Sports Infotainment
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Sports Infotainment: An Investigation of Sports Reporting Related to Babe Ruth and Tiger Woods A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at George Mason University by Cody Gaines Norman Bachelor of Arts George Mason University, 2012 Director: Craig Esherick, Associate Professor School of Recreation, Health and Tourism College of Education and Human Development Spring Semester 2017 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Copyright 2017 Cody Gaines Norman All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION This is dedicated to my wife Megan, who has been a constant source of support and encouragement throughout a pursuit of my career. I am truly thankful for having you – and our future daughter Sadie – in my life. This work is also dedicated to my parents, Kevin and Tammy Norman, who have always loved me unconditionally and whose good examples have taught me to work hard for the things I aspire to achieve. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very fortunate to have performed my graduate work at George Mason University; therefore, there are many people to thank for their part in my success. I would first like to thank my advisor, Professor Craig Esherick, for his continued patience and guidance throughout this process. I would also like to thank my thesis committee members Dr. Pierre Rodgers and Dr. Robert Baker for their contributions to this work. Finally, I would like to express deep gratitude to my family. Thank you all for providing support, encouragement and interest in my thesis work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Role of Media in Sport .................................................................................................... 2 Symbiotic Relationship Between Sport and Media......................................................... 4 Trends in Sport Media ..................................................................................................... 5 Model Research of Metropolitan Newspaper Coverage of the 1927 World Series ........ 7 Introduction of Key Players .......................................................................................... 10 Definition of Terms ....................................................................................................... 14 Goals and Focus......................................................................................................... 14 Hero ........................................................................................................................... 14 Style and Tone ........................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2: 1920s Sport Media and Its Role in Shaping the Myth of “The Babe” ............ 16 1920s: The Golden Age of Sportswriting ..................................................................... 16 Metropolitan Newspaper Coverage of the 1923 World Series ..................................... 19 Metropolitan Newspaper Coverage of Babe Ruth Following the 1925 Season ............ 21 Metropolitan Newspaper Coverage of the 1927 World Series ..................................... 24 Chapter 3: Major Differences in Modern Day Editorial Focus ........................................ 27 Chapter 4: Modern Day Sport media and its Role in Changing Public Perception of Tiger Woods ............................................................................................................................... 30 Metropolitan Newspaper Coverage of the 1997 Masters Tournament ......................... 31 Metropolitan Newspaper Coverage of Tiger Woods in the Aftermath of Infidelity Scandal .......................................................................................................................... 33 Metropolitan Newspaper Coverage of the 2011 Chevron World Challenge ................ 43 Chapter 5: Conclusion....................................................................................................... 46 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 47 v Recommendations for Future Research ........................................................................ 48 References ......................................................................................................................... 49 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1: Total Number of Articles in 1927 World Series (Carvalho’s Research) .............. 8 Table 2: Percentage of Short vs. Long Articles (Carvalho’s Research) ............................. 9 Table 3: Research Focus on Babe Ruth ............................................................................ 11 Table 4: Research Focus on Tiger Woods ........................................................................ 12 Table 5: Total No. of Articles During 1923 World Series ................................................ 20 Table 6: Percentage of Long vs. Short Articles During the 1923 World Series ............... 21 Table 7: Total Number of Articles Following 1925 Season ............................................. 23 Table 8: Percentage of Long vs. Short Articles after 1925 Season .................................. 24 Table 9: Total Number of Articles in the 1927 World Series ........................................... 25 Table 10: Percentage of Long vs. Short Articles in 1927 World Series ........................... 26 Table 11: Total Number of Articles in 1997 Masters Tournament .................................. 32 Table 12: Percentage of Long vs. Short Articles in 1997 Masters Tournament ............... 33 Table 13: Total Number of Articles in Aftermath of Infidelity Scandal .......................... 35 Table 14: Percentage of Long vs. Short Articles in Aftermath of Infidelity Scandal ....... 39 Table 15: Total Number of Articles in 2011 Chevron World Challenge ......................... 44 Table 16: Percentage of Long vs. Short Articles in 2011 Chevron World Challenge ...... 45 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1: Tiger Woods as the Disgraced Messiah ............................................................ 35 viii ABSTRACT SPORTS INFOTAINMENT: AN INVESTIGATION OF SPORTS REPORTING RELATED TO BABE RUTH AND TIGER WOODS Cody Gaines Norman, M.S. George Mason University, 2017 Thesis Director: Associate Professor Craig Esherick Contemporary sports heroes are all but extinct. Little research currently exists regarding the effect of media-constructed heroism on historical and modern day athletes, but this research depicts the seeming extinction of the ultimate athletic hero. Due in large part to the ever-changing quantity and quality of sports news coverage, two of the sports industry’s most recognizable athletes—Tiger Woods and Babe Ruth—have strikingly different reputations among the general population. This research uses a combination of cluster sampling and convenience sampling, as every article within a given constraint – namely date and media outlets – is used to make inferences about the tone and style of coverage of two “heroic” athletes throughout their illustrious careers. This research focuses specifically on the media coverage of Ruth and Woods during some of the highest and lowest points in their respective careers. It demonstrates a change in attitude and focus of sport media from ix Ruth’s first World Series championship in the early twentieth century through Woods’s resurgence to the top of the leaderboard in the 2011 Chevron World Challenge. x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The days of the “heroic” athlete are seemingly gone. While little research currently exists regarding the transformation of sport media and its effect on the heroism of historical and modern day athletes, this research acknowledges the seeming extinction of the athletic “hero” largely due to the tone and style of coverage by sports journalists – the first authors of historical record. According to Vande Berg (2002), heroism is best conveyed through the media: As a general rule, members of a society are separated from their heroes by time, space, and social class and therefore know their heroes only through stories, images, and other forms of information. In this sense, there are no such things as heroes, only communication about heroes. Without communication, there would be no hero (p. 136). Despite the fact that researchers estimate nearly 25 percent of newspapers sold, in large part, due to the refurbished sports sections, sports research in mass communication has gone largely ignored until the past decade (Wanta, 2013). This research compares and contrasts the unparalleled media coverage of two of the sports industry’s greatest athletes – Tiger Woods and Babe Ruth – in four major metropolitan newspapers – the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and The Washington Post – during some of the highest and lowest points of their respective careers. 1 The most impactful limitation in this study is extreme imbalance in the sheer number of modern media outlets. The emergence of social