Sports, Media, and Communication Exam #3

Why are there fans?

Self-esteem benefits, escape from reality, entertainment, aesthetics, and family bonding (among others)

Fanatics

people obsessed by an excessive enthusiasm for something

Affect theory

a phenomenon of sports fandom, where the various affects individuals experience can be placed in discrete categories

Two categories based on affect theory

Negative- anger, fear, humiliation

Positive- enjoyment, interest, and excitement

What does fandom have to do with affect theory?

People attempt to maximize positive affect and minimize negative affect, especially fans

Team identification

people who identify strongly w/ a team generally feel secure, valued, and supported by other team members

Why do people identify with teams?

to avoid isolation/ fill a void

- people have a desire to group themselves with like-minded individuals

Participatory Culture

fans not only identify with a collective but focus on how their interactions with teams and other participation can serve to alter sports organizations.

What has heightened participatory culture?

Social media

Eustress

the "good" stress

- also increases group affiliation

Aesthetics

people have a certain fascination with the way a team appears

What does Raney suggest are all the reasons that fans enjoy watching sports?

Emotion - eustress, self-esteem (BIRGing, CORFing)

Cognitive - learning

Behavioral/ social: companionship, group affiliation, family, economics

BIRGing

"Basking in reflected glory." a strategy by which we reinforce our positive self-concepts by identifying ourselves with successful others

CORFing

"cutting off reflective failure," a strategy by which we try to disassociate ourselves from others who have failed or behaved poorly

What are the circumstances behind why "The Band that Would Not Die" kept playing?

Episode of ESPN's 30 for 30

In 1984, the "alcoholic owner" of the Baltimore Colts moved the team to Indianapolis without alerting anyone.

"The next morning, fans awoke to the news in stunned disbelief. The team's volunteer marching band was among the hardest hit. But the members dedicated themselves to bringing professional football back to Baltimore. Levinson writes, "They didn't stop until 1996 when Baltimore got the Cleveland team and renamed them the Ravens."

Having local city dedication and strong group affiliation motivated this group to never back down.

What is the Team Identification-Social Psychological Well-Being Model?

Model created by Wann showing that identifying with a sports team leads to increased well-being.

- Identity threats can lessen well-being if a team loses or a player does something bad.

What are coping mechanisms/strategies?

Biased attribution processing: "The refs screwed us over"

CORFing: "They played poorly"

Moral reasoning

Describe and provide an example of the three moral reasoning strategies in the Justin Rohrwasser study

Moral decoupling: "Justin Rohrwasser's political beliefs do not change my assessment of his performance"

Moral rationalization: "Justin Rohrwasser's political beliefs are not as bad as some other horrible things that people do."

Moral coupling: "It is important to take into account Justin Rohrwasser's political beliefs when assessing hisjob performance."

Hypotheses of Justin Rohrwasser study

The more a person is a fan of a team, the more likely they will think a player's political beliefs shouldn't matter.

- Even if they disagree with those beliefs!

Sports fans are more likely to downplay or rationalize controversial political associations of players the more of a fan they are for that player's team

"The more that respondents identified with the Patriots, the more they tended to think Rohrwasser's controversial political beliefs should be downplayed or not considered in assessing his football abilities, supporting the social identity perspective of fans favoring transgressing players from a team they identify with and root for."

Who is Justin Rohrwasser, and how is he relevant to this article?

far-right Patriots player - should politics influence levels of fandom?

Based on what you know from the lecture and the Ray Rice study, describe the story that the graph is telling. In other words, what are the results they are displaying...

The graphs display the idea that conservative fans, no matter the level of fandom, are more likely to rationalize or decouple, however liberal fans, when extremely die-hard, also will tend to rationalize or decouple. If they aren't die-hard fans, liberals are less likely to rationalize or decouple athlete behavior.

What are the historical moments in which people came to worry about the effects of mass media?

1. Yellow journalism (exaggeration)

2. World War I (I Want YOU for the U.S. Army)

3. Movies in 1920s

4. War of the Worlds broadcast (radio drama... people would randomly tune in and get nervous because they did not know it was a drama)

Uses and Gratifications Theory

theory that looks at the ways media consumers choose media to meet their needs

- personal characteristics inform choices

- people choose certain media to fulfill a personal emotional desire.

One of the models of Uses and Gratifications (by Katz, Gurevitch, & Haas, 1973) says that U&G can be defined what seven steps?

"The social and psychological origins of needs, which generate expectations of the mass media or other sources, which lead to differential patterns of media exposure (or engagement in other activities), resulting in need gratifications and other consequences, perhaps mostly unintended ones"

1. Social/ psychological needs

2. Needs generate expectations

3. Expectations of mass media - assessing media options

4. Media exposure patterns

5. Need gratifications - some sort of fulfillment

6. Resulting gratifications - benefits

7. Other consequences

Hypodermic Needle Theory

a model of communications suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver

Magic Bullet Theory

that media messages are 'shot' directly into the audience, leading to immediate and uniform responses.

Two contrasting theories

U&G/ Magic Bullet

"According to the Magic Bullet Theory, sports fans who watch the NFL and various programming related to American football become more enthusiastic, because the consumption of football begets greater appreciation for the game." --> more consumption, more appreciation

"Uses and Gratification Theory, as it relates to fandom, does not assume that fans become fans because they are overwhelmed and persuaded by what they consume. Rather, what is available to be consumed—is the result of fans' desires for such content." --> People choose what to watch based on their emotional desires

What are the two applications of Magic Bullet and Uses & Gratifications to sports fans (one from the book, one updated in the lecture)?

Magic Bullet:

Book - consumption begets a greater appreciation for a game

Slides - sports media may promote certain ideas unintentionally

U&G:

Book - does not assume fans become fans because they are motivated by what they consume

Slides - Sports fandom/ spectatorship is based on personal characteristics

What is reciprocity as it relates to sports media audiences?

We pick media we're interested in, media influences us, we pick more media.

Sports as entertainment

Form of family-bonding, fulfills a sense of personal desire

What is a "supercrip" and how is it a negative thing?

A "supercrip" is an individual that through courage, dedication, and hard work, accomplishes what is generally considered impossible.

This word can be seen as an negative thing because it sets unrealistic expectations of what people with disabilities can achieve... "if only they tried hard enough." Further, it reinforces ableism AND makes it seem like there is a so-called desirable body in the sports world.

EXTRA:

The term "supercrip" basically involves a person with disabilities who is deemed an overachiever and sets so-called "unrealistic stereotypes" for others with similar conditions.

How does the book say media enhances the visibility of professional sports leagues? *

Gives people an easier outlet to make comments on their practices, room for critique

What does the book say experts recommend sports figures/professionals consider when using social media?

- Consider your post to be a larger part of your overall brand

- Be aware of the way various posts have affected athletes in the past

- Social media posts are "out-there," use the 10-minute rule to ensure it is something that you actually want online.

What is CoSIDA?

College Sports Information Directors of America... communicate to the public on behalf of the athletic association.

How important is a sports information director to the success of a university athletic team?

Incredibly important.

- They must be connected internally and externally

Role of a SID

- Drafting media releases

- Coordinating media conferences

- Scheduling interviews with coaches and athletic directors

- Providing social media training

How is the agenda set?

Can be seen through sports broadcasts, highlight reels, and articles

What is the basic idea behind agenda setting?

Constructing a certain narrative for the public to digest

- the media can shape public opinion... people have the need to be "in-the-know"

Intermedia agenda setting

one news source influences the agenda of another

Example: social media + TV news, Laura from Fox News - "Shut up and dribble"

What is attribute/2nd-level agenda setting?

from the "what" to "how"

Example: Sports highlights prioritize offense over defense

Four reasons why media can influence people seeking for information

Need for orientation: a top is highly relevant and people feel the need to be "in-the-know"

Relevance: how important an issue is to an individual

Uncertainty: someone being unsure or lacking information on a topic

Obtrusiveness: Does the issue directly affect someone?

Gatekeeping

The process by which a small number of people/corporations control what info is presented to the media

Five considerations journalists should consider before reporting on a topic

- Strong impact

- Violence/ conflict/ disaster/ scandal

- Familiarity

- Proximity

- Timeliness/ novelty

Craig Hodges

former NBA player, attempted to stand up for social justice issues; however, he was cut from the Bulls

How is his story different than Colin Kaepernick's? What concept from agenda setting helps explain the differences?

Kaepernick was able to continue his career while Hodges was not... both were relevant in various time periods (one that was more supportive than the other)

How did the way the media framed the Duke scandal influence public perception?

During the Duke Lacrosse controversy, journalists were thoroughly covering the story, interviewing professors, students, and other associated parties on the matter. They were framing the story as a bunch of upper class elites, harming an African-American woman. As one typically is motivated to believe the victim of their situation, the team was framed in a tough light.

Framing

the way an issue is posed

Framing effects

a decision bias influenced by the way in which a problem or decision alternative is phrased or presented

Frame building

how frames are constructed by news professionals

Frame setting

Examines effects on audiences from news frames

-Defines the issue

-Determines cause for issue

-Notes implications for an issue

-Determines treatment of issue

Framing theory

occurs when media members choose images and words that can influence how audiences understand and evaluate issues, policies, or events.

Equivalency framing

deals with presenting logically equivalent info in different ways

Example: 80% fat free vs. 20% fat

What are the 4 moderator variables to determine the strength of framing effect? How do they work (increase or decrease effects, etc.)?

Individual predispositions

Access to other info about a topic

Knowledge of topic

Applicability of topic

Two sporting event summary articles

Detroit Pistons vs. Celtics, each framed in a different way depending on the publication... one story was clearly from Boston... the other was from Detroit (each trying to portray their teams in the most positive light)

Implications of framing

One little change in wording can influence how people think about something... this can even be seen in titles

Review the journals listed at the end of the chapter. Which article among those described is most interesting to you?

Communication quarterly... memory in relation to sport