More than a game: Sports media framing effects on attitudes, intentions, and enjoyment

Nicky Lewis, Andrew J. Weaver

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Scopus citations

Abstract

Over the past several decades, media coverage of both professional and nonprofessional athletes has reached unprecedented levels. Previously unreported information about these individuals, including their behavior on and off the field, is now massively disseminated to the public for consumption. Although the extensive amount of media coverage often focuses on the athletes’ in-game performances, other information related to their individual characteristics and personal lives can be featured as well. Sports journalists can and do employ various frames that emphasize specific content in their stories; but the influence these frames have on subsequent audience evaluations pertaining to the athletes featured within them is unknown. This study will explore several important factors in the attitude formation process, including features of the media coverage itself, characteristics of the featured athletes, and characteristics of the processing audience. Implications for content producers in the media industry and directions for future research are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)219-242
Number of pages24
JournalCommunication and Sport
Volume3
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2013.

Keywords

  • Attitudes
  • Enjoyment
  • Framing
  • Media
  • Sports

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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