Tag: Oral Session 2 O

Portraits of Fans: Sports Fandom in Women’s Professional Basketball

Presenter(s): Sierra Webster

Faculty Mentor(s): Lori Shontz

Oral Session 2 O

Male sports reporters produce nearly 90 percent of sports media coverage (The Status of Women in the U.S. Media, Women’s Media Center). Just 13 percent of sports staff are white women, while 5 percent are women of color. Further, men predominately hold decision-making roles in sports media, making up 90 percent of sports editors (2018 AP Sports Editors Report Card). Thus, the underrepresentation of women and women of color in sports media necessarily produces misrepresentations of female athletes and female athletes of color. In the very nature of how journalism works and the role of journalists as agenda-setters, reporters and editors decide which and how narratives around women are told.
For my School of Journalism and Communication honors thesis, I have produced a long-form feature story focused on fans of the Seattle Storm, the 2018 WNBA champion, and their relationship to a professional team that is not centered around masculinity and whiteness. The Storm seems to sit at the forefront of a movement that is giving more prestige and attention towards professional sportswomen.

My project has combined extensive sports media coverage research and knowledge with journalistic storytelling, interviewing and reporting to tell the story of Storm fans and why their stories matter through the accessible medium of journalism. I traveled to Seattle to interview sources and gather information, scene and a sense for the city’s support of its WNBA franchise. The information gathered on reporting trips paired with information gathered through research culminates in a product that is more than a research article but is a compelling story that demonstrates the value of women’s professional sports. Using my research and my experience as a woman in sports media, I have produced a narrative that is dignifying, nuanced and representative of the women on the court and in the stands.

Women Ball Too: Changing the Culture Around Women in Sports and Defining Women Excellence

Presenter(s): Corinne Togiai

Co Presenter(s): Donovan Neal

Faculty Mentor(s): Donovan Neal

Oral Session 2 O

Women Ball Too (WBT) is a social movement and business bringing awareness, advocating for recognition, and pushing towards equality for women excellence in sports. Thus, our central questions concern: how WBT can change the culture around women’s sports? What does changing the culture of women’s sports mean and look like? With that said, Women Ball Too’s mission is to change and cultivate a culture of excellence around women in sports that takes ownership and partnership. By recognizing and continually growing attention around women in sports through products, programs, and perspectives this will build a platform for an increase in women’s viewership, salaries and businesses.

In this project, we work through three main methodological approaches to enact the change we want to see: products, programs, and perspectives/community. Therefore, WBT current products sold include apparel from t-shirts, long sleeves, and hoodies. This is used to measure the level of engagement people are investing financially and socially via their purchase. For programs, we initiate teams to help host WBT events held before major women’s sporting events, collaborations with school departments and local businesses to host dances, sports camps, and other community activities to use as a platform to foster awareness about women in sports. Lastly, social media is one of our largest outlets to post current events regarding women in sports, to connect with major athletes and social influencers, and to encourage individuals to stand behind the WBT social movement and business to empower and respect women on and off the court.

Why Can’t We Be Friends?: Masculinity in the TV Sitcom “Friends”

Presenter(s): Elle Rogers

Faculty Mentor(s): Dr. Allison McGuffie

Oral Session 2 O

On the surface, “Friends” is viewed as an All-American, wholesome
television series. Though the love for the series is immeasurable by
original audiences and the newest generation of on-demand viewers like myself, many commentators have said “Friends” upholds masculinist social norms that are unacceptable in our current era marked by gender awareness such as the me too movement. A close analysis of looking relations in a single episode, in fact, reveals that the male gaze, originally defined by Laura Mulvey, maintains control of the show’s depiction of masculinity at the expense of femininity. Drawing on Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity and building on David Gauntlett’s analysis of gender identity in television, this presentation examines exactly how Friends enforces hegemonic masculinity. I ultimately show that problematic norms of masculinity in the episode, “The One with Ross’s Teeth,” are enforced by character depictions, the construction of the gaze, and the utter absence of feminine perspective.

Framing International News at the Headline: Comparing and Analyzing Tone, Frequency, and Descriptive Word Choice in Articles About the United States, China and GermanyFraming International News at the Headline: Comparing and Analyzing Tone, Frequency, and Descriptive Word Choice in Articles About the United States, China and Germany

Presenter(s): Jillian Niedermeyer

Faculty Mentor(s): Dean Mundy & Pat Curtin

Oral Session 2 O

Modern media is largely controlled by large organizations and, in particular, those in first-world countries commonly known as “core nations” in communication studies. This study explores the intersection of international mass communication and the traditional communication theory of framing. The research asks: Is it possible for news organizations, when reporting international news stories, to frame the subject countries as “the other” at the headline? Using the Washington Post and BBC, I analyzed over 600 headlines to evaluate how journalists frame stories about other countries and, for the Washington Post, their own. Ultimately, this research found the majority of international news is negatively framed and only arises when events occur. Whether these organizations are framing the countries as the “other” is inconclusive. Moving forward, this study could gain from analyzing more than two countries’ approaches to news about other countries, as well as analyzing additional sources.Modern media is largely controlled by large organizations and, in particular, those in first-world countries commonly known as “core nations” in communication studies. This study explores the intersection of international mass communication and the tradit

Asexual Representation on Television and its Effects on Public Knowledge

Presenter(s): Olivia Dozois

Faculty Mentor(s): Dean Mundy & David Markowitz

Oral Session 2 O

While LGBTQ+ representation in the media has greatly improved in recent decades, asexuality remains underrepresented and misunderstood. While there are several examples of LGBTQ+ characters across many channels and streaming services, there have only been two recurring asexual TV characters to date. This lack of asexual representation could be having an effect on public knowledge of the asexual identity. I explore this question using a multi-method approach. First, I do a content analysis of the two recurring asexual characters. I analyze a single episode from each of the shows the characters are featured on. Aside from the content analysis, I conduct a short online survey to evaluate anonymous respondents on their media consumption and knowledge of the asexual identity. My continued research, analysis, and data collection aims to determine if there is a connection between TV representation and general public knowledge of the asexual identity. This study is an attempt at extrapolating the television industry’s current circulation of information regarding the asexual identity, and how a greater understanding of asexuality may be achieved through a greater asexual character presence on television.