Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and the Media: An Examination of an Emerging Sport’s Coverage in ESPN The Magazine

Martin, Tywan G.; Williams, Antonio S.; Whisenant, Warren A.; Dees, Windy

doi:10.1007/s11115-014-0283-x

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous research indicated that ESPN tended to deliver favorable coverage to sport properties under contract with the sport media company (Martin et al, 2014). That was not the case for female athletes in team sports.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A content analysis of pictorial content in entertainment and sports programming networks (ESPN): The magazines body issue

Martin¹,

McNary²,

Suh³

et al. 2018

J. Phys. Educ. Sport Manag.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The Body Issue was used for the investigation because of ESPN"s powerful presence in the sport marketplace and its ability to influence consumer behavior (Martin et al, 2014). ESPN The Magazine ranked among the top-25 circulated magazines in the country ("Alliance For Audited Media," 2014).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A content analysis of pictorial content in entertainment and sports programming networks (ESPN): The magazines body issue

Martin¹,

McNary²,

Suh³

et al. 2018

J. Phys. Educ. Sport Manag.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…From this point of view, the case of media framing of pedagogies within MMA is particularly relevant precisely because their difference in cultural legitimacy with of a sport such as boxing can be interpreted in the light of their different framing in traditional and non-traditional media. In fact, most of the growth in popularity of MMA has occurred in the absence of primetime broadcast television opportunities ( Frederick et al, 2012 ), and little coverage from ESPN ( Martin et al, 2014 ). Consequently, much of what the mass public can learn about MMA necessarily comes from the limited, but often spectacularized coverage of the mainstream media; at the same time, however, MMA ‘connoisseurs’ often look to in-depth and very specialised online sources of information.…”

Section: Framing Unhealthy Pedagogies: the Case Of Mmamentioning

confidence: 99%

“I don’t Teach Violence, I Teach Self-Control”; The Framing of Mixed Martial Arts Between Mental Health and Well-Being

Domaneschi

Ricci

2022

Front. Sociol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper draws on conceptual and analytical tools from cultural sociology to analyze media representations of the MMA right after the murder of a twenty-year-old boy, that took place in a small village in central Italy by a gang of young men, two of whom frequented a MMA gym. While often characterized as violent and uncivilized, MMA has a core following of fans who watch and practice MMA out of an interest in the effects of the sport in terms of health and well-being. Through in depth qualitative analysis of MMA media discourse offered by traditional and new media, this paper explores the way the MMA media constructs symbolic boundaries around different kinds of fights inside and outside the gym, through aesthetic and moral evaluations based on the hierarchical ‘distinctions’ between “violence” and “health” as possible outcomes of the MMA training process. Particularly, we carry out a discourse analysis based on Italian Newspapers, Magazines and Facebook groups dedicated to MMA, through which we frame the multiple representations of the discursive production built around the MMA in Italy. Our aim is to identify the different ways in which the discussion about this event provided narrative paths and points of view about the meaning of MMA, focusing on the reputational consequences concerning health, especially in its physical and mental expressions. This research may prove useful for scholars interested in MMA, culture, and sports media studies.

show abstract

Kampfsport und Kampfkunst

Kühn¹,

Ennigkeit²

2020

Grundlagen Von Sport Und Sportwissenschaft

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and the Media: An Examination of an Emerging Sport’s Coverage in ESPN The Magazine

Cited by 4 publications

References 34 publications

A content analysis of pictorial content in entertainment and sports programming networks (ESPN): The magazines body issue

A content analysis of pictorial content in entertainment and sports programming networks (ESPN): The magazines body issue

“I don’t Teach Violence, I Teach Self-Control”; The Framing of Mixed Martial Arts Between Mental Health and Well-Being

Kampfsport und Kampfkunst

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About