Recent studies (Daddario, 1997; Eastman & Billings, 1999; Fink & Kensicki, 2002; Higgs & Weiller, 1994; Higgs, Weiller, & Martin, 2003) have documented the lack of equitable coverage of women’s sports events including under-representation and stereotypical presentation (Bishop, 2003). Media focus on women who compete in traditional male events is potentially ladened with stereotypes. (Jones, Murrell, & Jackson, 1999). On May 22nd, 2003, Annika Sorenstam made history as the first women in 58 years to compete in a PGA tour event. The purpose of this study was to analyze televised media coverage and ascertain whether the media coverage was fair and non-discriminatory, going beyond the novelty of the event. Televised coverage was expected to be heavily focused on Sorenstam, particularly in the early rounds of the tournament. Although we expected commentators to be positive toward her inclusion in the event, a focus on her personal life and inclusion as a female athlete was anticipated.
Dallas-Ft. Worth 10 pm news broadcasts and ESPN SportsCenter (11pm-12am) were videotaped from Monday, May 19th through Sunday, May 25th. All comments related to golf tournament were transcribed. Two researchers independently read and re-read all transcripts and coded comments. Researchers met and discussion ensued until consensus was reached. The following a priori constructs were utilized: gender marking, ambivalent comments, strength-weakness descriptors, male-female comparison, personal/personal life, and emotion. Several constructs emerged during data analysis: historical context, woman in a men’s event, and female-female and male-male comparison.
There were 929 comments were analyzed. Comments irrelevant to the constructs being analyzed were not coded, resulting in 779 coded comments. Two dominant themes emerged: ambivalent (29%) and emotion (20%) comments stated by reporters. Ambivalent comments focused on the strength of Annika’s game, yet countered with comments on her smile, appearance, or physical status. Emotional comments centered around affective responses to playing in the tournament, including her tears and nerves. The majority of Annika’s own comments focused on reasons for participating in the tournament, as well as her emotions of playing in a PGA event. Results supported stated hypotheses. The majority of coverage in the early rounds focused on Sorenstam with a high number of ambivalent comments and a strong focus on emotional content. A focus on personal life as well as emotional content was also strongly provided by Sorenstam herself. Results suggest support of Annika as a female athlete taking on a unique position in a male dominated event.