The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications NBC’S PORTRAYAL OF U. AND CANADIAN HOCKEY PLAYERS ON THE OLYMPIC STAGE: A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF GENDER, RACE, AND NATIONALITY ISSUES IN THE COMMENTARY A Dissertation in Mass Communications by Kelly L. Poniatowski Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2008 The dissertation of Kelly L. Poniatowski was reviewed and approved* by the following: Marie Hardin Associate Professor, Communications/Women’s Studies Dissertation Advisor Co-Chair of Committee John Nichols Professor and Associate Dean, Communications Co-Chair of Committee Colleen Connolly-Ahern Assistant Professor, Communications Michelle Miller-Day Associate Professor, Communication Arts & Sciences *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT Beginning in 1996 NBC gained the rights to broadcast the Olympics through 2012 (excluding 1998).
While much research has been conducted on gender, ethnicity and nationality during primetime coverage of the Olympics, little research has looked at how NBC’s cable affiliates cover less popular sports not airing during primetime. This research investigates how the commentary during the men’s and women’s hockey games broadcast during the 2006 Olympics framed issues of gender, nationality and race. Taking a cultural studies approach and using thematic textual analysis, U. and Canadian teams were analyzed.
In-depth interviews with the commentators were also conducted. Overall, gender was constructed through hegemonic masculinity and hegemonic femininity. Natural differences of women were often constructed through comparisons to male counterparts, dependency on men, male role models, and playing on boys’ teams. Women were legitimized within the male sports hierarchy because they rejected traditionally feminine sports such as figure skating and embraced hockey instead.
and North American superiority were showcased by representing the U. and Canadian teams as physically superior. women were shown as athletically superior and feminine within the male sporting world, while the Canadian women were only constructed as big and strong. nationality and North American superiority were framed to suggest that non-North American teams had a dependency on North American leagues, colleges, and coaches for their successes.
Reference to on-ice officials and their nationality became a theme. Commentators agreed with calls made by iv Canadian officials and disagreed with calls made by Eastern European officials, serving to construct a sense of North Americanism. Race was framed in the context of Whiteness, reinforcing hegemonic masculinity. Jerome Iginla, the only Black player, was given little attention considering his playing time for Team Canada.
When Iginla was mentioned, it was often in reference to his physicality, while his White counterparts were given credit for hard work and intelligence. Whiteness was also constructed through themes of the good-guy mentality and being family-oriented. The themes suggested that while equality in the amount of coverage has improved, parity in gender, nationality, and race is still unequal. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface.
x Chapter 1 Introduction to the Olmpics and North American Hockey.5 Socio-Political Climate of the 2006 Winter Games.6 History of North American Hockey.8 NHL Hockey Today.11 Women as Marginalized Hockey Players .13 Blacks and Hockey.16 Chapter 2 Hegemony, Gender and the Media .25 Concepts of Sport and Gender .26 Media Representations of Sports .40 Concepts of Nation and Nationalism .41 Nationalism and Sports .44 Hockey and Nationality in Canada .46 Media Representations of Nationalism .52 Concepts of Race .53 Canada and Race.56 Sports and the Concept of Race .59 Media Constructions of Race.64 Chapter 5 Commentary and Commentators .66 vi Concepts of Commentary.69 Media Studies on Sports Commentary.75 Thematic Textual Analysis .77 Cultural Studies and Sports.80 In-Depth Interviews .86 Frames and Themes .99 Constructions of Masculinity and Femininity.100 Body contact vs.105 Women as legitimate athletes .107 Constructions of Women Athletes .109 Women compared with men.110 Support of men.112 Men as role models.114 Girls playing on boys' teams.117 Summary of Findings.119 Constructions of the United States and North America.121 Attributes for Success and Excuses for Failure .122 Confidence and strength.122 Physicality and size of the Canadian women .124 Physicality and size in men's games .126 Playing in North America .127 Advancing Women’s Hockey .131 Miracle on Ice References .133 Former players and coaches .134 Herb Brookes' references .135 The movie "Miracle".136 vii Referees and Nationality.137 The Slovakian linesman .137 The Russian referee .139 Summary of Findings.142 Constructions of Whiteness .146 The Case of Jerome Iginla .146 Hard Work and Intelligence .149 Good-Guy Mentality .152 Summary of Findings.153 Chapter 8 The Olympic Hockey Commentators .156 The Audience and Production for Olympic Hockey.158 Mention of NHL and College Teams .161 Difference Between Men’s and Women’s Hockey.162 Physicality in the Game .164 Support of the Men’s Teams.166 Echelons and Advancing Women’s Hockey.167 Race in Hockey .170 Summary of Findings.182 Summary of Findings.184 Strengths and Limitations .187 Looking to the Future.191 Appendix A Interview Schedule .217 Appendix B Games Used in Research .219 Appendix C IRB Approval.220 viii Preface There are moments that define sports. A few that I recall are Mary Lou Retton winning gold in 1984, Keri Shrug’s vault in 1996, and the women’s soccer team winning World Cup gold in 1999. Such events are charged with social, political, and gender issues. However, another event occurred in 2006 during the Winter Olympics in Torino, which changed the face of sports, particularly women’s hockey, forever.
For the first time in history, the United States and Canada did not face one another in the gold-medal game in international competition. Sweden beat the U. to advance to the gold-medal game against Canada instead. At the time it occurred, I was scarcely aware of it, because I followed men’s hockey, not women’s hockey.
It was not until I began writing this dissertation that I realized the impact of this event and came to fully understand exactly what happened. In my research I looked at gender, nationality, and race within the context of Olympic hockey commentary during the 2006 games. I have plenty of experiences with men’s hockey. I worked for both an East Coast Hockey League team (ECHL) and a National Hockey League team (NHL).
My experience in sports over ten years spans not only hockey, but includes teams in Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS), as well as professional lacrosse and collegiate athletics. All of these leagues and teams have their gender, race, and ethnicity issues. I am most interested in how the media portray these issues and how and if the media are changing. ix Sports bring people together; defining moments in sports unite people in a common cause.
Sports are so powerful because they reach so many people. The Olympics in particular, because they are charged with such nationalistic sentiments, draw in even the casual or non-fan, who will watch because of the nationality of the player. Defining moments in sports change the way we look at sports and the world. The media have the power to frame these events as interesting, exciting, political, or social.
How the media frame sporting events influences audience perceptions and understanding of the world and why the moment must be defined as it is. This research shows an understanding of not only the defining moment in 2006 during the women’s hockey tournament, but how commentators choose to represent gender, nationality and race during non-prime-time hours. It is sports that bring us together, not only as a society but as a world, and the media are there to cover it and frame it every step of the way. x Acknowledgements As with any dissertation or book, the writing of one does not happen alone.
It has been a long haul since I began the PhD program at Penn State four years ago. There are numerous people to whom I am indebted for getting me through not only the dissertation but the program. First and foremost, I must thank my advisor and committee chair, Marie Hardin. Without her patience and guidance, this dissertation would not be possible.
Her many hours of reading and editing have helped shape and refine my work. I appreciate her professional and personal guidance in life as well. She truly is an inspiration. I also have to thank each of my committee members--John Nichols, Colleen Connolly-Ahern, and Michelle Miller-Day--for all of their insights and encouragement throughout the PhD and dissertation process.
Secondly, I must thank Erin Whiteside, who assisted me in many hours of peer evaluation. Her knowledge of sports literature and her insights into the framing of Olympic hockey helped me to shape and organize my own thoughts. I must thank those commentators who were willing to let me interview them. Their perspective on the world of Olympic hockey has made this research much richer, offering a more complete picture to readers.
I also have to thank those in my cohort as we struggled through the trials and tribulations of classes, comprehensive exams, proposals, and dissertations. Their encouragement and insight helped me to persevere. Finally and most of all, I must thank my family who have encouraged me through the entire process. My parents, Richard and June Shultz, encouraged me to quit my xi professional career to return to school.
I also have to thank my husband, Dariusz, for his patience, love, and understanding while I wrote for long hours. Without any of these people, this research would not have been possible. Chapter 1 Introduction to the Olympics and North American Hockey “NBC’s primetime coverage ‘often operates in an alternate galaxy from the Games going on earlier in the day.’ Instead of using the program ‘to wrap up news from the Games, NBC has stuck almost exclusively to events it will present at length that night. That usually means little or no mention of ice hockey.’” -Journalist Neil Best from Newsday quoted in Street and Smith’s Sports Business Daily in reference to the 2006 Winter Olympics 2 The Olympics not only celebrate the athletic prowess of athletes from around the world but symbolize unity and peace among the nations who participate (Cashman, 1999).
According to Cashman “Many commentators have referred to the Olympic Games as the world’s greatest sports festival and the largest peacetime event” (p. In general, the media frame the Olympics as “an act of peace and friendship or world understanding” (Zaharopoulos, 2007, p. The interlocked Olympic rings represent the five continents unified as one. The Olympic torch is one of the most powerful symbols connecting the modern games to the ancient games (Cashman, 1999).
The Olympics is a mega-event where millions of people watch, making it a forum to portray norms in regard to gender, ethnicity, nationality, and identity (Billings & Eastman, 2002, 2003). The Olympics also showcase the latest technology and telecommunications (Larson & Park, 1993). Because the Olympics are broadcast on a world stage, they become the shared experience of the world (Larson & Park, 1993; Zaharopoulos, 2007). Though the Olympics aim to unify nations for two weeks, political issues sometimes interfere with the games.
Governments use the Olympics to showplace their politics (Senn, 1999). For instance, the IOC excluded Germany during the 1920 Olympics in response to the Allies’ demands (Kluka, 2001; Senn, 1999). boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in response to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan (Kluka 2001; Senn, 1999). In 1984 the Soviet Union boycotted the Los Angeles games after an American group, the Ban the Soviets Coalition, was cited as a threat to the safety of Soviet athletes (Lenskyj, 2000).
During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage and killed by terrorists, 3 shattering the illusion that world politics did not exist in the Olympic Games (Kluka, 2001; Moller, 2004; Senn, 1999). Sometimes the Olympics are viewed as a way to focus attention on a nation’s internal politics. In 1996, Amnesty International used the Atlanta games to protest the death penalty in Georgia, while in 2000, aborigine groups organized to protest Australian land policies (Senn, 1999). The 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City were centered on the September 11 attacks in the United States.
