Sports Communication Interest Group
2021 Abstracts
Extended Abstract • Faculty • Kim Bissell, University of Alabama; Bummsoo Park, University of Alabama • Narratives and frames of firsts in women’s sports: A content analysis of newspaper coverage of Sarah Fuller and Power Five Football Introduction • Sarah Fuller became the first woman to ever play in a SEC or Power Five football game in November 2020, and news coverage of the event touted the historic nature of it all. Social media users, however, were critical of everything from her actual play to the words on the back of her helmet–Play Like a Girl. Using framing as the underlying theoretical framework, the present study represents a content analysis of news stories published about her play in two NCAA football games. Using a coding protocol developed by Billings and Eastman (2003) to identify descriptors used and the nature of those descriptors, 71 (of 107) news articles were included in the analysis. Of the 5,628 total descriptors coded, a majority were positively valenced and emphasized the historic nature of the event and that it represented a “first” for women in sport. These and other findings are discussed.
Research Paper • Faculty • Patrick Ferrucci, U of Colorado-Boulder • Covering sports, when there’s no sports: COVID, market orientation, paywalls and The Athletic • This study incorporates in-depth interviews with 43 journalists from the digitally native, venture-capital-backed sports journalism organization The Athletic. Through the lens of gatekeeping theory and utilizing the concept of market orientation, findings illustrate how having a somewhat strong market orientation could positively impact gatekeeping processes. Data illustrated that, during the pandemic, journalists at The Athletic collaborated more, and included more diversity in content. This positive result, which led to a subscription increase, is primarily due to market orientation, leadership, staff size and technological adoption, all organization-level influences on gatekeeping. This study concludes with analysis on how these findings can impact journalism in general and sports journalism specifically now and after Covid-19.
Extended Abstract • Student • Adrianne Grubic, The University of Texas at Austin • Proud: A Case Study of the Social Media Representation of Ibtihaj Muhammad • Media portrayals of sportswomen along with Black and Muslim women in general tend to be monolithic, focusing only on oppression of the body and the barriers they face for entry into sport. Using fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad as a case study wiht an eye towards transnational feminism, this multimodal discourse analysis study found her social media representation provides complex insight into what it means to Black, Muslim, and a woman in a traditionally white and elitist sport.
Research Paper • Faculty • Virginia Harrison, Clemson University; Brandon Boatwright; Joseph Bober • “A manifestation of their city as a god”: Gritty memes, the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and online representations of home • During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty starred in political election-related memes. Using systematic discourse analysis, this paper analyzes 14 Gritty memes to understand the interplay of sport mascots, fandom and home, and meme co-creation. Evidence was found for meme intertextuality and polyvocality as well as four personas of Gritty that propelled the mascot to transcend sport and become a historic symbol of Philadelphia’s role in determining the election outcome.
Research Paper • Faculty • Guy Harrison, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Charli Kerns, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Jason Stamm, The University of Tennessee • Covering the Rooney Rule: A Content Analysis of Print Coverage of NFL Head Coach • While scholars and football insiders have given much attention to the NFL’s ongoing head coaching diversity crisis, the (mostly White) sports media’s coverage of the issue — and of systemic racism in general — has been uneven. 2020’s racial upheaval — and the ensuing commitments made by individuals and corporations to fight systemic racism — offered sports journalists an opportunity to reflect on and recalibrate their coverage of these issues, however. Employing agenda building as a theoretical framework (Lang & Lang, 1991; Rogers et al., 1993), and taking into account the United States’ racial upheaval in 2020, this study uses the content analysis method to compare the rate at which print sports journalists assigned to cover specific NFL teams broadly discussed race in their written coverage of the 2020 and 2021 NFL head coaching hiring cycles. Previous agenda building research has found that the media’s story selection has been influenced at times by external actors and events. In statistically comparing the written coverage of both hiring cycles, which took place before and after the events of 2020, this study explores the possibility that NFL beat writers may have been influenced by those events. The study found statistically significant increases in the amount of web articles that mentioned race during the 2021 hiring cycle, including stories that were written after a head coach was hired. These findings suggest that social movements may influence otherwise routine sports reporting.
Extended Abstract • Faculty • MILES ROMNEY, Brigham Young University; Kevin Hull, University of South Carolina; Kirstin Pellizzaro, University of South Carolina; Denetra Walker • “Where do I even begin?”: The Harassment of Female Local Sports Broadcasters • This study examines the harassment faced by female local sports broadcasters throughout the United States. The women in this study overwhelming report they experience sexism, gender discrimination, and harassment based on their gender. This poor treatment comes from the audience, station management, and the athletes on whom they are reporting. The participants share their stories and reveal some of the many difficulties they face while simply trying to do their job.
Extended Abstract • Faculty • Kevin Hull, University of South Carolina; John Carvalho, Auburn University; Blake Waddell, Auburn University • Who’s Got Game? A Survey of College-Level Sports Media Programs and Classes • As more higher education programs throughout the United States begin sports media programs, this research answers the call to take a closer look at what types of classes are being offered. An examination of the programs at 90 different journalism schools found that the majority offered some type of sports media class. These classes involved both theoretical, lecture-style classes and hands-on skills classes. Further breakdowns of the classes within type of school will be discussed.
Research Paper • Student • Muhammad Fahad Humayun, U of Colorado-Boulder • Construction of Mediated National Identity Through Sports Journalists Twitter Feed • The purpose of this study is to analyze how Pakistani and Indian national identity was portrayed in selected Pakistani and Indian journalists tweets about the 2017 International Cricket Council (ICC) champions trophy final. This study draws on the conceptual framework of mediated national identity, which has been extensively covered in previous sociological literature (e.g., Bale, 1986; Li, Stokowski, Dittmore, & Scott, 2016; Nossek, 2004). This study employed textual analysis to analyze Tweets from 10 sports journalists during the Champions Trophy final 2017. Results indicate that Pakistani and Indian sports journalists attempted to construct narratives of national identity while tweeting during the live match. They did so by employing metaphors, symbols, and semiotic anecdotes unique to their own countries. As one of the first attempts to evaluate how Pakistani and Indian sports journalists construct narratives around national identity and national belonging through their live tweets during a global sporting contest, this study helps push forward an understanding of sporting national identity in South Asia through a study of social media.
Research Paper • Faculty • Mark Mederson, Loras College; Michael Mirer, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee • Flipping the Frame: Rudy Gobert’s journey from episodic bad actor to thematic hero • Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis started the process that led to American sports shutting down in the early days of the pandemic. After the diagnosis, video of him touching reporters’ voice recorders at a press availability went viral. This framing analysis in five mainstream newspapers finds that over the course of 72 hours, Gobert went from a bad actor to a hero in news copy as an episodic frame focusing on his actions gave way to a thematic frame about the virus and its effects on the country.
Research Paper • Student Member • Dinfin Mulupi, University of Maryland, College Park • “Stick to tennis”? Media and public narratives in reaction to Naomi Osaka’s #BLM activism • This study examined social media commentary and news media framing of a Black woman athlete’s racial justice activism. Comments (N = 1,400) published to Naomi Osaka’s official Facebook page and online articles published by seven U.S. news organizations (N = 63) were analyzed qualitatively guided by framing and critical race theories. Facebook comments revealed frames of support, infantilization, and silencing of Osaka. News media framed Osaka’s activism as compatible with sports but sidestepped discussing racism.
Research Paper • Student • Vincent Peña, University of Texas at Austin • (Un)fair Pay to Play: Alienation, Exploitation, Labor Power and the NCAA • The argument about paying college athletes is not a new one and has long been a thorn in the side of the NCAA. However, there is a resurgence in the push for compensating college athletes amid a rash of legislation at the state level and court cases headed before the Supreme Court. This paper conducts a critical discourse analysis of this debate surrounding the compensation of college athletes that appears in both the popular and academic press. It examines news and sports media, as well as academic literature, major academic blog sites, and college newspapers. Using a Marxist lens, this paper examines the alienation, exploitation and labor power of major college athletes, especially those in the so-called moneymaking sports of basketball and football. It attempts to explicate the concepts in the context of college athletics and then look at the way various media outlets discursively perpetuate, challenge, or reify the alienation and exploitation of college athletes. Findings suggest that although there is a growing sentiment toward paying the players in some form, whether through granting them the rights to their name, image and likeness or providing them direct compensation, the arguments made by the media contribute to the alienation of college athletes from their athletic labor, and ultimately set the stage for the exploitation of these athletes.
Research Paper • Faculty • Gregory Perreault; Mildred Perreault • eSports as a news specialty gold rush: Communication ecology in the domination of traditional journalism over lifestyle journalism • Esports are becoming more popular with adults as they often result in prize money for those who play, and now even academic scholarships for Division 1 athletes. Therefore, online news might expand these opportunities to understand the impact of business news even further on investors and markets centering around eSports. This study included an analysis of news coverage in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes and Business Insider from January 2018 to December 2020 has yielded 406 articles. Researchers coded these articles for specific marketing and public relations messages, and identified how various entertainment businesses have worked their support of these teams into the news coverage of eSports. We will argue that eSports represents a topic that would typically be covered through lifestyle journalism–after all, both gaming and sports are predominantly lifestyle specialties–that traditional journalism has dominated in order to reaffirm its privileged placement in the communication ecology.
Extended Abstract • Student • Brian Petrotta, University of Oklahoma • From Prohibition to Promotion: Discursive Power in the Legalization of Sports Betting • The discursive power perspective has increasingly been employed in the study of political communication, but only recently made its way into sports scholarship. This study will explore which speakers wielded discursive power by introducing, amplifying, and maintaining topics and frames at critical points in time in the evolution of sports betting legalization in the United States. Results will contribute to the emerging study of discursive power within the context of public policy.
Research Paper • Student • Shannon Scovel, University of Maryland • #TriathlonSoWhite: A critical assessment of the representation, underrepresentation and branding of intersectional bodies on the @USATriathlon official Instagram account • This paper critically evaluates the representation of intersectional bodies on @USATriathlon’s Instagram account in 2020 to understand how the organization viewed the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results also reveal efforts to diversify representation in triathlon after a June 1 statement that committed the governing body to creating a more inclusive sporting space. @USATriathlon’s Instagram feed reproduces hierarchies of the white, able-bodied sporting male, though the 429 posts do also feature white women prominently.
Extended Abstract • Faculty • Matthew Taylor, Middle Tennessee State University • Crowd Pleasers: Exploring Motivations and Measuring Success Among Independent Sports Podcasters • This study uses in-depth interviews with independent sports podcasters to explore their motivations for podcasting and to determine how they measure their success. The findings will contribute to a growing body of podcasting research that has given limited attention to sports thus far despite the rising popularity of the format, which currently ranks among the Top 10 most popular genres for podcast listeners over the age of 18.
Research Paper • Student • Maria Tsyruleva, University of South Florida; Travis Bell, University of South Florida • “Golden Spike”: Examining Atlanta United’s Communication Strategies and Brand Attributes from Launch to Kickoff • This research explores Atlanta United FC, a soccer club that achieved record-breaking average attendance, from the communication perspective. Utilizing thematic analysis of the press releases published between the launch of the club through the team’s first official game, the study examines communication strategies the new organization used and core brand attributes it communicated. The results extend the current knowledge on strategic communication in the sports industry and provide insights for public relations practitioners.
Research Paper • Student • Carolina Velloso • Making Soufflé with Metal: Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Sports Journalism Routines • This paper investigates the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on sports journalism routines. Through open-ended, semi-structured interviews with 12 journalists, this study examines the challenges reporters faced, their adaptation strategies, and reflections on their professional capabilities. This paper argues that while the pandemic destabilized traditional sports journalism routines, respondents relied on previous experience and knowledge about their job requirements to find creative ways to combat the challenges imposed by the unusual sports seasons.
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