Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 Running Up the Score: How the Media Cover Labor-Management Conflict in Sports Jonothan Lewis Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION RUNNING UP THE SCORE: HOW THE MEDIA COVER LABOR-MANAGEMENT CONFLICT IN SPORTS By JONOTHAN LEWIS A Thesis submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2012 Jonothan Lewis defended this thesis on June 22, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Jennifer M. Proffitt Professor Directing Thesis Davis W. Houck Committee Member Joshua I. Newman Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere thanks to the many professors at Florida State University who have helped me over the past seven years. While I cannot name all, I would like to single out my committee members Dr. Proffitt, Dr. Houck and Dr. Newman. In particular, this project could not have been completed without the guidance Dr. Proffitt provided over this past year. I would also like to thank my first and longest-tenured teacher, mom. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ viii 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................1 2. HOW THE MEDIA COVER LABOR ....................................................................................7 2.1 How the Media Marginalizes Organized Labor .............................................................7 2.1.1 Decline of labor news ........................................................................................7 2.1.2 Increased focus on conflict ................................................................................9 2.1.3 Increase in business news ................................................................................10 2.2 Bias in Objective Reporting .........................................................................................11 2.2.1 Source selection and framing ...........................................................................12 2.2.2 Consumer-based coverage ...............................................................................15 2.3 Trends in Media Coverage of Labor ............................................................................18 2.3.1 Coverage of sports labor ..................................................................................19 2.4 Financial Relationships ................................................................................................21 3. OVERVIEW OF POLITICAL ECONOMY .........................................................................26 3.1 An Overview of Political Economy of Media .............................................................26 3.1.1 The consciousness and culture industries ........................................................28 3.1.2 Neoliberalism and the corporate media ...........................................................29 3.1.3 History of government involvement in the media ...........................................32 3.1.4 Concentration of media ownership ..................................................................34 3.1.5 Business interests and media content ...............................................................35 3.1.6 Influence from within ......................................................................................37 3.1.7 Influence of advertising ...................................................................................39 3.1.8 The chilling effect on negative reporting .........................................................41 3.1.9 Constructing a new reality ...............................................................................44 3.1.10 The impact on consumer choice ......................................................................46 3.2 Methodology ................................................................................................................48 3.2.1 Newspapers ......................................................................................................48 3.2.2 Television networks .........................................................................................49 3.2.3 PBS and public broadcasting ...........................................................................50 4. HISTORY OF LABOR IN THE NBA ..................................................................................52 4.1 Labor-Management Conflict in the Early Years of the NBA .....................................52 4.1.1 The first victory ................................................................................................52 4.1.2 The reserve clause and the Robertson suit .......................................................53 4.1.3 Pleading poverty and the salary cap .................................................................54 4.1.4 The salary cap revolt ........................................................................................56 4.2 Union Infighting and the First Lockout .......................................................................58 4.2.1 The first hints of what was to come .................................................................58 4.2.2 More cap conflict .............................................................................................59 4.2.3 Avoiding a lockout in 1994..............................................................................61 4.2.4 Secrecy in the union .........................................................................................64 iv 4.2.5 An insurrection kills the deal ...........................................................................67 4.2.6 The lockout begins ...........................................................................................68 4.3 Prelude to the 1998-99 Lockout ...................................................................................74 4.3.1 Scapegoating player salaries ............................................................................74 4.3.2 Battle lines drawn as player image declines ....................................................76 4.3.3 The problem of the empowered player ............................................................78 4.4 The 1998-99 NBA Lockout .........................................................................................79 4.4.1 Pleading poverty – again ..................................................................................79 4.4.2 Lead-up to the lockout .....................................................................................80 4.4.3 Legal wrangling in the early days of the lockout .............................................81 4.4.4 Proposals and cancellations .............................................................................83 4.4.5 Players weigh their options ..............................................................................85 4.4.6 Some progress, but not much ...........................................................................86 4.4.7 Talks falter .......................................................................................................88 4.4.8 One step forward and two steps back ..............................................................91 4.4.9 Players take more hits, some self-inflicted ......................................................93 4.4.10 One step forward and two steps back (again) ..................................................94 4.4.11 Cracks in union solidarity ................................................................................96 4.4.12 Drop dead date and a ‘final offer’ ....................................................................97 4.4.13 Union starts to crumble ....................................................................................99 4.4.14 More threats in the final days .........................................................................100 4.4.15 A union surrender ..........................................................................................101 4.4.16 An abrupt ending............................................................................................102 4.5 The 2004-05 CBA Negotiations ................................................................................103 4.5.1 An uneven start ..............................................................................................103 4.5.2 A thin veneer of progress masks discord .......................................................105 4.5.3 The threats begin ............................................................................................106 4.5.4 A rare show of competence by a lockout-addicted league ............................107 5. ANALYZING MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE 2011 LOCKOUT .....................................109 5.1 An Overview of the 2011 NBA Lockout ...................................................................109 5.1.1 Prelude to the lockout ....................................................................................109 5.1.2 The initial