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GENDERINTELEVISEDSPORTS
NEWSANDHIGHLIGHTSSHOWS,1989â2009
COâINVESTIGATORS
MichaelA.Messner,Ph.D.UniversityofSouthernCalifornia
CherylCooky,Ph.D.PurdueUniversity
RESEARCHASSISTANTRobinHextrum
UniversityofSouthernCalifornia
WithanIntroductionbyDianaNyad
CenterforFeministResearch,UniversityofSouthernCalifornia
June,2010
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TABLEOFCONTENTSI.INTRODUCTIONbyDianaNyadâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ.âŠâŠâŠ..3II.SUMMARYOFFINDINGSâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ4III.DESCRIPTIONOFSTUDYâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ6IV.DESCRIPTIONOFFINDINGSâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ8
1. Sportsnews:Coverageofwomenâssportsplummets
2. ESPNSportsCenter:Adeclineincoverageofwomenâssports
3. TickerTime:Womenâssportsonthemargins
4. MenâsâBigThreeâsportsarethecentralfocus
5. Unequalcoverageofwomenâsandmenâsproandcollegebasketball
6. Shiftingportrayalsofwomen
7. Commentators:Raciallydiverse;Sexâsegregated
V.ANALYSISANDINTERPRETATIONOFFINDINGSâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ.22VI.REFERENCESâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ..âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ28VII.APPENDIX:SELECTEDWOMENâSSPORTINGEVENTSDURINGTHESTUDYâŠâŠâŠâŠ..30VIII.BACKGROUNDANDPURPOSEOFTHESTUDYâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ.âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ.âŠ.33IX.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ.34X.ABOUTTHECOâINVESTIGATORSâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ..âŠ.âŠâŠ.35
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I.INTRODUCTIONByDianaNyad
Fortwodecades,theGENDERINTELEVISEDSPORTSreporthastrackedtheprogressâaswellasthe lackofprogressâinthecoverageofwomenâssportsontelevisionnewsandhighlights shows.Oneof thepositiveoutcomesderived frompasteditionsof thisvaluable study has been a notable improvement in the oftenâderogatory ways thatsportscommentatorsusedtoroutinelyspeakofwomenathletes.Thegoodnewsinthisreportisthatthereisfarlessinsultingandovertlysexisttreatmentofwomenathletesthantherewastwentyoreventenyearsago.Thebadnews,inthesetimesofwomenâsempowermentandsuccessinmostspheresofoursociety,isthattheoverallcoverageofwomenâssportshasdeclinedtoalevelofoutrageouslysmallnumbers.Asaformerworldâclassathlete,andthroughmythirtyyearsworkinginsportstelevisionand radio, Ihavecertainly come toknow theuphill challengeswewomen face in themalebastionofsports.Iamalsofullyawareofthemarketforcesatworkinshapingtheeveryday programming decisions in televised sports. But in reading thismost currenteditionofGENDERINTELEVISEDSPORTS,Iconfesstobeingshockedtolearnthatsince1989verylittlehaschangedintheworldoftelevisedsportsnews.Asamatteroffact,for women athletes, and fans of womenâs sports, things have devolved, rather thanhavingevolved.It isfranklyunfathomable,andunacceptable,thatviewersareactuallyreceiving less coverageofwomenâssports than theywere twentyyearsagoâŠandthatthesportsnewsisstillbeingdeliveredalmostexclusivelybymen.ThereisnodoubtthattherehasbeenagenderrevolutioninAmericansportsinrecentdecades.Millionsofgirlsplaysportseveryday.Tensofthousandsofwomencompetein college and professional athletics. Womenâs athletic skill levels have risenastronomicallyoverthepasttwentyyears insportsfrombasketballtovolleyball, fromswimming to soccer. It is time for televisionnewsandhighlights shows tokeeppacewith this revolution. I can only hope that, five years from now, when this study isconductedagain,itwillfindasubstantialnumberofwomenamongtheranksofsportsnewsandhighlightscommentators,andthatthey,alongwithmencommentators,willhave joined the Twentyâfirst Century by reporting fairly and equitably on womenâssports. The coverage today misrepresents both the participation and the interest inwomenâssportsacrossourpopulationatlarge.Diana Nyad is formerly a commentator with Fox Sports News and ABC Sports, andcurrentlycontributesaweeklycolumnforNationalPublicRadio.
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II.SUMMARYOFFINDINGS
⊠COVERAGEOFWOMENâSSPORTS:LOWERTHANEVER
⊠Womenâssportswereunderreportedinthesixweeksofearlyeveningandlatenighttelevisionsportsnewsonthethreenetworkaffiliatessampledinthestudy.Menâs sports received96.3%of theairtime,womenâs sports1.6%,andgenderneutral topics 2.1%. This is a precipitous decline in the coverage ofwomenâssportssince2004,when6.3%oftheairtimewasdevotedtowomenâssports,andthelowestproportioneverrecordedinthisstudy.
⊠ESPNâs nationallyâtelevised program SportsCenter devoted only 1.4% of itsairtimetocoverageofwomenâssports,adecline in theircoverageofwomenâssportscomparedwith1999(2.2%)and2004(2.1%).
⊠ESPN and two of the network affiliates (KNBC and KCBS), continually ran ascrollingtickertextbaratthebottomofthescreen,reportingscoresandothersports news. The proportion of âticker timeâ devoted to womenâs sports onKNBC and KCBS was 4.6%, more than triple the thin airtime they devoted towomenâssportsintheirmainbroadcasts.SportsCenterdevoted2.7%ofitstickertimetowomenâssports,downfrom8.5%in2004.
⊠MENâSâBIGTHREEâSPORTS:INOROUTOFSEASON,ALWAYSTHECENTRALFOCUS
⊠100%of theSportsCenterprogramsand100%of thesportsnewsshows in the
sampleledwithamenâssportsstory.Leadstoriestendtobeamongthelongeststoriesinthebroadcast,containingthehighestproductionvalues.
⊠72% of all airtime (main and ticker coverage) focused on menâs basketball,football, and baseball. Other menâs sports, especially most individual sports,werepushed to themargins alongwith the fewwomenâs sports that receivedanycoverage.
⊠Reporterscontinuallydevotedairtimetomenâssportsthatwereoutofseasonâpro and college football inMarch and July, pro baseball in November, or probasketballinJulyâwhilefailingtoreportonwomenâssportsthatwerecurrentlyinseason.
⊠WOMENâSANDMENâSPROANDCOLLEGEBASKETBALL:SEPARATEANDUNEQUAL
⊠TheWNBAreceivedatinyfractionofthecoveragethatwasdevotedtotheNBA,
bothwheninâseason,andwhenoutâofâseason.
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⊠CollegebasketballinMarchisasportbeingplayedbothbywomenâsandmenâsteams during the same time frame. The three network affiliate news showsdevoted zero time, andSportsCenter gave token attention towomenâs collegebasketball,whilelavishinghugeamountsofairtimetomenâscollegebasketball.
⊠Newsandhighlightsshowsâscantcoverageofproorcollegewomenâsbasketballwas usually relegated to the margins, appearing more often on the scrollingtickeratthebottomofthescreenratherthanintheprogramâsmaincoverage.
⊠VIEWSOFWOMEN:LESSSEXUALOBJECTIFICATION;SPARINGSERVINGSOFRESPECT
⊠Past studies observed that women athletes (and women spectators) were
frequentlyportrayed indemeaningwaysâassexualobjects,oras thebruntofcommentatorsâsarcastichumorinstoriesonmarginalpseudoâsports.Therewasfar lessof this sort of sexist humor aboutwomen in 2009, though thismay inpart reflect that women in any form were increasingly absent from thebroadcasts.
⊠AlargechunkofESPNâsSportsCenterâsmeagercoverageofwomenâssportswasdevoted to a short March series, âCelebrating womenâs History Month: HerTriumph, Her Story.â These features had high technical quality, and weredeliveredinarespectfultone,butwerecordonedofffromregularSportsCenterhighlights,andpresentedassomethingseparateanddifferent.
⊠A handful ofwomenâs sports storiesmade theirway into news and highlightsshowswhenthestorylinewasfocusedonaruleâbreakingincidentlikeafight,oronsomeothercontroversyinwomenâssport.
⊠Ontherareoccasionswhenwomenwerefeaturedinsportsnewsandhighlightsshows,theywereusuallypresentedinstereotypicalways:aswivesorgirlfriendsoffamousmaleathletesorasmothers.
⊠SPORTSCOMMENTATORS:RACIALLYDIVERSE,SEXâSEGREGATED
⊠Past studies revealed that news and highlights commentators were racially
diverse, but most were men. This dual pattern of racial diversity and sexsegregationcontinuedin2009.Thethreenetworkaffiliatesincludednowomensports announcers, while women announcers appeared in a small number ofSportsCenterbroadcasts. UnlikegeneralTVnewsanchororweatherpositions,theTVsportsnewsandhighlightspositionisstilldefinedalmostexclusivelyasamaleoccupation.
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III.DESCRIPTIONOFTHESTUDYAswiththe1989,1993,1999and2004studies,thecentralaimofthecurrentstudywasto compare the quantity and quality of TV news and highlights showsâ coverage ofwomen's versus men's athletic events. So that we might comment on change andcontinuity over time, we replicated the previous iterations of the study. First, weanalyzed three twoâweek segments (a total of six weeks) of televised sports newscoverage on each of three local (Los Angeles) network affiliates. Second, we studiedESPNâsSportsCenter,replicatingourfocusonthissportshighlightsshowthatwebeganin1999andcontinuedin2004.Over the past decade, television news and highlights shows have introduced visualtechniques(e.g.,splitscreensandscrollingtickers)ofconveyinginformationthatinviteviewerstolisten,viewimages,andreadtextthatrefersimultaneouslytotwoormorestories.Asin2004,mostofthe2009sportsnewsandhighlightsprogramsinoursampleincludedacontinualrunningâtickerâatthebottomofthetelevisionscreen.Thetickeruseswrittentexttoreportgamescores,headlines,andbreakingsportsnewsthatmayormaynotbereportedthroughthemainconventionalverbalreportingandvisualimages.Weanalyzedthequantityoftickercoveragedevotedtowomenâsandtomenâssports.
SAMPLE
TelevisedsportsnewsWeanalyzedsixweeksoftelevisionsportsnews(boththe6:00p.m.segmentsandthe11:00p.m.segments)onthethreelocalnetworkaffiliates(KNBC,KCBS,andKABC).Asinthe1989,1993,1999and2004studies,inordertosampledifferenttimeperiodswhendifferentsportswerebeingplayed,weanalyzedthree,twoâweekperiods:March15â28;July12â25;November8â21.Amountsofairtimedevotedtomenâsversuswomenâssportsweremeasured.Thescrollingtickeratthebottomofthescreen(in caseswhere itwaspresent)alsowas timed, todetermine theproportionof tickerreports devoted to womenâs versus menâs sports. In addition to the quantitativemeasures, we analyzed the quality of coverage in terms of visuals and verbalcommentary.ESPNSportsCenterWeanalyzedthreeweeksofoneâhour11:00p.m.ESPNâsSportsCenter.Thesethreeweekscorrespondedwiththefirstweekofeachofthethreenetworknewssegments:March15â21,July12â18,andNovember8â14.WeaddedSportsCentertothisstudy in 1999, sowe can now compare our 2009datawith the 1999 and 2004data.Amountsofairtimedevotedtomenâsversuswomenâssportsweremeasured.Followingapracticebeguninthe2004study,thescrollingtickeratthebottomofthescreenwas
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timed,todeterminetheproportionoftickerreportsdevotedtowomenâsversusmenâssports.Inadditiontothequantitativemeasures,weanalyzedthequalityofcoverageintermsofvisualsandverbalcommentary.(Therewereasmallnumberofdatesonwhichtherewasno6pmorno11pmsportsnewsreportincludedinourdata,andtwodateswithinthesampleperiodforwhichwehavenoSportsCenterbroadcast. Inmostof thesecases, regularly schedulednewsorhighlights programs did not occur, because they were preâempted by live sportsbroadcasts. In addition, Sunday KCBS news shows usually contained no sports newsduring the 11:00 broadcast, because the station covered sports on a special âSportsCentralâshowthatwasnotincludedaspartofourstudy.)
RESEARCHMETHOD
Theresearchdesignandmethodsofdatacollectionandanalysis(bothquantitativeandqualitative)wereidenticaltothoseofthe1989,1993,1999and2004studies.InStage1oftheresearch,werecordedallofthesportsnewsandhighlightssegments.InStage2,theresearchassistantviewedalloftherecordingsandcompiledawrittenpreliminaryquantitativedescription.InStage3,oneinvestigatorindependentlyviewedallofthetapesandaddedherwrittenanalysistothatoftheresearchassistant.Inthisstage,aqualitativeanalysiswasaddedtothequantitativeanalysis.InStage4,thedatawerecompiledandanalyzedforthisreportbythetwoinvestigators,usingbothsetsofwrittendescriptionsoftherecordings,andbyviewingportionsoftherecordingsonceagain.InStage5,oneinvestigatorwroteuptheresearchreport.
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IV.DESCRIPTIONOFFINDINGS
1.Sportsnewsonthreenetworkaffiliates:CoverageofwomenâssportsplummetsChasmbetweencoverageofwomenâsandmenâssportswidensInthe1989and1993studies,wenotedthatfemaleathletesrarelyreceivedcoverageonthe televised sports news. The 1999 study revealed an encouraging increase in theproportionofsportsnewsdevotedtocoverageofwomenâssports,followedbyasmalldeclinein2004study.AsFigure1Aillustrates,the2009proportionofairtimedevotedtowomenâs sports dropped precipitously to 1.6%, by far its lowest level in any yearmeasuredoverthepasttwodecades.
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
1989 1993 1999 2004 2009
5.0% 5.1% 8.7% 6.3% 1.6%
92.0% 93.8% 88.2% 91.4% 96.3%
3.0% 1.1% 3.1% 2.4% 2.1%
Figure1ANetworkNewsbysex,1989Â2009
neutral/both
men
women
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Thethreenetworkaffiliatessharesimilarstyles.Inpaststudies,thethreenetworkaffiliatesshowedverysimilarpatternsofcoverage,alldevotinghugelydisproportionateamountsof time tomenâs sports. Thesesimilaritiescontinuedwith the 2009 study, but as Figure 1B shows, therewere also differences.KNBC,whichinthe2004studyshowedthehighestproportionofcoverageofwomenâssports(8.9%)droppedoffto1.1%coverageofwomenâssportsinthe2009study.KABCand KCBS both hovered closer to the 2% level, also representing a regression incoverageofwomenâssportsfrompreviousstudies.
Asinpaststudies,therewaslittledifferencebetweentheeveningandlateânighteditionsofthethreenewsshows,intermsofcoverageofwomenâssports.Alsoconsistentwithpastyearsofthestudy,theNovemberperiodofthesamplecontainedtheleastamountofcoverageofwomenâssports(almostnone).TherewasmarginallymorecoverageofwomenâssportsduringtheMarchandJulyperiods.
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
KABC KCBS KNBC
2.1% 1.5% 1.1%
95.8% 98.3% 95.3%
2.2% 0.2% 3.6%
Figure1BNetworkAffilates'MainCoveragebySex,2009
neutral/both
men
women
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2.ESPNSportsCenter:DecliningcoverageofwomenâssportsIn1999(whenweaddedSportsCentertothestudy)andagainin2004,theproportionofthe popular highlights showâs coverage devoted to womenâs sports was significantlylower than proportions devoted by TV news shows. As Figure 2 illustrates,SportsCenterâscoverageofwomenâssportsdeclined in2009to1.4%, justahair lowerthanthecombinedcoverageofthethreenetworknewsshows.
5.0% 5.1%
8.7%
6.3%
1.6%2.2% 2.1%
1.4%
0%1%2%3%4%5%6%7%8%9%10%
1989 1993 1999 2004 2009
Figure2NewsandSportsCenterAirtimedevotedtoWomen'sSports,
1989Â2009
NetworkNewsSportsCenter
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3.TickerTime:WomenâssportsonthemarginsESPNâs SportsCenter and two of the network affiliate news shows (KNBC and KCBS)continuallyranascrollingtickertextbaratthebottomofthescreen,reportingscoresandothersportsnews.TheproportionofâtickertimeâdevotedtowomenâssportsonKNBC and KCBS was 4.6%, more than triple the proportion of the thin airtime theydevoted towomenâs sports in theirmain broadcasts. In 2009, SportsCenter devoted2.7%of its ticker timetowomenâs sports. While this isalmostdouble the1.4%maincoverage that SportsCenter devoted to womenâs sports, it represents a decline from2004,whenthehighlightsshowdevoted8.5%ofitstickertimetowomenâssports.
4.MenâsâBigThreeâsportsarethecentralfocusMenalwayslead.Everysportsnewsorhighlightsbroadcastbeginswithaleadstorythatsetsthetoneofthebroadcast.Leadstories,especiallythoseonSportsCenter,tendalsotobethelongeststories of the broadcast, containing the highest production values (often includingmultipleinterviews,gamefootage,musicalmontage,graphicstatistics,ancillaryonâsitereporters, etc.). In our sample, 100%of theSportsCenterprograms and 100%of the
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
ESPNSportsCenter KCBS&KNBCnews
2.7% 4.6%
96.4% 94.6%
1.0% 0.8%
Figure3TickerTimebysex,2009
neutral/both
men
women
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sportsnewsshowsbeganwithamenâssportstopicastheleadstory.Notallmenâssportsareinthespotlight.AsFigure4illustrates,bothESPNâsSportsCenterandthenetworkaffiliatesânewsshowsdevotedthevastmajorityoftheirattentiontothreemenâssports.Whencombiningallmain coverage and ticker time, the three menâs sports of football, basketball, andbaseball receivedacombined71.7%ofall coverage. Menâsgolfwasadistant fourth,receiving5.6%of thecoverage. Nineteenothermenâs sports shared18%of the totalcoverage.Meanwhile,basketballwastheonlywomenâssporttoreceiveanythingcloseto substantial attention,garnering1.5%of theoverall coverage. Fourotherwomenâssports (golf, soccer, tennis and softball) shared less than 1% of the total combinedcoverage. In previous iterations of the study, tenniswasusually themost commonlycoveredwomenâssport(43%ofallwomenâssportsstoriesinthe2004studyweretennisstories).Thiswasnotthecasein2009.
18%
32%21%
6%
18%
2%1%2%
Figure4Sportscoveredincombined(mainplusticker)coverage
onTVnewsandSportsCenter,2009
men'sfootball
men'sbasketball
men'sbaseball
men'sgolf
allothermen'ssports
women'sbasketball
allotherwomen'ssportsNeutral/both
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Evenwhennotinseason,theâBigThreeâaregivencenterstage.Reporters continually delivered stories on menâs sports that were out of season,includingespeciallystoriesonprofessional (andoccasionallycollege)football inMarchandJuly,probaseballinNovember,andprobasketballinJuly,asTable4shows.
Table4MaincoverageofâBigThreeâmenâssportswhileoutofseason
(numberofstories;minutes:seconds) KABC,KNBC&KCBS ESPNSportsCenterNovembermenâsbaseballstories
32stories17:01
8stories5:52
March&Julymenâsfootballstories
26stories14:11
42stories46:18
Julymenâsbasketballstories
60stories35:31
21stories14:44
5.UnequalcoverageofwomenâsandmenâsproandcollegebasketballFigure4andTable4showedthatcoverageoftheâBigThreeâmenâssports,evenwhenoutofseason, farexceededthecoverageofallwomenâssports,whether inâseasonornot. However, overall comparisons of menâs and womenâs sports might be seen asmisleadingâlike comparing applies and orangesâsince there are still some menâssports (menâs pro football and baseball in particular) for which there are no fullydevelopedwomenâs equivalents. Thus, it is instructive to compare a sport forwhichthere are equivalentmenâs and womenâs teams and leagues. For this purpose, wecomparedthecoverageofprofessionalandcollegewomenâsandmenâsbasketball.TheNBAiswherecoveragehappensTable 5A shows a comparison of coverage of the WNBA (the Womenâs NationalBasketball Association) and coverage of the NBA (the menâs National BasketballAssociation). Breaking down inâseason and outâofâseason coverage of themenâs andwomenâs professional leagues sheds light on thedepthof the gender asymmetries innewsandhighlightsshows.
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Table5A
CoverageofWNBAandNBA,inseasonandoutofseason(numberofstories;minutes:seconds)
March July
WNBAonKABC,KNBC&KCBS
(outofseason)0stories;0:00
(inseason)3stories;2:51
WNBAonESPNSportsCenter
(outofseason)0stories;0:00
(inseason)5stories2:40
NBAonKABC,KNBC&KCBS
(inseason)51stories;43:25
(outofseason)60stories;35:31
NBAonESPNSportsCenter (inseason)21stories;22:26
(outofseason)21stories;14:44
TheWNBAreceivedscantcoverageinthemainreportsofboththenetworknewsandSportsCenterbroadcastsâevenwheninseason.ButasTable5Billustrates,theWNBAdid receive significant inâseason coverage in the rolling ticker, at the bottom of thescreen.
Table5BTickercoverageofNBAandWNBA,Inseasonandoutofseason
(numberoftickerstories;minutes:seconds) March July
WNBAonKABC,KNBC&KCBS
(outofseason)0stories;0:00
(inseason)48stories;11:01
WNBAonESPNSportsCenter
(outofseason)0stories;0:00
(inseason)22stories7:56
NBAonKABC,KNBC&KCBS
(inseason)58stories;30:12
(outofseason)10stories;3:58
NBAonESPNSportsCenter (inseason)28stories;22:26
(outofseason)24stories;18:28
Wheninseason(July)thevastmajority(70of78)ofWNBAstoriesthatappearedonthecombinednewsandhighlightsshowswereliterallymarginalizedtothescrollingticker.OnlyeightWNBAstoriesweregivenairtimeinthemainbroadcast.Whenoutofseason
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(March),WNBAcoveragewasentirelyabsent fromtheboththemainreportsandtheticker. Meanwhile,NBAstoriescontinuedtobegivengenerousmainstoryandtickercoverage,whether inâseasonoroutâofâseason. Figure5comparesthetickerandmaincoverage of WNBA and NBA, combining the total number of inâseason and outâofâseasonstoriesonthenewsandhighlightsshowsduringtheMarchandJulysamples.
MarchMadness:MainlyforMenCoverageofwomenâsandmenâs collegebasketball during themonthofMarchoffersperhapsanevenbettercontrast, since thesesportsarebeingplayedduring thesametime frame. As Table 5C illustrates, news shows ignored entirely womenâs collegebasketball gameswhile ESPN gave them token attention. Meanwhile, both thenewsandhighlightsshowswerelavishingmajorattentiononmenâscollegebasketball.
870
153
120
Figure5Numberofprobasketballstories,
combinednewsandhighlightsshows
WNBAmain
WNBAticker
NBAmain
NBAticker
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Table5CInâseasoncoverageofMenâsandWomenâsNCAAbasketballinMarch
(numberofstories;hours:minutes:seconds)
MenâsNCAAbasketball WomenâsNCAAbasketballKABC,KNBC&KCBS,maincoverage
60stories;1:17:47 0stories;0:00
KABC,KNBC&KCBS,tickercoverage
33stories;13:48
0stories;0:00
ESPNSportsCenter,maincoverage
40stories;1:36:33 4stories;1:12
ESPNSportsCenter,tickercoverage
56stories;1:28:33
7stories;5:07
This comparison of womenâs and menâs NCAA basketball reveals the highlyasymmetrical coverage of the same womenâs and menâs event during the sametemporalframe. AkintothecoverageoftheWNBA,theveryscantattentiongiventowomenâs NCAA basketball (all of it appearing on ESPN) was mostly relegated to themarginsofthescreen,onthescrollingticker.Itâsnotthatthegenerouscoverageofthemenâstournament leftnotimeforcoveringthewomenâstournament.Producersdecidedtocoverotherthingsinstead.OnMarch20, for instance, KABC spent all of itâs 3:33 long sports report on the menâs NCAAtournament,closingwithalengthyhumorousstoryaboutShaquilleOâNeillgoingâmanoamanoâwitha93yearoldgrandmotherinacontesttopickNCAAmenâstournamentwinners. As viewers see the old woman, dressed in a suit and dress shoes andawkwardly trying to dribble a basketball, commentator Kurt Sandoval quips that thewomanâknowsabsolutelynothingaboutbasketball and ispickinggameson instinct.âOnMarch23,KNBCdevotedgenerouscoveragetothemenâstournamentandnonetothewomenâs,butspentthirtysecondscoveringagagâfeatureaboutaburgerwith5000calories and300 gramsof fat that fans cannowpurchase at aminor leaguebaseballparkinMichigan.Andthenextday,KNBCgavewomenâssportsanodwithastorythatfeaturedshotsof tennis starSerenaWilliamswearinga shortdress, climbingoutofasunroofofacar,ontoitsrooftoplaytennis,lobbingaballbackandforthagainstmaleplayerAndyMurraywhostoodatopanothercar.This stuntwas intendedtopromotethestartoftheEricssonOpentournament.CommentatorMarioSolisquipped,âTennisanyone?...I hope nobody decides to use a drop shot!â Thiswas the onlymention ofwomenâs sports during this broadcast. Also on March 24, during the heart of thewomenâstournament,KABCrana1minute,31secondfeatureonthe70thanniversaryofLittleLeagueBaseball,andduringits11:00broadcasta29secondfeatureon2ÂœâyearoldâpoolprodigyâKeithOâDell.
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6.Shiftingportrayalsofwomen
Inpaststudies,wepointedtocommentatorsâcommonpracticeofusingsarcastichumorinportrayingwomenathletes(andsometimeswomenspectators)asobjectsofridicule,asparticipants in laughableâgag sportsâ (e.g., awomanâsnudebungee jump in1999,and a âweightlifting grannyâ in 2004), and/or as sexual objects. In 2004,wenoted adeclineindisrespectfulorinsultingtreatmentofwomen,comparedwithpreviousyears.In2009,wesawevenlessofthissortofsexisttreatmentofwomen,thoughthismayinpart reflect that women in any form were absent from the broadcasts. We outlinebelow four themes that emerged in the rare occasions when women were affordedsomeairtime.RaremomentsofrespectfulcoverageIn2009,wefoundafewinstanceswhereresourcesandtimeweredevotedtodeliveringhighâquality and respectful reports on a womenâs sporting event. For instance, onNovember14,SportsCenterpresenteda20âsecondlongstoryhighlightinganupcomingBaylor vs. Tennessee womenâs college basketball game. The story was respectful intoneandincludedcompellinggamefootage.AnotablechunkofSportsCenterâsmeagercoverage of womenâs sports during our March sample was devoted to a series offeaturesentitledâCelebratingWomenâsHistoryMonth:HerTriumph,HerStory.âOneof these thirtyâsecond long stories would run during the hourâlong broadcast, eachfocusingonanindividualwomanathlete,suchasRachelFico,oneofâthenationâsfinestin high school softball,â and college skier Kelly Brush, who had been paralyzed in anaccidentbutstillparticipatesindownhillskiing.EachâHerStoryâfeaturewascordonedoff fromregularSportsCenterhighlights,presentedassomethingdistinctandseparate(appearingattheendofacommercialbreak,beforetheresumptionofSportsCenterâsregular sports highlights report, which contained little or no coverage of that dayâswomenâssportsevents).TheâHerStoryâfeatureshadhightechnicalquality,andweredeliveredinarespectfultone.SexualizedgagstoriesThenewsbroadcasts includedasmallnumberof sexualizedgagstoriesaboutwomenthatseemedlikethrowbacksto1990sbroadcasts.Forinstance,onNovember11,2009,KNBCâsFredRoggindeliveredagagâstoryonanewJapaneseproduct:
âHow âbout this:With theholiday seasonquickly approaching, hereâsaperfectstockingstufferforthatwomanwholovestoplaygolf.AJapanesedesignerhascreatedabra thatunfolds intoaputtinggreen. The âMakeâTheâPuttBraâ turnsintoaselfâcontained,fiveâfootlongmatthatcomescompletewithateeandgolfballs.â[ViewersseefootageofaJapanesewomanwearingashort,pleatedwhiteskirt,modeling the bra, putting a golf ball into the holewithin the breast cupportionofthebra.]âIfthatâsnotenoughthebraalsocomeswithamotivational
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tapethatblaresthetraditionalJapanesewordsofencouragement,âNicein!âYes,itistrulyagiftthatkeepsongiving.â
The âJapanese Putting Braâ was a twentyâfour secondâlong story embedded in abroadcast consistingotherwiseof storieson fourmenâspro sports (football, baseball,soccerandicehockey),andwithinatwoâweekstretchoftimewhenKNBChadalmostnocoverageofwomenâssports.On July 18, in a report that focused entirely on menâs sports, KABCâs Kurt Sandovalclosedwitha28âsecondlongstoryontheLakerGirlsTryouts. Intapedfootageofthetryouts,viewerssawyoungdancingwomenwearingsportsbratopsandbikinibottoms,ascameraspositionedbelowthempannedupfromtheirlegstotheirabdomens,theirbreastsandfinallytheirfaces,duringwhichSandovalreported:
âFinally,withTrevorArizainHoustonandLamarOdomâscontractoffthetable,Laker fansneededsomething tosmileabout. Webringyou, theLakerGirl tryâouts.GoodtoseelifeisactuallywellinElSegundoforLakerfanstoday.SeveraldozensputtingontheirbestshowtotrytowinthatcovetedâhighlycovetedâspotontheLakerGirlroster.JustaskPaulaAbdulifitcanhelpyourcareer.Wewishall the ladieswell tonight.âAFemalecoâanchorresponds,âYou justmadeDannyâseveningâ(referringtoKABCweathermanDannyRomero). Offâscreen,laughtererupts,towhichSandovalresponds,âWeaimtoplease.â
Fights,assaultsandscandalsWomenâs sportswereapparentlydeemednewsworthywhen thenewsangle involvedphysicalviolence,egregiousruleâbreaking,oreconomicproblemswithinthesportitself.Forinstance,onNovember11,KNBCâsFredRoggindevoted39seconds(ofabroadcastof2:40thatotherwisecoveredonlymenâssports)toagraphicdiscussionofalarmoversoccer player Elizabeth Lambertâs onâfield hairâpulling assault on another player.SportsCenter used a clip of Lambertâs hairâpulling incident as one of its November 8âUltimateHighlightsClips.âAndonNovember9,KABCdidashortstoryonafightthatbroke out in the stands at a high school girlsâ soccer game. On July 13, KABCâs KurtSandovalreportedthatLPGAcommissionerCarolineBivenshadbeenoustedasaresultof âa major revolt on the womenâs tour.â Noting the devastating impact that thedecliningeconomyhas recentlyhadonwomenâs golf, Sandoval concluded that âItâs agreatgameofgolftheyplay. Itâs justthatthegolffanswanttoseethebighitters likeTiger,sowewishthemwelltogetthatresolved.âWomenasgirlfriends,wivesandmothersWhen women do nudge into the frame of news and highlights shows, they arecommonly presented in conventional heterosexual roles, including as wives orgirlfriendsofprominentmaleathletes. On July12,KABCâsCurtSandoval reportedonautoâracing star Dario Franchitti, showing a clip of him during a moment of victory,
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kissinghiscelebritywife: âAnotherfabulousoutingforDarioFranchitti. Likelifeâsnotgoodenough:HeâsmarriedtoAshley Judd.â A July14storyonKABCfocusedonUSCquarterbackMatt Casselâs newlyâsigned $63MillionNFL contract. Commentator RobFukuzakijokedthatitâdefinitelypaysâŠdatingaquarterbackatUSC,âtowhichhismalecoâanchor laughedandsaid,âIâmnottouchinâthatone!â AndonNovember16,KABCreported that NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson had been motivated to have astandoutgameafterhiswifeleftasurprisegiftinhislocker:apositivepregnancytest.Acommonwaytoportraysuccessfulwomenathleteswastoforegroundtheirstatusaswivesormothers.Forinstance,aJuly18KABCstoryonbeachvolleyballchampionKerriWalsh mentioned her husbandâs volleyball win that day, and noted her ownannouncement that she is ready to return toplayonly twomonthsafter givingbirth.Similarly,onJuly12,SportsCenterdeliveredashortWNBApromotionforthenextdayâsWNBAgametobebroadcastonESPN,sayingââŠthenewmomCandaceParkerleadstheLosAngelesSparkstoConnecticuttotakeontheSun.âSportsCenterâsâHerStoryâsegmentonMarch20deliveredhighâqualityproductionandrespectful commentary on awoman athlete,while presenting herwithin the familiarframeofwomanâasâpartnertoahighâprofilemaleathlete.ThestoryofOlympicstrackandfieldchampionSanyaRichardsandwasnarratedbyherfiancĂ©,profootballplayerAaronRoss.âHello,âRossbegan,âMynameisAaronRoss,oftheNewYorkGiants.AndIwanttotelltoyoutodayaboutmyfiancĂ©,SanyaRichards.âAsviewerssawstillphotosofRichardscompeting,Rossâsvoiceâovercontinued,âHerworkethicissecondtonone.Itrainwithherandstilltothisdayhavenotbeenabletomakeitthroughaworkout.âViewerssawtapedclipsofRossandRichardsworkingout together,asRossexplainedthatthenightbeforethefinalsintheOlympicsinBeijing,Richardssaid,ââIâmgoingtogooutthereandgiveitmyall.âAndshesuredid.ShecamehomewithaGold.âNegativedepictionsofmen?Sprinkledthroughoutthe2009studywereafewstoriesthatmadefunofmenathletes,sexualized them,or focusedon their transgressions. For instance,on July23,KNBCâsFred Roggin mocked soccer star David Beckhamâs declining athletic skills and hisascending status as an international sex symbol: âDavid Beckhamwasâwasâa greatplayer.ButnowheâstheAnnaKournikovaofsoccer.Womenlovetolookathim.And,letâsbehonest,somemendoaswell. Butwiththatsaid,thereâsplentyofpeopleouttherethatsimplydonâtlikehimnow.âInaddition,therewereseveralstoriesduringJulyonall of thenews shows that focusedonNFLquarterbackBenRoethlisbergerhavingbeenaccusedofrapingawomaninLakeTahoe. Therewasalsotheoccasionalstandâalonestory, suchas theKNBCreport in JulyonLoganCampbell,anathlete fromNewZealand who, in order to raise money for his training for the Olympic Games, hadopened a brothel. Themain difference in how these negative or derogatory storiesaboutmenathleteswerepresented,ascomparedwiththoseonwomen,wasthattheywereembeddedwithinaseeminglyunendingflowofrespectfulandcelebratorystories
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aboutmenâssportsandmaleathletes.Bycontrast,anegativestoryonawomanathleteusuallystoodaloneastheonlywomenâssportsstoryinaparticularbroadcast.
7.Commentators:Raciallydiverse;sexâsegregatedIn past studies we noted that the TV sports news announcers were all men, whileSportsCenter included a few women announcers. In contrast to the sex segregationamong sports commentators, the studies revealed considerable racial diversity. Thisdual pattern of racial diversity and sex segregation continued in 2009. As Table 7Ashows,onlyonefemaleannouncerappearedduringourentiresamplingofKABC,KCBSand KABCâand she was not a regular anchorperson, instead appearing briefly as anancillary reporter. Taken together, the three network affiliates appear to be verydiverse racially; however KNBC accounts for all 40 appearances of a Latino maleannouncer (Mario Solis), KABC accounts for all 46 appearances of an Asian/PacificIslandermale announcer (Rob Fukuzaki), and KCBS accounts for all appearances of aBlackmaleannouncer(JimHill).
Table7ARaceandSexofKABC,KCBS,andKNBCSportsNewsAnnouncers
WMBMLMAM WFBFLFAFAnchors85464046 0000Ancillary0000 1000Total85464046 1000
%oftotal39%21%18%21%>1%0%0%0% [WM=WhiteMale;BM=BlackMale;LM=LatinoMale;AM=Asian/PacificIslanderMale; WF=WhiteFemale;BF=BlackFemale;LF=LatinaFemale;AF=Asian/PacificIslanderFemale]
Men 99.5% White 39%Women 0.5% Black 21%
Latino 18%Asian/Pacific 21%
Grouped together, the data on the three network affiliates indicate that sports newscommentaryintheLosAngelesTVmarketcontinuestobearaciallydiverseprofession.Meanwhile, in contrast to other onâcamera TV news positions, such as main (nonâsports)newsanchors,ancillaryreporters,andweatherreporters,thepositionofsportsnews commentator remains almost absolutely sex segregated. The 2009 dataillustrating this pattern of racial diversity and occupational sex segregation are nearly
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identicaltothoseinour2004data.As Table 7B shows, SportsCenter evidences less racial diversity, but more genderdiversity among its announcers than found on the TV sports news shows. Womenannouncers,however,appearedonSportsCentermostoftenasancillaryreporters,andonlyrarelyinthemorecentralroleasanchorannouncers.
Table7BRaceandSexofSportsCenterAnchorandAncillaryAnnouncers
WMBMLMAMOther WFBFLFAFAnchors1910002 3000Ancillary8323103 10230Total10233105 13230
%oftotal64%21%1%0%3%8%1%2%0% [WM=WhiteMale;BM=BlackMale;LM=LatinoMale;AM=Asian/PacificIslanderMale; WF=WhiteFemale;BF=BlackFemale;LF=LatinaFemale;AF=Asian/PacificIslanderFemale]
Men 89% White 72%Women 11% Black 22%
Latino 3%Asian/Pacific 0%Other 3%
At 11%, SportsCenterâs proportion of women announcers during our 2009 sample isabout the same as it was in 2004, when it was 12%. Compared with 2004,SportsCenterâs announcers were somewhat more racially diverse, especially amongwomenannouncers. In2004,all21ofSportsCenterâswomenannouncerswerewhite.In2009,fiveof18appearancesbywomenannouncerswerebywomenofcolor,albeitallfiveappearedinancillaryannouncerpositions.Thethreeinstanceswhereawomanappearedintheanchorposition,shewaswhite.
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V.ANALYSISANDINTERPRETATIONOFFINDINGS:ADEEPENINGSILENCE
ThefirstGENDERINTELEVISEDSPORTSreportwasissuedin1990,nearlytwodecadesafter Title IX fueled an explosion of girlsâ and womenâs athletic participation in theUnitedStates.The1990reportheraldedtherecentsurgeofgirlsâparticipationinyouthsports, the dramatic upswing of girlsâ and womenâs high school and college sportsopportunities and participation, and the stirrings of growth in womenâs professionalsports. The study concluded that sincewomenâs sports receivedonly5%of TVnewscoverage,peoplewhogetallormostof their informationfromtelevisionnewswouldhave little idea howdramatically sports had changed. One common response to the1990 studywas an optimistic view: members of the public andmany students withwhomwediscussedourfindingsassumedthatTVcoveragewassimply laggingbehindthe surging popularity ofwomenâs sports; they predicted thatmedia coveragewouldgraduallycatchuptothegrowingparticipationratesofgirlsandwomeninsport.Twentyyearslater,thisoptimisticpredictionofanevolutionaryriseinTVnewscoverageof womenâs sports has proven to be wrong. During the ensuing two decades, girlsâparticipation inyouthsportshascontinued to rise (Sabo&Veliz2008;Staurowskyet.al., 2009). In 1971, only 294,000 U.S. high school girls played interscholastic sports,comparedwith3.7millionboys.In1989,thefirstyearofoursportsmediastudy,highschoolboyathletesstilloutnumberedgirls,3.4millionto1.8million.By2009,thehighschoolsportsparticipationgaphadclosedfurther,with4.4millionboysand3.1milliongirlsplaying(NationalFederationofStateHighSchoolAssociations2009).Thistrendisechoedincollegesports.In1972,theyearTitleIXwasenactedtherewereonlyalittleover 2womenâs athletics teams per college. By 2010, the number had risen to 8.64teams per NCAA school (Carpenter & Acosta 2010). Womenâs professional sports,including theWNBA (which began play in 1997) has developed a somewhat strongerfoothold in the larger pro sportsmarketplace. However, during this two decades ofgrowthinwomenâssports,thegapbetweenTVnewsandhighlightsshowsâcoverageofwomenâsandmenâssportshasnotnarrowed,ithaswidened.Womenâssportsin2009received a paltry 1.6% of the coverage on TV news, and an anemic 1.4% on ESPNâsSportsCenter.WHYTHESILENCE?This deepening silence about womenâs sports in mainstream televised news andhighlightsshowsisnothingshortofstunning,especiallywhenconsideredalongsidethefact that theworld of sports is no longer a âmale preserve,â inwhich boys andmenenjoy privileged and exclusive access to sport participation opportunities. To be sure,there isanexpandingarrayofmediasourcesof sports information, including Internetwebsites,whichfansofwomenâssportscantapfornewsabouttheirfavoriteathletes
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orteams.Thoughitisnowhereneartheleveloftheseemingly24/7livebroadcastsofmenâssportsacross theTVdial, thenumberof livebroadcastsofwomenâssportshasalsoexpandedoverthepasttwentyyears(includingfarmorewomenâsNCAAbasketballtournamentgamesshownlivetodaythanin1989). Buttelevisionnewsandhighlightsshowsremaintwoextremelyimportantsourcesofsports information.Theircontinuedtendency to ignore or marginalize womenâs sports helps to maintain the myth thatsportsareexclusivelyby,about,andformen.Howcanweexplainthegrowingchasmbetweencoverageofwomenâsandmenâssportsin our sixâweek sample? We are cautious in interpreting why coverage of womenâssports has nearly evaporated, based entirely on our content analysis of theprogramming. Toanswerthisâwhyâquestionwouldrequireastudythatalsofocuseson the production end of news and highlights shows. What assumptions and valuesguidethedecisionsofproducers,editorsandTVsportscommentatorsonwhatsportsstories are important to cover, and how to cover them? When asked, producers,commentators,andeditorswillusuallyexplaintheirlackofattentiontowomenâssportsbyarguing that theyare constrainedbya combinationofmarket forces, andby theirdesiretogiveviewersâwhattheywanttosee.âWeunderstandprogrammersâdesiretorespond to market realities and viewer preferences; however, our discussion belowpointstowaysinwhichthefocusonmenâssportsisdrivenbyabroadrangeoffactors.TIGHTERBUDGETS,NARROWEDFOCUS?The expansion of new media has been accompanied by shrinking revenues fortraditionalmassmedia, leading to tighter budgets and staff cuts for traditional newsoutlets. In aMarch, 2010editorial blog, LosAngeles Times sports editorMike Jamesresponded to reader complaints about the newspaperâs lack of coverage of collegewomenâsbasketballandothersmallerâmarketsports:
True,wehavenâtbeencoveringalotofwomenâsbasketballthisseason,asidefromacoupleoffeatures,largelybecausewomenâsbasketballhasnâtbeenamajordrawin L.AâŠConsequently,wehave tomake thedifficultdecisionseverydayonwhateventsandsportswedocoverandthosethatwecanât.Ourdecisionhasbeentotryto make sure we reach the greatest number of readers we can with resourcesavailable, and regrettably, that means that some areas donât get much regularcoverage(Edgar2010).
Jamesâ lament about the impact of recent staff cuts at the LA Timeswould surely beechoedby hundreds of newspaper editors across thenation. As reporters andothersportsnewsstaffarecut,newspapersplayitsafeandassigntheirremainingstafftobigâmarketsportsteamsthat,theyassume,âthegreatestnumberofreadersâwanttoreadabout. However, it is unlikely that the wellâdocumented financial decline of printjournalismcanexplaintheincreasinglypaltrycoverageofwomenâssports intelevisionnews.AnditcertainlycannotexplainthescantcoverageonESPNâsSportsCenter.Inits2010mediaguidepublished forpotentialadvertisers,ESPNclaimsthat it is theâMost
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viewed ad supported cable channel,â and crows that the 2009 broadcast year wasESPNâsâhighestratedeverâ(ESPN2010,p.5).Clearly,ESPNhasnoshortageofviewers,orpresumablyofadvertisingrevenue.Thenetworkâsdecisiontoignorewomenâssportsmustbeduetootherfactors.PITCHINGSPORTSNEWSANDHIGHLIGHTSTOMEN?ESPN tells potential advertisers that in 2009 it was the top cable network viewedconsistentlybymenaged18â54,andthatithasbeenâMenâsfavoriteTVnetworksince1998.â(ESPN2010,p.5).Clearly,thewaysinwhichESPNtargetsitsâprogrammingtomale viewers is reflective of a larger trend, wherein TV producers carve out marketniches that situate male viewers in the electronic equivalent of locker roomscharacterizedbymalebanterandironichumor(Farred2000;Messner&MontezdeOca2005;Nylund2007).AfoundationalassumptionofthosewhocreateprogrammingformenonprogramslikeSportsCenterseemstobethatmenwanttothinkofwomenassexualobjectsofdesire,orperhapsasmothers,butnotaspowerful,competitiveathletes.Thisisaquestionableassumption, especially when we consider the dramatic growth of menâs support fortheir daughtersâ athletic participation in recent decades (Messner 2009; Sabo& Veliz2008).ButevenifthissexistassumptionaccuratelycapturesthedesiresandvaluesofalargeswathoftheU.S.maledemographicthatwatchesESPN,it isprobablyinaccuratetooperatefromthesameassumptionsconcerningviewersofeveningTVnews. Afterall, a sports reporton theeveningand lateânightnews isa short (two to fiveminute)segment embedded within a larger news report that is being viewed by a diverseaudience. Presumably a large proportion of TV news viewers are women, many ofwhomareunlikelytofindthemaleâcentricviewsofthelockerroomoritsironic,sexistbanter to be very inviting. Wewonder howmanywomenâand indeed, howmanymenâsimplytuneoutwhenthesportssegmentoftheeveningnewsbegins.PACKAGINGWOMENATHLETESFORPRESUMEDMALEVIEWERS?In past iterations of this study, we pointed to the ways that sexist humor in sportscommentarymade fun of women and trivialized women athletes (and often womenspectators at sporting events). We argued that this trivialization and sexualization ofwomen in thebroadcasts served tomarginalizewomenâs sports,whilealsocreatingaviewing experience formale viewers thatmeshed neatly with the feeling of a lockerroomculturethataffirmsthecentralityofmen(Messner,Duncan&Cooky2003;Kane&Maxwell, in press). In 2004, we noted a lessening of this sort of trivialization andsexualizationofwomeninthebroadcasts.Our2009studyrevealedthatthesepracticesnearlydisappeared.It is a positive development that sports news and highlights viewers are less oftenseeingdisparagingandsexistportrayalsofwomen(Berstein2002;Daniels2009;Daniels&LaVoi,inpress).However,thisdeclineinnegativeportrayalsofwomenhasnotbeen
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accompaniedbyanincreaseinroutinecoverageofwomenâssports.Instead,whenthenewsandhighlights showsceased toportraywomenathletes in trivialandsexualizedways,theynearlyceasedportrayingthematall.Viewing thewomanathlete through themale gazeof sexualizedhumor is apparently(and thankfully)nowdiscredited; instead,nowwomenathletesarebeing reâpackagedto be seen through another male gazeâas family members. The âwomenâs sportshistoryâsegmentsduringtheMarchsegmentofSportsCenterofferanintriguingglimpseintoprogrammersâassumptionsabouthowtopresentwomenâssportstomaleviewerswhoareusedtobeingfedasteadydietofmenâssports.Whilethesespecialsegmentshad high technical quality, and were produced in ways that were respectful of theaccomplishments of the women athletes, two elements were notable. First, thesefeatureswereplaced inanether landbetween regularSportsCenter storiesandESPNcommercial breaks. Clearly, they were meant to be viewed as something different,separate and apart from the regular sports highlight shows (which on these nightscontinuedtheirnormalcoverageofmostlytheâBigThreeâmenâssports).Second,oneofthemwasnarratedbythevoiceâoverofthemalefiancĂ©ofthewomanathletebeingfeatured. We interpret this as a strategy tomakeawomanathlete recognizable andpalatable to a presumablymale audience: in (mostly) rejecting the past practices ofmakingawomanathletefamiliarandâconsumableâtoamaleaudiencebysexualizingher, producers in 2009weremore likely to package thewoman athlete instead as afamilymember,inafamiliarroleasmother,girlfriendorwife.This reâpackaging of women athletes meshes with the larger commercial project ofpackaging women athletes as heterosexual mothers/wives. This practice has beencriticized both for the ways in which it renders lesbian and other women athletesmarginal or invisible, and also for the ways in which it maintains the public view ofwomen athletes from the vantage point ofmenâs continued positions of centrality insociallife(Pfister2010).Connectedwith the silencingofwomenathletes is the fact that thevoicesofwomencommentators are still entirely absent from TV sports news, and very rare onSportsCenter. UnlikeTVnewsanchor,reporter,andweatherannouncerpositions,theoccupationofTVsportscommentatorisstillverysexâsegregated(Etling&Young2007;Sheffer & Shultz 2007). Women have had a very difficult time breaking in to sportsbroadcasting,remainingrelegatedatbesttomarginalrolessuchasâsidelinereporterâduringanNBAormenâscollegebasketballgame.Viewersofsportsnewsandhighlightsshows are treated to a constant barrage of words and images about menâs sports,narratedbyacacophonyofmenâsvoices.AUDIENCESANDAUDIENCEâBUILDINGIntheabsenceofaudienceresearch,wemustbecautiousindrawingconclusionsaboutthemeaningsthatTVviewersmakeofsportsnewsandhighlightsshows.However,wecan speculate on these questions, based on our analysis of the trends over the past
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twenty years, and the dominant meanings that are conveyed in the patterns ofgenderedcoverageofsportsstories.Ithasbeenknownformanyyearsthatsportsnewsandhighlightsshowsdonotsimplyâgiveviewerswhattheywant,âinsomepassiveresponsetodemand.Instead,thereisadynamic reciprocal relationship between commercial sports and the sports media.MediascholarSutJhallycalledthisselfâreinforcingmonetaryandpromotionallooptheâsportsâmediacomplexâ(Jhally1984).Whenweaddfansintothisloop,wecanseehowinformationandpleasureâenhancementarepartofacircuitthatpromotesandactivelybuilds audiences for menâs sports, while simultaneously providing profits for menâssportsorganizations,commercialsponsors,andthesportsmedia.Sportsfansseekoutnewswrapsandhighlightsofgamesâevenofgamestheyhavealreadywatchedintheirentiretyânotsimply for information,butbecauseviewingthesereportsenhancesandamplifiesthefeelingsâthetension,suspense,andexhilarationâtheymayhaveenjoyedafewhoursearlier.TVnewsandhighlightsshowsdonotsimplyâreflectâ fan interest incertainsports,assportscommentatorsandeditorsoftenargue. Theyalsohelptogenerateandsustainenthusiasm for the sports they cover, thus becoming a key link in fansâ emotionalconnection to the agony and ecstasy of spectator sports. Fans of menâs sportsâespeciallytheBigThreeoffootball,basketball,andbaseballâareusedtohavingthisfixroutinelydeliveredfreeofchargetotheirlivingrooms.Thisemotionalenhancementisbutoneelementof the larger roleof TV sportsnews inbuilding audiences formenâssports.Meanwhile,theirsilencehelpstoensuresmalleraudiencesforwomenâssports,whilekeepingfansofwomenâssportsonemotionallifeâsupport.Wehavenoted inpast studieshowa comparisonof coverageofwomenâsandmenâsNCAAbasketballoffersanespeciallyvaluablewindowintoTVnewsâaudienceâbuildingfunctions(Messner,Duncan&Wachs1996).Our2009dataenhanceourunderstandingof how audienceâbuilding works. As we noted above, far less time was devoted toreporting on the womenâs NCAA tournament than on the menâs. What was moststrikinginthe2009studywastheamountoftimeallofthenewsandhighlightshowsspenton (and theenthusiastic,evenexcited tonewithinwhich theycouched) reportsabout upcomingmenâsNCAA tournament seedings andmatchâups. Little or no suchanticipatoryreportsonthewomenâsgamesappearedonthebroadcasts.Evenafterthetournament games started, reports on the womenâs games were, at best, usuallyrelegatedtotheticker. Meanwhile,themenâstournamentwasreceivinglargechunksofcoverageineverybroadcast.Audienceâbuilding formenâs sportspermeates themassmedia in a seeminglyorganicmanner. As such, these promotional efforts are more easily taken for granted and,ironically, may be less visible as promotion. News and highlights shows are twoimportant links in a huge apparatus of audienceâbuilding formenâs sports. But theyrarelyoperatethiswayforwomenâssports.
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HOWCANCHANGEOCCUR?Can these stubbornpatternsof inequitable coverageofwomenâs sportsbebrokenorchanged?Clearly,thelongitudinaldatafromourstudyshowsthatthereisnoreasontoexpectanevolutionarygrowthinmediacoverageofwomenâssports.Tothecontrary,our research shows that the proportion of coverage devoted to womenâs sports ontelevisednewsoverthepasttwentyyearshasactuallydeclined,andthereisnoreasontobelieve that this trendwill reverse itself in thenext twentyyearsunlessproducersdecide that it is in their interests to do so. For this to happen in a substantial way,powerrelationsandperceptionsofgenderwillhavetocontinuetochangewithinsportorganizations,withcommercialsponsorswhopromoteandadvertisesports,andwithinthemassmedia.Theseshiftsinperceptionwillnotcomeaboutbythemselves,butwillinvolvechangesandpressuresfromanumberofdirections.One important source of such change within the mass media would involve anaffirmativemovetowarddevelopingandsupportingmorewomensportsreportersandcommentators. Whilewe should be cautious in assuming thatwomen reporterswillnecessarilycoversportsdifferentlyfromthewaysthatmendo,thereissomeevidenceto suggest that women sports reporters are less likely to cover women athletes indisrespectful ways, andmore likely to advocate expanding the coverage of womenâssports(Hardin&Whiteside2008;Kian&Hardin2009;LaVoiet.al.,2007.Sportsorganizations toocancontribute tochangebyproviding the sportsmediawithmoreandbetterinformationaboutwomenathletes.Indeed,alongitudinalstudyshowsthatuniversitysportsinformationdepartmentshavevastlyimprovedtheirpresentationofwomenâssportsintheirannualmediaguides(Kane&Buysse2005).Sportsfanscanalsobeanactivepartofthislooptopromotechange:audiencememberscancomplaindirectlytotheproducersofsportsprogramsâtotellthemthattheydonotappreciatesexist treatmentofwomen insportsnewsandhighlightsshows,andtotell themthatthey want to see more and better coverage of actual womenâs sports. Thatâs why,perhaps,theycallitâdemand.âOverall, we find the results of this study to be discouraging. Clearly, change hashappened,butnotinthedirectionofincreasedcoverageofwomenâssports.Inrecentyears, sports news and highlights shows have evidenced a retrenchment, expressedthroughanarrowedfocusonafewcommerciallyâcentralmenâssports.
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VI.REFERENCESBernstein, A. 2002. âIs it time for a victory lap? Changes in the media coverage ofwomeninsport,âInternationalReviewfortheSociologyofSport37:415â428.Carpenter, L. J. & V. Acosta 2010. Women in intercollegiate sport: A longitudinal,nationalstudy,thirtyâthreeyearupdate.http://www.acostacarpenter.org/Daniels,E.A.2009.âSexobjects,athletesandsexyathletes:Howmediarepresentationsof women athletes can impact adolescent girls and college women,â Journal ofAdolescentResearch24:399â423.Daniels, E., & N. M. LaVoi, in press. âAthletics as solution and problem: Sportsparticipationforgirlsandthesexualizationoffemaleathletes,âInT.A.RobertsandE.L.Zubriggen (Eds.) The sexualization of girls and girlhood. New York: Oxford UniversityPress.Duncan,M.C.,M.A.Messner&N.Willms2005.Genderintelevisedsports:Newsandhighlightsshows,1989â2004.LosAngeles:AmateurAthleticFoundationofLosAngeles.http://www.aafla.org/11pub/over_frmst.htmEdgar,D.2010.âWhichsportstocover?Itâsatoughcall,âLosAngelesTimeseditorialblog,March12. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2010/03/which-sports-to-cover-its-a-tough-call.html ESPN2010.2010PocketGuide.ESPNMarketingandSales.http://www.espncms.com/Etling, L., & R. Young 2007. âSexism and authoritativeness of female sportscasters,âCommunicationresearchreports,121â130.Farred, G. 2000. âCool as the other side of the pillow: How ESPNâs SportsCenter haschangedtelevisionsportstalk,âJournalofSportandSocialIssues24:96â117.Hardin, M. & E. Whiteside 2008. âMaybe its not a âgenerational thingâ: Values andbeliefsofaspiringsportjournalistsaboutraceandgender,âMediareporttowomen36:8â16.Jhally, S. 1984. âThe spectacle of accumulation: Material and cultural factors in theevolutionoftheSports/MediaComplex,âInsurgentsociologist12.Kane,M.J.,&H.D.Maxwell(inpress).âExpandingtheboundariesofsportmediaresearch:Usingcriticaltheorytoexploreconsumerresponsestorepresentationsofwomenâssports,âJournalofSportManagement.
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Kian,E.M.&Hardin,M.2009.Framingofsportscoveragebasedonthesexofsportswriters:Femalejournalistscountertraditionalgenderingofmediacoverage.InternationalJournalofSportCommunication,2,185â204. LaVoi,N.M.,Buysse,J.,Maxwell,H.D.,&Kane,M.J.2007.âTheinfluenceofoccupationalstatusandsexofdecisionmakeronmediarepresentationsinintercollegiateathletics,âWomeninSport&PhysicalActivityJournal,15:32â43Messner,M.A.2009.Itâsallforthekids:Gender,familiesandyouthsports.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.Messner, M. A., M. Carlisle Duncan & C. Cooky 2003. âSilence, sports bras, andwrestling porn: The treatment of women in televised sports news and highlights,âJournalofsportandsocialissues27:38â51.Messner, M. A., M. Carlisle Duncan & F. L. Wachs 1996. "The gender of audienceâbuilding: Televised coverage of men's and women's NCAA basketball," Sociologicalinquiry66:422â439.Messner,M.A.&MontezdeOca,J.2005.âThemaleconsumerasloser:Beerandliquorads inmega sportsmedia events. Signs: Journal ofwomen in culture and society30:1879â1909.National Federation of State High School Associations 2009. 2008â09 High schoolathleticsparcipationsurvey.http://www.nfhs.orgNylund, D. 2007 Beer, babes and balls: Masculinity and sports talk radio. StateUniversityofNewYorkPress.Pfister, G. 2010.Women in Sport: Gender relations and future perspectives. Sport insociety,13,234â248.Sabo,D.F.&P.Veliz2008.YouthsportinAmerica.EastMeadow,NY:Women'sSportsFoundation.Sheffer, M. L. & Brad Schultz 2007. âDouble standard: Why women have troublegettingjobsinlocaltelevisionsports,âJournalofsportsmedia,2,77â101.Staurowsky, E. J., DeSousa, M. J., Ducher, G., Gentner, N., Miller, K. E., Shakib, S.,Theberge,N.,&Williams,N.2009.HerlifedependsonitII:Sport,physicalactivity,andthehealthandwellâbeingofAmericangirlsandwomen. EastMeadow,NY:WomenâsSportsFoundation.
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VII.APPENDIX:SELECTEDWOMENâSSPORTINGEVENTSDURINGTHESTUDYPERIOD
Selected list of sports events in which women competed during the study periods:March15â28,July12â25andNovember8â21,2009.
INTERCOLLEGIATESPORTSMarch11â14,NCAAMEN/WOMEN'SSKIINGCHAMPIONSHIPSâFINALS,BethelandRumford,MaineMarch13â14,NCAADIVISIONIINDOORTRACK&FIELDCHAMPIONSHIPS,FINALS,CollegeStation,TXMarch19â21,NCAADIVISIONIWOMEN'SSWIMMING&DIVINGCHAMPIONSHIPS,CollegeStation,TXMarch19â22,NCAAMEN/WOMEN'SFENCINGCHAMPIONSHIPSâFINALS,UniversityPark,PAMarch20â22,NCAAWOMEN'SICEHOCKEYCHAMPIONSHIPSâFROZENFOUR,Boston,MAMarch21â31,NCAADIVISIONIWOMEN'SBASKETBALLCHAMPIONSHIPS,TrentonRegional,Trenton,NJMarch21â30,NCAADIVISIONIWOMEN'SBASKETBALLCHAMPIONSHIPS,BerkleyRegional,Berkley,CAMarch21â30,NCAADIVISIONIWOMEN'SBASKETBALLCHAMPIONSHIPS,RaleighRegional,Raleigh,NCMarch21â31,NCAADIVISIONIWOMEN'SBASKETBALLCHAMPIONSHIPS,OklahomaCityRegional,OklahomaCity,OKNovember20â22,NCAADIVISIONIFIELDHOCKEYCHAMPIONSHIPSâFINALS,WinstonSalem,NC
PROFESSIONALBASKETBALLJuly12,WNBA,Minnesota@SanAntonio;Chicago@SeattleJuly14,WNBA,LosAngeles@ConnecticutJuly15,WNBA,SanAntonio@Washington;Atlanta@Minnesota;Chicago@Indiana;Sacramento@Phoenix;Detroit@Seattle;July17,WNBAAtlanta@Indiana;Connecticut@SanAntonio;Seattle@SacramentoJuly18,WNBA,NewYork@Washington;Detroit@PhoenixJuly19,WNBA,Indiana@Connecticut;Atlanta@NewYork;SanAntonio@Chicago;Minnesota@Seattle;Detroit@SacramentoJuly21,WNBA,Indiana@WashingtonJuly22,WNBA,Atlanta@Detroit;NewYork@Chicago;Sacramento@Connecticut;Minnesota@Phoenix;LosAngeles@Seattle;Indiana@SanAntonio;Chicago@Washington;Sacramento@NewYorkJuly25,WNBA,AllStarGame,Connecticut
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GOLFMarch20â22,MASTERCARDCLASSICHONORINGALEJOPERALTA,LPGATour,Huixquilucan,MexicoMarch26â29,PHOENIXLPGAINTERNATIONAL,LPGATour,Phoenix,AZJuly9â12,USWOMENâSOPEN,LPGATour,Bethlahem,PAJuly23â26,EVIANMASTERS,LPGATour,EvianâlesâBains,FranceNovember6â8,MIZUNOCLASSIC,LPGATour,Shiga,JapanNovember12â15LORENAOCHOAINVITATIONALbyBANAMEXandCORONALIGHT,LPGATour,GuadalajaraMexicoNovember19â22,STANFORDFINANCIALTOURCHAMPIONSHIP,LPGATour,HoustonTexas
TENNISMarch11â22,BNPPARIBASOPEN,WTATour,IndianWells,CAMarch25âApril5,SONYERICCSONOPEN,WTATour,Miami,FLJuly11â19,ECMPRAGUEOPEN,WTATour,Prague,CzechoslovakiaJuly13â19,INTERNAZIONALIFEMMINILIDIPALERMO,WTATour,Palermo,ItalyJuly25âAug.2,BANKOFTHEWESTCLASSIC,WTATour,Stanford,CANovember4â8,COMMONWEALTHBANKTOURNAMENTOFCHAMPIONS,WTATour,Bali,IndonesiaNovember20,MIXEDDOUBLESNATIONALCHAMPIONSHIPS,USATennis,Tucson,AZOTHERSPORTSMarch12â15,WORLDSINGLEDISTANCESPEEDSKATINGCHAMPIONSHIPS,Richmond,BritishColumbia,CanadaMarch20â22,U.S.A.MASTERSINDOORTRACK&FIELDCHAMPIONSHIPS.Boston,MAMarch20â22AmericanCupFinal&ChampionsChallengeLadies&Men,SaltLakeCity,UTMarch2â22,SOUTHERNCALIFORNIAQUALIFIER,USAVolleyball,Anaheim,CAMarch22â29,WORLDFIGURESKATINGCHAMPIONSHIPS,LosAngeles,CAMarch28,IAAFWORLDCROSSCOUNTRYCHAMPIONSHIPS,Amman,JordanJuly12,CANADACUPCHAMPIONSHIPS,USASoftball,Surrey,BritishColumbia,CanadaJuly12â16,JUNIOROLYMPICNATIONALCHAMPIONSHIPS,USAGymnastics,St.Paul,MNJuly16â20,KFCWORLDCUPOFSOFTBALL,OklahomaCity,OKJuly12â26,WOMENâSJUNIORWORLDCHAMPIONSHIPS,USAVolleyball,MexicoJuly18â19,NATIONALQUALIFIER,USAGymnastics,Plainfield,INJuly18â25,ASICS/VAUGHNNATIONALCHAMPIONSHIPSâJUNIORGRECOROMAN,FREESTYLE,WOMEN,U.S.A.WRESTLING,Fargo,NDJuly25,COVERGIRLCLASSIC,USAGymnastics,DesMoines,IANovember5â8,WORLDCUPSHORTTRACK,Montreal,CanadaNovember11â13,TRAMPOLINEANDTUMBLINGWORLDCHAMPIONSHIPS,St.Petersburg,RussiaNovember12â15,SKATEAMERICA,FigureSkating,LakePlacid,NewYork
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November13,WOMENâSPROFESSIONALRODEOASSOCIATIONWORLDFINALS,Tulsa,OKNovember15,AUTOMOBILECLUBOFSOUTHERNCALIFORNIANHRAFINALS,Pomona,CANovember17â21,UPHA/AMERICANROYALNATIONALCHAMPIONSHIP,U.S.EQUESTRIANFEDERATION,KansasCity,MOJuly19â22,AVA/USAENATIONALVAULTING,CHAMPIONSHIPS,U.S.EQUESTRIANFEDERATION,Lexington,VAJuly20â25,U.S.NATIONALDIVINGCHAMPIONSHIPS,MissionViejo,CAJuly21â23,USPCNATIONALCHAMPIONSHIPS,U.S.EQUESTRIANFEDERATION,Lexington,VAJuly23â26,WOMEN'SPLATINUMNORTHAMERICANROLLERHOCKEYCHAMPIONSHIPS,Cincinnati,OH
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VIII.BACKGROUNDANDPURPOSEOFTHESTUDY
The 2010 GENDER IN TELEVISED SPORTS report is sponsored by the University ofSouthern Californiaâs Center for Feminist Research, with the support of the PurdueUniversityWomenâsStudiesProgramandDepartmentofHealthandKinesiology.This is thefifth inaseriesofstudiesofgender intelevisedsportsnewsandhighlightsshows.Thefirstfourstudieswerefundedandpublishedin1990,1994,2000,and2005by the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, now the LA84 Foundation.ResearchreportsontheseearlierstudiescanbefoundontheLA84Foundationâswebsite:http://www.la84foundation.org/11pub/over_frmst.htmThe longitudinal data in this study stretch across two decades. In 1989, MichaelMessner and Margaret Carlisle Duncan of the University of WisconsinâMilwaukeecollectedthefirstdataforthestudybyanalyzingsixweeksoftelevisedsportsnewsonthree Los Angeles Area network affiliates. The 1989 study also included analyses ofcoverageofprofessionaltennisandcollegebasketball. Inlateriterationsofthestudy,the investigators focused exclusively on televised sports news. ESPNâs SportsCenterhighlightsshowwasaddedtothestudyin1999.Past iterations of the GENDER IN TELEVISED SPORTS report have been useful instimulatingpublicdialogueaboutthesourcesandconsequencesoftheunderâreportingofwomenâssportsontelevisednewsandhighlightsshows.Wearedismayedwiththecentralfindingofthe2010Report:Thecoverageofwomenâssportsnearlyevaporatedin2009,droppingtoitslowestlevelofanyyearwestudiedoverthepasttwodecades.However, we see some improvements in the quality of coverage of womenâs sports,especially in the decline over the past ten years of blatantly sexist and disrespectfultreatmentofwomenonnewsandhighlightsshows.Itisourhopethatthisresearchwillcontribute to public discussion that will help to fuel a growth in respect forâandeventuallyequitablecoverageofâwomenathletes.MichaelA.Messner,UniversityofSouthernCalifornia CherylCooky,PurdueUniversity June,2010
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IX.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We extend appreciative thanks to Wayne Wilson of the LA84 Foundation, and toMargaretCarlisleDuncanoftheUniversityofWisconsinâMadisonfortheircentralrolesinthepreviousiterationsofthislongitudinalstudy.We are immensely grateful for the generous and expert help that Orasio BecerracontributedinorganizingthedataforthisReport.Thanks to Lisa Bitel and the USC Center for Feminist Research for supporting andsponsoring thisstudy. Manythanks tocolleagues in thedepartmentofkinesiologyatCaliforniaStateUniversity,Fullerton;thewomenâsstudiesprogramanddepartmentofhealth and kinesiology at Purdue University; and the gender studies program anddepartment of sociology and at the University of Southern California. JenniferSchumacher of California State University Fullerton provided valuable assistance inrecordingthenewsandhighlightsshows. ThankstotheUSCUndergraduateResearchAssociates Program for providing funds in support of our intrepid research assistantRobin Hextrum. Finally, thanks to USCâs Laura Fujikawa and Tana March for theirtechnicalassistance.
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X.ABOUTTHECOâINVESTIGATORSMichael A.Messner is professor of sociology and gender studies at theUniversity ofSouthern California, and immediate pastâpresident of the Pacific SociologicalAssociation. He is author of numerous scholarly articles and books on gender andsports, including Itâs all for the kids: Gender, families and youth sports (University ofCaliforniaPress,2009).Messnerwascoâinvestigator,withMargaretCarlisleDuncan,fortheGenderinTelevisedSportsreportsin1990,1994,2000,and2005.http://college.usc.edu/soci/people/faculty_display.cfm?person_ID=1003528CherylCooky is assistantprofessorofwomenâs studies, andhealthandkinesiologyatPurdue University. Her research, which has focused on girls' participationandexperiencesinsportandphysicalactivity,andongenderedmediarepresentationsof sport andathletes, has appeared in theSociologyof Sport Journal andSociologicalPerspectives. Cooky was a research assistant on the 2000Gender in Televised Sportsreport.http://cla.purdue.edu/hk/directory/Faculty/cooky.html