The current study employs the hedonic paradigm model (Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982) to investigate the interceding function of emotions on the relationship between personality (i.e., risk taking) and attitude toward mixed martial arts. This study also examines sport-media (e.g., television) consumption of a nontraditional sport. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the proposed model incorporating risk taking, pleasure, arousal, attitude, and actual consumption behavior. The study found a significant mediation effect of emotion (pleasure and arousal) in the relationship between risk taking and attitude. In addition, attitude showed a direct and significant influence on actual media-consumption behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed, along with future directions for research.

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The purpose of this study was to examine athletic training students’ media consumption to advance our understanding of the role the media play in reported incidences of sport-related concussion (SRC) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American football and how media coverage of those injuries may potentially influence public perception. Participants who consumed more hours of television per day were more likely to disagree with the statements that reporting on SRC has helped to accurately educate the public, H(2) = 11.06, p = .01, and that reporting on CTE has helped to accurately educate the public, H(2) = 8.67, p = .01. Respondents who consumed more hours of Internet per day were more likely to disagree with the statements that accurate terminology is used to report SRC, H(2) = 7.78, p = .02, and that reporting of SRCs has helped to accurately educate the public, H(2) = 8.27, p = .02.

The purpose of this study was to examine the pictorial content of entertainment and sports programming networks (ESPN) The Magazine's Body Issue to determine the type of coverage sportswomen received in the annual special edition. The Body Issue was intended to celebrate the physical characteristics of athletes through visual representation that honored diverse human elements such as body shape, height, and weight. A total of 276 photos were examined. Although it was hypothesized that female sport competitors would be overrepresented on the Body Issue pages, male athletes garnered more photographic coverage than female athletes. Though it was not a significant difference (χ2=3.365, p=0.162), female athletes were photographed more in non-athletic poses than their male counterparts. Gender did not play a role in photo prominence, as a Chi Square test revealed no statistical difference (χ2=14.176, p=0.077). Female athletes who competed in individual sports received more pictorial coverage than female athletes in team sports (χ2=36.010, p < 0.000). Though it appears the special issue's mission was upheld and the study found some advances made in how female athletes were represented in comparison to their male counterparts, much work is still needed before we can truly celebrate progress.