Media - Society’s Most Powerful and Influential Purveyor of Cultural and Ideological Messages

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skewed in favor of men’s sports nearly a week later once the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Final Four had come to a close. On April 12, 2015, only one article concerning women’s sports was visible on the ESPN homepage, compared to 79 men’s sports articles. There were also neither any women’s sports scores nor “tweets” featured, while there were twelve men’s sports scores and 23 “tweets.” The same trend occurred during the next two days, as a combined 170 articles regarding men’s athletics were featured next to a combined two women’s sports articles, with both of these articles being presented on April 14, 2015. Between these two days, there were once again neither any women’s sports scores nor “tweets” published. Conversely, there were a combined 24 men’s sports scores along with 51 tweets recognizing men’s sports. Over the four days that I coded the ESPN website homepage, only one percent of sports articles, two percent of scores featured in “Top Scores,” and five percent of “tweets” pertained to women’s sports while the rest focused solely on men’s athletics. These findings were more dramatic than I had originally predicted despite the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Final Four occurring on one of the days I had coded the ESPN homepage. Not including that day would cause the data to be even more disproportionate, with zero percent of scores and “tweets” being published about women’s athletics, and less than one percent of articles pertaining to women’s sports. It is now clear that ESPN, the most popular name in sports-journalism, views male athletics as extensively more appealing and significant to its audience.

When asked why women’s athletics are not more frequently featured in daily sports media, media professionals will argue that they are simply providing that the public wants (Shaller, 52). What results, though, is the appearance that women’s sports are made out to be not nearly as important as their more masculine counterparts (Shaller, 52). As long as women’s sports hides behind the lofty shadow of men’s sports, the vast success of professional women’s sports will be nearly impossible to achieve. If women’s pro sports cannot tap into big advertising dollars, athlete salaries and purses will continue to be depressed along with the financial success of women’s pro leagues and tours (Lopiano). The effects are not only financial, but also psychological when it comes to female consumers of sports media. While ESPN does provide a greater amount of coverage during the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Final Four, publications regarding other women’s sports during the rest of the calendar year are nearly non-existent. This causes females, especially young girls, to observe a double standard in covering women’s sports (Lopiano). While male athletes receive media coverage based on skilled performance, the media will more likely focus on the physical attractiveness or non-sport-related activities of female athletes (Lopiano). This double standard devalues the athletic achievements of female athletes in society (Lopiano). Women’s athletics will most likely never be as popular as men’s sports. However, a greater effort should be made by the sports media to emphasize more coverage on women’s sports in order to properly project a positive image of a female athlete worth of respect and emulation into the minds of females across the globe.