Sports, Media, and Society

Part I. Sports Media Basics
Chapter 1. Theoretical Foundation: Gatekeeping
Chapter 2. History and Evolution of the Sports Media
Chapter 3. Business of the Sports Media
Chapter 4. Case Study: NBC and the Olympics
Chapter 5. Case Study: Sports Illustrated
Chapter 6. Social Media in Sports

Part II. The Impact of Television
Chapter 7. Theoretical Foundation: Agenda Setting
Chapter 8. ABC Sports
Chapter 9. ESPN
Chapter 10. Fox Sports
Chapter 11. Case Study: League of Denial
Chapter 12. Case Study: ESPN and the SEC Bias

Part III. Social Issues
Chapter 13. Theoretical Foundation: Social Identity Theory
Chapter 14. Theoretical Foundation: Framing
Chapter 15. Media Coverage of Race in Sports
Chapter 16. Case Study: Colin Kaepernick
Chapter 17. Case Study: “Stick to Sports”
Chapter 18. Media Coverage of Women’s Sports
Chapter 19. Case Study: U.S. Women’s Soccer Team
Chapter 20. Women in the Sports Media
Chapter 21. Media Coverage of LGBTQ+ in Sports
Chapter 22. Case Study: Michael Sam

Part IV. Crisis Communication
Chapter 23. Theoretical Foundation: Crisis Communication
Chapter 24. Case Study: Tiger Woods
Chapter 25. Case Study: Lance Armstrong
Chapter 26. Case Study: LeBron James and The Decision
Chapter 27. Case Study: Death of Kobe Bryant
Chapter 28. Case Study: Houston Astros Cheating Scandal

Part V. Emerging Trends in Sports Media and Society
Chapter 29. Theoretical Foundation: Two-Step Flow
Chapter 30. Team and Player Media
Chapter 31. Lasting Impact of COVID-19
Chapter 32. Mental Health
Chapter 33. Esports
Chapter 34. Sports Betting

Whether espoused by sports leagues, teams, or individual athletes, social issues are part of the sporting world fabric. The sports media often plays the gatekeeper, deciding how messages are presented and to what extent they’re covered—if at all.

Sports, Media, and Society investigates the impact of societal issues in sports and how the media reports those stories. Why does the sports media operate in the manner that it does, and what’s the impact of its decisions on the audience?

With Sports, Media, and Society, there is now a resource that combines mainstay class discussion points, current case studies, and theoretical and historical foundations in one comprehensive text. The book’s 34 chapters are each short and concise—a format preferred by instructors—covering a wide range of topics and easily digestible for students.

Part I covers sports media history and the media’s role as gatekeeper. Chapters explore the history and evolution of various media—newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and social media—and the business of and competition between sports media entities. Case studies examine NBC’s Olympics coverage and the nimbleness of Sports Illustrated in the digital space.

Part II showcases television’s impact on how fans follow sports. Discussions include ABC’s Wide World of Sports, which exposed viewers to events around the globe; ESPN’s foray into 24/7 sports coverage; and Fox Sports’ shocking NFL deal, which marked a new era in media rights negotiations and sports broadcasting technologies.

The intersection of sports and social issues is the focus of part III. Numerous issues are addressed, punctuated by case studies involving key players and events related to each topic. Cases concerning Colin Kaepernick, USWNT (and coverage of women’s sports generally), LGBTQ+ issues, and obstacles faced by women working in sports media are highlights, while examinations of social identity theory and framing provide context on how people identify with specific groups and how the media influences opinions.

Athletes and sport entities are constantly in the news—not always in a positive light. Part IV addresses crisis management and communication, featuring case studies about Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, LeBron James (The Decision), Kobe Bryant (his death and the misreporting of facts surrounding it), and the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal.

The text concludes with part V, which explores emerging trends in sports media and society. Through social media, virtually anyone can become a thought leader (wresting control from traditional outlets), and teams and athletes can dialogue directly with fans, effectively sidelining sports journalists. Chapters on the formerly taboo subjects of athlete mental health and sports wagering, as well as the exploding popularity of esports, round out the text.

Sports shape our culture in numerous ways, and the sports media plays a transformative role in how it occurs. Sports, Media, and Society prepares tomorrow’s sports journalists and communicators to venture beyond the how-tos of developing content to understanding the whys behind it.

Kevin Hull, PhD, is an associate professor of journalism and the lead instructor of the sports media initiative at the University of South Carolina. Before entering academia, Hull was a television sports broadcaster for an NBC affiliate in North Carolina for about seven years. In this role, he anchored and reported on local sports while also serving as photographer, editor, and producer for his own stories. His work has sent him to the Super Bowl, NCAA Tournaments, and many additional amateur and professional sporting events. Hull won several statewide awards for Best Sports Feature from the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas, and his department’s sportscasts were the most watched in the market.

As a researcher, Hull focuses primarily on local sports broadcasters throughout the United States. He has studied the challenges new sports broadcasters face, the issues surrounding race and gender in the profession, and how universities are preparing students to enter the field of sportscasting. His published studies have discussed sports media education, how sportscasters are using social media, and sports media internships.

Hull wrote the textbook Sports Broadcasting, published by Human Kinetics in 2022.