Online coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games on the ABC, BBC, CBC and TVNZ

The same pervasive strategies that relegate women’s sports coverage to secondary status in the traditional sports media are apparent in online coverage. Content analysis of the extent and nature of 2008 Olympic Games coverage by four national public broadcasters shows men and their sports were the s...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dianne Jones
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pacific Media Centre 2013-05-01
Series:Pacific Journalism Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-journalism-review/article/view/248
Description
Summary:The same pervasive strategies that relegate women’s sports coverage to secondary status in the traditional sports media are apparent in online coverage. Content analysis of the extent and nature of 2008 Olympic Games coverage by four national public broadcasters shows men and their sports were the story in Beijing. The gender gap in story numbers favoured male athletes by a margin of four to one. Men’s achievements were given more prominence than women’s with twice as many lead stories and photographs of male athletes taking top spot on the websites’ splash pages. The content of photographs and the language of online stories also perpetuated gender stereotypes and sexual difference by framing sportswomen as emotionally weak or dependent and less committed than male athletes.
ISSN:1023-9499
2324-2035