Sports and Media (Essay Sample)

Sports and Media
Name
University
Introduction
According to Dana Mastro, Erin Blecha and Anita Atwell Seate, crime and sports stories are widely followed and prevalent segments in the news. Therefore, whenever an athlete is accused of crime, public outcry and national headlines follow. The article by the three researchers provides a content analysis. The researchers conducted a systemic analysis of newspapers that covered crime and race in sports news (Mastro, Bleacha & Seate, 2011). The researchers used a social identity strategy that incorporated insights from framing. According to the article, the features associated with athletes and the tone used in sports coverage and reports varies according to the ethnicity and race of an athlete.
The researchers were guided by four hypotheses. The hypotheses were developed using previous knowledge on ethnicity and racial minorities in the news. Media exposure using race-related messages can provide advantages in terms of identity to whites or majority consumers. They are offered intergroup messages, which support White positive distinctiveness and self-concept. The first hypothesis is that minority athletes are usually overrepresented as criminals when compared to Whites. The second hypothesis is that minority athletes are usually characterized unfavorably than White athletes in the coverage of crime related sports news. The third hypothesis is that crimes associated with minority athletes will be characterized with negative consequences. The fourth hypothesis is that the presentation of crime related sports news varies according to the race of an athlete (Mastro, Bleacha & Seate, 2011).
Conclusion
These researchers show that the manner in which athletes are portrayed in crime...