How about the free publicity for privately owned industries?  Plays role in decisions about number & location of professional franchises  Shifts popularity of various sports  Due to natural breaks in action, scoring methods, restricted area of play