Kinkema Harris (1998)

Authors: Kathleen M. Kinkema & Janet C. Harris
Overview: Examines the explosion of media representations of sport in the past 15 years.

Television Growth: Average American household receives 33 broadcast and cable channels; over 8,000 sporting events televised yearly (approx. 22/day).
Importance of Media: Media shapes understanding and perceptions of sport, becoming a prominent area of study.
Areas of Focus: Three major topics:
- Production of mediated sport texts
- Content and messages of these texts
- Audience interaction with the texts.
Overlap: There is considerable overlap between production, content, and audience analysis, making it challenging to discuss them in isolation.

Political and Economic Context: Production is influenced by political/economic conditions alongside technical processes used to create programming.
Crafting Media Texts: Media sport texts are carefully crafted, involving live and taped segments to provide organized viewing experiences.
Emergence of Media-Sport Complex: Spectator sports have merged with media, making separation nearly impossible (e.g., Ted Turner owning the Atlanta Braves and WTBS).
Broadcast Rights: Buying broadcast rights from leagues/entities is essential; networks sell advertising targeting specific audiences to support expensive rights fees.
Advertising Complexity: Direct and indirect advertising deliver revenue; networks also utilize sports to promote their programming, but with mixed results regarding effectiveness.
- Example: NBC's $456 million bid for 1996 Olympic broadcasting rights anticipated a high viewership.

Audience Trends: Despite high rights fees, some ratings have declined (e.g., CBS’s losses in Major League Baseball broadcast). Background segments enhance storytelling.
Corporate Sponsorships: Olympic governing bodies and sports organizations are actively seeking corporate sponsors. Example: Georgia Tech's agreement with McDonald's.
Future Areas for Research: Studies needed on the effects of cable growth, international competition, and the corporate exploitation of sporting events.

Preferred Readings: Media texts often sway audiences towards dominant ideologies, though contradictions exist (e.g., underborn and ignored narratives).
**Key Themes:

Gender Representation: Underrepresentation and stereotyping of female athletes persist. Female success is often downplayed or trivialized, though recent studies suggest improvements in this area.
Race Relations: Stereotypes in media portrayals of Black athletes often highlight prejudice, whereas other minority athletes may be perceived inconsistently.

Early Audience Research: Effects and uses and gratifications frameworks have been dominant, though ideological frameworks are increasingly incorporated.
Empowerment: Audience interpretations can range from support of traditional narratives to oppositional readings that challenge these narratives (e.g., within gender dynamics).
Emerging Directions: More need to deepen research on complex interactions between audience, text, and production contexts.

Holistic Research Needs: Investigate connections between production, text, and audience more thoroughly while exploring less studied sports,
Ethical Considerations: Greater attention to potential biases in sports media production, particularly concerning race and gender.
Tech Trends: Need for analysis of emerging technologies’ impact on sports media.
Policy Implications: Researchers should advocate for media changes that enhance representation and reduce inequities in sports depiction.