1. Reinforcing Racial Stereotypes in Media: Content Analysis of Athlete Descriptions in College Basketball and College Football Announcing William Benson Communications, Media, & Rhetoric Senior Seminar University of Minnesota, Morris ______________________________________________________________

2. Outline Introduction – Rationale Literature Review Research Questions Theoretical Connection Methodology Coding Categories and Player Descriptor examples Results Discussion Limitations – Future Research References

3. Topic Rationale Passion for Sports Media Two polar racial stereotypes: African-Americans have innate athletic skill and Caucasian athletes are more intelligent Modern racism – Power of Media 2003: Donovan McNabb – Rush Limbaugh comments

4. Literature Review Denham, B. E., Billings, A. C., & Halone, K. K. (2002) Race in Broadcast Commentary case study of the 2000 NCAA Men and Women’s Final Four Billings, A. (2004) “Depicting the Quarterback in Black and White” content analysis Mercurio, E., & Filak, V. F. (2010) Framing of Black and White Quarterback Prospects prior to the NFL Draft Calvert, S. (2014) Racial Discrimination Rhetoric in USA Today

5. Research Questions RQ1: When discussing athletes in on-air broadcast commentary in terms of cerebral and physical abilities, how are Caucasian athletes portrayed? RQ2: When discussing athletes in on-air broadcast commentary in terms of cerebral and physical abilities, how are African-American athletes portrayed?

6. Theoretical Framework: Cultivation Theory – George Gerbner Public hears announcers discussing players  gradually influencing the audience in small ways over time. Relates to relevancy of this research as mediated effects of stereotypes carried down over time influence announcers subconsciously. http://deanzamasscommspring2011.blogspot.com

7. Methodology Content analysis of on-air commentary from October 2014 - March 2015 Units of Analysis: 10 College Basketball games & 10 College Football games Variables: Race (African-American and Caucasian) Only in-game commentary of network-employed individuals Discourse from players, coaches, fans not included Race Determination – Eye test / Internet research Examined each player description for any word or phrase that illustrated athleticism, intelligence, or effort Five coding categories 10% random check of coding

8. Coding Categories - Examples I. Positive Physical Attributes “He’s got a huge arm” Bryce Petty – Baylor QB “His energy, his physicality, his athleticism are all off the charts” Montrezl Harrell – Louisville PF Gocards.com Baylorbears.com

9. Coding Categories - Examples II. Positive Mental Attributes “Shot preparation is excellent” Bryce Alford – UCLA PG “Able to block out a lot of distractions” Jameis Winston – FSU QB seminoles.com Uclabruins.com

10. Coding Categories - Examples III. Negative Physical Attributes “Certainly not the biggest kid on the floor” Josh Adams – Wyoming PG “Not the most physical dominant pass protector” Jay Ajayi – BSU RB broncosports.com Gowyo.com

11. Coding Categories - Examples IV. Negative Mental Attributes “Made some mistakes in his reads and decision making” CJ Brown – Maryland QB “Struggled with confidence sophomore year” Anthony Clemmons – Iowa PG hawkeyesports.com Baylorbears.com

12. Coding Categories - Examples V. Effort (Determination/Intangibles) Attributes “Battled through adversity all year long” Cole Stoudt – Clemson QB “You got a couple junkyard dog types on the floor” Trey McDonald – OSU C Ohiostatebuckeyes.com Clemsontigers.com

13. Results Race+PHYS+MENTAL-PHYS-MENTALEFFORT BLACK (N=87) 49.4% (N=43) 21.8% (N=19) 3.4% (N=3) 8.0% (N=7) 17.2% (N=15) WHITE (N=51) 25.5% (N=13) 45.1% (N=23) 5.9% (N=3) 9.8% (N=5) 13.7% (N=7) Basketball: (N=138) Football: (N=200) Race+PHYS+MENTAL-PHYS-MENTALEFFORT BLACK (N=120) 60.0% (N=72) 16.6% (N=20) 5.8% (N=7) 7.5% (N=9) 10.0% (N=12) WHITE (N=80) 25.0% (N=20) 40.0% (N=32) 6.3% (N=5) 7.5% (N=6) 21.3% (N=17)

14. Combined Results (N=338) Race +PHYS+MENTAL-PHYS-MENTALEFFORT BLACK (N=207) 55.5% (N=115) 18.8% (N=39) 4.8% (N=10) 7.7% (N=16) 13.1% (N=27) WHITE (N=131) 25.2% (N=33) 42.0% (N=55) 6.1% (N=8) 8.4% (N=11) 18.3% (N=24)

15. Discussion Positive Attribute Descriptors + PHYSICAL: African Americans > 2X % + MENTAL: Caucasians > 2X % Negative Attribute Descriptors (4% - 9% for both races) Effort Attribute Descriptors (13% - 19% for both races) blog.drstankovich.com www.basicbloganomics.com

16. Discussion Limitations: Independent coder of data – my discretion Unequal representation of different races in NCAA Negative descriptor’s uncommon in college sports Player descriptors can fit multiple categories Future Research Opportunities: Explore multiple media platforms – print, magazine, TV shows, social media Analyze coaches dialogue or media’s descriptors of coaches Different sports, races, or competition levels Other live commentary – Radio, Podcasts In summary…

17. References Berke, L. H. (2011). The Future of Media Professions in Sports Organizations. JMM: The International Journal On Media Management, 13(3), 215-218. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.morris.umn.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6e25d1d7-4803-4a1a-943f-2828890bc25d%40sessionmgr113&vid=16&hid=102. Billings, A. (2004). Depicting the Quarterback in Black and White: A Content Analysis of College and Professional Football Broadcast Commentary. Howard Journal Of Communications, 15(4), 201-210. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.morris.umn.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4899cc84-a4f1-43d8-95ac- 9a811c82dd4a%40sessionmgr4001&vid=8&hid=4214 Buffington, D., & Fraley, T. (2008). Skill in Black and White: Negotiating Media Images of Race in a Sporting Context. Journal Of Communication Inquiry, 32(3), 292-310. Retrieved from http://daveknot.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/media-images-of-race-in-a-sporting-context.pdf Calvert, Sam. (2014). Racial Discrimination Rhetoric in USA Today, 3(60-66). Retrieved from https://www.elon.edu/docs/eweb/academics/communications/research/vol3no1/07CalvertEJSpring12.pdf. Denham, B. E., Billings, A. C., & Halone, K. K. (2002). Differential Accounts of Race in Broadcast Commentary of the 2000 NCAA Men and Women’s Final Four Basketball Tournaments. Sociology of Sport, 19(3). Retrieved from http://hk.humankinetics.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/eJournalMedia/pdfs/5163.pdf. Gaines, Cork. (2012). These 20 Programs are the Biggest Money Makers in College Sports. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/these-20-college-sports- programs-are-the-biggest-moneymakers-2012-1 Harrison, C. Keith, Lawrence, M. Suzanne, Bukstein, J. Scott. (2011). White College Students’ Explanations of White (and Black) Athletic Performance: A Qualitative Investigation of White College Students. Sociology of Sport Journal, 18(347-361). Retrieved from http://www.bus.ucf.edu/faculty/sbukstein/file.axd?file=2012%2F6%2FSSJ+Published+Version+- +White+College+Students’+Explanations+of+White+(and+Black)+Athletic+Performance-+A+Qualitative+Investigation+of+White+College+Students.pdf Hartmann, Douglas (2007). Rush Limbaugh, Donovan McNabb, and “A Little Social Concern”. Journal of Sport and Social Issues. 31(45-60). Retrieved from http://www19.homepage.villanova.edu/karyn.hollis/prof_academic/Courses/2043_pop/Scanned%20Articles/Rush%20Limbaugh%20vs%20Donavan%20McNabb.pdf Jackson, D. Z. (1989, January 22). Calling the plays in black and white: Will today’s Superbowl be Black brawn vs. White brains? Boston Globe, p. A25. MacArthur, Paul, Angelini, James, Billings, A. C., & March, Alexis. (2014). Parallel Lines of Commentary? The NBC Broadcast Network’s Primetime Depiction of male Gymnasts at the 2012 Olympic Games, 16(73-84). Retrieved from www.fsp.uni-lj.si/mma_bin.php?id... Mercurio, E., & Filak, V. F. (2010). Roughing the Passer: The Framing of Black and White Quarterbacks Prior to the NFL Draft. Howard Journal Of Communications, 21(1). Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.morris.umn.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6b451c95-fe21-40ec-ada3- 666a548cc489%40sessionmgr4005&vid=13&hid=4109 Rada, J. (1996). Color blind-sided: Racial bias in network television's coverage of professional football games. The Howard Journal of Communications, 7: 231–240. Silva, C.A., Votre, S.J. (2012). Racist Discourse Of The Brazilian Sports Media At The World Cups, 7(1-20). Retrieved from http://www.uff.br/esportesociedade/pdf/es2001.pdf.

18. Thank you! Questions?