Study says women lacking in ESPN sports news coverage

A recent study by a University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, researcher determined that ESPN's SportsCenter devotes less coverage to women's sports than it did in 1995 when the same study was conducted.

C.A. Tuggle, an associate professor of journalism and mass communication at North Carolina, and Terry Adams, a doctoral student in the university's school of journalism and mass communication, presented the results of their study August 1 in Kansas City, Missouri, during an annual meeting of the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Tuggle, a former television news reporter and producer, and Adams recorded and analyzed 30 days of SportsCenter programming from May 25 through June 23, 2002. The researchers expected coverage of women's sports to improve since the first study due to the rise of the WNBA and the WUSA, women's professional sports leagues in basketball and soccer.

"During the 30 days we analyzed, ESPN ran 778 stories about males, only 16 about females and another 13 that mentioned both males and females," Tuggle said. "During the 1995 study, ESPN aired 732 stories about males and 29 about females, a ratio of about 25 to one. The ratio in 2002 was more than 48 to one."

In the most recent study, of the 16 stories that focused on women, nine covered the French Open tennis tournament, three focused on women's golf, two were about basketball and one each focused on college softball and track. No coverage of women's soccer appeared, and only three reports featured women's sports teams. While there were 13 mixed-sex stories in the analysis, two focused on the national spelling bee and one mentioned singer Britney Spears and her plans to star in a movie about NASCAR.

The study also revealed that no stories featuring only women appeared in the first two segments of any of the SportsCenter programs reviewed. Both the current and 1995 studies determined that on average SportsCenter devoted more than 70 percent more time to stories featuring men than it did for women.

"One meaning is conveyed by what does get covered, but another equally powerful meaning is conveyed by what does not receive media attention," Tuggle said. "In the case of this study, it is feasible to argue that the lack of attention by SportsCenter in 1995 and again in 2002 sends the message that women's sports are marginal and inconsequential and that continuing under-representation of women by the cable network would reinforce that message."

In response to the study, Mike Soltys, ESPN director of communications, said, "Overall, viewers look to SportsCenter to cover the major sports news and highlights of the day. It does not matter whether that's men's or women's sports."

Soltys also said that overall, ESPN covers an extensive amount of women's sports, including every game of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. "Almost any of the major women's sports, professional or amateur, that are televised are on ESPN," he said.

Nittany Lions conduct weighty fund-raiser

Football student-athletes at Pennsylvania State University are serious about pumping iron during the regular season, but in a recent fund-raising event in July, the Nittany Lions players pumped iron for a serious cause -- kidney cancer.

The first annual Penn State Lift for Life generated more than $10,400 for the Kidney Cancer Association. The event was organized not only to raise money, but to call attention to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancer, a disease that has affected the lives of the immediate families of several squad members.

About 50 Penn State football players, several of the team's strength and conditioning coaches as well as some students from Lock Haven University, were divided into teams of four. Each team completed a series of 13 events. Some were conventional, such as the bench press, leg press and chin ups; some were not so conventional, like a giant tire flip and a 200-yard sprint with carrying 100-pound weight plates in each hand, but all were designed to test the mental and physical toughness of participants. Points were awarded based on how quickly a task was completed or on how many repetitions were done.

-- Compiled by Leilana McKindra

Number crunching

Looking back

30 years ago

From the August 15, 1973, NCAA News:

The NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations join in opposing a federal bill (the Amateur Athletic Act of 1973) that lobbies for governmental control over amateur athletics. The proposed legislation, spurred by questions regarding international competition, would "work to the disadvantage of the young athlete because the bill restricts his competitive opportunities and will dry up scholarship assistance for him," according to Robert C. James, who chairs the NCAA National Policy Board.

NCAA President Alan J. Chapman said, "The bill, in effect, states that our presidents and faculties do not want what is best for the students with whom they associate every day of the week. This bill would take away the right of our faculties to establish eligibility rules. This represents federal control of higher education, and I do not believe our presidents will agree to this."

The NCAA conducts its first Special Convention August 6-7, 1973, and overwhelmingly approves reorganization into three separate divisions for competitive and legislative purposes.

The Baseball Rules Committee approves the use of aluminum bats for the 1974 season. The group also approves the designated-hitter rule. The committee met in conjunction with the 27th College World Series, during which a record 65,356 fans watched the 14-game series. More than 12,000 saw the University of Southern California defeat Arizona State University in the final.