This document discusses a study conducted on Bethany College students' perceptions of male and female sportscasters seen on ESPN. The study sought to determine if students perceive female sportscasters as more attractive but less authoritative, knowledgeable, and credible than male sportscasters. The literature review discusses past research finding biases against female sportscasters in terms of attractiveness, authority, knowledge, and credibility. The study used surveys to collect data from Bethany College students on their perceptions of male and female sportscasters. The results supported past research findings that female sportscasters are seen as more attractive but less authoritative, knowledgeable, and credible than male sportscasters.
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Running head: BETHANY COLLEGE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS
Bethany College Students’ Perceptions of
Male and Female Sportscasters Seen on ESPN
Delonte D. Joyce
Bethany College
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ABSTRACT
Viewers of ESPN may notice that very few women are sportscasters and that the women
who are on ESPN are attractive. This paper seeks to determine whether Bethany College
students perceive male and female sportscasters on ESPN as attractive, authoritative,
knowledgeable, and credible. The results of the survey showed that female sportscasters are
seen as more attractive than males but not as authoritative, knowledgeable, or credible as
males. These results support past research.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract 2
Introduction 4
Literature Review 7
Theoretical Base 11
Method 15
Results 18
Discussion and Conclusion 19
References 24
Appendices 26
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INTRODUCTION
Sports broadcasting is way for people to find out what is going on in sports around the
world from various sources such as television and radio. For an example, television and radio are
watched and listened to because of the information and entertainment of sports that are broadcast
to the public. The broadcasting of sports usually involves one or more sportscasters that
describes the events of a live coverage as they are occurring on a sports network, such as ESPN.
Males are the ones that are usually broadcasting these sports, but every once in a while you
might see a female sportscaster featured on a sporting show.
Some people believe that women are only used in broadcasting because of their good
looks. Phyllis George was the first woman to be signed as a television sportscaster at a major
network (CBS) in 1975 for the program called “The NFL Show.” Phyllis George was Miss
America in 1971. People did not find her knowledgeable about sports and thought she was hired
because she was attractive. According to Molinaro (2011), “Many believed, and some still do,
that she was hired because of her good looks. These perceptions society had about George’s job
as a female sportscaster set the foundational standard of the image a woman must have to enter
the industry” (16-17). This issue is the reason why females in today’s society are having a hard
time getting a job in sports broadcasting and why they are getting a hard time from the viewers.
The perception is that CBS hired George for the sports broadcasting job because they felt that
having her on the show would boost their ratings based on her looks, but it also gave viewers
negative things to think and say about female sportscasters.
In other countries women are also being used for their good looks on sports channels.
Canadian sportscaster Jillian Barberie, who got her start at a Weather Network in the early ‘90s,
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was labeled as a bona-fide “sports babe.” A recent poll showed Barberie is considered a sexy
broadcaster. In a recent poll “to find out who, out of the best 10 best-known female sportscasters,
was the sexiest sports babe in the United States, Barberie placed fifth, with nine percent of the
nearly 60,000 votes” (Klaffke, 2003, 2). Being labeled as a “sports babe” is very sexist towards
the female sportscasters especially when they are hired to do their job just like men but are being
judged based on their looks. However, there aren’t any polls judging male sportscasters based on
their looks. “A Toronto-based men’s magazine published its own pictures of tarted up Canadian
sports babes last.” (Klaffke, 2003, 3). This proves that idea of females being hired because of
their looks is questionable not only in the U.S. but in other countries also.
Women are making some progress breaking through in the business of sports
broadcasting but aren’t being used as broadcasters for the most watched sports. Molinaro states
Women today are seen covering a variety of sports but are mainly sideline
reporters for the most popular sports such as football and men’s basketball.
Women often do play-by-play commentary and analysis for women’s sports,
but to break into covering a men’s game from the booth is not common (2011, 22).
Being a sideline reporter doesn’t require having as much knowledge as being a sportscaster so
the sports networks feel that it would be the best place to have a female that is good looking.
Women have broadcasted for both college basketball and football, and rarely professional
basketball and football games but it’s harder for them to get jobs broadcasting with football.
With basketball, women can relate to this sport because they can play it at the highest level so
people may think that they have a better chance of broadcasting with basketball. But with
football, women don’t play this sport at the highest level so people may not want them talking
about something they can’t relate to. “In 1987 Gayle Sierens became the first, and so far the only
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female to do play-by-play for a national NFL game in black-and-white, which was only seen by
10 percent of the country. In 2009, Lesley Visser became the first to do play-by-play in color
(Granderson, 2011, 1). Well, ESPN writer LZ Granderson had something different to say about
the need to play the game to broadcast it. Granderson (2011) states that “play-by-play
announcers; Jim Nantz, Marv Albert, Dick Stockton and a few color commentators haven’t
played the sport at the highest level either, and they seem to be doing just fine” (3). This quote
proves that males or females can be sportscasters regardless if they have played the sport at the
highest level or even if they have even played the sport at all. In 2006, Visser was recognized by
the Pro Football all of Fame because of her 30-plus year career as one of the best football
reporters off all time. (Granderson, 2011, 3).
The purpose of this research project is to collect data on how Bethany College male and
female students perceive age, appearance, and performance for male and female sportscasters
seen on ESPN. This is an important project to schools that have communication or broadcasting
programs especially sports communications or broadcasting since they will be preparing females
for these roles. It should also be important to sports channels because some might not realize the
situation. The goals of this project include: 1) to see how Bethany College students perceive
male and female sportscasters in the dimensions of attractiveness, authority, knowledge, and
credibility, and 2) to determine whether the appearance of sportscasters is detrimental to their
credibility.
The hypotheses for this study are:
1) Female sportscasters are perceived as more attractive than male sportscasters.
2) Males sportscasters are perceived as commanding more authority than female sportscasters.
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3) Males sportscasters are perceived as being more knowledgeable than female sportscasters.
4) Male sportscasters are perceived as having more credibility than female sportscasters.
LITERATURE REVIEW
When it comes to being reliable, many believe that men are best at this in the field of
sports broadcasting. Females are always looked at as being powerless when it comes to men but
this is bias. “Research suggests that there is an audience sex bias in evaluating sportscasters, with
women perceived as being less authoritative than men” (Etling & Young, 2007, 121). As long as
there are more male sportscasters than female sportscasters on ESPN, audiences will forever
perceive the females as being less authoritative because they are so used to seeing the males
broadcasting. It’s like watching the ESPN show “First Take” and not seeing Skip Bayless or
Stephen A. Smith. How will the audience react to that? Or will they even watch the show? Cari
Champion is the female sportscaster that is a part of the ESPN show “First Take” but she only
has a small role on the show. Her role is just to ask Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith questions,
which is not much. “Given the masculine nature of sports broadcasting and the authoritativeness
attributed to male speakers in general, male sportscasters could be expected to be perceived as
more authoritative and credible than female announcers” (Etling & Young, 2007, 123). Her small
role on the show “First Take” is exactly what this research is explaining because she is on a show
surrounded by two very knowledgeable male sportscasters, so her role is at a minimum causing
her to appear less authoritative.
College students’ perceptions of male and female sportscasters have been studied before.
Even though male college students had positive attitudes toward other male sportscasters, this
wasn’t the case for females. According to Caulk (1993), “Women did not have more positive
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attitudes toward female sportscasters than toward male sportscasters, men had more positive
attitudes toward male sportscasters than toward female sportscasters” (Etling & Young, 2007,
123). Men having more positive attitudes toward male sportscasters than to female sportscasters
may seem like they are discriminating against the female sportscasters but they are not; The
majority of sportscasters on ESPN are male; females are usually just sideline reporters. Male
hegemony dominates this industry. According to Bryson (1994) male hegemony is “the
dominance of men by women attempting to end the field” ” (Etling & Young, 2007, 123). It
may be that since the male sportscasters are mostly all viewers see on ESPN that’s what they are
going to support.
Sports’ broadcasting is dominated by males and will continue to be dominated by males
until females aren’t perceived the way they have been over the years. “Sports and sports
broadcasting are structured largely by and for men, and the literature suggests that both
authoritativeness and gender affect perceptions of female sportscasters” (Etling & Young, 2007,
121). Credibility is huge when it comes to facts about sports. Male sportscasters are considered
more credible. Etling and Young (2007) state “Given the masculine nature of sports broadcasting
and the authoritativeness attributed to male speakers in general, males sportscasters could be
expected to be perceived as more authoritative and credible than female announcers” (123). Even
if female sportscasters do their research on the sport, its like they still won’t be as credible as a
male would be because usually the male sportscasters that are broadcasting for the sport played
that sport and were good at it at some point in their careers. Gender also affects the perceptions
of female sportscasters because there have not been that many female sportscasters on ESPN
who have excelled in sports broadcasting. When women are hired, viewers sometimes don’t even
give female sportscasters a chance on the air just because of their gender. For an example, Robin
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Roberts, a female sportscaster and former college basketball player, took a job in Nashville
Tennessee and on her first day on the job someone called and said, “I don’t like any woman
sportscaster, why do you do this?” (Clifton, 2012, 26). This proves that just because of the
gender, people’s perceptions affect female sportscasters.
Credibility is another area where female sportscasters are looked at as being less than
males. According to McCroskey (1998), “credibility refers to a person’s believability” (Brann &
Himes, 2010, 244). Physical characteristics play a big role when talking about credibility.
“Uncontrollable physical characteristics, such as age, race, sex, and physical attractiveness are
particularly powerful in influencing credibility.” (Brann & Himes, 244, 2010).
Age determines the amount of experience someone has when it comes to being credible.
When it comes to sports casting, its like asking yourself the question “would you rather hire a
former sports player that played professionally for 2 years or would you rather hire one that has
played professionally for 15 years?” In most cases, the longer a person has worked at something,
a better experience will follow.
Race also plays a huge role when being credible. When research is controlled for
appearance, attractiveness, the type of news and presentation style, white, male newscasters are
rated as the most credible (Brann & Himes, 2010, 246).
Being credible plays a huge role when working as a sportscaster. Viewers believe that
when it comes to talking about sports, men are more suitable for the job because they have
played the sport so they would have hands-on experience with the sport. Others believe that
women have no place in sports broadcasting. Gross (2002) reports anchor Andy Rooney on 60
Minutes, stated that “The only thing that bugs me about television’s coverage is those damn
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women they have down on the sidelines who don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. A
women has no business being down there trying to make a comment about a football game.”
(Gunther, Kautz, Roth, N.D. 74). Even women sportscasters see being a sideline reporter instead
of a play-by-play or color commentator as the role for women. Trumball (2003) states, in an
article by Pam Ward, ESPN sideline reporter, “More than 90% of women who ask me for career
advice want to do sidelines. That’s what they see as possible” (Gunther, Kautz, & Roth, N.D.,
73). There is only so much that a male or female can be knowledgeable about when it comes to
being credible about a sport because even though they may have done tons of research on the
sport, they still don’t have that hands-on experience like the gender of the sport would have. For
an example, viewers prefer male sportscasters to female sportscasters when it comes to sports
such as football or men’s basketball because only men play those sports, in which would make
them more credible. Male or female viewers may prefer female sportscaster when it comes to
sports such as women’s soccer or women’s because women play those sports and they may have
better knowledge based on the hands-on experience they’ve had with it. Former Wake Forest
basketball player and now ESPN analysis, LaChina Robinson, believes that “judgments about
female broadcasters often depend on whether the woman had played the sport she was covering
and that you just have to continue to cross those lines and break down those barriers.” (Clifton,
27, 2012).
Women sportscasters received very little respect in the past. It has been over 20 years
since women have come into the sports broadcasting field, but they are still being treated the
same way, in terms of respect. In 2010, Bishop (2010), reported that “Jets Defensive Backs
Coach Dennis Thurman and some of the players made sexually suggestive comments about
reporter, Ines Sainz, in the locker room after practice” (Gunther, Kautz, Roth, N.D., 75). Female
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sportscasters getting this kind of disrespect may be discouraged from going into the field of
sports broadcasting because they feel that its not fair that they get treated one way and males get
treated the total opposite. Female sports broadcasters that have already experienced the
harassment that they receive have even given other females thinking about coming into the field
of broadcasting, advice. When Pam Ward was asked about the field of sports broadcasting, she
stated “I don’t think the opportunity is there. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that” (Gunther, Kautz,
Roth, N.D., 73). When a big named female sports reporter like Pam Ward says that the
opportunity for becoming a female sports broadcaster isn’t there, it makes females that want to
become a broadcaster not even consider that because of the person the statement is coming from,
which is Pam Ward.
“The gender-based credibility gap from when women first entered sports broadcasting
has shrunk but still exists today.” (Clifton, 2012, 27).
THEORETICAL BASE
For this study, the Cultivation Theory and the Muted Group Theory were used. The
Cultivation Theory argues that television plays an extremely important role in how people view
their world. This is perfect for the topic because when females see how the female sportscasters
are portrayed, it makes them want to pursue their dreams as female sportscasters and to make
people think differently of them when being looked at on television. The Muted Group Theory
will help with my research because it is a theory that is concerning certain groups of people who
remain powerless compared to other groups. Women sportscasters are the group that is powerless
when compared to the male group of sportscasters.
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Watching the same thing on television over and over will start to make people think that
whatever they see is actually real, know matter if it is true or not. According to Gerbner’s
Cultivation Theory, Gerbner “regards television as the dominant force in shaping modern society
because it tells stories” (Griffin, 2006, 385). When viewers watch ESPN and see that there are
always male sportscasters broadcasting for all of the sports shows and games, it becomes a norm
and that’s what they will always expect to see. Even though viewers are starting to see more
female sportscasters on ESPN, when they do see them they may ask questions like “Where is
Charles Barkley?” or “Why is she doing this?” They may also say things to themselves like “She
doesn’t know what she’s talking about” or “I bet she’s only doing this because of the way she
looks.” Viewers are saying these things because they feel that males are more knowledgeable
when it comes to talking about sports, and this isn’t the way they want to think about these
things; it’s just the norm of the things that they are used to seeing.
Watching television at a high-volume of time can affect people in more than one way.
Miller (2013, 2) states
The cultivation theory suggests that there are two tiers of cultivation effects
brought about by television viewing. First order effects encompass general
viewpoints about the state and behavior of the everyday world, such as
perceptions of violence in society. Second order effects, are those involving
specific attitudes about certain aspects of society, such as rule of law or
family relationships.
The first order effects are the views of everyday society. For an example, when viewers watch
ESPN and see that all the programs are male dominant, the first level effect may be that women
are inferior to me all the time. The second order effects would include the bias that women are
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not qualified to participate in sports broadcasting on ESPN. For example, ESPN programs as
Pardon the Interruption, Baseball Tonight, and NBA Coast to Coast all are male dominant. If
viewers who believe that women are not qualified suddenly see females hosting these shows,
viewers wouldn’t be used to seeing this and may not watch the shows anymore. The second
order effects basically is saying that determining on how they feel about certain subjects, they
will have different attitudes on those subjects. For an example, if viewers feel that a female
sportscaster should not be on an ESPN program such College Game Day they will have a
positive attitude about the show until they see a female broadcasting the show, and then they
may have a negative attitude about the show.
When viewers see female sportscasters on television, they see them as being beautiful or
hot, and not looking at them as being knowledgeable and credible. This is because when female
sportscasters are seen on television they are all young and beautiful. Most are sideline reporters.
Gerbner states, “through constant exposure to the same images and labels, television types
develop a commonality of outlook…” (Griffin, 2006, 389). Even though there are different
female sportscaster being seen on television, they are all young and good looking. When viewers
see this they may believe that they are only broadcasting that show for one reason and one reason
only, because of the way they look and not because of their knowledge of the sport. For an
example, the show, Inside the NBA, has the same hosts on the show every time. Also, the hosts
of Inside the NBA all played the sport they are broadcasting so their knowledge of the sport is
really up to par. The female sportscasters that are being hired haven’t played the sport they are
broadcasting and that’s what may be the problem; they don’t seem to know enough about the
game like the people who have played it.
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Female sportscasters are a part of a group that is basically powerless when being
compared to male sportscasters. According to Kramarae’s Muted Group Theory, “When women
try to overcome this inequality, the masculine control of communication places them at a
tremendous disadvantage” (Griffin, 2006, 494). When females are trying to become sportscasters,
viewers really don’t give them a chance because of the norm of seeing male sportscasters all over
ESPN. A female sportscaster is going to be at a disadvantage no matter the situation because of
the way our society is shaped. If the female is a younger and beautiful sportscaster, viewers will
say that she is only there for her looks, or that she doesn’t have knowledge or any credibility of
the sport. If the female is older, viewers may believe that she has some knowledge of the sport
but she wouldn’t be pretty enough to watch so they wouldn’t want to see her. Its basically a lose/
lose situation for females trying to be sportscasters and that’s why they are powerless in this
situation. Since almost all of the executives at ESPN are male, males would be responsible for
the hiring of females sportscasters. Males control what happens on the network.
Trying to convince viewers that women sportscasters are credible and knowledgeable is
very hard to do based upon how they have been perceived in the past. Ardener’s Muted Group
Theory states that, “People with little clout have trouble giving voice to their perceptions.”
(Griffin, 2006, 495). Female sportscasters are becoming more common in today’s society on
ESPN, but they may always be looked at as not being as knowledgeable as men, therefore male
sportscasters continue to be in power. As time goes along, female sportscasters might become
more common but it will take time because of the beliefs that people have on female
sportscasters. Like Ardener states, females have little clout so trying to voice their perceptions
will just be that much harder because of the power that males have.
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Since men are the most dominant when it comes to sports broadcasting, viewers are
adjusted to the way that they broadcast. Females basically have to resemble the way that males
broadcast just so viewers can get comfortable with them. “The muted group theory argues that
the dominant mode of speech and interaction is based on male styles because men have been the
dominant societal group (Canary & Hause, 2013, 140). Our society is so accustomed to the
styles of our male sportscasters that when female sportscasters are on air with male sportscasters,
they feel that they have to adjust to the way that the male sportscasters are broadcasting. For
example, on the ESPN program, First Take, the lone female sportscaster on the show, Cari
Champion, has to adjust to the way that male sportscasters, Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith,
are broadcasting. Bayless and Smith are referred to as the main hosts of the show and Champion
is a part of the show also but she is labeled as the co-host, basically because she is a female who
does not have a large part in the discussion. They take the lead role when talking about topics of
the show and then Champion jumps and adds what she has to say just so that she can adjust to
the way that the male sportscasters are broadcasting the different topics. Another example of this
same situation is the ESPN program Sports Nation. Again there is a lone female on the show,
Michelle Beadle, and she is surrounded by two male sportscasters, Max Kellerman and
Marcellus Wiley. Kellerman and former NFL player Wiley are named as the hosts of the show
and again the female is labeled as the co-host only because of her limited job on the show.
METHOD
This study focuses on “The perceived impact that different ages, appearance, and
performance standards of female and male sportscasters seen on ESPN has on Bethany College
students.” The theories that were used throughout this research paper were the cultivation theory
and the muted group theory. The research questions that are being proposed are “How do female
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and male Bethany College students perceive male and female sportscasters in the dimensions of
attractiveness, authority, knowledge, and credibility?” and “Is the appearance of sportscasters
detrimental to their credibility?”
This was a quantitative research project and also and non-random sample survey, in
which each member of the population had an equal and known chance of being selected to take
place in the survey. This was also a convenience sample with descriptive statistics and straight
percentages. It was a convenience sample because the participants or respondents that
participated in the survey were convenient to the researcher.
Variables. The variables used in this analysis were the independent and dependent variables.
The independent variables were male and female. The dependent variables are attractiveness,
authoritativeness, knowledge, age, and credibility. These variables were selected for this study
by determining “what makes a sportscaster?” In the literature review, the qualities of
attractiveness, authoritativeness, knowledge, age, and credibility are what it comes down to.
Some of these things may be different for each gender but all of these are what makes a
sportscaster.
Sample size. The sample size was 100 (55 male and 45 female) participants with ages ranging
from 18-34 years old. The participants were a convenience sample selected from the college
where the researcher attends.
Sample characteristics. Sample characteristics included college students attending a small liberal
arts college in the Eastern part of the United States. The sample size was 100 (55 male and 45
female) participants with ages ranging from 18-34 years old. With this survey being a non-
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random sample and only for Bethany College students, the results cannot be generalized to a
larger or different area.
Methodology. The survey used was a 13-statement survey with one demographic question,
which asked the gender of the person completing the survey (See Appendix A). These statements
covered the different perceptions of age, appearance, and performance standards that Bethany
College students had about sports broadcasters. Also, the statements allowed the participants to
determine whether attractiveness, authority, knowledge, gender equalities, or credibility played a
part in perceiving male and female sportscasters. A 4-point Likert Scale was used to evaluate
each statement in the survey. The choices from the Likert Scale were strongly agree, agree,
strongly disagree, and disagree. Neutral wasn’t chosen to be a choice with the Likert Scale
because the researcher wanted the participants students to be challenged to really think about
what they believe about male and female sportscasters. If they had the choice to choose neutral,
the students may just have chosen the neutral option as an easy way to answer the statement.
Consent forms (See Appendix C) and surveys (See Appendix A) were distributed to
college students in the dining hall on a Wednesday, the dining hall’s busiest day. Participants
were given the survey after returning the signed consent form. Participants returned the
completed survey to the researcher immediately after completing it. The survey results were put
into Microsoft Excel to organize the data. The Microsoft Excel program helps organize because
it shows how each respondent responded to each statement. Percentages were obtained for each
statement and response for male respondents and female respondents.
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RESULTS
My results of this survey were organized in an Excel table. The scores for males for each
of the responses (1-4) were added and the total divided by the number of responses (55). For
example, for question #5, there were five responses of 1. This total of five was divided by 55 to
get .09 or 9%. The same thing was done for females. This provided the percentage for each
score, for each question, for males and for females (see Appendix B).
For the survey the participants had to answer each statement with either: strongly
disagree (1), disagree (2), strongly agree (3), or disagree (4). The first statement that the
participants had to respond to was “The majority of female sportscasters are physically attractive.”
84% of the female participants agreed or strongly agreed, and 89% of the male participants
agreed or strongly agreed. The second statement was “The majority of male sportscasters are
physically attractive.” 51% of the female participants agreed or strongly agreed, and 15% of the
male participants agreed or strongly agreed. The third statement was “Female sportscasters
command more authority than males.” 22% of the female participants agreed or strongly agreed,
and 21% of the male participants agreed or strongly agreed. The fourth statement was “Male
sportscasters command more authority than females.” 83% of the female participants agreed or
strongly agreed, and 86% of the male participants agreed or strongly agreed. The fifth statement
was “Female sportscasters are hired for their knowledge of sports.” 42% of the female
participants agreed or strongly agreed, and 45% of male sportscasters agreed or strongly agreed.
The sixth statement that the participants had to respond to was “Male sportscasters are hired for
their knowledge of sports. 91% of females agreed or strongly agreed, and 97% of males agreed
or strongly agreed. The seventh statement was “Aging is a negative for female sportscasters.”
96% of the female participants agreed or strongly agreed, and 60% of males agreed or strongly
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agreed. The eighth statement was “Aging is a negative for male sportscasters.” 22% of the
female participants agreed or strongly agreed, and 16% of the male sportscasters agreed or
strongly agreed. The ninth statement was “Female sportscasters are hired to ensure gender
equality.” 80% of the female participants agreed or strongly agreed, and 84% of the male
participants agreed or strongly agreed. The tenth statement was “Female sportscasters are more
credible covering female sports.” 51% of the female participants agreed or strongly agreed, and
55% of the male participants agreed or strongly agreed. The eleventh statement was “Male
sportscasters are more credible covering female sports.” 74% of the female participants agreed or
strongly agreed, and 34% of the male participants agreed or strongly agreed. The twelfth
statement that the participants had to respond to was “Female sportscasters are hired to boost TV
ratings.” 71% of the female participants agreed or strongly agreed, and 63% of the male
participants agreed or strongly agreed. The thirteenth statement was “Male sportscasters are
hired because majority of the audience is males.” 78% of the female participants agreed or
strongly agreed, and 54% of the male participants agreed and strongly agreed. The fourteenth
and final statement that the participants had to respond to was whether they were a male or
female.
DISCUSSION
The main finding of this study support my hypotheses. One of the main findings that
supported the hypothesis is that the females and male participants believed that majority of the
female sportscasters are physically attractive, and that male sportscasters didn’t have to be
physically attractive. 84% of female and 89% of male participants agreed that majority of female
sportscasters are physically attractive. With that being said, participants also agreed with
information from the literature review. The second main finding that supported the hypothesis
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was that male sportscaster command more authority than female sportscaster. 22% of female and
21% of male participants believed that female sportscasters commanded more authority than
males while 83% of female and 86% of male participants believed that male sportscasters
command more authority than females. That is a huge difference in numbers, which basically
means that the male and female participants believe that females don’t command any authority.
The third main finding that supported my hypothesis was that females weren’t hired because of
the knowledge of sports, but men were. 42% of female and 45% of male’s participants believed
that females are hired because of their knowledge of sports while 91% of female and 97% of
male participants believed that male sportscasters are hired because of their knowledge of the
sport. This is an also a huge difference in who participants believed had more knowledge of
sports. This also helps that statement that females are hired based on their attractiveness because
if viewers don’t believe that females are hired because of their knowledge of the sport,
attractiveness could be one of the reasons they are hired. The fourth main finding that supported
my hypothesis was that aging is a negative for female sportscaster, but it wasn’t a negative for
male sportscasters. 96% of female 60% of male participants believed that aging is a negative for
female sportscasters. If 96% of female viewers of ESPN believe that aging is a negative for
themselves then that may be a serious issue. If the opposite sex believes that it’s a negative it
wouldn’t be as much of a problem but if the same-sex believes it, it has to be an issue. Even
though 60% of the males wasn’t as high as the females, over half of the males still believe that
it’s a negative. 22% of female and 16% of male participants believe that aging is a negative for
male sportscasters. These results are exactly what the information in the literature review states
because it says that it doesn’t matter the age for males because it’s a male dominant job. This
also supports the results that male sportscasters don’t have to physically attractive because aging
21. Bethany College Students’ 21
is a part of being attractive. The fifth main finding that supported my hypothesis was that female
sportscaster are hired to ensure gender equality. 80% of female and 84% of male participants
believes that that females are hired to ensure gender equality. This basically means that the
participants believe that female sportscasters are just because of things such as Title 9. Even
though it may be a bad thing for females to only be hired because of gender quality, good can
come out of it also. “Changes in any one dimensions can lead to changes in others. For instance,
achievements in one sphere of life can form the basis on which women seek improvements in
other spheres in the future.” (Kabeer, 2010, 15). This basically means that the female
sportscasters now can lead to more being hired in the future. The sixth main finding that
supported my hypothesis was that female sportscasters are hired to boost TV ratings. 71% of
female and 63% of male participants believes that females are hired to boost TV ratings. This
basically means that the participants believe that females are only on TV to help get more
viewers. These results are also supported by the results from the other statements such as,
attractiveness because females will only be hired to boost TV ratings if they are attractive.
With this project, there may have been limitations that may have made some of the
results biased. Some of the participants that may have participated may not watch ESPN, so their
results would be bias. If they didn’t watch ESPN their results wouldn’t help the research because
they wouldn’t have any idea what statements were implying. Something that could have been
done to help this issue is to have asked the participants if they watch ESPN before giving them
the survey. This would easily prevent the issue because it would eliminate the bias results that
may skew the results. Another issue that may have been a limitation was if the participants didn’t
take survey seriously and just filled in anything for each statement. This would have made the
results inaccurate because there answers would be bias and may have thrown the statistics off.
22. Bethany College Students’ 22
In the future, there could be new questions or statements that could help investigated to
make this project better. For an example, a statement that could help this research in the future
could be, “Playing a sport professionally helps a male/female sportscaster’s credibility or
knowledge.” This could help future research because it would determine whether playing the
sport helps the hiring process of a male/female sportscaster. Some viewers feel that women
shouldn’t be broadcasting sports that they have no experience with, but others may think the
opposite so finding this out may help future research. Another question/statement that may help
with future research could be, “Race plays a role in the hiring male/female sportscasters.” This
could help future research because some people feel different about who is and who is not
attractive. People prefer different races when it comes to attractiveness so determining if race
plays a role in how viewers see race with sportscasters may be important.
This project is important because it determines whether people looks at male and female
sportscasters on ESPN differently and if they do what are the different reasons that they are
being looked at differently. Our society is so used to seeing ESPN shows being male dominated
that it’s become a norm for them and not noticing females being on the shows hasn’t been
something that they really pay attention to. This project was conducted to see if people noticed
how male dominated the shows on ESPN are and hopefully this project can prove that. People
should care about this project because if people feel that ESPN shows being male dominate is a
problem, this issue could be changed. This change could possibly be really huge because it
would give women the opportunity to become sportscasters on ESPN and once others see that
women sportscasters are becoming more and more popular other sports networks would start
hiring women as sportscasters also. Hopefully this study will help people realize how much of an
affect having female sportscasters on ESPN could change our society.
23. Bethany College Students’ 23
Sports plays an extremely important part in a lot of people’s lives. With that being said,
ESPN is the most watched sports network so our society are seeing these male sportscasters on
ESPN and becoming so comfortable with the male sportscasters on the shows. According to
Variety.com, “ESPN was last year’s top dog in cable ratings, sweeping the key demo categories
while also winning in total viewers” (Kissell, 2015, 1). This is an extremely important statement
because if people pay attention to this project and they feel that female sportscasters should also
become a norm for being seen on ESPN it could be done. With ESPN being the most watched
network on television, this could help with determining whether viewers want to see females as
sportscasters on ESPN. This could be done by noticing if the amount of viewers start to decrease
or if viewers give positive or negative feedback on the change.
In conclusion, the hypotheses were supported. More than half of male and female
participants believe that female sportscaster are physically attractive. More than half of the male
and female participants believe that male sportscasters command more authority than females.
Almost all of the male and female participants believe that males sportscasters are hired because
there knowledge of sports. Almost all female participants and more than half of the male
participants believe that aging is a negative for female sportscasters and not for male
sportscasters. More than half of the male and female participants believe that female
sportscasters are hired to ensure to gender equality. More than half of male and female
participants believe that female sportscasters are hired to boost TV ratings.
24. Bethany College Students’ 24
REFERENCES
Brann, M., & Himes, K. (2010. Perceived credibility of male versus female television
newscasters. Communication Research Reports, 243-252.
Canary, D., & Hause, K. (2013). "Is there any reason to research to research sex differences in
communication?" Communication Quarterly 41, 129-144.
Clifton, A. (2012). "The history of women sportscasters & their struggle for equality." The
University of Toledo, 3-28.
Etling, L., & Young, R. (2007). Sexism and the authoritativeness of female sportscasters.
Communication Research Projects, 121-123.
Granderson, E. (2011). "Where Are Female Football Announcers?" ESPN Internet Ventures, 1-3.
Griffin, E. (2006). Cultivation theory. In a first look at communication theory (6th ed., pp. 385-
394). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Griffin, E. (2006). Muted group theory. In a first look at communication theory (6th ed., pp. 494-
506). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Gunther, A., Kautz, D., & Roth, A. (n.d.). The credibility of female sports broadcasters: The
perception of gender in a male-dominated profession. Wiles University, 71-84.
Kabeer, N. (2005). Gender equality and women's empowerment: A critical analysis of the third
millennium development goal 1. Gender and Development, 13-24.
Kissell, R. (2014). “ESPN No. 1 in Cable Rating for 2014.” ESPN, 1-2.
25. Bethany College Students’ 25
Klaffke, P. (2003). Sports babes are catching on: Networks sign up more female sportscasters
as part of a team. Canwest Global Communications Corporation, 1-5.
Miller, S.P. (2013). “Cultivation theory.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 1-3.
Molinaro C. (2011). Women in sports broadcasting: Three women’s stories. Lehigh University,
17-24.
26. Bethany College Students’ 26
APPENDIX A
Respond to each statement by marking as 1, 2, 3, or 4:
1 strongly disagree 2 disagree 3 agree 4 strongly agree
1. ______The majority of female sportscasters are physically attractive.
2. ______The majority of male sportscasters are physically attractive.
3. ______Female sportscasters command more authority than males.
4. ______Male sports casters command more authority than females.
5. ______Female sportscasters are hired for their knowledge of sports.
6. ______Male sportscasters are hired for their knowledge of sports.
7. ______Aging is a negative for female sportscasters.
8. ______Aging is a negative for male sportscasters.
9. ______Female sportscasters are hired to ensure gender equality.
10.______Female sportscasters are more credible covering female sports.
11.______Male sportscasters are more credible covering female sports.
12.______Female sportscasters are hired to boost TV ratings.
13.______Male sportscasters are hired because majority of the audience is males.
14. ___________I am a female. _____________ I am a male.
28. Bethany College Students’ 28
APPENDIX C
Female and Male percentages for combined agree and strongly agree
1. The majority of female sportscasters are physically attractive. 84% F/89% M
2. The majority of male sportscasters are physically attractive. 51% F/15% M
3. Female sportscasters command more authority than males. 22% F/21% M
4. Male sports casters command more authority than females. 83% F/86% M
5. Female sportscasters are hired for their knowledge of sports. 42% F/45% M
6. Male sportscasters are hired for their knowledge of sports. 91% F/97% M
7. Aging is a negative for female sportscasters. 96% F/60% M
8. Aging is a negative for male sportscasters. 22% F/16% M
9. Female sportscasters are hired to ensure gender equality. 80% F/84% M
10. Female sportscasters are more credible covering female sports. 51% F/55% M
11. Male sportscasters are more credible covering female sports. 74% F/34% M
12. Female sportscasters are hired to boost TV ratings. 71% F/63% M
13. Male sportscasters are hired because majority of the audience is males. 78% F/63% M
29. Bethany College Students’ 29
APPENDIX D
Informed Consent Form (Bethany College Institutional Review Board)
Title of Project: Bethany College Students’ Perceptions of Male and Female
Sportscasters Seen on ESPN
Approved by IRB: Approved 3/29/15 IRB approval number 2014-15-CMJ2
Principal Investigator: Delonte D. Joyce Email Address: djoyce@bethanywv.edu
Other Investigators: Dr. Patrick Sutherland
Email Addresses: psutherland@bethanywv.edu
Participant’s Printed Name:
Section 1. Description of ParticipantResponsibility
I understand that, as a research participant, I will be responsible for filling out a paper
survey that describes my perceptions of male and female sportscasters. Moreover, I
understand that some demographic information will be requested.
Section 2. Time Duration of Study
I understand that the research questionnaire will take approximately five minutes to
complete, at which point my responsibilities are fulfilled.
Section 3. Benefits and Risks of Participation
I understand that the researchers are unaware of any foreseeable risks arising from
my participation in this study. I understand I will receive no incentive for completing
the survey.
Section 4. Statement of Confidentiality
I understand that only the investigators will evaluate my data. I understand that data and
results related to my participation will be kept ANONYMOUSand CONFIDENTIAL for a
period of five years in compliance with College policy. If I choose to withdraw at any point
during the study, I understand that the researcher will destroy all data related to my
participation.
Section 5. Voluntary Participation
Taking part in this study is voluntary. If I choose to take part, I have the right to withdraw
at any time. If I decide not to participate or if I decide to withdraw from the study at a later
date, there will be no penalty or loss of benefits to which I am entitled.
Signature and Consent/Permission to be in the Research
By signing this form, I indicate that I am voluntarily choosing to participate in this research.
______________________________________________ __________
Signature of Participant Date
