Media, Accounts, and Coherence: ‘De Facto’ Impression Management of a Transgressing Sport Star in the Chicago Tribune
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2007 Media, Accounts, and Coherence: ‘De Facto’ Impression Management of a Transgressing Sport Star in The Chicago Tribune Erin Maureen Austin University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Austin, Erin Maureen, "Media, Accounts, and Coherence: ‘De Facto’ Impression Management of a Transgressing Sport Star in The Chicago Tribune. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2007. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/108 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Erin Maureen Austin entitled "Media, Accounts, and Coherence: ‘De Facto’ Impression Management of a Transgressing Sport Star in The Chicago Tribune." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Sociology. Lois Presser, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Stephanie A. Bohon, Suzanne Kurth Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Erin Maureen Austin entitled “Media, Accounts, and Coherence: ‘De Facto’ Impression Management of a Transgressing Sport Star in The Chicago Tribune.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts, with a major in Sociology. _________________________________ Lois Presser, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance __________________________________ Stephanie A. Bohon __________________________________ Suzanne Kurth Accepted for the Council: __________________________________ Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) MASS MEDIA, ACCOUNTS, AND COHERENCE: ‘DE FACTO’ IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT OF A TRANSGRESSING SPORT STAR IN THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Masters of Arts in Sociology The University of Tennessee at Knoxville Erin Maureen Austin December 2007 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated in memory of H.M. Knarr, Jr. His compassion, love, and strength that he gave to my family and me will never be forgotten. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people that I would like to thank for helping me finish this project. I am particularly thankful to my Thesis Committee, which consisted of Dr. Lois Presser, Dr. Suzanne Kurth, and Dr. Stephanie Bohon. Their feedback, encouragement, and guidance were invaluable to the success of this project. I would also like to express my thanks and appreciation to my family, particularly to my parents Deb and Mark Austin, to my brother Andy, to my sister Maggie, and to my boyfriend James Morrison for their continued love and support. Without their wishes, hopes, hugs, and kisses, I would have not had the strength to pull through. iii ABSTRACT Using the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case as an example, this thesis attempts to understand how the media, specifically The Chicago Tribune, maintain the consistency of a certain representation given changing or new information. A full analysis of all 274 news articles found in The Chicago Tribune from June 30, 2003 (the date the alleged sexual assault took place) through August 31, 2004 (the day before the charges were dismissed), revealed five devices by which journalists managed Bryant’s image. These devices are: (1) case is not paramount, (2) case is hindering basketball, (3) external lures are to blame, (4) silver lining in the allegations, and (5) “court-to-the-court.” The Tribune writers used these devices in order to maintain the newspaper’s credibility as a consistent news source. The newspaper’s credibility was salvaged through reconstruction efforts to reconcile Bryant’s prior, positive persona with the current reality of the sexual assault allegations. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1 Kobe Bryant, Celebrity Athlete .................................................................................. 1 Kobe Bryant’s Pre-Allegation Characterization in The Tribune ................................ 3 The Problematic of Allegations Against Bryant and the Mass Media........................ 9 Statement of the Research Question ......................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................................... 16 THE MASS MEDIA..................................................................................................... 16 The Importance of the Mass Media for Understanding Issues ................................. 16 Possible Person Types............................................................................................... 23 Credibility and the Mass Media................................................................................ 28 Impression Management........................................................................................... 37 ‘De Facto’ Impression Management......................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS.......................................................................... 45 Case Selection........................................................................................................... 46 Data Analysis............................................................................................................ 48 Coding for Themes ................................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 51 FINDINGS.................................................................................................................... 54 Case Is Not Paramount.............................................................................................. 54 Case Is Hindering Basketball.................................................................................... 56 External Lures Are to Blame .................................................................................... 64 Silver Lining in the Allegations................................................................................ 69 ‘Court To The Court’................................................................................................ 73 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS........................................................ 78 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 86 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 103 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................. 127 APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................. 128 VITA............................................................................................................................... 129 v CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION How do mass media outlets maintain credibility? In particular, how do they maintain a consistent line about an issue or person? How do they reconcile a certain position or depiction with changing or new information? To address these questions, this thesis will examine one newspaper’s reports on the sexual assault case of Los Angeles Lakers Basketball player Kobe Bryant. The Chicago Tribune, in its need to maintain credibility, provided a favorable reconstruction of Kobe Bryant while he was facing the sexual assault allegation. It is important to understand why the media construct and reconstruct persons in the news since the information they provide are the basic building blocks on how other individuals view the world. Kobe Bryant, Celebrity Athlete On June 30, 2003 Bryant was accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year old employee at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in Edwards, Colorado (Kohler 2003). Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert eventually dismissed the charges on September 1, 2004 after the accuser decided that she did not want to go forward with prosecution (Henson and Pugmire 2004). Kobe Bryant is the son of Pamela and Joe Bryant (Markoe 2002). Joe Bryant played professional basketball for the Italian Professional Basketball League (Markoe 2002) after playing professionally for the Philadelphia 76ers (Porter 2005). Bryant graduated from Lowe Merion High School in Ardore, Pennsylvania in 1996 (Porter 2005). During his senior year, he led the team to the state championship, became the all- 1 time leading scorer in Pennsylvania