University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA MEDIA AND SPORTS: GENDERED COVERAGE OF FEMALE FOOTBALL STORIES IN THE GHANAIAN PRINT MEDIA DESMOND NII LAMPTEY MASTER OF PHILOSOPY 2019 University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA MEDIA AND SPORT: GENDERED COVERAGE OF FEMALE FOOTBALL STORIES IN THE GHANAIAN PRINT MEDIA DESMOND NII LAMPTEY (8180580003) A dissertation in the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Faculty of Foreign Languages Education and Communication, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the awards of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Media Studies). in the University of Education, Winneba SEPTEMBER, 2019 University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DECLARATION STUDENT’S DECLARATION I, DESMOND NII LAMPTEY, declare that this Dissertation, with the exception of quotation and references contained in published works which have all been identified and acknowledged, is entirely my own original work, and it has not been submitted, either in part or whole, for another degree elsewhere. SIGNATURE: …………………………. DATE: ………………………………….. SUPERVISOR’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this work was supervised in accordance with the guidelines for supervision of Dissertation as laid down by the University of Education, Winneba. NAME OF SUPERVISOR: ………………………………………… SIGNATURE: ………………………………………………………. DATE: ……………………………………………………………….. iii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DEDICATION To you my family: my wife, Mrs Gitfy Lamptey, and my children, Desinda Lamptey and Ava Lamptey, thank you for the support and sacrifices. Thank you and God bless you. iv University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my greatest gratitude to God Almighty, who has given me life, knowledge, wisdom and understanding to sail through the course successfully and produce this intellectual work. This MPhil dissertation is not only a product of my own hard work and passion for gender equity, football and media but it is also a product of the assistance I received from many others along the way. Without their help, friendship, and guidance, successfully completing this dissertation would have been much more difficult to achieve. First, I would like to thank my incredible supervisor, mentor and advisor, Prof. Andy Ofori-Birikorang, for showing interest in my topic and agreeing to take me on as an advisee. His guidance allowed me to successfully navigate through every portion of my journey and it is with his teaching that I was able to properly write and conduct the research included in this study. Prof, thank you for your inspiration, advice and guidance. Thank you for allowing me to study a topic of great interest to me. Thank you for being easy to work with; and most of all, thank you for all the patience you have shown me over the past 18 months. Your mentorship is highly appreciated – and something that I will not easily forget. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the entire Department of Communication and Media Studies of the University of Education, Winneba. I especially want to acknowledge the Head of Department, Mr. Kwesi Aggrey, Dr Mavis Amo- Mensah, Dr Christiana Hammond, Dr Albert Agbesi Wornyo, Dr Gifty Appiah-Adjei, Mr. Asare Okae-Anti, Mrs Abena Abokoma Asemanyi Amoako as well as Akosua Asantewaa Anane. Thank you so much for all your constructive comments and feedback on my presentations. Those sessions helped me to improve my thesis and to be a better researcher. I truly value the tremendous education I have received during my academic tenure at this institution and it has been an honour to learn from genuinely great minds. v University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh To the 2018/2019 CoMSSA group members, especially Nyamekye Nkrumah and all MPhil Top Up Class members, I say thank you. A special thanks should go to Dr Ebo Afful, for his role in my life and his assistance at the early stages of my work. Thank you for the priceless advice, positive encouragement, support, professional knowledge and insight, and your concern for my personal and professional success. I am so grateful, Sir. God Bless you. Dr Wilberforce Dzisah and Mr Tim Quashigah, bless you. I warmly thank and appreciate Mr Henry Kojo Bonsu-Owu, my Head of Department at GIJ, for advice and friendly assistance with various problems since the first day of my MPhil. To my great friends, Noel Nutsugah, Philip Atawura and Rockson Sapey, I appreciate your friendship and encouragements. It was not easy waking up early in the mornings and going to Winneba in a group for lectures. Someway somehow, we motivated and inspired ourselves. You guys are always in my mind and heart! I love you, my friends! Sincere thanks go to Mrs Leena Emefa Yaa Dombadoh of GIJ. Special thanks also go to Mr Patrick Sackey of New Times Corporation for his generosity on my visits to the library. Thank you to Miss Sophia Owusu and Paul Gozo, of GIJ, for helping me gather data. My Mom, Madam Elizabeth Torto, and Dad, Coach Sampson Lamptey: I am thankful for so many things; for believing in me without hesitation time and again, for supporting me in my academic studies, for your kind words and love that has always kept me on track. Mom – Thank you for always being there. Dad – Thank you for introducing me to football and being a great footballer yourself. You are an inspiration and we are proud of you. Mom and Dad, I love you both so much. To my sisters, Gertrude and Edwina, Thank you. Keiron is not forgotten. Last but not least, to the love of my life, Mrs Gifty Lamptey: You know exactly how I feel about you without even having to say a single word. My sincere appreciation for vi University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh always encouraging me and understanding that, I have to leave you and the children alone at night to go work on this dissertation in the office. I still looked forward to your text messages reminding me of deadlines and asking me how the work is going. My children, Desinda and Ava, for their inspiration, understanding and deep interest in the work, I thank you, girls. vii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages DECLARATION iii DEDICATION iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vii ABSTRACT xi CHAPTER ONE 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1.0 Background of the Study 1 1.1.1 Sports as Revenue and Identity Making 4 1.1.2 Media, Sports and Gender 8 1.1.0 Statement of Problem 16 1.2.0 Objective of the Study 19 1.3.0 Research Questions 19 1.4.0 Significance of the Study 19 1.5.0 Scope and Limitation of the Study 20 1.6.0 Chapter Organisation 21 CHAPTER TWO 22 LITERATURE REVIEW 22 2.0 Introduction 22 2.1. Media and Sports 23 viii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 2.1.0. Sports and the Press 26 2.3.0 The Ghanaian Media 28 2.4.0 Women’s Football 30 2.5.0 Sports and Gender 33 2.6.0. Theoretical Framework 40 2.6.1. The Agenda Setting Theory 40 2.6.2. Framing Theory 45 2.6.3. Media frames 48 2.6.4. Media Frames in Sports 51 2.7.0. Feminist Theory 52 2.7.1. Basic Theoretical Questions Underpinning the Feminist Theory 55 2.7.2. Liberal Feminism Response 57 2.7.3. Radical Feminism Response 59 2.7.4 Marxist/Socialist Feminism Response 61 2.8. Summary 62 CHAPTER THREE 63 METHODOLOGY 63 3.0. Introduction 63 3.1.0 Research Approach 64 3.2.0 Research Design 68 3.3.0 Period of Data Collection 71 3.4.0 Sampling and Sampling technique 71 3.5.0 Sample Size 74 3.6.0. Data collection Method 75 3.6.1 Document Analysis 77 ix University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 3.7.0 Unit of Analysis 79 3.8.0. Method of Data Analysis – Content Analysis 80 3.9.0 Data Analysis Process 82 3.10. Validity and Reliability 84 3.11. Summary 85 CHAPTER FOUR 87 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 87 4.0. Introduction 87 4.1.0 RQ1: What are the dominant frames used to portray female football stories in Ghana? 87 4.1.1. Male Reference 88 4.1.2 Sexism 93 4.1.3 Mental Weakness 99 4.2.4. Hierarchy of Naming 106 4.2.0 RQ 2: What is the level of consistency among the newspapers on the gender portrayal of female football stories? 110 4.3.0. Summary 111 CHAPTER FIVE 113 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 113 5.0 Introduction 113 5.1.0 Summary 113 5.2.0 Conclusion 117 5.3.0 Further Researches 120 5.4.0 Limitations of the Study 122 x University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 5.5 Recommendations 123 REFERENCES 125 APPENDIX A 142 APPENDIX B 145 TABLE 1 Frequency distribution for frames on female football stories 88 xi University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh ABSTRACT This study sought to investigate how the Ghanaian print media frame or portrays female football stories in Ghana. The study was based on the Agenda Setting, Framing and Feminist theories. The study used qualitative method for the data collection and analysis. Two sports newspapers, the Graphic Sports and the Finder Sports, were selected and content analysed for the study.