Media Coverage Of Women In Sport

In this day and age, sport is presented through all forms of the media including, Television broadcasting, the Internet, Tabloids, Blogs and Marketing campaigns. Notwithstanding sport’s dominance in today’s society, it is clear that men and women do not receive the same amount of attention in any form of the media. If sport in the media were to be deconstructed, it would clearly show the men govern the coverage. Considering that there are constant headlines promoting “women’s rights” and “equality,” this is a well-defined rebuttal for the sporting community. Women work equally, if not harder then men do, but when it comes to sport, most women athletes are left neglected due to the fact that men simply dominate the sporting world. There have been many investigations involving this issue, and it has been proven that women receive significantly less media coverage than men when it comes to sport. It is clear that, in order for this issue to be resolved, the media must make an effort to recognize and appreciate women in sport.

One statistic that stands out is the fact that, “in 1996, Men received 95.1% of Radio coverage and 56.2% of Television coverage, with Women receiving only 2%” (WordPress, 2013). Though this statistic is quite dated, it is still relevant as it shows that not much has changed over the years. In 1972, the United States produced a legislation called “Title IX”. This legislation banned sex discrimination and bias, in both academia and sports. Though the United States enforce this in schools, it is clear they do not enforce in society. One of the largest pieces of America’s identity is their ability to commemorate sporting stars. Though they do this very well, it is evident they do not do this equally across both