MEN VERSUS WOMEN SPORTS COVERAGE AND POPULARITY Case Study

MEN VERSUS WOMEN SPORTS COVERAGE AND POPULARITY - Case Study Example This was about 13hours higher in comparison to the women’s coverage. Men in most cases tend to perform extremely well in various games. This boosts the reporter’s morale towards covering most of men’s games. In the summer Olympics in 2008 as well as the preceding years, there emerged improved air time coverage with both men and women almost getting equal air time coverage. About 46.3% of airtime coverage went to women in this year, a decrease from the previous year 2004 when the coverage was 47.9%. Nevertheless, coverage of women sports events improved heavily towards the socially acceptable sports for women. The socially accepted sports are always attractive as these sports involve minimal clothing hence women can be easily displayed as physically attractive. These kind of sports, even though are highly ranked in the media coverage among the women are not morally acceptable in the media fraternity. This research paper explains the impact of media coverage in com parison to men and women sports coverage and popularity. Women who normally take part in sports that involve either power or hard body contact are more often unlikely to receive media coverage. This is due to the stereotypical assumptions involved with these kinds of feminine events thus there is reduced women sports coverage. ... The 2010 Olympics aptly inclined towards men coverage thus rendering it biased. Most of the winter sports by their nature generally provide women with fewer opportunities to capture various sports. The make-up of the spectators whom NBC normally targets to please provides a more complex narrative than mere pandering to male sports fans for the summer Olympics in 2008. Women spectators over 18years of age in the recent Olympic Games have lost the media coverage with only 49 per cent total viewers attending while the rest are women. This reduces the lively participation by the women in these games due to the feeling of being neglected by the fellow women spectators. This in turn reduces the women sports coverage popularity in women’s sports participation fields. The sports world is almost entirely divided between men’s and women’s groups. The men’s sport has nonetheless, always dominated all forms of broadcasting coverage despite the fact that women as well competes in those exact similar sports in an increasingly professional level. The sports coverage revolves around newspaper, broadcasting, news coverage, reports and internet articles in the media houses. In United States for example, women’s sports receive a total of 1.65 of the total sports airtime on both the local, national and sports media giants such as ESPN. This is as well experienced in Australia media houses in relation to the popularity of men’s coverage in sports in relation to women’s. In Australia the situation is even demeaning with women’s sport coverage receiving only 9 per cent in relation to men’s coverage and airtime which is at 81 per cent. In the written press the numbers are always