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© Copyright ISSA and SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA, New Delhi)
[1012–6902 (200209) 37:3–4;303–318; 030895]
EXAMINING EQUITY IN NEWSPAPER
PHOTOGRAPHS
A Content Analysis of the Print Media Photographic Coverage of
Interscholastic Athletics
Paul Mark Pedersen
Bowling Green State University, USA
Abstract Sport has long been considered the generic preserve of males. Because of hegemonic
masculinity, females have encountered myriad obstacles in their quest to participate in and receive the
benefits from sports. The mass media have aided in the establishment of these barriers with their
biased coverage of the institution of sport. While the existence of under-representative and stereotyped coverage of females has been documented across the various media and sport participation
levels, there has not been any determination of equitable coverage at the interscholastic level. This
content analysis, through its investigation of the newspaper photographic coverage given to high
school athletics, seeks to fill this void. A total of 827 photographs were examined from 602
randomly selected newspaper issues. The sample was taken over a one-year timeframe from all the
daily newspapers (n = 43) based in the State of Florida. The study found that female athletics, even
when compared to the independent standards of enrollment, participation, and sports offered, were
significantly under-represented in number of photographs and total photographic column inches.
Male athletics not only received more photographic coverage, their photographs were also better
positioned and more likely to be color photographs. Collectively, the newspapers upheld hegemonic
masculinity through their under-representation and marginalization of high school female athletics.
Key words • content analysis • hegemonic masculinity • interscholastic athletics • newspaper •
photographic coverage
People are affected by what the mass media choose to let them hear, see, and read
(Riffe et al., 1998). Of all the socialization influences that work to shape the
skills, values, norms, and behaviors of individuals, the mass media appear as one
of the most prevalent and powerful (Duncan, 1990; Lumpkin and Williams,
1991). The print and broadcast media are potent in their ability to create and
maintain societal perspectives (Fink, 1998; Kane, 1988). Through their gatekeeping function, they provide what is seen, heard, and read, along with the type
and amount of coverage given. Overall, societal thoughts and actions can be
influenced by the mass media (Creedon, 1994; Kane and Greendorfer, 1994;
Sage, 1998).
This study was a content analysis of the newspaper photographic coverage
provided to female and male high school athletics. A content analysis, according
to Rintala and Birrell (1984: 233), ‘assumes that people are influenced in some
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manner and to some extent’ by what they hear, see, or read from the mass media.
In sport, what the media choose to cover and how they provide this coverage has
an influence on who participates in sports, is recognized for that participation,
and reaches a certain level of fulfillment through that participation. This is
because the media, through their biased coverage, work to provide barriers to
participation by females in sport (Mathesen and Flatten, 1996; Theberge and
Cronk, 1986). The stereotyped, trivialized, and under-represented attention given
to sportswomen works to hinder the advancement of females in sports, from
grade school all the way to professional sports (Bryant, 1980; Rintala and Birrell,
1984; Salwen and Wood, 1994). Because sport participation levels are affected
by the coverage provided by the media, this study on newspaper photographic
coverage was important to determine if there is a coverage bias against females
by the print media.
The prominence, influence, and effects of the mass media warrant and
demand an analysis of this institution and its role in gender relations. An examination of the mass media is both useful and vital as this institution is a contributing force and a pervasive variable in the way in which a society comes to know
and understand gender relations and gender role differentiation and socialization,
attitude formation, and career development (Betterton, 1987; Buysse, 1992; Low
and Sherrard, 1999). This is particularly true for an analysis of the mass media
and their coverage of sportswomen (Boutilier and SanGiovanni, 1983).
How sportswomen are treated by the mass media can be analyzed conceptually through the use of hegemonic theory (Gramsci, 1971; Sage, 1998). In particular, this study’s gender-based content analysis uses hegemonic masculinity
(Duncan and Brummett, 1993; Kane and Disch, 1993; McKay and Rowe, 1987;
Theberge, 1987) to focus on the amount and type of newspaper photographic
coverage given to high school athletics. This research, because of its focus on
interscholastic athletics and its use of three independent standards (school enrollment, sports offered, and rates of sport participation), provides a unique contribution to the literature on gender studies in sport.
Hegemonic Theory
Two of the most prominent and hegemonic social institutions and cultural practices in society today are the mass media and sport (Duncan and Brummett, 1993;
Kane and Disch, 1993; Sage, 1998). Sport and the mass media are inextricably
linked together in a symbiotic relationship. These two institutions rely on each
other — the mass media sell sport and sport sells the mass media. One of the most
relevant hegemonic activities within sport and the mass media is directly related
to gender. As Kane (1989) noted, for centuries sport has been so tied with males
that athletics and masculinity have almost become synonymous. Sport, as a hegemonic social institution, naturalizes men’s power and privilege over women
(Sabo and Jansen, 1992). Furthermore, the mass media, through much of their
representation of sportswomen, hegemonically sanction the power and privilege
that is found in sport (Daddario, 1994). The mass media, through their work as
one of the most salient and powerful societal institutions by which the dominant
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ideology is articulated, help to produce, reproduce, and sustain the hegemonic
society (Cho, 1993; Hargreaves, 1986; McGregor, 1989). Graber (1997: 3) noted
that through the process in which the mass media indicate which views and
behaviors are deemed important or unimportant, in a given society, the mass
media ‘present a set of cultural values that their audiences are likely to accept in
whole or in part as typical of American society. The media thus help to integrate
and homogenize American society.’ Thus, hegemony exists in sport and is supported by the media’s coverage of that institution.
Hegemonic Masculinity
Through their creation and reflection of societal attitudes concerning female and
male athletes, the media work to strengthen the hegemony that is found in sport.
Specifically, whether through production, reproduction, or legitimization, the
media are participants in the maintenance of masculine hegemony in sport
(Creedon, 1994; Kane and Disch, 1993; Kane and Greendorfer, 1994; McGregor,
1989; Urquhart and Crossman, 1999). Hegemonic masculinity is the acceptance
of masculinity as the defining characteristic of western society that places women
in the position they are. In a society of hegemonic masculinity, women are considered off limits in certain areas, sport being one of the most obvious (Bryson,
1987; Hargreaves, 1986). Sportswomen are kept out or limited because sport,
through its emphasis on masculinity, affirms male power and control (Theberge,
1987). The mass media and sport then work to create, reflect, and refract this
hegemonic masculinity. The powerlessness of women and other subordinated
groups is explained away as common sense or the natural order of things
(Donaldson, 1993). Thus, the mass media and sport are considered the generic
preserve of men (Daddario, 1997). Through their symbiotic relationship with
sport, the mass media participate in the oppression of women and other marginalized groups (Daddario, 1994; Duncan and Brummett, 1993; Duncan and
Hasbrook, 1988; Sabo and Jansen, 1992).
Many scholars have documented how the institutions of sport and the mass
media perpetuate and contribute to male dominance in society (Buysse, 1992;
Daddario, 1994; Eitzen and Zinn, 1989; Hall, 1984, 1985). The way this is
accomplished in sport is through an overwhelming masculine coverage bias while
at the same time minimizing or trivializing the accomplishments of sportswomen
(Eitzen and Zinn, 1989; McKay and Rowe, 1987). Through their coverage of
sports, the mass media work to promote male supremacy and female subordination. Therefore, sport and the mass media function hegemonically to reproduce
and reinforce the dominant ideology of gender order in society (Theberge, 1987;
Trujillo, 1995).
Over the past several decades, research (mainly through content analyses) of
masculine hegemonic theory as it relates to the mass media’s treatment of sportswomen has found females to be under-represented, stereotyped, trivialized, and
marginalized. All of these aspects of mass media coverage work to deny power
to sportswomen through the maintenance of masculine hegemony and to construct women’s position in sport as one of otherness (Pirinen, 1997). Bryson
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(1983: 423) stated that the mass media coverage of sportswomen results in a
‘mobilization of bias’ by which male and masculine interests are favored at the
expense of female and feminine interests. McKay and Rowe (1987: 262) added
that by providing mainly peripheral coverage of sportswomen, the mass media
reinforce ‘beliefs that sport is an activity at which males are naturally more adept
than females’.
The attention given to the print media’s coverage of female athletics is a
phenomenon of the past 30 years. The research on the print media’s coverage of
sportswomen has been mostly concentrated in the countries of Australia, New
Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Mathesen and Flatten,
1996; O’Rourke, 1994). Overall, most of the studies show a similar symbolic
annihilation of sportswomen in newspapers to that shown for other forms of
the mass media. Newspaper coverage of women’s sports and female athletes is
limited and stereotypical because the newspapers choose to give coverage to
items they consider newsworthy based on dominant cultural standards. Both what
the newspapers consider newsworthy and what they report on have been rooted
in the concept of hegemonic masculinity (Bryant and McElroy, 1997; Theberge
and Cronk, 1986). Even the most recent research (Jones et al., 1999; Mathesen
and Flatten, 1996; Urquhart and Crossman, 1999; Wann et al., 1998) on the
coverage bias in the print media consistently reveals how newspapers continue to
uphold the masculine hegemony of sport.
While the previous studies regarding hegemonic masculinity and the media
have provided valuable information regarding the coverage given to intercollegiate, recreational, and professional female athletes, there has yet to be an
examination of the degree to which newspapers under-represent and marginalize
females who participate at the high school level. Therefore, in an attempt to fill
this void, the purpose of this study was to determine if hegemonic masculinity is
upheld in the print media’s photographic coverage of interscholastic athletics. In
an effort to determine the degree of equitable coverage, this study analyzed the
type and amount of photographs given to male and female high school sports.
Hypotheses
Based on the results of the previous research of the media’s coverage of female
and male athletics, four hypotheses were developed for this study:
1. Male athletics will receive disproportionately more photographic coverage
([A] number of photographs and [B] size of photographs) than female athletics.
2. Male athletics will receive disproportionately more prominent photographic
placement (i.e. front page above the crease) than female athletics.
3. Male athletics will receive disproportionately more color photographic
coverage while female athletics receive disproportionately more black and
white photographic coverage.
4. Male athletics will receive disproportionately more action photographs while
female athletics receive disproportionately more still and posed shots.
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Methodology
This study was a content analysis of photographs of interscholastic athletics
appearing over a one-year period in all daily general circulation newspapers
(n = 43) based in the State of Florida. The sampling frame selected for this content analysis was from 1 June 1999 through 31 May 2000. According to Riffe et
al. (1998), the most efficient stratified sampling method for inferring to a year’s
content for daily newspapers is to sample two constructed weeks from the year.
Through stratified random sampling, two constructed weeks (14 issues) were
randomly chosen as the sample from each of the 43 Florida daily newspapers.
The total sample size for this study was 602 issues, consisting of 86 issues from
each day of the week selected.
The study involved a descriptive analysis of the photographic areas (mug
shots, still shots, action shots, etc.) of high school sports. Twelve measures for
each photograph were coded by two trained individuals who worked independently of each other to code the daily issues from the sample selected. After
pre-coding and pilot study sessions, the two coders first independently examined
the same 120 randomly selected newspaper sports sections (20% of the sample)
to test intercoder reliability. To perform this test, the variables for the unit of
analysis (photograph) were examined for agreement between coders and then,
through the use of Scott’s (1955) Pi, corrected for chance agreement between
coders. This study had very high numbers relating to percentages of agreement
(all above 84%) and corrections for chance agreement (all above .845). These
numbers are understandable as most of the material coded for this study had
manifest content (i.e. location, color, gender, and sport) and the two coders had
become thoroughly familiar with the coding protocol and codebook by the time
this study was conducted. After intercoder reliability coding was completed, the
remaining 482 issues were randomly divided between and coded by the two
coders.
Data Analysis
Statistical analysis was used to determine if any difference between the photographic coverage devoted to female and male athletics existed. The chosen
statistic was the chi-square test, the most commonly used statistical analysis in
content analysis (Riffe et al., 1998). The analysis of data included a determination of proportional and disproportional coverage. In order for there to be an
accurate comparison of the amount of coverage given to female and male athletics, it must be tested against an independent standard (Shifflett and Revelle,
1994). Malec (1994) stated that a percentage comparison of media coverage to
school enrollment could be used to decide if there is equitable media coverage.
Urquhart and Crossman (1999) argued that the independent standard is best
accomplished by placing gender equity in sport reporting in the context of participation rates. Wann et al. (1998) added the independent standard of university
enrollment in their analysis of equitable coverage in the sports sections of
university-sponsored newspapers. Because all three independent standards could
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be applied to this study of interscholastic athletics, it was decided that all three
would be used to determine proportional coverage.
The first way to determine equitable coverage in this study was to make a
percentage comparison between actual coverage allotted and participation rates
of female and male high school athletes. During the timeframe in which this study
was conducted, there were 200,694 participants in interscholastic athletics, with
57.5 percent male and 42.5 percent female. The second independent standard —
the gender makeup of sports offered — found that there were 18 (51.4%) sports
offered to females and 17 (48.6%) sports offered to males. The third independent
standard was the gender makeup of school enrollment in the State of Florida; at
the time of this study there were 637,945 students enrolled in 9th–12th grades
with 49.5 percent female and 50.5 percent male.
Results
The 602 editions selected for this study yielded for analysis 827 photographs pertaining to interscholastic athletics. The 43 newspapers used in this study averaged
19.2 photographs across the 14 selected issues for each publication. This was a
publication rate of 1.37 photographs for each edition that hit the newsstand. Just
over half (53.3% or 441 photographs) of the 827 photographs that were included
in this study were found on the inside pages of the selected newspapers. One-third
(33.4% or 276 photographs) of all the photographic images were above the crease
on the front page (prime photographs), while the remaining 110 photographs
(13.3%) were bottom-front photographs (below the crease on the front page).
Of the 827 photographs that were included in this study, 454 (54.9%) of the
photographs were black and white. The rest of the photographs (45.1% or 373
photographs) were coded as color. Two-thirds (66.7% or 552 photographs) of the
photographs pertained to male athletics. Nearly one-third (32.6% or 270 photographs) of the photographs were coded as female. The remaining five (0.6%)
‘combined’ photographs involved pictures that included both male and female
high school athletes. The average female photograph was 9.2 column inches, the
average male photograph was 9.1 column inches, and the average overall photographic area was 9.1 column inches.
In the most latent variable involved in this study, the coders were asked to
identify what type of photograph was being recorded. The coders had to choose
between an action shot (sport-related action), still shot (coaches and players not
in action but in sport-related setting), mug shot (head shot), or posed shot (outside sport-related setting). Just over half (50.9% or 421 photographs) of the 827
photographs were classified as action shots. Mug shots (284) were the second
highest classification, as these head shots of athletes, coaches, and related high
school personnel made up 34.3% of all the photographs used in this study. The
remaining photographs were classified as still shots (8.0% or 66 photographs)
and posed shots (6.8% or 56 photographs).
The length (in column inches) was the final measure in photograph coding.
The average length for the 827 photographs was 9.13 column inches. The photographs combined to provide a total of 7549 inches to high school athletics over
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the one-year time frame. The photographs ranged from two through 48 column
inches.
Results of Hypothesis Testing
Although there was a marked difference between observed frequencies of photographic coverage (number of photographs and number of photographic column
inches) allotted to female and male athletics, a chi-square test was used to test for
significance. Therefore, for both parts of Hypothesis 1 (A and B), a chi-square
statistic was used in order to determine if male athletics received disproportionately more newspaper coverage (number of photographs and number of photographic inches) than female athletics. The three independent standards (gender
breakdown of enrollment, sports participation rates, and number of sports offered
to females and males) were used to postulate the frequencies that were expected
in the coverage of female and male athletics.
Hypothesis 1A
This hypothesis used the number of photographs allotted to female and male
athletics as the actual frequencies. Both the observed frequencies (number of
photographs) and expected frequencies (independent standard percentages) for
this sample are shown in table format (Tables 1–3). In all three tables, there was
a significant difference in the size of the observed and expected frequencies of the
data. Therefore, this hypothesis was supported as the data revealed that male
athletics received a statistically significant higher number of photographs. Compared to all three independent standards, male high school athletics received disproportionately more newspaper photographic coverage (number of photographs)
than did female high school athletics.
Hypothesis 1B
For this hypothesis, the number of photographic column inches allotted to female
and male high school athletics was used as the actual frequency. Both the
observed frequencies (actual photographic column inches) and expected frequencies (independent standard percentages) for this sample are shown in table format
(Tables 4–6). In all three tables, there was a significant difference in the size of
the observed and expected frequencies of the data. Therefore, this hypothesis was
supported as the data revealed that male athletics received statistically significant
more photographic column inches. Compared to all three independent standards,
male athletics received disproportionately more newspaper photographic coverage (number of photographic column inches) than did female athletics.
Hypothesis 2
This hypothesis dealt with the placement of the photographs relating to gender. It
stated that male athletics would receive disproportionately more prominent
photographic display (i.e. front page above the crease) than would female athDownloaded from irs.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on February 20, 2016
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Table 1 Hypothesis 1A-1: observed and expected frequencies of
female and male photographs (enrollment)
Gender
Actual no. of
photographs
Expected no. of
photographs
Female
Male
270
552
407
415
Total
822
822
χ2 =91.3, d.f.=1, p < .05
Table 2 Hypothesis 1A-2: observed and expected frequencies of
female and male photographs (participation)
Gender
Actual no. of
photographs
Expected no. of
photographs
Female
Male
270
552
349
473
Total
822
822
χ2 =31.1, d.f.=1, p < .05
Table 3 Hypothesis 1A-3: observed and expected frequencies of
female and male photographs (sports offered)
Gender
Actual no. of
photographs
Expected no. of
photographs
Female
Male
270
552
423
399
Total
822
822
χ2 =114.0, d.f. = 1, p < .05
letics. There were 827 high school photographs that were included in this study.
Sixty percent (162 photographs) of the 270 photographs about female athletics
were located on the inside pages of the daily newspapers. Another 71 (26.3%)
photographs were located on the front page above the crease. The remaining
photographs (13.7% or 37 photographs) were found on the bottom half of the
front page. As for male athletics, just over 50 percent (50.4% or 278 photographs)
of the 552 photographs devoted to male athletics were located on the inside
pages. Another 203 (36.8%) of the photographs were on the front page above the
crease while the remaining 71 (12.9%) photographs were located below the
crease on the front page.
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Table 4 Hypothesis 1B-1: observed and expected frequencies of
female and male photographic column inches (enrollment)
Gender
Actual no. of
photographs
Expected no. of
photographs
Female
Male
2478
4997
3700
3775
Total
7475
7475
χ2 =799.2, d.f. = 1, p < .05
Table 5 Hypothesis 1B-2: observed and expected frequencies of
female and male photographic column inches (participation)
Gender
Actual no. of
photographs
Expected no. of
photographs
Female
Male
2478
4997
3177
4298
Total
7475
7475
χ2 =267.5, d.f. = 1, p < .05
Table 6 Hypothesis 1B-3: observed and expected frequencies of
female and male photographic column inches (sports offered)
Gender
Actual no. of
photographs
Expected no. of
photographs
Female
Male
2478
4997
3842
3633
Total
7475
7475
χ2 =996.4, d.f. = 1, p < .05
Again, chi-square was used to determine the relationship between two variables (gender and photograph location). The chi-square statistic tested whether
gender (female and male) was associated with photograph location (front top,
front bottom, and inside). As Table 7 reveals, there was a statistically significant
difference in the size of the observed (number of photographs) and expected
(number of photographs) frequencies of the data as they related to photograph
location. Therefore, this hypothesis was supported as the data revealed that male
athletics received statistically significant more prominent (front page above the
crease) photographic coverage. Male athletics received disproportionately more
prominent photographic display than did female athletics.
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Hypothesis 2: photograph placement according to gender
Gender
Front top
(expected)
Front bottom
(expected)
Inside
(expected)
Total
Female
Male
71 (90)
203 (184)
37 (36)
71 (73)
162 (145)
278 (296)
270
552
Total
274
108
440
822
χ2 =9.217, d.f. = 2, p < .05
Table 8
Hypothesis 3: color of photographs by gender
Gender
Black and white photos
(expected)
Color photos
(expected)
Total
Female
Male
175 (148)
275 (302)
95 (122)
277 (249)
270
552
Total
450
372
822
χ2 =16.458, d.f. = 1, p < .05
Hypothesis 3
This hypothesis, which dealt with the quality of photographs in relation to
gender, stated that male athletics would receive disproportionately more color
photographic coverage while female athletics would receive disproportionately
more black and white photographic coverage. Nearly two-thirds (64.8% or 175
photographs) of the 270 photographs of female athletics included in this study
were black and white. The remaining 95 (35.2%) photographs of female athletics
were color photographs. As for the male athletics, just over half (50.2% or 277
photographs) of the 552 photographs devoted to male athletics were color photographs. The remaining 275 (49.8%) photographs of male athletics were black and
white photographs.
A chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between two variables (gender and photographic quality). The chi-square statistic tested whether
gender (female and male) was associated with the quality of photographs (color
photographs and black and white photographs). As Table 8 reveals, there was a
statistically significant difference in the size of the observed (number of photographs) and expected (number of photographs) frequencies of the data. The chisquare test indicated a significant difference between the color of photographs
devoted to female and male athletics. Therefore, this hypothesis was supported as
the data revealed that male athletics received statistically significant more color
photographs and female received statistically significant more black and white
photographs. Male high school athletics received disproportionately more color
photographic coverage in the selected newspapers, while female athletics
received disproportionately more black and white photographic coverage.
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Table 9 Hypothesis 4: type of photographic coverage in relation
to gender
Gender
Action shot
(expected)
Still shot
(expected)
Mug shot
(expected)
Posed shot
(expected)
Total
Female
Male
132 (138)
287 (281)
24 (21)
41 (44)
89 (93)
194 (190)
25 (18)
30 (37)
270
552
Total
419
65
283
55
822
χ2 =5.047, d.f. = 3, p < .168
Hypothesis 4
This hypothesis, which dealt with the type of photographic coverage that was
given, stated that male athletics would receive disproportionately more action
photographs while female athletics would receive disproportionately more still
and posed shots. Nearly half (48.9% or 132 photographs) of the 270 photographs
about female athletics included in this study were action shots. Another 33% (89
photographs) of the photographs of female athletics were mug shots. The remaining photographs of female athletics were posed (9.3% or 25 photographs) or still
(8.9% or 24 photographs) shots. As for male athletics, just over half (52% or 287
photographs) of the 552 photographs devoted to male athletics were action shots.
Another 194 (35.1%) photographs were mug shots while the remaining photographs were either still (7.4% or 41 photographs) or posed (5.4% or 30 photographs) shots.
A chi-square test was once again used to determine the relationship between
two variables (gender and photograph type). The chi-square statistic tested
whether gender (female and male) was associated with type of photograph —
action shot (athletes in sport-related action), still shot (coaches and players not in
action but in sport-related setting), mug shot (head shot of athlete or coach), and
posed shot (outside sport-related setting). As Table 9 reveals, there was not a
statistically significant difference in the size of the observed (number of action,
still, mug, and posed photographs) and expected (the expected number of action,
still, mug, and posed photographs) frequencies of the data as they related to type
of photograph. The chi-square test indicated there was no difference between the
type of photographs devoted to female and male athletics. Therefore, this hypothesis was not supported as the data revealed that male athletics did not receive
statistically significant more action shots and female athletics did not receive statistically significant more still or posed shots. Male athletics did not receive
disproportionately more action photographs and female athletics did not receive
disproportionately more still and posed photographs.
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Discussion
This study attempted to determine whether or not hegemonic masculinity was
upheld by the print media’s coverage of interscholastic athletics. Specifically, the
study examined the amount and type of photographic newspaper coverage given
to female and male high school athletics. By studying the similarities and differences in the coverage provided to each gender, further knowledge was gained as
to how equitable the mass media are in their coverage of sports.
An overall difference was found in the amount and type of coverage given to
female and male high school athletics. All but one of this study’s research
hypotheses were supported. Therefore, in keeping with the symbiotic relationship
between sports and the mass media, the majority of the results of this study found
that the newspapers reaffirmed hegemonic masculinity. Consistent with the
majority of the literature on this subject, females were consistently given underrepresented and biased photographic coverage by the print media in this study. Of
the study’s 827 photographs, 32.6 percent were devoted to female athletics while
66.7 percent were about male athletics. Additionally, of the 7549 photographic
column inches included in this study, 32.8 percent were devoted to female
athletics and 66.2 percent were given to male athletics.
Clearly, from the percentages noted above, female high school athletics were
not given as much photographic coverage as male high school athletics. Many
studies have used such raw percentage comparisons explanations of the inequitable coverage of sportswomen by the mass media. This study, however, tested
these percentages against three independent standards in order to receive a more
accurate comparison of the coverage discrepancies. Across all three comparisons
(enrollment, participation, and sports offered), the data still revealed that male
athletics received significantly more photographs and more photograph column
inches. Male high school athletics clearly received disproportionately more
newspaper photographic coverage than did female athletics. The photographic
coverage of high school athletics in this study was a gender characteristic. The
print media, even in its photographic coverage of interscholastic athletics, failed
to break from the stronghold of hegemonic masculinity and continued to underrepresent female athletics in its photographic coverage.
Male athletics not only received more photographic coverage than did female
athletics, the photographs concerning male athletics also were better positioned
than those about female athletics. Only 26.3 percent of the female photographs
were on the front page above the crease as compared to 36.8 percent of the male
photographs. Therefore, male high school athletics received disproportionately
more prominent photographic display than did female high school athletics.
These results are consistent with the previous literature on the mass media and
sport. Not only were female athletics under-represented, the newspapers also
provided them with less prominent visibility when they were covered. Through
this type of coverage, the print media continued in its role of hegemonically sanctioning the power and privilege that is found in sport to male athletics (Daddario,
1994; Sage, 1998). By giving less prominent photographic positioning to female
athletics, the newspapers indicated that they deemed female sports participation
as less important and less newsworthy than male sports participation. Such
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actions reconfirm the hegemonic masculinity that is found in sport and the mass
media.
Further evidence of uneven newspaper coverage was evidenced in this study.
The photographs of male athletics, in addition to receiving better placement on
the pages of the sports sections, were also more likely to be color photographs
than the photographs of female athletics. Over half (50.2%) of the male athletics
photographs were color as compared to 35.2 percent of the female athletics
photographs. While sometimes not as obvious as other biased coverage, the
newspapers continued to perpetuate and contribute to male dominance by providing disproportionately more color photographs to males (and inversely
disproportionately more black and white photographs to female athletics). Such
unfair coverage marginalized and trivialized the sporting activities of interscholastic female athletics. Through their coverage of sports, the newspapers in
this study promoted male supremacy and female subordination by giving higher
quality coverage to male athletics than they did to female athletics.
A surprisingly inconsistent finding of this study when compared to other
research of the mass media and their photographic coverage of sports (Duncan,
1990; Duncan and Hasbrook, 1988; McKay, 1997; Theberge, 1987) was that
there was no association between gender and the type (action, still, mug, and
posed) of photograph. In this study, while female athletics were disproportionately under-represented, when they were covered their photographs were just as
likely as male athletics photographs to be either an action, still, mug, or posed
shot. This finding is different from the majority of the research on the subject as
male athletics usually receive disproportionately more action photographs and
female athletics have been shown to usually receive disproportionately more still
and posed photographs (Duncan, 1990). Female athletes in other studies have
received disproportionately more photographic coverage in passive, glamorous,
sexy, and still shots. This was not the case in this study as female and male
athletics were just as likely to be captured photographically in active or still shots.
One explanation of this unusual finding might be the subjects that were covered
in this study. Most other studies have focused on populations older than the high
school focus of this study. It might be that newspapers find it easier to photographically portray female high school athletes in active poses than they do with
older sportswomen (i.e. Olympic competitors, professional athletes); or older
sportswomen are more explicitly sexualized in photographic press coverage.
Overall, the results of this study provide evidence that the print media
worked to reaffirm hegemonic masculinity even at the high school level of sports
participation. By providing mainly peripheral and stereotypical coverage of
sportswomen, the mass media reinforce, according to McKay and Rowe (1987:
262), ‘beliefs that sport is an activity at which males are naturally more adept than
females’. The way in which this phenomenon was evidenced in this study was
through the under-representative and trivialized photographic coverage of female
high school athletics. With the exception of the type of photograph, the newspapers in this study upheld hegemonic masculinity in all of the other aspects of
photographic coverage.
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Conclusions
Previous studies, while examining other levels of sport participation, have shown
how through their biased coverage the media show sport to be the generic
preserve of males. Although the scope of this study was new (interscholastic
athletics), the result was the same. The photographic coverage given to interscholastic athletics by the newspapers selected for this study worked to reaffirm
hegemonic masculinity. For the most part, the newspapers considered sport off
limits to females, as evidenced in their overwhelming masculine coverage bias
that under-represented and minimized the accomplishments of female high school
athletics. Therefore, the print media in this study perpetuated and contributed to
hegemonic masculinity through an overwhelming masculine coverage bias.
The result of this study is more than an affirmation of a concept, it is a partial explanation for those who might question why more females are not participating in sport. As noted earlier, barriers to participation by females in sport are
created through biased media coverage (Mathesen and Flatten, 1996; Theberge
and Cronk, 1986). Therefore, by providing inequitable photographic coverage of
female high school athletics, the newspapers contributed to the establishment of
barriers for females to participate in sports. As pointed out by Rintala and Birrell
(1984) and Salwen and Wood (1994), the advancement of females in sports is
hindered by the marginalized coverage provided by the mass media. The coverage bias of the newspapers in this study worked to hinder the involvement of
females in sport. This limitation is not something that should be ignored because
when females are hindered in their participation in sporting activities they lose
out on the myriad benefits that are provided through involvement in sport. Lastly,
while unbiased attention should help reduce barriers to participation by females,
it should also be a simple matter of fairness — a foundational aspect of the newspaper business — that there is equitable and representative coverage of both girls
and boys in interscholastic athletics.
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Paul Mark Pedersen is an assistant professor in Sport Management at Bowling
Green State University. A former sportswriter for the Palm Beach Post, Pedersen
holds degrees from Palm Beach Atlantic College, Emerson College, and the
University of Central Florida. His PhD in Sport Management is from Florida
State University.
Address: Paul M. Pedersen, Sport Management, Recreation, and Tourism
Division, School of HMSLS, C229 Eppler Complex, Bowling Green State
University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA.
Email: [email protected]
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