Paul J. Elliott

BCA 600

Assignment 3

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

In A Cognitive Psychology of Mass Communications by Richard Jackson Harris, Harris identifies several demographic factors–gender, race, ethnicity, age, etc.–that are distorted by the media through stereotypes. These distortions affect the way people perceive the world, often otherwise unknown to them.

This year, professional sports have been confronted by the controversy concerning steroid use by athletes. The media has investigated several allegations to date, interviewed current and former athletes and covered congressional hearings investigating testing and disciplinary measures against those who found to be abusing steroids.

Do journalists, especially sports journalists, have the necessary medical knowledge of the effects of anabolic steroid use to report responsibly and objectively about this sensitive subject, which involves issues of privacy, labor agreements, due process, and other legal ramifications? Does the way the media handle these stories influence how fans perceive star athletes like Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds and several others implicated so far as steroid abusers?

Is there an inherent racial and ethnic bias toward African and Latino athletes in the media, based on the types of stereotypes which Harris notes has been prevalent in television since its inception nearly 60 years ago? Is there in the public's mind a confusion of this story, trying to determine fact versus fiction, as Slater identifies what happens when the public tries to determine what is real or what is not.

As reported by the Associated Press on Sept. 20, 2005, Bonds said "I think we have other issues in this country to worry about that are a lot more serious. I think you guys [reporters] should direct your efforts into taking care of that." Is his point a valid one? With such pressing matters such as hurricane relief and preparation, wartime casualties and budget deficits, is there too much being made about alleged steroid use by a handful of well-compensated professional athletes? Or is the use of such a harmful, illegal substance, of such concern to the welfare of all athletes and would-be athletes, especially minors, that more attention should be given to this story?

In her research, Claudia Kozman contends that the media's attention to this story followed government action on steroid. Her thesis is largely a content analysis of news coverage, editorial decision-making and the determination of what constitutes news. Her findings of journalistic practices seem to be consistent with Harris' research on the media's impact on society, emphasizing continued stereotyping of athletes.

The steps I will take in my research are as follows:

(1) Review content analysis studies of the media's handling of the steroid story to determine if the media is driving the story as Bonds suggests, or if it is responding to events as they occur.

(2) Are there racial overtones that can be qualitatively identified in the news; such as how fans react to White players versus non-White athletes? I will research several news stories covering drug policy, legal inquiries and investigations looking for those racial markers.

(3) Does the media speak adequately to the medical science of anabolic steroid use, and is this being reported on fairly. I will research and report on the medical science of steroids and lay a foundation on whether this is being reported and represented fairly.

(4) Conduct or identify surveys on how users of media perceive the steroid controversy, applying methodology to identify several factors that Harris cites to determine the extent of how the media's handling of steroid use is impacting fan reaction.