Despite the fact that the media is solely responsible for reporting the news, bias is more than subtlety interjected into news reports. Biased news reports are easily identified in sports media. The ubiquitous reports/updates of teams, players, and rules always seem to have an extraneous connotation vividly jumping out at the reader. These connotations often sway public thought, and as a result, opinions regarding sports are unconsciously shaped by the media. Two recent stories, Derek Jeter's new contract dilemma and Ben Roethlisberger's sexual assault allegation, are perfect examples of sports media deliberately persuading public opinion.
At the end of the 2010 MLB (Major League Baseball) season, baseball icon Derek Jeter found himself in a dilemma: his playing contract for the New York Yankees expired. Normally, this would be an innocuous situation, and the Yankees would resign Jeter before he could even finish blinking. Instead, negotiations between the two parties stalled, and feathers were ruffled on both sides. This stall in negotiations was due to both Jeter's advanced age and Jeter's sub-par performance in 2010 (his worst statistical season of his career). The long and unmoving negotiations between Jeter and the Yankees were well documented by the media. Instead of reporting the ongoing negotiations from a neutral standpoint, however, the media took sides from the outset. The media blasted Jeter for allegedly refusing to take a pay cut, and sports articles even labeled the perennial All-Star and baseball cover boy as being "greedy and out of touch with reality". Jeter, who has been heralded as the classiest man in sports, soon faced public scrutiny. Anti-Jeter rhetoric reached a pinnacle when reports stated Jeter had begun entering talks with other teams, and sports fans across the nation fully bought into these accusations. Nobody was more taken aback by these attacks then Derek Jeter himself, who stated publicly how angry he was at how publicized these supposed private negotiations were. Jeter wasn't particularly thrilled at the media's accusations either. And so, media propaganda managed to do the unthinkable: sully Derek Jeter's stainless reputation.
Ben Roethlisberger, ever a source of controversy, has been officially labeled as the villain of football. Roethlisberger, who has been charged with two separate cases of sexual harassment, has become the media's punching bag. While the accusations of sexual assault are deserving of criticism, Roethlisberger has become a pariah who, despite his many accomplishments, will forever be labeled irredeemable. Ben Roethlisberger's reputation proves how manufactured an athlete's image really is. Mark Sanchez, quarterback of the New York Jets, is the perfect antithesis for Roethlisberger: he's a media darling. In fact, the two quarterbacks are often compared with one another; Mark Sanchez has been called a quarterback "with Roethlisberger's skills who thankfully lacks his stupidity". What most people fail to realize is that Mark Sanchez has also been accused of sexual harassment. The media purposely forgets to emphasize this, however, as Sanchez is their golden boy who has eternally earned their praise through his approachability and patience.
Opinions regarding current events are often articulated by the news, and sports media is the perfect exemplification of this statement.
Jeter angry at negotiations
Wow, I have never heard of Mark Sanchez's accusation of sexual harassment! And with my boyfriend being an avid "Jets Hater" I would of thought he definitely would of mentioned it during last weeks game. It's interesting to see how much sports newscaster actually swing their view. It's probably human nature to skip over or even make excuses for players and teams that they hold dear to their heart but as a national sports analyst,they still should be able to put the bias behind!
ReplyDeleteBeing a huge Steelers fan, I have heard every side of the Roethlisberger argument. I have started to notice though that he has started to take the situation into his own hands to a certain extent. He recently got engaged which seems like a step in the right direction. He has also made statements about being more thankful for his job and things along those lines. So while the media has deemed him as this horrible man, it's good to see him fighting back and trying to clear his name as much as possible without personally attacking any other players.
ReplyDeleteI am not at all abreast of anything related to sports, but I agree that the media often tends to characterize individuals in biased lights. That in mind, I find that many famous individuals (athletes in particular) have entitlement complexes in which they see themselves able to get away with any behavior.
ReplyDeleteThe other side of this, of course, is what is sometimes called the "cult of celebrity." While it's nice to say that no one should care about this sort of thing, so long as it doesn't affect the person's job, the truth is that people don't just follow the athlete, musician, actor, or politician's professional accomplishments, but some of us also obsess about his or her personal life.
ReplyDeleteAnd the double standard you point out here is partly a weird impulse whereby we want to see the bigger stars get knocked down farther--a vicarious game of king-of-the-hill.