Sociology of Sport VI Essay
Sport in Society:
Issues and Controversies
Chapter 12
Sports and the M edia:
Could They Survive
Without Each Other?
We use media images and narratives as we evaluate
ourselves, give meaning to other people and events, form ideas, and envision the future.
Media permeate our lives, and sport is a focus for much media programming.
Photo by Jay Coakley
Traditional distinctions between
media are now blurred
Print m edia: words and images on paper
Newspapers, magazines and fanzines, books,
catalogs, event programs, and trading cards
Electronic m edia: words, commentary, and
images transmitted by audio and/or video devices and technologies
Radio, television, film, video games, the Internet, and online publications
The media provide
Information
Interpretation
Entertainment
Opportunities for
interactivity
Media content
. . . is always edited and “re -presented” by those who control media organizations
Editing decisions are based on one or more of these goals:
M aking profits
Influencing cultural values
Providing a public service
Enhancing personal status and reputation
Expressing self in technical, artistic, or personal ways
Media sports, like other
aspects of culture, are
social constructions.
Photo by Jay Coakley
M edia representations
of sports are carefully edited to highlight dramatic action.
M edia representations are shaped by camera people and
editors who select images from various cameras.
Photo by Jay Coakley
Media and power
Those who control media decide which
sports and events to cover AND the images and commentary presented in the coverage.
W hen they do this, they play an important
role in constructing the frameworks that media consumers use to define and incorporate sports in their lives.
As they make programming decisions, they see audiences as collections of consumers that can be sold to advertisers.
Media usually serve the interests of those with power & wealth in society.
As corporate control of media has become
more concentrated, sports programming highlights action, competition, aggression, hard work, individual heroism and
achievement, playing despite pain, teamwork,
competitive outcomes, and through
commercials, consumerism.
. . . And these things are presented as if they were natural and necessary in society
The X Games were
created by ESPN, which is owned by ABC, which is owned
by Disney.
The people who control the X Games don’t promote a
noncompetitive, expressive culture in
alternative sports— it’s not in their
interest.
Photo by Becky Beal
What if . . .
All TV documentaries were sponsored by environmental groups, labor organizations, or women’s groups? W ouldn’t we ask critical 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 capitalist 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 realities
and experiences as spectators and virtual athletes
Young people now re-present their own sports in m edia form s.
Fantasy leagues change m edia experiences related to sports.
New media consumption of sports
Should the new media be available to
everyone, like public roads, or should they be toll roads?
New media allow people to control
when and how they consume sports content, but this in itself changes little from when content was created by a
limited number of powerful sources.
New media production
Will the new media democratize social
life or will they become tools to expand corporate capital, increase consumption,
and reproduce dominant ideologies?
People can use new media in personally transformative ways, but most often they are used to complement or create
informational and interpretive content related to sports covered mainstream
media.
Fantasy sports
Fantasy sports reposition fans relative to players
Fantasy league players feel empowered by their
“ownership” of teams and players— but . . .
Sport leagues and media companies now use
fantasy sports to generate new revenue and “re -
enchant” the spectator experience for a key
demographic:
College-educated white men, 18-50-years old
with higher-than-average incomes and a
willingness to spend over $4 billion annually to
obtain data about players and compete in
organized fantasy leagues.
Video games as simulated sports
Research indicates that
Gamers generally committed considerable time to
their activities
Gamers create their own narratives and stories
when they play sport-themed video games
Social relationships are formed and nurtured
through video gaming
Gaming involves a diverse range of experiences,
feelings, and interpretations
Sport-themed video games provide different
experiences than consuming televised sports.
Video games and virtual sports
Research is needed to help answer questions such as:
W hat are the dynamics of playing video sport games and virtual sports, and how do they differ
from other sport-related experiences?
How are video sport game experiences linked with other sport experiences?
W hat ideological themes are structured into the
images and actions in video sport games?
W ill virtual sports complement or replace sports as we know them today?
It’s becoming more difficult to distinguish simulations
from media representations of sports
Video games as simulated sports
The graphics and images in video games nearly match images in televised sports.
TV producers now use special filters to make the action in televised games look like video games.
Some athletes use video sport games to train.
Some children today are introduced to sports through video games.
Being good at playing video games is a source of status among many young people.
Virtual sports— discussion issues
Will the grandchildren of today’s college
students go to virtual sport complexes instead
of playing what we define as sports today?
Virtual sports offer a range of experiences that
current sports do not.
Will communities use tax money to fund virtual
sport complexes instead of parks?
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?
No, not when they are organized by and
for the players themselves
Yes, when they are organized as forms
of commercial entertainment
Media coverage attracts attention to sports
and provides news of results.
Television coverage remains a key factor in
the growth and expansion of commercial
sports.
M edia com panies pay increasingly high rights fees to broadcast sports, because
advertisers know that viewers watch them live and don’t edit out commercials.
The media enable some athletes to become global celebrities and
benefit from windfall income related to their popularity.
Have commercial sports
sold out to the media?
Probably not— 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.
M ost changes associated with television coverage have been made willingly by sport organizations.
M ost (not all) athletes are willing to m ake trade -offs in
exchange for the benefits of media coverage.
The primary goal of commercial television sports is to hype events and entertain audiences.
Photo by Dennis Coakley
Have media corrupted sports?
Probably not— for two reasons:
Sports are not shaped primarily by media
Sports are social constructions that em erge in connection with
m any social relationships.
M edia, including TV, do not operate in a political and
economic vacuum.
M edia are regulated by governm ent and m arket factors, which
influence and set lim its on m edia 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?
M ost media do not depend on sports.
Daily newspapers depend on “sports sections” for circulation and ad revenues.
M any television companies depend on sports to fill programming schedules and attract male viewers and sponsors that want to reach them. M any sport events have audiences with clearly
identifiable “demographics,” which is of great value for sponsors (pro golf is an example).
M edia organizations focused on sports programming ARE dependent on sports— such as ESPN.
Digital media are especially invasive technologies.
Everyone with a smartphone can create media content. This alters the relationship between fans & athletes
Photo by Jay Coakley
Estimated cost per pay-TV subscriber
per month (2016) Channel M onthly cost Nick/NAN $0.75
ESPN2 $0.80
TBS $1.00
USA $1.00
Fox News $1.05
Disney $1.40
TNT $1.95
ESPN $8.30
Source: Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/frankbi/2015/01/08/espn-
leads-all-cable-networks-in-affiliate-fees/#2177f34ee60c
When paying cable & satellite bills, those who
don’t watch sports subsidize those who do
There are many commercials during NFL games, because
there is less than 13-minutes of actual playing time during the 210 minutes of television time devoted to a game.
Photo by Jay Coakley
As people use electronic media to consume professional
sports, local newspapers focus on local school sports.
Photo by Jay Coakley
Trends in televised sports
Rights fees have skyrocketed since the 1960s.
Sports programming has increased dramatically.
As more events are covered, ratings for particular events have decreased. Audience fragm entation has occurred.
Television companies use sports events to promote other programming.
Television companies are parts of conglomerates that now own teams, sport events, and other businesses that benefit from sports coverage and its commercials.
The sports-media relationship
. . . is very strong for commercial sports at this
time, but other sports are uncovered by the
media
. . . is generally business based, but it also exists
for promoting lifestyles based on consumption
and the ideologies that support such lifestyles
A few powerful global media companies control most of the
media representations of sports worldwide. This monopoly has serious implications for what sports we see or don’t see
Other aspects of the
sports-media relationship (I)
1. Corporations selling alcohol, tobacco, and food with questionable health value use sports to promote products
in connection with activities that people define as healthy.
2. If these corporations cannot sponsor televised events, they put signage on
people, equipment, and facilities that are viewed during television coverage.
(continued)
Other aspects of the
sports-media relationship (II)
3. Decision-making power in large media companies
rests with many male executives who love sports.
4. The values and experiences of men are deeply
embedded in the cultures of these companies.
5. W hen sports emphasize competition, domination,
and achievement, many male executives feel that
these are crucial factors in their companies.
Therefore, they are willing to use corporate money to sponsor sports.
Images & narratives in media sports:
Coverage of athletes with a disability (I)
M edia 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: As the athletes disrupt and challenge stereotypes about disabilities, the media coverage creates others, such as the “heroic supercrip” and the “courageous victim.”
(continued)
Images & narratives in media sports:
Ideological themes (II)
Media coverage is constructed around specific ideological themes and messages:
Success
Emphasis on winners, losers, and final scores
Emphasis on big plays, big hits, and sacrificing self for team success
Consumption
“This game is brought to you by . . .”
“This is the [ . . . ] half time report”
“This is the [ . . . ] pre -game show”
(continued)
Images & narratives in media sports:
Ideological themes (III)
Gender M asculinity rules in media sports: Coverage
privileges men over women by nearly 6 to 1.
Heterosexuality is assumed; homosexuality is erased or ignored.
Coverage reproduces dominant ideas about
manhood, but may challenge ideas about femininity.
M edia organizations are gendered; they’re male - dominated/identified/centered.
(continued)
Images and narratives in media sports:
Ideological themes (IV)
Race/ethnicity/nationality M edia images and narratives based on explicit
racial ideology and stereotypes are rare today, but they were common through the 1980s.
Coverage today pretends that race and ethnicity
don’t exist; nationality is often a focus in international events.
This allows media people who are ignorant of
racial & ethnic perspectives and experiences to claim expertise when they know little about what and who they cover.
(continued)
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.
M edia organizations have few directors, editors, assistant editors, reporters, camera people, etc. who represent ethnic backgrounds and experiences.
Violence and conflict
are frequently given priority in media coverage, even though it disrupts action in games and matches.
“If it bleeds, it leads”
in commercial
broadcasts of local
news and sports.
College football now attracts large media rights fees
due to its popularity among younger males with high levels of education and higher than average incomes.
Photo by Bobak Ha’Eri
As outdoor screens are used to televise sport events, there
are new social dynamics associated with media consumption.
This is yet to be studied in the sociology of sport.
Photo by Jay Coakley
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.
(continued)
Experiences and consequences
of consuming media sports (II)
Active participation in sports
A positive link exists only for those who are already
strongly committed to participation in a sport.
Attendance at sport events
M edia consumption of sports is positively linked with attendance at elite events, but it may decrease attendance at less elite events— research is needed.
Betting on sports
The Internet provides easy access to opportunities.
Betting creates interest in sports but threatens them if
it inspires gamblers to “fix” events.
Big-screen technology has created new spectator
contexts that have yet to be studied.
Photo by Jay Coakley
The profession of sports journalism
Sport journalists are not all the same — some focus on
entertainment, some focus on information.
The work of sports journalists does matter when it comes to cultural ideology and public consciousness.
Tensions between players and sportswriters have
intensified as differences in their salaries and backgrounds have become more pronounced.
Ethical issues have become increasingly important in sports journalism because the stakes are so high for
teams, athletes, coaches, owners, etc.
Media differences in traditional
media coverage of sports
Newsp a p er/m a g a zin e covera g e
Emphasizes information and interpretation primarily
Offers previews and summaries of events
Provides written representation of events
Success depends on credibility
Highlights facts and dominant ideology
M ay criticize sport personalities and organizations
Radio /televisio n covera g e
Emphasizes entertainment primarily
Offers play-by-play images and narratives
Provides real-time representations of events
Success depends on hype and visual action
Highlights heroic plays and dominant ideology
Usually supports sport personalities and organizations
Tensions between athletes and sport journalists are common.
Now that athletes have social media to reach fans, some have little patience for journalists.