Study examines gender stereotypes in two national newspapers
A recent examination of The New York Times and USA Today articles on men’s and women’s college basketball countered the gender-specific stereotypes found in previous studies that focused on television commentary of March Madness.
According to researcher Edward M. Kian, “Previous analyses of newspaper sports coverage had shown significant gender differences in content.”
By conducting a contextual analysis, coding articles according to descriptive categories such as physical appearance, sexuality, attire; athletic prowess, strengths; and family roles, personal relationships, Kian’s study contradicted past research in finding that reporters were more likely to use descriptors on physical appearances/attire and personal relationships/family when writing about men’s basketball than women’s.
From the results, the researcher suggested further research in this area.
“It is unclear if this signifies there is less gender bias in newspaper narratives of college basketball than television broadcasts or can be attributed to the non-instantaneous publication of print journalism content,” Kian said.
Kian is an assistant professor in the Nicholson School of Communication and the coordinator of the sport leadership program at the University of Central Florida. His study appears in the summer 2008 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.
CONTACT: Sandra H. Utt, nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org, (901) 628-2553
Edward M. Kian, “Study Examines Gender Stereotypes In Two National Newspapers,” Newspaper Research Journal, Summer 2008.
- For more information about Newspaper Research Journal
- Download a PDF version of this press release.
- Download a PDF version of this article.
- You can find more “Research You Can Use” HERE
Research You Can Use is produced by a volunteer group of faculty and staff within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The group selects new research from AEJMC refereed journals that may interest journalists. Journalists may use the releases for stories or for continuing education.
A PDF version of all participating articles are available for download. For a reprint, contact the person cited or Jennifer McGill, Executive Director, AEJMC, 234 Outlet Pointe Blvd., Ste. A, Columbia, SC 29210-5667, e-mail: AEJMCHQ@aol.com, telephone: (803) 798-0271. For more information about the Research You Can Use project, please contact Mich Sineath, e-mail: AEJMCpr@aol.com.
Comments
Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!