Communication and sport 

About: Communication and sport is an academic journal published by SAGE Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Athletes & Social media. It has an ISSN identifier of 2167-4795. Over the lifetime, 422 publications have been published receiving 6602 citations. The journal is also known as: Communication and sport & C&S.

Women Play Sport, But Not on TV A Longitudinal Study of Televised News Media

Abstract: One of the long-standing trends in research on gender in sports media is the lack of coverage of women’s sport and the lack of respectful, serious coverage of women’s sport. In this article, we critically interrogate the assumption that the media simply provide fans with what they “want to see” (i.e., men’s sports). Using quantitative and qualitative analysis, we examine 6 weeks of the televised news media coverage on the local news affiliates in Los Angeles (KABC, KNBC, and KCBS) and on a nationally broadcast sports news and highlight show, ESPN’s SportsCenter. Part of an ongoing longitudinal study, the findings demonstrate that the coverage of women’s sport is the lowest ever. We argue that the amount of coverage of women’s sports and the quality of that coverage illustrates the ways in which the news media build audiences for men’s sport while silencing and marginalizing women’s sport. Moreover, the overall lack of coverage of women’s sport, despite the tremendous increased participation of girls and w...

“It’s Dude Time!”: A Quarter Century of Excluding Women’s Sports in Televised News and Highlight Shows

Abstract: The last quarter century has seen a dramatic movement of girls and women into sport, but this social change is reflected unevenly in sports media. This study, a 5year update to a 25-year longitudinal study, indicates that the quantity of coverage of women’s sports in televised sports news and highlights shows remains dismally low. Even more so than in past iterations of this study, the lion’s share of coverage is given to the ‘‘big three’’ of men’s pro and college football, basketball, and baseball. The study reveals some qualitative changes over time, including a decline in the once-common tendency to present women as sexualized objects of humor replaced by a tendency to view women athletes in their roles as mothers. The analysis highlights a stark contrast between the exciting, amplified delivery of stories about men’s sports, and the often dull, matter-of-fact delivery of women’s sports stories. The article ends with suggestions for three policy changes that would move TV sports news and highlights shows toward greater gender equity and fairness.

Exploring Elite Female Athletes’ Interpretations of Sport Media Images: A Window Into the Construction of Social Identity and “Selling Sex” in Women’s Sports

Abstract: Scholars have produced a body of evidence demonstrating media portrayals of sportswomen emphasize femininity/heterosexuality versus athletic competence and argue that such coverage trivializes women’s sports. Little research attention has been given to how these portrayals are interpreted by various audiences, including female athletes. This study explores how elite female athletes respond to the ways they are represented within sport media. We employed reception research where viewers deconstruct the meaning of texts and how that meaning impacts their feelings toward a subject. We examined the subject of sportswomen’s dual identities to determine how they wished to be portrayed. Thirty-six team and individual sport athletes were shown images ranging from on-court competence to off-court soft pornography and asked to choose which image best represented themselves and their sport, as well as increased interest/respect for their sport. Results indicated that competence was the overwhelming choice for best “...

Dimensions of Social Media Utilization Among College Sport Fans

Abstract: As social media provide athletic departments and their constituents with an additional point of engagement with their fans, it is important to understand the social media audience. However, despite...

Reflections on Communication and Sport: On Women and Femininities

Abstract: In this essay, Toni Bruce considers key cultural and social issues at play in the relationship between mediated sport and women. The treatment reflects on over 30 years of research and assesses not only central tendencies and changes in the way media covers women’s sporting events and achievements but also considers how this coverage interplays with women’s sense of their place in and relationship to sport. The essay opens with core arguments about the cultural importance of the communication and sport intermix. The second section reflects on the author’s personal and scholarly journey with sport, touching on key themes and concerns in a gender- and sport-focused research agenda. The focus section “On Women and Femininities” considers diverse research from across the globe using different theoretical and methodological approaches. Highlighted in this section are research programs that illuminate the media’s central tendencies in covering women’s sports and the cultural and professional barriers to meaning...