University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2015 Gendered coverage and newsroom practices in online media: a study of reporting of the 2008 Olympic Games by the ABC, BBC AND CBC Dianne M. Jones University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. 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Recommended Citation Jones, Dianne M., Gendered coverage and newsroom practices in online media: a study of reporting of the 2008 Olympic Games by the ABC, BBC AND CBC, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of the Arts, English and Media, University of Wollongong, 2015. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/4683 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] GENDERED COVERAGE AND NEWSROOM PRACTICES IN ONLINE MEDIA: A STUDY OF REPORTING OF THE 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES BY THE ABC, BBC AND CBC A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY from UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG by DIANNE M. JONES B.A., M.A. (HONOURS) SCHOOL OF ARTS, ENGLISH AND MEDIA FACULTY OF LAW, HUMANITIES AND THE ARTS February 25, 2015 Certification I, Dianne M. Jones, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of Arts, English and Media, Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Dianne M. Jones February 25, 2015 i Abstract Legacy media have been shown to routinely marginalise women in the sports news and to devalue their athletic achievements in language and images that stereotype, sexualise and trivialise them. This study provided the first known investigation of digital media sports coverage and reporting practices at three national public service broadcasters – the ABC, BBC and CBC. It examined how and why their online representation of sportswomen offered little change to how sports news has traditionally been defined, reported and framed by the media. A content analysis was conducted during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Using online reports of women’s and men’s sporting events as its context, written portrayals of athletic performances as the texts, and hegemonic masculinity and framing as its theoretical framework, this study identified differences in how women’s and men’s sports were framed on the three broadcasters’ websites. The primary conclusion was that online sports journalism’s male hegemonic agenda remained largely unaltered. These digital media reproduced and reinforced the broader, historically similar and dominant gender ideologies of Australian, British and Canadian society; that is, sport is a male domain. This was reflected in the disproportionate focus on men; inferences that the female body and mind were not well suited for sports requiring strength, endurance or mental toughness; frequent and gratuitous attention to women’s marital and family roles, romantic and other relationships to men; and the absence of comparable coverage of men. At the same time, there have been significant changes and progress that challenges previous research in the areas of photographic portrayals of athletes and the language of sports journalism. The second stage of this mixed methods study examined the production of gendered sports coverage by the ABC, BBC and CBC. It drew on interviews with 15 sports journalists about the manufacture of sports news for online and broadcast audiences. It found that a cocktail of nationalism, success, opportunity and convenience propelled the profiles of female Olympians to record levels on the three public broadcasters’ websites. Nationalism was apparent in the journalists’ attention to a perceived national audience interest in their home country athletes. Success in the form of top performances by women and men and the expectation of it generated coverage, but so did failure. Opportunity, presented by the near parity in the number of Olympic sports open to women and men, if not the number of events, boosted coverage. It was also convenient for journalists when women’s and men’s same- sport events happened routinely and in close proximity to each other. The mostly male gatekeepers interviewed for this study maintained that their everyday or routine sports news selection was driven by the gender-neutral news value of their audience’s perceived interest in men’s sports. Based on the perceptions and attitudes of these newsmakers, while men remain in charge, and men retain the majority in the ABC, BBC and CBC’s sports ii newsrooms, the status quo will continue to preserve hegemonic masculine social structures in sports journalism in the Western world. This study’s secondary findings should help sports journalists to understand how newsroom selection and production choices can devalue female athletes and privilege male athletes. By contributing to a longitudinal perspective of the consequences of that action, the findings can inform the wider public debate about women, sport and the media and calls for change. iii Acknowledgments Some things we do because we want to; others because we have to. I gratefully acknowledge the direction, encouragement and patience of my supervisor, Dr Eric Loo, University of Wollongong. And, to my dear Paul, thank you for sticking with me all the way. iv Table of Contents Certification ............................................................................................................................................. i Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables and Figures ...................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 2 1. 2 Sport, its historical boundaries and the media ............................................................................. 4 1.3 The Olympic Games ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Research questions, purpose and significance of the study .......................................................... 8 1.5 Limitations of the study ................................................................................................................... 12 1.6 The ABC, BBC and CBC ................................................................................................................. 13 1.7 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2 Literature review ............................................................................................................... 20 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 20 2.2 Hegemony theory and framing theory ............................................................................................ 20 2.3 Gender, sport and the media’s coverage ........................................................................................ 25 2.4 Recognition ........................................................................................................................................ 25 2.4.1 Articles and airtime ....................................................................................................................... 25 2.4.2 Images of