Paul J. MacArthur

What's The Gendered Story? Vancouver's Prime Time Olympic Glory on NBC

Previous Olympic media studies have shown that NBCs Winter Olympic telecast is far more likely to promote and advance men athletes and sports than women athletes and sports (see Billings, 2008b), and this study of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic telecast again reveals gender divisions. Analysis of all 64 hours of NBCs prime time telecast revealed that (a) when excluding mixed-gender pair competitions, men received more than three-fifths of the remaining airtime, (b) 75% of the most-mentioned athletes were men, and (c) sportscasters again employed dialogue differences in key areas including that men were more likely than women to be portrayed as succeeding because of their experience, while women were more likely than men to be depicted as succeeding because of courage and failing because they lacked commitment. Contextualization is also offered related to intervening factors such as (a) Olympic participation rates and (b) U.S. medal successes by gender.

(Re)Calling London The Gender Frame Agenda within NBC’s Primetime Broadcast of the 2012 Olympiad

All sixty-nine hours of National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC) 2012 primetime Summer Olympic telecast were analyzed, revealing significant gender trends. For the first time in any scholarly study of NBC’s coverage of the games, women athletes received the majority of the clock-time and on-air mentions. However, dialogues surrounding the attributions of success and failure of athletes, as well as depictions of physicality and personality, contained some divergences by gender.

Fanfare for the American: NBC’s Prime-Time Broadcast of the 2012 London Olympiad

Previous analyses have indicated strong tendencies for a host Olympic network to favor one’s home nation through enhanced clock-time, highlighting of star athletes from one’s home country, and more nuanced and positive dialogues. Analysis of NBC’s 2012 London Summer Olympic broadcast revealed significant differences between American and non-American athletes. Regarding athletic mentions, American athletes were more likely to be mentioned (55.8%) than all other athletes combined and composed 75% of the most-mentioned athletes within the broadcast. Regarding descriptions ascribed to the Olympians, American athletes were more likely to be depicted using subjective characterizations, disproportionately having their successes attributed to superior composure, commitment, intelligence, and consonance as well as having a greater level of comments pertaining to their modest/introverted nature. Conversely, non-American athletes were more likely to receive success attributions related to their superior experience and failures depicted as a lack of athletic skill—both largely objective measures.

Competing Separately, Medaling Equally: Racial Depictions of Athletes in NBC's Primetime Broadcast of the 2012 London Olympic Games

Analysis of NBCs 2012 London Summer Olympic broadcast revealed significant differences between athletes of different ethnic backgrounds. Regarding athletic mentions, White athletes were more likely to be mentioned (64.3%) than all other athletes combined, with significant differences found in the reporting of an athlete from differing ethnic backgrounds depending on the venue where the mention is made. Regarding descriptions ascribed to the Olympians, significant differences were found when comparing the commentary for White, Black, Latino, Asian, and Middle Eastern athletes, including differences in the discussion of successes and failures of athletic strength, athletic ability, experience, and intelligence. Implications on the dialogue divergences are offered at the theoretical level, with heuristic impact being discussed in a variety of contexts.

Where the Gender Differences Really Reside: The “Big Five” Sports Featured in NBC's 2012 London Primetime Olympic Broadcast

This study analyzed all 69 hours of NBCs primetime coverage of the 2012 London Summer Olympics to determine which sports were most likely to contain divergences in dialogue by gender of athlete. Coding over 14,000 descriptors, 23 significant differences were detected: 11 attributions of athletic success and failure and 12 depictions of personality and physicality. Swimming was found to have the most dialogue differences (seven), while beach volleyball only contained one. Ramifications and implications for the study of gender in sports media are offered.

The Vancouver 'big six' gender-framed: NBC's prime-time coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

This study represents the first attempt to content-analyse on-air commentary surrounding the six ‘major’ Winter Olympic sports, operationalized as any event receiving at least three hours of aggregate prime-time coverage on the NBC broadcast network. Analysis of all 64 hours of NBCs prime-time coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games revealed 26 significantly different dialogue trends between male and female athletes. Gendered differences in the attribution of athletic success and failure were found in figure skating, alpine skiing and short-track speed skating, but not in bobsledding, freestyle skiing and snowboarding. Gendered differences in personality/physicality descriptors were found in alpine skiing, bobsled, figure skating, freestyle skiing and snowboarding, but not in short-track speed skating. Overall, figure skating generated the most gendered differences in commentary, while snowboarding and freestyle skiing had the fewest differences.

The dwindling Winter Olympic divide between male and female athletes: the NBC broadcast network’s primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games

Abstract All 63 h of the National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC) scheduled primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic broadcast were analyzed revealing significant sex-based trends. Women athletes received 47.7% of the clock-time on the broadcast, more than in any other Winter Olympiad examined, and significantly more than in the previous four Winter Olympic Games. Women received 41.7% of the mentions in the broadcast and comprised 45% of the top-20 most mentioned athletes. Sex-based divergences in dialogues surrounding attributions of success were found, but none were detected for attributions of failure. Sex-based differences were also found in descriptions of personality/physicality. Contextualization is offered related to other intervening factors such as US medal successes by sex, celebrity and salient storylines surrounding American athletes.

Spiraling Into or Out of Stereotypes? NBC’s Primetime Coverage of Male Figure Skaters at the 2010 Olympic Games

Perhaps the most feminized sport in all modern athletics, figure skating receives primacy within any American Winter Olympic telecast—with all of the gendered language that comes with that featured status. This study revealed 13 significantly different dialogue trends between male figure skaters and the aggregate of other male Winter Olympians. Such a high number of differences highlight the convoluted role of perceived masculinity in sport, with male figure skaters as mediated outliers within the overall composite of Olympic dialogue.

Nationalism in the United States and Canadian primetime broadcast coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics

The CBC’s and NBC’s primetime broadcasts of the 2014 Winter Olympics were analyzed to determine differences between the media treatment of home nation and foreign athletes. The CBC results showed that Canadian athletes represented 48.5% of total athlete mentions and constituted all of the top 20 most-mentioned athletes. NBC results showed that American athletes represented 43.9% of their total mentions and 65% of the top 20 most-mentioned athletes. The CBC was more likely to attribute Canadian athletic successes to commitment and intelligence, and non-Canadian successes to strength. The CBC was more likely to discuss the emotions and background of non-Canadians and make neutral/other comments about Canadians. NBC was more likely to attribute American failures to experience. Comparisons between the networks revealed 30 significant differences in the manner of depicting home athletes compared to athletes from other nations.

Lost in Translation—and Transmission: Contrasting Chinese and U.S. Gymnastics Television Coverage in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games

Gymnastics is one of the most popular sports at the Summer Olympics in both the United States and China. This study content analyzes more than 23 hours of Olympic gymnastics at the 2016 Rio Games on NBC and CCTV, examining potential framing differences pertaining to nationality and biological sex. Findings reveal that, in terms of name mentions, NBC favored female and domestic gymnasts, yet CCTV devoted more mentions to male and nondomestic gymnasts. Regarding word-by-word descriptors, multiple significant differences strongly suggest that the two networks depict gymnasts in substantially different manners. Discussions and research directions are also offered.