Olympian women’s representation in U.S. newspapers has improved according to a content analysis of three local dailies

Abstract

A content analysis of news coverage of the Tokyo 2021 Summer Olympics (N = 561) found that three major U.S. dailies ran more stories about women’s than men’s sports, confirming the trend recorded in networked television prime-time programming toward a finally adequate representation of female athletes. The findings suggest that efforts to foster gender equality can help challenge gender stereotypes in the media. The regional differences detected may indicate the reflection of lingering masculine hegemony.

Keywords

Tokyo 2021 Summer Olympics content analysis women in sports agenda-setting theory masculine hegemony

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