Towards a Level Playing Field: sport and gender in Australian media January 2008–July 2009 University of New South Wales Journalism and Media Research Centre and Media Monitors joint research for the Australian Sports Commission Towards a Level Playing Field: sport and gender in Australian media January 2008–July 2009 Principal researchers: • Professor Catharine Lumby, Director, Journalism and Media Research Centre, University of New South Wales • Dr Helen Caple, Research Associate, Journalism and Media Research Centre, University of New South Wales • Dr Kate Greenwood, Senior Portfolio Analyst, Media Monitors ii Towards a Level Playing Field: sport and gender in Australian media Acknowledgments Many people assisted in the production of this research. Thank you to Dr Petra Nolan for providing excellent assistance in the project management and editing of the Journalism and Media Research Centre section of the report, and Ciara Ward for her care in editing the Media Monitors sections of the fi nal document. A signifi cant debt of gratitude is owed to Hope Clutterham and Carly Logan at Media Monitors for their invaluable input into the conception and execution, respectively, of Sections Two to Five. Particular acknowledgment goes to Sareh Aminian for her contribution to Section Two, David Vallence for outstanding work on Section Four, and Iain Wright and Peter Prior for Section Five. Special thanks to Peter Hannagan, Bill Hawker, Dayne Smith and Ilse Steyn for their painstaking research assistance, and Lilla Smee for her excellent data analysis. The Australian Sports Commission is the Australian Government agency that manages, develops and invests in sport at all levels. It was established in 1985 and operates under the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989. The Commission’s national leadership role is achieved through the six operational areas: the Australian Institute of Sport, Sport Performance and Development, Community Sport, Corporate Services, Commercial and Facilities, and Finance. The Australian Sports Commission forms part of the Health and Ageing portfolio. For general enquiries: Tel: (02) 6214 1111 Fax: (02) 6251 2680 Email: [email protected] Website: ausport.gov.au © Australian Sports Commission 2010 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Australian Sports Commission. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction should be emailed to [email protected] ISBN 978 1 74013 108 7 Unless otherwise specifi ed, all images are the property of the Australian Sports Commission. CONTENTS iii Contents Executive summary ............................................................................................................................................................................................... v Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................................................vii Section One: Quantitative fi gures and qualitative media analysis of press coverage, 25 November–8 December 2008 ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Volume of stories by publication date ........................................................................................................................................................2 Media format, publication date and publication type ........................................................................................................................2 Volume of stories by publication type .........................................................................................................................................................2 Publication type ......................................................................................................................................................................................................3 Analysis according to sport ..............................................................................................................................................................................5 Qualitative fi ndings: media coverage, sport and gender ..................................................................................................................6 The state of media game: stakeholder interviews ...........................................................................................................................16 Section Two: Qualitative and quantitative media analysis, October 2008–July 2009 ......................................19 Key metrics ............................................................................................................................................................................................................20 Gender overview ..................................................................................................................................................................................................20 Share of voice .......................................................................................................................................................................................................21 Story order ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................22 Primary story focus ............................................................................................................................................................................................24 Nationality of athletes ......................................................................................................................................................................................24 Text type ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................25 Narrative frame ....................................................................................................................................................................................................25 Visual analysis — studio backdrop ..........................................................................................................................................................27 Linguistic analysis — studio introduction .............................................................................................................................................29 Visual analysis — overall ...............................................................................................................................................................................33 Linguistic analysis — overall ........................................................................................................................................................................36 Leading issues .....................................................................................................................................................................................................40 Leading messages .............................................................................................................................................................................................43 Leading spokespeople .....................................................................................................................................................................................44 Leading media ......................................................................................................................................................................................................46 Leading by-lines and comperes...................................................................................................................................................................46 Placement ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................48 Trend analysis .......................................................................................................................................................................................................48 iv Towards a Level Playing Field: sport and gender in Australian media Section Three: Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the Beijing Olympic Games, August 2008 .....51 Key metrics ............................................................................................................................................................................................................52 Gender overview ..................................................................................................................................................................................................52 Share of voice .......................................................................................................................................................................................................53