It's a Man's Man's Man's World

Given the differences in the ways females and males are utilized in sports broadcasts,

it is plausible that differences also exist in how they present themselves.

In a study done by Clemson University in September 2014, researchers employed content

analyses, guided by Goffman’s 1959 seminal theory of self-presentation to compare

Erin Andrews and Kirk Herbstreit’s tweets during the 2012-2013 college football season.

 

Melinda R. Weathers, Assistant Professor in the Communication Studies Department at

Clemson University and lead author on the study, weighed in on the specificities of the

research. 

 

"Given the gender differences in self-presentationthat have been found

both in general and sports-specific audiences, we wanted to know how

sports broadcasters’ self-presentation manifests on Twitter", Weathers explained. 

 

Goffman’s 1959 idea of the presentational self stems from the premise that individuals present themselves after deciding how to respond or act in certain situations, viewing social interaction as a dramaturgical performance. One of the main concepts related to Goffman’s 1974 presentational self is the idea that people change between frontstage and backstage performances during their daily social interactions.

 

"For example, when speaking to others from behind the public eye, people are more candid and open; yet when in front of others, they will put on a performance, filter their words and actions, and present themselves in a manner in which they desire others to see them" Weathers explains. 

 

Weathers explained that past research showed that people tend to have a preferred manner in which they aspire to present themselves to the world. Many seek to accomplish this by highlighting certain aspects of their identities in order to please others and meet audience expectations. 

 

"The focus on social media here is important because during a live event, sports broadcasters largely stick to script", Weathers says. "On Twitter this may be more easily accomplished, given the autonomy that Twitter offers, it is prime ground for sports broadcasters to deviate from expected gender roles" Weathers adds. 

 

Researchers at Clemson examined the tweets from each broadcaster during the beginning of the 2012 college football season, August 29, 2012, through several weeks past the end of the season, January 30, 2013, to account for significant college football news that occurs after the National Championship game. Examples of this would be players declaring for the NFL Draft and coaching changes. This yielded a total of 2,349 tweets between Andrews, who accounted for 1,082 and Herbstreit, who had 1,267.

 

To develop frames for self-presentation, all the tweets in the aforementioned time frame were extrapolated from Twitter and were critically analyzed and reviewed for emergent themes, with each tweet serving as the unit of analysis. The themes were then translated into the development of broader self-presentational frames.

 

"This process entailed extensive discussion between the research team to ensure that all themes were appropriately captured", Weathers explained. "Frames were operationalized through the creation of a coding sheet that was reviewed by an expert in the field to ensure readability, frame relevancy, and face validity", Weathers adds.

 

In all, 10 self-presentation frames were constructed—six backstage frames: stylist, conversationalist, sports insider, behind the TV persona, super fan, and source; and four frontstage frames: analyst, publicist, acknowledger, and image manager. We then used content analysis to categorize each of the 2,349 tweets into one of the 10 frames in the systematic and replicable fashion inherent to the method.

 

The research team had many discussions about which sports broadcasters to analyze.

 

"Our rationale in selecting Andrews and Herbstreit was based on the premise that they both cover the same sport, American college football, are well-known sports-media personalities, and both owned and operated a Twitter account" Weathers explains.

 

Andrews began her career in 2004 working for ESPN covering Major League Baseball and college sports, most notably as the sideline reporter during ESPN’s weekly showcase college football telecasts. After six years, she accepted a hosting position with College GameDay on ESPNU. In 2012 Andrews signed a contract with Fox and currently hosts a new primetime college football show and contributes to both MLB and National Football League coverage on Fox.

 

Herbstreit is in his 18th year as an analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay and also works as an analyst for ABC Sports’ prime-time college football series.. Erin Andrews, as previously mentioned, is currently the host of FOX College Football and Kirk Herbstreit is an American analyst for ESPN'S College GameDay.

 

Analysis revealed that Andrews’s tweets predominantly manifested as backstage performances (63.7%), whereas Herbstreit’s tweets were predominantly frontstage (66.5%). The results indicated that although Andrews and Herbstreit used Twitter in some complementary ways, there were clear differences that seemed to fall along traditional gender boundaries inherent in sports media.

 

"Andrews heavily promoted her sense of fashion and engaged nonsports-related celebrities, offering little in the way of sports insight and opinion" Weathers explains. "Herbstreit, on the other hand, focused more on game-related information and connecting with sports-related people" Weathers adds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, the results suggest that although Twitter provides an avenue for female sports broadcasters to break down gender barriers, it currently serves to reify their subordinate sports-media roles.

 

"This disparity was somewhat surprising as Andrews is the lead anchor on a major college football studio show and it would not be out of the realm of possibility for her to offer commentary", Weathers says.

 

Weathers addresses a reason for the absence of these messages on Andrews' Twitter.

 

"Perhaps her reticence may be attributed to perceived backlash from followers, particularly males, whom already perceive female sports broadcasters to lack credibility", Weathers says. "Given the ability for followers to transmit messages directly to Andrews, perhaps she eschews these messages to avoid vitriolic responses", Weathers adds.

 

So why did the broadcaster’s Twitter use differ? Weathers suggests that it is likely because it may be safer for a sports broadcaster to align his or her self-presentation with expected behavior rather than facing the wrath of misguided Twitter users.

 

Nevertheless, a generation of sports-media consumers are joining and becoming acculturated to social media at exceptional rates.

 

"If female sports broadcasters employ a shift in strategy via Twitter, it may change audience expectations of gender roles in sports media", Weather says "And assist in ushering a shift in broadcasting where it becomes more frequent and common to see a female broadcaster on play-by-play and providing in-depth and targeted analysis", Weathers adds.

 

Research suggests that sports fans do enjoy seeing the personal side of athletes on Twitter; however, emphasizing these aspects may contribute to the reification of female sports broadcasters.

 

"Personal messages from female broadcasters that relate to fashion and popular culture appear to conform to perceptions that females’ proper place in sports broadcasting is to provide 'eye candy' for male viewers" Weathers says. "Also they are not expected to provide meaningful sports commentary", Weathers explains.

 

Conversely, male sports broadcasters are expected to stay squarely in the sports-analysis domain. These specific findings highlight a trend for female sports broadcasters.

 

"Female broadcasters gain more prominence in sports-media coverage and have the ability to assert more control over their self-presentation via Twitter", Weathers explains. 

 

It is important then for both male and female sports broadcasters to assert themselves and start to break sports audiences from their hegemonic tendencies.

 

"For the broadcasters who do break script in their self-presentation, a network of potential social support exists" Weathers explains.

 

Indeed there is a potential for media peers to encourage and support those who deviate from expectations, which may encourage others to do the same and usher in an era in which sports broadcasters are evaluated on merit rather than gender.

 

"That would be an interesting aspect of Twitter interaction to follow in the future", Weathers says. "If a female broadcaster does go on the offensive, how do fans react and to what extent do peers, particularly her male colleagues, support her" Weathers questions.

 

In this study, Weathers saw a unique platform in social media which gives the user both convenience and anonymity at the same time.

 

A final conclusion Weathers reinforced about the state of women versus male sports broadcasters had nothing to do with the reporters themselves but how perception will always be a factor when you are in the spot light.

 

"For sports fans, social media is a platform to share both your admiration or contempt for sports figures", Weathers concludes. "That's not going anywhere no matter the gender of the reporter. Bottom line."