Sport in Society: Chapter 12

Sports and the Media:

Could They Survive Without Each Other?

Traditional distinctions are now ____________

Print media: words and images on paper

Newspapers, magazines and fanzines, books, catalogs, event programs, and trading cards

Electronic media: words, commentary, and images transmitted by audio and/or video devices and technologies

____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

Note: New media have blurred the distinctions between print and electronic media.

The media provide

Information

Interpretation

Entertainment

Opportunities for interactivity

Media content

   . . . is always edited and “re-presented” by those who ____________ media organizations

Editing decisions are based on one or more of these goals:

Making ____________

Influencing cultural ____________

Providing a public ____________

Enhancing personal ____________ and ____________

Expressing self in technical, artistic, or personal ways

Media and power

Media usually serve the interests of those

with ____________ and ____________ in society.

As corporate control of media has become more concentrated, media content highlights

Consumerism

Individualism

Competition

Class inequality

as natural and necessary in society

What if . . .

All TV documentaries were sponsored by environmental groups, labor organizations, or women’s groups?

Wouldn’t we ask questions about the content of those programs and think about why we see and hear what we do?

99% of all sports programming in the media is sponsored by ____________ corporations.

Should we ask critical questions about program content, whose interests it serves, and why we see and hear what we do? Shouldn’t schools teach this?

Characteristics of the new media

Extend and radically change (potentially) our connections with the world

Are not limited to sequential programming

Enable each of us to be the “editors” of our own media experiences, if we wish

Give us the potential to create our own sport ____________ and experiences as ____________ and ____________ athletes

Young people now re-present their own ____________ in media forms.

____________ leagues change media experiences related to sports.

 

New media as contested terrain

____________, ____________, and ____________ forces will shape the ____________ of the new media?

Will the new media democratize social life or will they become tools of ____________ ____________ used to expand corporate capital, increase consumption, and reproduce dominant ____________?

Should the new media be available to everyone, like public roads, or should they be tollways?

Video games and virtual sports

____________ is needed to help answer questions such as:

What are the dynamics of playing ____________ ____________ games and virtual sports, and how do they differ from other sport-related experiences?

How are video sport game experiences ____________ with other sport experiences?

What ideological themes are structured into the images and actions in video sport games?

Will virtual sports complement or ____________ sports as we know them today?

Video games as simulated sports

The graphics and images in video games now come close to matching images in televised sports.
TV producers now use special ____________to make the action in televised games look like video games.
Some athletes use video sport games to ____________.
Some children today are introduced to sports through ____________ ____________.
Being good at playing video sport games is a source of ____________ among many young people.
Playing sport video games provides regular ____________ ____________ for many people, especially young males.

Virtual sports—discussion issues

Will the grandchildren of today’s college students go to ____________ ____________ ____________ instead of playing what we define as sports today?

Virtual sports offer a range of experiences that current sports do not.

Will communities use ____________ money to fund virtual sport complexes instead of ____________?

Is the Wii gaming console a small step in the direction of virtual sports, and are there other examples?

Do sports depend on the media?

____________, not when they are organized by and for the players themselves

____________, when they are organized as forms of commercial entertainment

Media coverage attracts attention to sports and provides news of results.

Television coverage remains a ____________ factor in the ____________ and ____________ of commercial sports.

Have commercial sports sold out to the media?

Probably ____________—for two reasons:

The changes often thought to be a direct result of media would have occurred to boost live attendance, gate receipts, and venue revenues.

General commercial interests exist without the media, although the media usually intensify them.

Most changes associated with television coverage have been made willingly by sport organizations.

Most (not all) athletes are willing to make trade-offs in exchange for the benefits of media coverage.

Have media corrupted sports?

Probably ____________—for two reasons:

Sports are not shaped primarily by ____________

Sports are ____________ ____________ that emerge in connection with many social relationships.

Media, including TV, do not operate in a ____________ and ____________ vacuum.

Media are regulated by government and market factors, which influence and set limits on media coverage and content.

NOTE: The relatively homogeneous collection of white men from post-industrial nations who control media coverage certainly influence sports, but do they corrupt them??

Do media depend on sports?

Most media ____________ ____________ depend on sports.

Daily newspapers depend on “sports sections” for circulation and ad revenues.

Many television companies depend on sports to fill programming schedules and attract male viewers and the sponsors that want to reach them.

Many sport events have media audiences with clearly identifiable “demographics,” which is of great value for sponsors (pro golf is an example).

Media organizations dedicated to sports programming ARE dependent on sports—such as ESPN.

Trends in televised sports

Rights fees have ____________ since the 1960s.

Sports programming has ____________ dramatically.

As more events are covered, ratings for particular events have decreased.

Audience ____________ has occurred.

Television companies use sports events to promote other programming.

Television companies are parts of ____________ that now ____________ teams, ____________ ____________, and other businesses that benefit from sports coverage and its commercials.

The sports-media relationship

. . . is very ____________ for commercial sports, but other sports are unrelated to the media apart from facilitating communication between participants

. . . is generally ____________ based, but it also exists for promoting lifestyles based on consumption and the ideologies that support such lifestyles

Other aspects of the sports-media relationship

Corporations selling alcohol, tobacco, and food with questionable health value use sports to promote products in connection with activities that people define as healthy.

If these corporations cannot sponsor televised events, they put signage on people, equipment, and facilities that are viewed during television coverage.

Decision-making power in large media corporations rests with many male executives who love sports.

The values and experiences of men are deeply embedded in the cultures of these corporations.

When sports emphasize competition, domination, and achievement, many male executives feel that these are crucial factors in their companies.

Therefore, they are willing to use ____________ to sponsor sports.

Images and narratives in media sports (I)

Media coverage is constructed around specific themes and messages. For athletes with disabilities, the coverage usually fits in one of these categories:?

Patronizing/curiosity/tragedy/inspiration/

mystification/pity/surprise?

The irony: ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

Images and narratives in media sports: Ideological themes (II)

Media coverage is constructed around specific ideological themes and messages:

Success

Emphasis on ____________, ____________, and ____________ scores

Emphasis on big ____________, big ____________, and ____________ self for team success

Consumption

“This game is brought to you by . . .”

“This is the [ . . . ] half time report”

“This is the [ . . . ] pre-game show”

Gender

Masculinity rules in media sports: Coverage ____________ men over women by nearly 6 to 1.

Heterosexuality is assumed; homosexuality is ____________ and ____________.

Coverage reproduces dominant ideas about ____________, but may challenge ideas about ____________.

Media organizations are gendered; they’re organized to be male-dominated, male-identified, and male-centered.

Images and narratives in media sports: Ideological themes (IV)?

Race, ethnicity, and nationality

Media images and narratives based on explicit racial ideology and stereotypes are rare today, although they were common through the 1980s.

Coverage today pretends that race and ethnicity don’t exist.

This allows those (whites, usually) who are ignorant of ethnic perspectives and experiences to claim expertise in the absence of knowledge about what and who they cover.

Images and narratives in media sports: Ideological themes (V)

Race, ethnicity, and nationality (continued)

Subtle stereotypes about nationality sometimes influence narratives in media coverage: Germans may be described as organized, Chinese people as self-disciplined and secretive, Brazilians as flamboyant and passionate, Nigerians as undisciplined and unpredictable, etc.

Media organizations have few directors, editors, assistant editors, reporters, camera people, etc. who represent ethnic backgrounds and experiences.

Experiences and consequences of consuming media sports (I)

Research is rare on audience experiences, but it appears that watching television sports is positively integrated into social relationships and social networks.

Identities are connected with the experience of watching sports, and those identities can be linked with varying relationships and groups.

Couple who cohabitate often watch sports together, and over time most partners accommodate each other’s viewing habits.

Active participation in sports

A positive link is most likely if media representations are strategically connected to everyday life routines.

Attendance at sport events

Media consumption of sports is positively linked with ____________ at ____________ events, but it may ____________ attendance at less elite events—research is needed.

Betting on sports

Media provide easy access to betting opportunities.

Betting creates interest in sports but threatens them if it inspires gamblers to “fix” events.

The profession of sports journalism

Sport journalists are not all the same—some focus on ____________, some focus on ____________.

The work of sports journalists does matter when it comes to ____________ ____________ and ____________ ____________.

Tensions between players and sportswriters have ____________ as differences in their ____________ and ____________ have become more pronounced.

Ethical issues have become ____________ ____________ in sports journalism because the stakes are so high for teams, athletes, coaches, owners, etc.