By-Play Dialogues Within the National Football League A
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THOSE “DAMN” WOMEN: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF MALE AND FEMALE PLAY- BY-PLAY DIALOGUES WITHIN THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS BY TYLER BRADFIELD DR. DOM CARISTI – ADVISOR BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA MAY 2019 THOSE “DAMN” WOMEN 1 ABSTRACT THESIS PROJECT: Those “Damn” Women: A Content Analysis of Male and Female Play-by- Play Dialogues within the National Football League STUDENT: Tyler Bradfield DEGREE: Master of Arts COLLEGE: Communication, Information, and Media DATE: May 2019 PAGES: 130 This study presents a quantitative analysis of the dialogues from four primetime national television play-by-play broadcasters within the NFL. In 2017, Beth Mowins became the first woman in the history of the NFL to step into a primetime national television booth. Mowins called the second opening-week ESPN Monday Night Football game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos on September 11, 2017. After the telecast, Mowins was met with an outcry of complaints from fans on social media. Many of the remarks were steeped in sexism. This study examines the root of those complaints, while using Impression Formation Theory as the guiding framework. Through a content analysis, four of the NFL’s primetime television announcers (Jim Nantz, Al Michaels, Joe Buck, and Beth Mowins) are tested through 10 variables. Those variables include the handling of scoring plays, the frequency of corrections, bias, historical knowledge, NFL rules knowledge, terminology, questions to their analyst, airtime, access, and statistical use. Tested through chi-squared (also written χ2 test) and Fisher’s exact test, this study shows there is little to no difference in the language use between Mowins and the three male broadcasters within these 10 variables. Therefore, this study suggests the social media complaints by fans cannot be based upon Mowins’ ability to provide a television play-by-play call of an NFL game. THOSE “DAMN” WOMEN 2 DEDICATION I dedicate this project to the past, present, and future women who choose to pursue a career in sports media. The opportunity for women to work within sports and sports media is steadily growing. This atmosphere creates for a desirable time for females. Those women pursuing the industry are helping break down gender stereotypes and issues of inequality within sports. I dedicate this project to them. I also dedicate this thesis to my father, Mike, and my mother, Lonnie, for always allowing me to pursue my goals and dreams, regardless of the sacrifice. To my sister, Molly, along with my countless extended family members who have offered constant love and support through this process, thank you. Lastly, I dedicate this project to Chris Taylor, a lecturer of telecommunications at Ball State University. Without him the idea of graduate school would have never crossed my mind. I owe many of my successes and accomplishments to him and his fostering guidance. THOSE “DAMN” WOMEN 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe my sincere thanks and appreciation to Dr. Dom Caristi, Dr. Ashley Donnelly, and Dr. Jennifer Palilonis for their patience and willingness to help in oversight of this research project. Without them and their encouragement this project would not be possible. I appreciate their support of my academic career at Ball State University and my career interests. Additionally, I owe my thanks to Dr. Kianre Eouanzoui for assistance with the statistical analysis. THOSE “DAMN” WOMEN 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 2 Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………………… 3 Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………………... 4 Chapter 1: Introduction and History …………………………………………………………….. 5 Research Question & Goal History of NFL and NFL Television Coverage History and Inclusion of Women in Sports and Sports Media Current Role of Women in NFL Television Coverage Chapter 2: Review of Literature ……………………………………………………………..… 33 Sports Serving as Metaphors for Gender Roles Problems Women Face in Sports Media Impression Formation Theory Academic Studies on Credibility and Authoritativeness Chapter 3: Methodology and Study ……………………………………………………………. 53 Content Analysis Design Sampling Variables Pre-Tests Hypothesis Chapter 4: Results ……………………………………………………………………………… 68 Handling of Scoring Plays Corrections Bias Historical Knowledge NFL Rules Knowledge Terminology Qualification Factor / Questions Airtime / Analyst Integration Access Statistics Chapter 5: Discussion and Analysis …………………………………………………………… 96 Analysis of Results Research Question Answered Limitations Future Studies Final Thoughts References ……………………………………………………………………………………...120 THOSE “DAMN” WOMEN 5 Chapter 1: Introduction and History “The only thing that really bugs me about television’s coverage [of sports] is those damn women they have down on the sidelines who don’t know what the hell they’re talking about,” remarked Andy Rooney, a former CBS News and 60 Minutes commentator. The degrading comment was made in October 2002 on the Boomer Esiason Show airing on the Madison Square Garden Network (Grubb & Billiot, 2010, p. 89). Rooney added, “I mean, I’m not a sexist person, but a woman has no business being down there trying to make some comment about a football game.” A decade later in January 2013, ESPN’s Brent Musburger signed off a national college basketball telecast by inserting a similar, yet unexpected, sexist remark toward his female sideline reporter, Holly Rowe. “Once again, your final score, Kansas 61, Baylor 44. Coming up next, SportsCenter. For Fran Franschilla and Holly Rowe, who was really smokin’ tonight, I want to say so long from Lawrence.” Musburger placed a heightened emphasis on “really smokin” to slyly deliver the sexist comment. These two examples summarize the longstanding perception many sports fans and members of the sports media industry hold toward female sports broadcasters (Chase, 2013). Viewers have perceived women, for years, within sports media as sideline eye candy (Doyle, 2013). As a result, female sportscasters have been, and continue to be, pigeon holed into reduced roles and struggle to establish credibility. The ongoing lack of inclusion of women in prominent on-air roles in major American professional sports television, lends to a belief that female announcers are not as adequate as male broadcasters. Ongoing debates over a female sportscaster’s place in a male locker room continue to linger among media critics. Other issues, such as viewers holding women sportscasters to differing standards of evaluation, have drawn THOSE “DAMN” WOMEN 6 attention for the last several decades. Each of these issues funnels into a greater, more concerning, societal trend pertaining to gender roles and inequality in sports. Throughout the centuries, sports have been a domain dominated by men. In many ways, men define their masculinity through sports. Strength and bravery are qualities traditionally associated with males. The ongoing competitive nature of sports serves as a continual mechanism for building, validating, and highlighting manliness. As a result, sports foster opportunities for men to display and express their masculinity (Grubb & Billiot, 2010). This nature creates considerable challenges for females (like Mowins) who attempt to enter and establish careers in the venue which sports are shown and consumed. This venue is commonly known as sports media or sports television. Research Question & Goal Substantial research exists on topics like gender stereotypes and gender inequality in the work place, which will be reviewed in the second chapter. A number of researchers have even narrowed into studies examining the sports industry and specifically sports media. That research has found women face differing standards than their male counterparts when attempting to enter and work in sports media as commentators (Hedrick & Castiglione, 2000, p. 187). Prior literature also confirms a gender bias still exists today in regard to female sports broadcasters. These studies confirm females are seen as less credible than their male counterparts (Gunther, Kautz & Roth, 2005). Similar to Rooney’s 2002 remark on the Boomer Esiason Show, other sexist comments suggest viewers stereotypically define female sportscasters as less knowledgeable than male commentators. As a result, women struggle to find their way into prominent roles like a lead play-by-play broadcaster. THOSE “DAMN” WOMEN 7 For example, Gayle Sierens became the first woman to provide television play-by-play commentary of a National Football League (NFL) game in 1987 (Aferiat, 2018). However, since that single regional telecast on NBC, a woman did not receive this assignment again for another 30 years until Beth Mowins in 2017 (Katz, 2017). Mowins called the opening night Monday Night Football game on ESPN between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos on September 11, 2017. Following Mowins’ barrier breaking telecast, an outcry from fans on social media followed. Many of the comments complained over the sound of her voice calling it “shrill” and “grating” (Dicaro, 2017). Some went as far as to say Mowins has no place in sports television. Mowins’ colleague, Andrea Kremer said, “I have no doubt that ‘hating the sound of her voice’ is code for ‘I hate that there was a woman announcing football’” (Dicaro, 2017). Most of the existing research and prior literature on this topic attempt to analyze a viewer’s perception