Sports and the Media

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Sports and the Media
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Objectives

• Today students will
• Discuss the nature of the media
• Discuss the relationship between the media and
  sports

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Areas of Interest in the Study of Sport and the
Media

• Characteristics of the Media
• Sports Relationship with the Media
• Images and Messages in Media Sports
• The Characteristics of Sports Journalism

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Media Characteristics

• Coakley and Donnelly stress the following about
  the media
• The media are bridges between us and the rest of
  the world directing our attention to selected
  items of information, experience, images and
  ideas.
• The media provide three things, sometimes
  providing all three at one time
• Information about events and people
• Interpretations of what is going on the world
• Numerous forms of entertainment

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Media Interests I

• The way in which in the media re-presents reality
  emerges from decisions that are motivated by
  their interest in five things
• Making profits
• Shaping values
• Providing public service
• Building their own reputations
• Expressing themselves in technical artistic forms

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Media Interests II

• Decisions about media content are also influenced
  by power relations and society as a whole.
• Media consumers rarely have direct control over
  media content because the media often serve the
  interest of those with power and wealth
• Unfortunately, most people believe that when they
  see a sport event on television they are seeing
  sport "the way it is" when in fact television
  coverage gives us only one of many possible sets
  of images and messages related to a sport event.

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For Discussion

• One of the paradoxes associated with the media
  coverage of sports is that the media open up new
  opportunities for spectators to view sports, but
  they also limit and define the experiences of
  spectators. Using at least two examples of each
  from the textbook, explain how the media can do
  both these things simultaneously.

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Sports and The Media A Two-way Relationship I

• Many sports forms do not depend upon the media,
  but commercial sports organizations do for their
  existence and success.
• Sports are not primarily shaped by the media
  however, because of their profit making goals,
  commercial sports have been open to changing to
  accommodate the media whenever it is profitable
  to do so.

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Discussion Question

• A few television companies around the world have
  paid massive amounts of money for the rights to
  cover certain sport events, even when they don't
  anticipate that the ratings will be as high as
  they are for prime time programming.
• Why would television companies be so eager to
  cover sports in light of the fact that they
  seldom attract massive audiences, except in the
  case of a limited number of special events?

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Sports and Media A Two-way Relationship II

• Newspapers and television are the mass mediums
  that have become most dependent on sports.
• Newspapers
• Most major American newspapers give more daily
  coverage to sports than to any other single topic
• The sports section is the most widely read
  section
• Many depend on the sports section to attract
  advertising revenues and for general subscription
  and sales
• Television
• Some companies have developed a dependence on
  sports for programming content and advertising,
  especially cable and satellite stations
• Some networks even sponsor events that they then
  promote and televise

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Discussion Question

• Coakley and Donnelly make the point that mediated
  sports are symbolic constructions, just as
  Hollywood films and television soap operas are
  symbolic constructions. What is meant by this
  point, and what is involved in the media
  construction of sports?

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How the Media Construct Sports

• Media provide a selective version of sports.
  Where media are privately owned and depend on
  monetary profits, sports are selected for
  coverage based on entertainment value.
• Media sports tend to emphasize
• Action
• Competition
• Final scores
• Performance statistics
• Records
• Elite athletes and events
• Aggression
• Heroic action
• Athletes emotions and personalities

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Discussion Question

• Coakley and Donnelly state that the coverage of
  sports in North American media has probably had a
  major impact on how people in Canada and the U.S.
  think about masculinity, femininity, and gender
  relations as a whole. Use material and examples
  from the chapter and from your personal
  experience to either agree or disagree with this
  statement.

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Themes of Underlying Images and Messages in
Mediated Sports I

• Success themes
• US media sports tend to emphasize success themes
  more than sport media in other countries such as
  Britain where strategy and the flow of the game
  are emphasized.
• Masculinity and femininity themes
• overwhelming evidence supports the position that
  mediated sports promote the idea that women's
  sports are less important than men's sports

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Themes of Underlying Images and Messages in
Mediated Sports II

• Race themes
• Some research has shown that announcers often
  unwittingly engage in distinctive commentaries
  when describing whites and blacks.
• Other ideological themes in mediated sports
• Nationalism and national unity
• Competitive individualism
• Teamwork
• Aggression
• Consumerism

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Media Impact on Sport-Related Behaviours I

• Active participation in sports
• Coakley and Donnelly argue that sports media have
  no net positive or negative influence on sport
  participation.
• Attendance at sports events
• Coakley and Donnelly argue game attendance is
  positively related to media coverage however,
  this conclusion should be qualified in two ways
• attendance may be limited by ticket price
  increases in areas where people have the option
  of watching local games on television
• The medias focus on elite sport might undermine
  attendance at less elite events

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Media Impact on Sport-Related Behaviours II

• Gambling on sports
• The media do make it easier for gambling to
  occur, but this does not necessarily cause
  gambling.
• Audience experiences with media sports
• People use media coverage of sports for different
  things
• developing and maintaining social identities
• feeling a personal sense of significance
• engaging in social interaction
• maintaining social relationships

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The Profession of Sports in Journalism

• Ethics and sports in journalism
• Sport reporters seem to have ethical standards
  that differ from other reporters
• The relationship between journalist and their
  principle source is complex
• Sport journalists encounter several perils that
  may hinder their credibility
• Sports writers and sports announcers use
  different approaches (Koppet, 1994)

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Kidds (2005) RecommendationsFor Public Policy

• Break up the monopolies
• Strengthen the scrutiny of press councils and
  CRTC
• Make all broadcasting contracts transparent
• Require public broadcasters to cover a
  proportional amount of womens sports
• Strengthen the preparation of journalists

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Kidds (2005) RecommendationsFor Journalists

• Develop and sharpen critical distance
• Break the habit of depending upon handouts from
  teams/institutions
• Dont cover every game
• Cover the entire landscape of Canadian sports
• Pursue careers that span sports and other beats

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Kidds (2005) RecommendationsFor students

• Contribute to the critical examination of the
  production, distribution and meaning of sports
  coverage through essays and research
• Challenge (through press councils and CRTC) the
  most outrageous examples of biased coverage
• Challenge the vested interests of the sports
  community in uncritical coverage

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Student Questions

• Is the success of female athletes being promoted
  more in the media based on sex appeal as opposed
  to physical ability?

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Discussion Question

• What if television did not exist? Describe what
  commercial sports would be like today if there
  had never been television coverage of sports over
  the past 45 years. Use examples from sports at
  all levels of organization (high school,
  university, amateur, and professional) as you
  create your description. Would the sports
  themselves be different? Would the spectator
  experience be different?

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For Next Class
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Discussion Question

• You're a new editor at Sports Illustrated. At
  your first editorial meeting the major item on
  the agenda is a debate about the February
  swimsuit issue. It is decided that it would be
  economically unwise to drop the swimsuit issue.
  But it is also decided that if the swimsuit issue
  is continued, there must be other changes in the
  magazine to present a fair image of women in
  sports. You are called on to suggest some
  changes. How would you respond?

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Conclusion can sports and media live without
each other?