“I Can’t Stand Women’s Sports”: The Perception of Women’s Sports by Polish Sports Journalists

2019 ◽  
pp. 216747951987688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Organista ◽  
Zuzanna Mazur ◽  
Michał Lenartowicz
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Women's Sports ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sports Media ◽  
Radio Stations ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
Sports Coverage ◽  
Inferior Status ◽  
Female Sports ◽  
Socializing Agents

This article analyzes the opinions of Polish male ( n = 18) and female ( n = 18) sports journalists on the representation of women’s sports in media coverage. The surveyed journalists represented journalists from national television stations, radio stations, and press and Internet media. Some of them were working simultaneously in various mass media outlets. In-depth interviews were conducted in various locations in Poland in 2018. An analysis of the journalists’ views from 36 semi-structured interviews indicated a general consensus among the surveyed sports journalists, both male and female, on the inferior status of women’s sports and women’s sports coverage, a negation of need to realign the inequitable coverage of women’s sports and the perception that sports are a neutral institution with respect to gender. The investigated female sports journalists presented more negative and straightforward views on women’s sports than their male colleagues. This article also indicates the minority status of female sports journalists in Poland and their process of socialization in the profession; it discusses the first male socializing agents that introduced and influenced the female journalists with respect to sports as factors that may be responsible for the journalists’ biased belief in the subordinate nature of women’s sports in general and their secondary position in sports media.

Newswork, News Values, and Audience Considerations

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 647-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merryn Sherwood ◽  
Angela Osborne ◽  
Matthew Nicholson ◽  
Emma Sherry
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Female Athletes ◽  
Women's Sports ◽  
News Values ◽  
Sports Media ◽  
Repetitive Nature ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
Sports Coverage ◽  
Male Dominated ◽  
Sports News

Substantial research indicates that women’s sports and female athletes gain only a small fraction of sports media coverage worldwide. Research that has examined why this is the case suggested this can be attributed to three particular factors that govern sports newswork: the male-dominated sports newsroom, ingrained assumptions about readership, and the systematic, repetitive nature of sports news. This study sought to explore women’s sports coverage using a different perspective, exploring cases where women’s sports gained coverage. It identified Australian newspapers that published more articles on women’s sports, relative to their competitors, and conducted interviews with both journalists and editors at these newspapers. It found that small, subtle changes to the three newswork elements that had previously relegated the coverage of women’s sports now facilitated it. This research provides evidence that, at least in some newspapers in Australia, sports newswork has developed to include the coverage of women’s sports.

Still marginalized: Gender inequalities in the largest Polish daily’s sports coverage

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dziubiński Zbigniew ◽  
Natalia Organista ◽  
Zuzanna Mazur
Keyword(s):  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Press Coverage ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Women's Sports ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
Sports Coverage ◽  
Female Sports ◽  
The Media ◽  
English Speaking

Abstract The studies conducted over recent decades on media sports coverage indicatedmajor underrepresentation of women’s sports. The underrepresentation of women’s sports in the media is aligned with the perception of sport as a masculine construct with sportswomen as the ‘other’. However, most studies were conducted in English-speaking countries. In this article we present our findings of press media coverage in Poland. The aim of the study was to provide an analysis of sports press coverage in the largest Polish daily, Gazeta Wyborcza, with respect to gender inequality. The chosen method was content analysis. The results show an underrepresentation of women’s sports in the examined press coverage – only 12.5% of all articles concerned female sports. Qualitative analysis demonstrates that the articles differed in terms of the athletes’ gender as well. The study highlighted the gender-dependent nature of the examined sports press coverage in Poland.

An Examination of Women’s Sports Coverage on the Twitter Accounts of Local Television Sports Broadcasters

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Hull
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Gender Representation ◽  
Market Size ◽  
Women's Sports ◽  
Local Television ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
Sports Coverage ◽  
Female Sports

This study examines the amount of coverage given to women’s sports by local television sports broadcasters on Twitter. A total of 19,649 tweets from 201 local sports broadcasters throughout the United States were examined using content analytic methods during a constructed 2-week period. Results demonstrated that while a majority of the local sports broadcasters did tweet about women’s sports, these tweets represented only about 5% of the overall number of messages. Further examination demonstrates that female sports broadcasters tweeted about women’s sports less frequently than male sports broadcasters did. Additionally, broadcasters in smaller cities were more likely to report about women’s sports than those in larger cities. While results are consistent with previous research on gender representation on nationally televised highlight shows, these findings are significant because they demonstrate that there is a relationship between gender of broadcaster and market size in relation to the number of tweets about women’s sports. Additionally, data are from Twitter, in which there are no time constraints that would seemingly limit the amount of women’s sports that could be mentioned by a sportscaster.

Women, sport and the media: Key elements at play in the shaping of the practice of women in sports journalism in Israel

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilan Tamir ◽  
Moran Yarchi ◽  
Yair Galily
Keyword(s):  
Women's Sports ◽  
Sports Journalism ◽  
Sports Media ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
Female Sports ◽  
The Media ◽  
Female Presence ◽  
Women In Sports Media ◽  
Military Units ◽  
Women In Sports

AbstractThe present study aims to illustrate the points of view of various female sports journalists as they relate the unique and defining experiences within their line of work, intending to identify the key elements at play in the shaping of the practice of women in sports journalism and its impact on the coverage of women’s sports. 17 Israeli female sports journalists were interviewed concurrently, alongside a select number of male editors of various sports sections. In addition, a survey regarding readers’ views on the coverage of women’s sports and a content analysis of sport coverage in national newspapers was conducted. The analysis of the study’s findings and, particularly, of the female sports journalists’ experiences, has even revealed similarities between the place of women in sports media and female presence within combative military units.

Women’s Sports Coverage in Israel: Perception Versus Reality

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilan Tamir ◽  
Yair Galily
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Women's Sports ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Editorial Boards ◽  
Extensive Coverage ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
Sports Coverage ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Female Sports ◽  
The Media

With a focus on the question of public interest, the study investigated editing considerations of women’s sports coverage in written daily newspapers in Israel. To examine sports readers’ views regarding the coverage of women in sports sections, and to compare them with the views of sports editorial boards, a representative survey was conducted among male and female readers of sports columns and among male and female sports writers responsible for coverage. The research findings indicate a lack of connection between the various ends of the media process. Although sports editors of the 3 biggest dailies in Israel claim that there is little interest in women’s sports among sports column readers, the study found that public interest in women’s sports is far from insignificant. In fact, newspaper consumers who read the sports column would like to see more extensive coverage of women’s sports.

scholarly journals Guardians of the Hegemonic Structure of Sports? Women’s Sports as Perceived by Polish Female Sports Journalists

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-64
Author(s):  
Natalia Organista ◽  
Zuzanna Mazur
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Professional Socialization ◽  
Minority Status ◽  
Women's Sports ◽  
Women's Sport ◽  
Amount Of Information ◽  
Research Participants ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
Female Journalists ◽  
Female Sports

The under-representation of media coverage of women’s sports has been a long-standing phenomenon, which can also be observed in Poland (Dziubiński, Organista and Mazur 2019; Jakubowska 2015; Kluczyńska 2011). One of the possible reasons for less information on women’s sports is a small number of female sports journalists. Due to the lack of Polish research on female sports journalists, the authors of this article aimed at analyzing their beliefs about women’s sports and the under-representation of media coverage of women’s sports in the Polish media. The analysis has shown that the female journalists perceive women’s sports as inferior to men’s sports and are not in favor of increasing the amount of information about women’s sports. The authors point to the socialization into sport, the professional socialization of the research participants, their minority status in the profession as well as their perception of masculinity, femininity, and professionalism in journalism as possible reasons for the way in which women’s sport is perceived by them.

Women's Sports

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Schultz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Title Ix ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Sex Discrimination ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women's Sports ◽  
Sports Media ◽  
Sport Media ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
News Networks

Although girls and women account for approximately 40 percent of all athletes in the United States, they receive only 4 percent of the total sport media coverage. SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship program, dedicates less than 2 percent of its airtime to women. Local news networks devote less than 5 percent of their programming to women’s sports. Excluding Sports Illustrated’s annual "Swimsuit Issue," women appear on just 4.9 percent of the magazine’s covers. Media is a powerful indication of the culture surrounding sport in the United States. Why are women underrepresented in sports media? Sports Illustrated journalist Andy Benoit infamously remarked that women’s sports "are not worth watching." Although he later apologized, Benoit’s comment points to more general lack of awareness. Consider, for example, the confusion surrounding Title IX, the U.S. Law that prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program that receives federal financial assistance. Is Title IX to blame when administrators drop men’s athletic programs? Is it lack of interest or lack of opportunity that causes girls and women to participate in sport at lower rates than boys and men? In Women’s Sports, Jaime Schultz tackles these questions, along with many others, to upend the misunderstandings that plague women’s sports. Using historical, contemporary, scholarly, and popular sources, Schultz traces the progress and pitfalls of women’s involvement in sport. In the signature question-and-answer format of the What Everyone Needs to Know® series, this short and accessible book clarifies misconceptions that dog women’s athletics and offers much needed context and history to illuminate the struggles and inequalities sportswomen continue to face. By exploring issues such as gender, sexuality, sex segregation, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, media coverage, and the sport-health connection, Schultz shows why women’s sports are not just worth watching, but worth playing, supporting, and fighting for.

Sport Media Vectors: Gender and Diversity, Reconstructing the Field

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Women's Sports ◽  
Sports Media ◽  
Sport Media ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
Doctoral Candidates ◽  
Masters Students

In this book, Walzak, Collura and Vidotto bring together an invited collection of writing from emerging scholars about sports, sports media and equity. We are excited about this work as authors span from undergraduates and Masters students to doctoral candidates from Canada and Ireland. All of us are passionate and excited about the possibilities for equity and radical change that needs to happen across the sports and sports media landscape to make sports truly equitable. This collection reflects the author's personal investments and interest in sports. Chapter themes include racialized sports women, media inequities in women's sports including basketball, soccer and swimming, and personal narratives of disability in sport.

scholarly journals Gender Representation of Athletes in Finnish and Swedish Tabloids

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Laine
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Female Athletes ◽  
Gender Representation ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Women's Sports ◽  
Sports Journalism ◽  
Male Athletes ◽  
Winter Olympics ◽  
Women’S Sports ◽  
Sports Coverage

Abstract The study examines quantitatively and qualitatively gender representation in Finnish and Swedish tabloids’ sports coverage during Athens 2004 summer and Turin 2006 winter Olympics. Several media studies argue that sports journalism marginalises women’s sports and sexualises female athletes. The results of this study show that male athletes received more coverage than female athletes in every tabloid, but when the number of domestic participants and their level of success were considered, neither country’s tabloids quantitatively marginalised women’s sports. Qualitative analysis found that research stereotypes showing trivialisation and sexualisation of female athletes were incorrect, with the exception of Finnish tabloids representations of female athletes participating in sports that are considered masculine. For the most part, female athletes were represented in the same way as male athletes. However, it should be emphasised that the material is limited to Olympics coverage: during such major sporting events women are treated more equally, particularly quantitatively.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document