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Media Literacy Workshop

Understanding Sports Talk RadioArea of Focus: “The Jim Rome Show”

by Scott McEachern, Danielle Sleiman & Todd Lucyk

CMNS – 428Stuart PoyntzApril, 6th 2008

Media Literacy Workshop – Understanding Sports Talk Radio

Rationale

Research suggests that male youth are beginning to engage with the radio media

platform at the average age of 15, as this is the age where males begin to look outside

of their respective sport for different ways to engage with it.1 For many, this engagement

is done through the participation of sports talk radio. As a result, we believe that it is

necessary to create a workshop that teaches male youth how to listen to and

understand sports talk radio through an educated, critical approach. The skills and

knowledge that the students learn from this project will prove to be both essential and

valuable to their future media consumption as these students will have to dissect and

develop their own meanings from sports talk radio discourse presently and in their

future years of sports media consumption.

In order for students to acquire media literacy skills, we believe that they must

gain a better understanding of the evolution of sports talk radio over the past ten years

including the global reach of sports talk radio, the value of an interactive medium, the

controversy and biases that are included in broadcasts, and the important function of

community in sports radio.

As technology continues to develop at an increasing rate, production and

distribution costs begin to lower significantly. Consequently, programs such as sports

talk radio can be produced at a cheaper rate and can expand its reach at no extra

charge. As a result, in the last ten years, sports talk radio has emerged to reach a vast

but traditionally untargeted audience group through exploiting the AM, 24/7, all talk

programming format.2 This type of broadcast is composed of provocative, animated,

1 Dempsey, 2006, p.82 Dempsey, 2006, p.6

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and passionate sport jargon connecting all audience members through their love of

sport. This connection reflects a community that is continuing to grow as its audience

participation increases.

Sports talk radio, consisting of a mostly male audience, is a place where males

who are obsessed with sports can indulge themselves in listening to shows, such as

The Jim Rome Show. The obsession men have with sports, combined with sports talk

radio filling a niche that traditionally remained vacant for males, has resulted in an

exclusive relationship between the male audience and sports talk radio. In fact, some

academics have said that sports talk radio may serve as “this” sex segregation place for

men to bond; such places are disappearing from the current modern landscape. “This,”

referred to as a ‘third place’ or public space, is a place where public opinion is created

and a place where men can gather beyond home and the office.3 Through this concept

many sports talk radio broadcasts have been successful due to their community

approach of broadcasting; appealing to a specific, like minded niche audience of men of

a particular age, demographic and relative income level.

The community broadcast approach is successful because it enables and

creates a relationship between the audience members and the host. The relationship

provides the niche audience with an opportunity to actively contribute to the actual

broadcast content.4 Content for any niche audience is at the root of the program’s

popularity and subsequently, the audience’s interaction with the host and their

involvement in the show’s production increases the popularity of sports talk radio as the

3 Oldenburg, 2007, p.604 Dempsey, 2006, p.119

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host actively engages with the community by asking questions and providing answers

that the listeners at home want to hear.

It is a widely known fact that media coverage of sports, including sports talk

radio, can be considered controversial as it contains many covert and overt biases.

These biases act as teachers and consequently, the biases have the ability to create,

influence or reinforce a listener’s tastes, understandings, and opinions of themselves

and others. Therefore, we believe that it is important for our target audience of 15 year

old male athletes to be aware of these biases and to understand how to critically

analyze and create their own interpretation of the sports talk radio discourse they

consume.

McCarthy and Jones describe the relationship between sport and media as

“symbiotic” and further state that broadcast media “shapes pictures in our heads.”5

Moreover, these pictures are created primarily through the use of descriptive narratives

and metaphors. This symbiotic relationship is seen as problematic because as the

capacity of the radio to reach global audiences increases, the sports fan bases increase

as well.6 In addition, because sports fans are engaged audiences, they not only make

meaning of what they view or hear, but also, if the meaning is based on and similar to

their social experience and definition of themselves and others, then the hegemonic

discourses broadcasted on sports talk radio, including their social relations biases, are

maintained. Consequently, if the concept of sport and its relations to societal attitudes

are consistently influenced and shaped by the media, then our project is designed with

5 McCarthy & Jones, 1997, p.3486 Rowe, 2004, p.101

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the goal to assist our target audience with developing the necessary skills to critically

analyze and interpret what they consume.

It has been argued that in today’s feminization of society, sports is one of the last

traditional male dominated activities that still remains and therefore, sports talk radio

provides a place or ‘community’ where male bonding can take place. As a result, and

due to the technology of radio, sports talk radio has created an imagined or virtual

community where members can share their experiences and feelings over distances of

vast global range; thereby creating a participatory community where males can identify

and associate themselves with a common subject or passion such as sports. Through

the ability to call into the show and participate by voicing their personal opinions and

contributing to the broadcast dialogue, members of the community are enabled to

become active participants, strengthening their relationship to sports talk radio.

We believe that it is important for the target audience to understand the

significance of the meaning of community and how it relates to sports talk radio because

the students need to realize that by consuming and participating in sports talk radio they

are actually becoming or already belong to something that is much larger than them; a

community that has pre-established codes and conventions that are set in place. Lastly,

we believe that it is vital for the youth target audience to understand the value of

belonging to such an group or community because research has suggested that youth

who do not have a focus and who are not associated with or belong to a certain

‘community,’ more times often than not, find themselves in situations that lead to

negative consequences.

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The students targeted by this workshop are the next generation of consumers

targeted by sports talk radio and it is essential that they develop the necessary media

literacy skills and knowledge to not only interpret what they consume but also that they

are able to engage in meaningful, interactive consumption of the topic. Finally, it is the

hope that this project will identify and facilitate a vital connection to a community that

provides a necessary and positive focus that enables male youth to be the best that

they can be.

Target Audience

With the passing of each year, male members of the youth, primarily aged 15 to

16 years old, become subject to sports talk radio as they for the first time enter into the

demographic that is targeted by the sports radio medium. Research continues to

suggest that males, both youth and adults, are the primary consumers of sports talk

radio because they are more likely to follow to their favourite professional sports team in

the media. It is because of this that we have chosen to focus our project on a clearly

defined audience of a U-16 boy’s Silver Soccer Team, Bombers United. The reason we

have chosen to focus on the sport of soccer is because it is regarded as the “world”

game and we therefore feel that the sport of soccer is composed of a wider range of

individuals from various cultures and backgrounds. The choice to target a team that is

not regarded as “elite” in level is again because we want to ensure that our workshop is

being taught to a wide range of differing youth. Based on decades of playing the sport it

is our understanding that “elite” teams are traditionally composed of primarily affluent,

white boys whose parents can afford to pay the heightened fees. Why we chose soccer

over a sport like hockey also has to do with the audience we wish to target. We feel it is

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important that our target audience should reflect the medium our workshop is focused

on and because our medium, the radio, is relatively inexpensive and therefore

accessible to both affluent and underprivileged individuals, it is appropriate that our

audience come from varying economic backgrounds. If we were to target a hockey

team for instance, the students being taught would most likely all come from favourable

economic situations as the cost of registration and equipment for hockey in Canada

results in the sport catering to children from affluent families.

As with most media, there are many hidden codes and meanings behind the

messages of each broadcast and sports talk radio is no exception to the hidden

messages phenomena. Many listeners, who are not media literate, do not have the

skills and knowledge to decode these messages and therefore, usually take the

meaning of broadcasts too literally. Consequently, we believe that it is important for the

new generation of sports talk radio listeners, 15 year old male athletes, to be aware of

the codes and conventions present in sports talk radio broadcasts. This awareness will

provide them an opportunity to listen critically to these broadcasts and have the ability to

create their own meanings and interpretations.

The challenge to this specific age demographic is that they have not been taught

adequate media literacy skills in the classroom and if this audience does not acquire

these skills to critically analyze media at an early age, especially when they are

beginning to engage with the media platform of sports talk radio, it may be hard to break

listening habits further down the road. A further challenge that this target audience faces

is the fact that the messages and content broadcast on sports talk radio may be too

advanced not only for them to understand but also to begin to critically analyze and

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decode. Entering the realm of the target audience, and lacking the cognitive ability to

effectively interpret and act as critical consumers, we feel male athletes, aged 15 to 16,

serve as a necessary audience to educate and have research the codes and meanings

of sports talk radio.

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Introduction:

As a medium littered with specific codes that shape both the discourse in general and the message communicated to its audience, sports talk radio exists as a genre of media that must be viewed critically. In an attempt to illustrate the strategic tendencies of sports talk radio and teach the students how to be educated, active viewers, this workshop focuses on The Jim Rome Show as it is both a trend setter and industry leader in the world of sports talk radio. By dedicating lesson plans that aim to dissect and illustrate how genre/codes, gender, community and celebrity function in sports radio this workshop aims to teach the students an awareness and understanding of key themes that sports radio is composed of. By having the students store what they have researched and learned at the end of each lesson in a “swipe file”, we hope to have them create their own database that they can reference and use to shape their group broadcasts at the end of the final workshop. Each group will be given time at the end of each day to think about what exactly they have learned and what they feel should be included in their “swipe file”. The combination of learning awareness of how sports talk radio functions, researching how to interpret and dissect sports radio programming and the ability to both produce media and have their voice heard will hopefully contribute to the ultimate goal of creating educated consumers of sports media, in particular sports talk radio.

Description of the Workshop:

Designed to educate Bombers United, a U-16 Silver boy’s soccer team based out of Port Coquitlam, this media workshop will consist of 6, 1hr and 45min classes at Eagle Ridge Secondary’s computer lab followed by three classes where they are given free time to work on their final projects and a final class that will serve as a viewing day where each group’s work is shared. The team will be divided into groups of 3 to 4 where the students will work collectively in their groups and individually as they learn an understanding of how sports talk radio, The Jim Rome Show in particular, is strategically constructed to shape viewer’s interpretation. During the time spent in the lab this workshop will aim to use various forms of media education to help educate the young members of Bombers United in a fashion that blends trendy innovative activities with traditional scholarly methods.

Objective of Workshop:

The aim of this workshop is not to present our students with a concrete good or bad view of sports talk radio, providing them with examples of both negative and positive aspects of the medium, but instead it is our goal to make them aware of the specific codes and tendencies of sports talk radio and to teach them the ability to become active viewers that listen with an open mind but through a educated ear. Our three major goals are as follows:

1. Awareness: It is important to first communicate to the students how sports talk radio functions and how it is shaped. It is crucial that the students understand

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and are aware that the content and messages that embody sports talk radio are strategically created and play a role in perpetuating norms, stereotypes and relationships in society.

2. Educational Capacity: By dissecting specific codes and themes that are constant across sports talk radio, it is our goal to give the students the ability to recognize how sports radio shows are shaped and the skills and tools to critically consume the medium while formulating and interpreting their own meanings. By giving the students the educational capacity to interpret media, in this case sports talk radio, we hope that the students will gain the ability to become active participants with all forms of media and rid themselves of the passive label that most teens are given.

3. Skills & Tools: Once given the educational capacity to actively engage in sports’ media consumption it is vital that the students realise that their new knowledge of both media formation and implication doesn’t have to go to waste. By designing an activity where students get to create their own radio broadcast it is our goal to give the students some basic production skills, but more importantly the cognitive understanding that they have the power and capability to have their voice heard.

Jungle JimA Brief History and Explanation of the Jim Rome Show

Jim Rome through his radio show, The Jim Rome Show, provides the genre with “the hippest, most controversial and brutally honest voice” in sports talk radio. 7 For three hours a day, five times a week, Jim Rome dominates the world of sports radio as he provides members of the community with fully inclusive but controversial and aggressive coverage of the complete world of sports. By establishing what he refers to as “the Jungle”, Rome has created a hyper-masculine community where men from across the nation can talk, argue and vent anything and everything that is sport. The participating members of “the Jungle”, “the clones” as he calls them, are treated to programming that includes a dynamic host who provides abrasive but often true commentary on various hot topics in the sports world. Never shy to push a respected athlete or naive fan to the edge by providing constant ridicule, Rome takes a relentless approach to his work as he develops particularly harsh opinions that are rarely subject to change. Not afraid to ruffle any feathers, Rome will spend a day ranting about a topic or taking a point of view that is politically incorrect and follow it up the next day with a segment that rips one of his “clones” for commenting in a similar fashion but about a different debatable topic. Through specific show structure Rome sets up “the Jungle” in a way where members of the community exist in constant tension with one another and “through his style, manner of speech, behaviour and show structure, Rome declares himself King of the Jungle” both internally on his show and externally in the sports talk radio world. 8

7 Nylund, 2007, p.548 Nylund, 2007, p.58

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I. Rules of the Jungle The Genre and Codes of Sports Talk Radio

For years the male demographic, aged 15-50, remained untapped by the radio industry as the medium failed to provide the particular audience with programming that solely catered to them through discourse they could both relate to and find a common interest in. Sports talk radio emerged as a genre to fill that void as it provided programming that specifically targeted men. As engaged consumers and integral participants, the male audience played a huge role in the birth of sports talk radio as the genre is dependant on the establishment of an active community for its success and continual dominance.

The reason sports talk radio was able to emerge with a vast amount of success is because the genre is unparalleled on the radio spectrum. The fusion of the complete world of sports with the tension and animosity of political debate has formed a genre that enables its audience to share, argue and engage in a sometimes brash manor with like minded individuals about stats, players, teams and politics of the sports they have a passion for. The specific “codes used to communicate between producers and audiences [that] follow particulars rules of meaning” create a sports radio genre that is unique in comparison to other genres on the radio.9 The codes refer to the particular way in which spoken or unspoken rules and ways of interpretation and relationship are presented within a specific genre. For example, the way in which Rome and his “clones” interact in “the Jungle” follow a specific “set of speech rules and ways of talking for members of the airwave community.”10

Viewed as a form of resource for signalling one’s similarity to other members of the community, the codes of the sports radio genre enable men to confirm their loyalty and shared values to one another in a way that is not possible with say a soap opera or religious genre. The sports talk radio genre exists like no other in the industry as it affectively enables a young to middle aged male audience to engage, celebrate and exist within a community that focuses on a shared common value. Whether loyal fans of a particular athlete or biter enemies cheering for rival cities, the genre of sports radio, through the use of specific rules and interpretations, connects men across the nation by establishing a codes that are synonymous with the sports media community.

9 Nylund, 2007, p.5310 Nylund, 2007, p.60

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I. Rules of the Jungle – Day 1 Lesson Plan

Objective:

What is traditionally not understood or addressed by the average conventional sports talk radio consumer is that there are specific codes that provide structure to the genre and enable like minded but distant community members to forge an unspoken bond with one another. Usually hard to identify, codes are what separate a particular genre from another as the specific manor in which information is interpreted and valued differs from genre to genre. The objective of this lesson plan is for the students to first become familiar with the concept of genre as it is not one we feel they will have spent much time discussing or learning about through their primary forms of education. We hope to achieve this by playing clips from various forms of different genres and allowing the children to come up with on their own the differences they notice with each. Testing their grasp on the concept of genre and how the codes that embody sports talk radio function we will have the students do an activity where they get to choose codes they would include in their broadcasts and why.

Issues Discussed:- The Concept of Genre- How Codes Provide Structure for Genre- How Genre Effects Audience Participation

Program Materials:- Computer (Internet) - Swipe File- Video (Device & Clips)- Writing (Papers, Pen & White Board)

Procedure: (1hr 45mins)

1. 10 minutes – Using the Internet, allow the students time to research the concept of genre so they become comfortable with the term.

2. 10 minutes – Have children go around the room sharing their researched notion of genre so the students have a better understanding of the term.

3. 15 minutes – play video clips of various genres for class4. 10 minutes – have students individually write down codes of the various genres

they were exposed to in the class5. 20 minutes – have the class share and discuss these codes, use the white board

and make a list for each genre. 6. 25 minutes – using the list of codes the class developed, have the students

individually create a list of 5 to 10 codes they feel are important for sports talk radio and why.

7. 15 minutes – Swipe File

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Activities:

Activity 1 - 10 minutes

The first part of the activity will provide students with the opportunity to browse the internet in order to find terms and examples of what the definition of gene is. The internet is an endless source of information and this activity hopefully will reveal many different definitions and contexts in which genre can be applied to as we believe that it is important to be aware of the different applications of each working definition.

Activity 2 – 10 minutes

As mentioned before, the internet is search engine that is full of endless information. Therefore, in this part of the activity the students will be given some time to go around the classroom and share with others some of the information that they have learned. The purpose of this part of the activity is to further provide information and examples of what the concept of genre means so students will get a better understanding of the concept and pick up any meanings they may have missed.


We believe that searching the term ‘genre’ on the internet is just one way to make students become aware of its meaning. As a result, this part of the lesson will show video clips of various types of genre in the media. By exposing students to visual representations of various genres we hope that the definitions and meanings they have developed will gain further meaning.


This will be the part of the lesson where students will have time to individually reflect on the term genre and how it relates to aspects of their class. This part of the lesson is important as it encourages students to take the information that they have researched and practice the process of application, by applying the codes and conventions of genre to real life situations of their own class room.


At this point in the lesson, the teacher will be expected to facilitate a group discussion with students regarding what their research on the term of genre has included. A white board will be useful as the teacher should begin to create a list of the students’ responses and examples of different genres and their meanings. The point of this group discussion is for students to practice their ability to publicly communicate their thoughts but to also collectively gather information that will aid them with their final project.

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Activity 6 – 25 minutesStudents will be asked to individually reflect on the previous group discussion by

creating a list of 5-10 codes and conventions of genre that are present in sports talk radio and be able to justify their reasons for their choices. This activity reinforces the skill of looking at a list of information and being able to extract the most important aspects and points of interest from the source.


The last 15 minutes of each lesson will be spent adding material to each students individual Swipe File. The idea here is that students will add to the file the research they have conducted and the respective conclusions they have drawn from each lesson. This file will be later used by the students as the supporting material that shapes their final radio broadcast project.

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II. In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle, the Lion Rules Tonight.... Masculine Dominance in Sports Talk Radio

The absence of a niche where like minded men could come together and share, discuss, argue and vent about a specific subject or series of various topics that hold precedence in their lives enabled sports talk radio to emerge. Because the very emergence of sports talk radio was dependant on and catered to the needs of a male audience, it is no surprise that the medium remains heavily dominated, shaped and formatted to the male gender.

On a continuing basis, sports talk radio, through its discourse and framing aims to “define manhood, and what ‘real’ mean do.”11 It is simply not enough to have a medium that is dominated by men and that talks primarily about sports that are played by men, but it also seems necessary that sports talk radio communicates hyper-masculine content while using hyper-masculine forms of speech. Regardless of the topic being discussed, one can be almost certain that the way it is spoken of and the specific areas of focus “celebrate traditional masculine qualities such as toughness, individualism, and aggression.”12 The topic of sports in this context serves as a platform to simply construct and perpetuate societal notions of masculinity:

So, while the manifest function of The Jim Rome Show “is to talk about sports, its latent content function works to construct traditional masculinity as the show and its host collectively provide a clear and consistent image of the masculine role; a guide for becoming a man, a rulebook for appropriate male behaviour, in short, a manual on masculinity.”13

Through the construction of “the Jungle” Jim Rome has created a primitive community where manhood can be tested through participation or where camaraderie can be obtained through relating to other men. Not only however, is the notion of masculinity celebrated in “the Jungle”, but it is strategically defined as a specific difference is established between what it means to be a man and what it means to be a “real” man. Viewers of the show are constantly reminded that any participation in, or reference to, sports outside of the big four: basketball, football, baseball and hockey, isn’t considered masculine as men who play these sports are constantly feminized by Jim Rome and his clones. Not only are men who don’t play “real” sports ridiculed but so to are any athletes that participate in any activities that are traditionally feminine activities. An example of this is when Rome publically condemned highly successful and widely respected NBA guard Doug Christie for his involvement in his wife’s purse designing venture stating that he should be ashamed of himself for engaging in such an activity as it questions his masculinity. From the topics and framing of discussion to the choice to except or deny participation and respect in the community, sports talk radio is dominated by “expressions, perpetuations, and reinforcements” of masculinity.14

11 Nylund, 2007, p.6912 Nylund, p..69

13 (Tremblay and Tremblay, 2001, p.278)14 Nylund, 2007, p.68

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In The Jungle, the Mighty Jungle, the Lion Rules Tonight... – Day 2 Lesson Plan

Objective:

With sports talk radio heavily catered towards a male audience, the programming and shape of discourse it entails consistently perpetuates specific understandings of masculinity and what it means to be a “real” man. With its own definition of what “real” masculinity embodies, sports talk radio has the tendency to feminize specific male sports and male athletes depending on the nature of their respective game and the style in which they play. This Lesson plan aims to have students develop their own thoughts on male athletes and how they are described and compare that with the descriptions given by main stream sports media. How we aim to do this is by first having the students watch video clips of both male figure skating and basketball with no volume, comparing through their own ideas the way in which they describe the athletes of both sports. We will then have them watch the same clips but with the commentators audio included and have the students take note of how the announcers reference the athletes. The objective here is to have the children research on their own how sports media reference differing opinions of masculinity and hope they gain an understanding that sports radio, through strategic speech, shapes the way in which viewers learn to reference male athletes and notions of masculinity.

Issues Discussed:- Male Dominance in Sports Media- Concept of “Real” Man- Media Ability to Shape the Notion of Masculinity

Program Materials:- Video (Device and Clips) - Swipe File- Writing (Paper and Pens)- Computer (Internet)


1. 15 minutes - Students will watch a seven minute video clip from the Winter Olympics in Turin of a male figure skater and an eight minute clip of a NBA basketball game both with no audio

2. 25 minutes - Students will have time to individually generate their thoughts of each clips and compare and contrast ideas of how they would describe each athlete individually

3. 15 minutes - Watch the same two video clips as before, but this time with audio4. 35 minutes - Students will have access to a computer where they are expected to

go onto the internet and search for an image of their favourite athlete. Once they have selected an image, the students will then write a description of the athlete in the image

5. 15 minutes - Swipe file

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Activities:


Teachers will instruct students to watch a seven minute video clip from the Winter Olympics in Turin of the Men’s Figure Skating Finals and also an eight minute clip of a the 2007 NBA Championship Finals game 4 both with no audio. The lack of audio will encourage the students to critically analyze the images and motions of these athletes with their eyes only, developing through their own ideas descriptive commentary of the two examples of male athletics.


After viewing the video clips, students will have some time to individually gather their thoughts of each video clip. The goal of this part of the activity is to encourage students to compare and contrast their ideas of each athlete, the male figure skater and the NBA basketball players and how they would describe each athlete individually as they have no outside influence or bias that may be generated through a broadcast.


The students will again watch the two video clips of the athletes, but this time with audio of the commentator’s broadcast. During this part of the activity the students will have the ability to compare and contrast their observations regarding the descriptions of the athletes to that of the broadcasters. Here is where students may be able to identify any biases regarding masculinity that might be present in the commentator’s broadcasters and how these implications may influence the way students view athletes in the media.


This part of the activity allows students to go on the internet and search for images of their favourite athlete. Once students have selected an image that they are happy with, they are expected to include a description of the athlete using the observations and conclusions that they acquired earlier in the lesson. The purpose of this activity is for students to understand that whoever is in control of the commentary is usually in control of the way that athletes or any figure for that matter are portrayed in the media to an audience.



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III. Jane in the Jungle Female’s Trivial Existence in Sports Talk Radio

There is no denying that sports talk radio was established as a community for men and remains as a medium that is heavily dominated by and catered towards a male audience. There is a place however for women in sports talk radio as female athletes, whether by means of controversy or celebration, occasionally find their way into the day to day discussions of sports talk radio. This is not to suggest however that sports talk radio exists as a positive place for female athletes as any reference to them is usually trivial and only furthers the gender divide in sports by reaffirming stereotypical gender roles.

The argument is made that sports talk radio exists as a key part of the masculine sports/media complex and it acts to maintain heterosexism by emphasizing conventional standards of heterosexual femininity and marginalizing female athletes who subvert traditional gender and sexual roles. When ever women are mentioned on sports talk radio they seem to be represented in a way that objectifies them. Rarely are female athletes referenced in terms of their athletic ability or praised for their talent or skill but instead they are talked about in a way that celebrates physical characteristics that are thought to be synonymous with femininity. For example, a female gymnast, instead of having her physical presence describe on sports talk radio as strong, powerful or dominant will tend to be referred to as toned, agile or flexible. Not only is the female gender continually objectified on sports talk radio but it is also trivialized as the female gender role is defined and celebrated in its most stereotypical, feminine form. The discourse of sports talk radio trivializes female athletes by portraying women who challenge traditional gender boundaries as “unnatural & deviant.”15 Sport requires its athletes to be physical, strong and aggressive, characteristics that are traditionally associated with the male gender role. In order for females to succeed in the sport they play it is absolutely essential they portray these characteristics while competing. But anytime a female athlete competes in a way where they display such traditional male characteristics they are often criticized and ridiculed by sports radio hosts forcing a trivial existence for female athletes who want to excel in the sport they love but also conform to traditional notions of the female gender role.

Not only are individual female athletes referenced in a trivial manor on sports talk radio but “women’s sporting events are typically presented in a lighter, less serious and sarcastic way, if [even] depicted at all.”16 The simple reference to female sporting events is done so in a way that connotes insignificance as the term “women” is thrown in front of each respective event by the radio personality in a sarcastic fashion. An example of how women’s sporting events are not taken seriously by sports talk radio is Jim Rome’s rant about how the Women’s World Cup of soccer doesn’t even deserve the right to be called an event but instead a “some little tournament” as it fails to represent the importance that any major male sporting event does. Jane’s place in the sports talk radio jungle remains detrimental and discriminating to the female gender role as women are continually objectified and trivialized by the vast majority of the participating members of the sports radio community.

15 Nylund, 2007, p.7516 Nylund, 2007, p.73

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Jane in the Jungle – Day 3 Lesson Plan

Objective:

With sports media constantly trying to maintain traditional notions of heterosexism and define what it feels constitutes traditional heterosexual ideas of femininity, women’s existence on sports talk radio remains trivial. The objective of this lesson is to allow the students to research and develop their own ideas of how women should be referenced in sport and compare them to the ideas that are traditionally used in mainstream media. By comparing their own ideas and descriptions of a female athlete to a video montage of descriptions used in sports media this lesson plan aims to help the students understand that women tend to be objectified through discourse on sports talk radio rather than celebrated for their performance ability or athletic achievement. We also want to have our students understand how women are traditionally rejected in sports talk media as they are hardly referenced at all. For this we will have our students spend time exploring sports talk radio and coming up with their own research that illustrates time spent referencing females and female sporting events in comparison to the time spent focusing on male athletes and their respective competitions.

Issues Discussed:- Female Objectification- Defined Gender Roles: Implications on Female Athletes- Lack of Female Coverage

Program Materials:- Computer (Internet) - Swipe File- Video (Device and Clips)- Writing (Paper, Pens & White Board)


1. 20 minutes – Using computer/Internet have students find picture of what they feel embodies female athletics

2. 10 minutes – Watch video clip on female commentary3. 15 minutes – in pairs have students compare their commentary with that of the

mainstream media they viewed in the clips4. 20 minutes – using the computer/Internet, have students research a particular

sports radio station5. 25 minutes – have students present their researched findings6. 15 minutes – Swipe File

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Activities:


Have the students separate into groups of two and direct each pair to the use of a computer in the lab. Once on the computer, instruct each pair to search for a photograph that they feel best represents a female athlete. Emphasize to the students that there is no right or wrong answer to this search; simply ask them to find a picture of what they feel a female athlete is. After finding their photo of a female athlete ask each pair to explain to the rest of the team why they have chosen this picture and describe the female athlete of the photo in their own words. The results of this exercise may prove to be extremely fascinating. It is anticipated however that most student pairs will produce photos of elegant, skinny female athletes such as figure skaters or gymnasts and will tend to shy away from female athletes from more rugged sports as well as the use of words that are often associated with male athletics


After the student pairs have produced their own photograph version of the best representation of a female athlete, ask the students to view a brief video on the screen at the front of the lab. The short 10 minute video is a montage of female athletic clips along with a running commentary describing the athletic display. The purpose of viewing this video is to demonstrate the manner in which female athletics is commentated and how it differentiates from the commenting performed on male sports.


Shortly after the students have viewed the short video on female athletics, have each pair bring out their chosen photo of a female athlete once again. In their pairs, have the students compare and discuss the differences and similarities between how they themselves chose to describe a female athlete and how the commentators described female athletes in the video. After discussing in their pairs, have the students come together in a group to discuss the differences and similarities they observed in the comparison. This comparison is hoped to demonstrate to the students how commentators and the media in general tend to objectify female athletes rather than celebrate their accomplishments and athleticism.


Instruct each student pair to return to the computer they used in activity 1. Assign each pair a different sports radio station from throughout North America and ask them to listen to 20 minutes of radio airtime on their assigned station. Ask each pair to observe and write down the amount and manner in which female athletics is portrayed and discussed on the radio station. By performing their own research, students will require hands on knowledge on the concept of the differential treatment of males and females in sports talk radio and the sports media in general.

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Have each student pair present their observations of the specific radio station they were assigned to listen to. With each presentation write the common themes and concepts on the white board that were observed by the student pairs. It is anticipated that the ratio between airtime devoted to male athletics and female athletics will be heavily weighted on the male side. To wrap up the entire lesson on gender inequality focus on this imbalance in radio airtime and its representation of the imbalance and objectification female athletes receive in the overall forms of media.



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IV. Jungle to Jungle A Look at the 2 ways Community Functions in Sports Talk Radio

The emergence of sports talk radio as a popular form of entertainment and active discourse on the topic of sport has consequently created an additional venue where sports enthusiasts can communicate about the subject they love. As a result, new imagined or virtual communities have materialized as listeners and callers of the radio shows connect. These virtual communities are different from the physical communities most people associate the word community with. Rather than relying on the physical connection, virtual communities are created through members sharing experiences and feelings over what may be extremely long distances.

Specific to sports talk radio community is an exuberant display of male bonding and camaraderie. Traditionally occurring in public places such as a town square, a tavern, or locker room; the site of male bonding and camaraderie has now expanded to include the field of sports talk radio. The chief aspect to sports talk radio fulfilling this role is that it potentially operates as a “third place” in male’s lives. Third places; outside the home and work, “play a vital role by creating community; providing a place for exchanging information; helping to develop intimate friendships and; serving as political and civic forums.”17 In addition to being a third place in the construction of community, sports talk radio’s focus around sports plays a major role in male’s attractiveness to the media. “Sports have become one of the last bastions of traditional male ideas of success, of male power and superiority the feminization of society” and hence have an enormous appeal towards males.18 However, many male’s desire to participate in sport is in response to their need for connection and closeness with others. The engagement with sport offers “a psychological safe place where men can connect with others but still maintain a separation within the boundaries that sport establishes” and thus explains the popularity of sports talk radio shows.19 Sports talk radio offers males an opportunity to connect and interact with other males in an imagined virtual community but since it is within the realm of sport they are able to accomplish this in the manliest of fashions.

In addition to providing an avenue for listeners to participate and identify themselves within a virtual community, sports talk radio shows also provide listeners the opportunity to identify themselves within their own personal communities. This is demonstrated when callers are allowed to call in to radio shows to voice their opinions and as a result show their support towards their home team, favourite players, and other statements that represent their respective identity. As a result, through participating in the virtual community of the sports talk radio show by calling in and contributing, callers also identify themselves within their own communities and their own personal identity that exists outside of the respective sports talk show community.

One show that revolutionized sports talk radio and serves as a major reason for the genre’s emergence is The Jim Rome show. Because of Rome’s immense popularity he boasts one of the largest and most devoted listener bases and consequently an extensive community. On Rome’s show he has created a community he deems “The Jungle”, where listeners can call in, voice their opinions, and even talk

17 Nylund, 2007, p.6018 Nylund, 2007, p.5819 Nylund, 2007, p.58

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smack about fellow members of the community. The members of “the Jungle”; who Rome refers to as “clones”, interact with one another as if they were in the locker room or at the local bar. Accordingly, The Jim Rome show provides an excellent example of the imagined community possible through sports talk radio or any form of mediated sport as well as the identification members of these communities can form.

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Jungle to Jungle – Day 4 Lesson Plan

Objective:

Youth engage in many forms of media constantly throughout their everyday lives and as a result are participating in countless constructed communities that they themselves may not even notice. Through the following lesson, students will be encouraged to become aware of the communities they may be passively engaging in and as a result become increasingly educated media consumers. The specific community to be examined is that of sports talk radio and in particular “the Jungle” of The Jim Rome Show. With the assistance of an audio mash-up containing brief clips from The Jim Rome Show, this lesson will attempt to illustrate the imagined community that is apparent within The Jim Rome Show as well as provide the students the skills to interpret their own communities that they may be engaging in. The intent of this exercise is not to discourage the students from participating in such virtual communities or to deem the communities as negative or positive experiences, the lesson is simply aimed at educating the students on how community is constructed in sports talk radio. As well as recognizing the community of The Jim Rome Show, the lesson also asks students to identify themselves within the communities of their lives and decipher what influence they have on their actions.

Issues Discussed:- Imagined Community- Identity Construction- “the Jungle” and “the Clones”

Program Materials: - Computer (Device and Internet) - Swipe File- Audio Mash-up (Stored in WedDave File)- Writing ( Paper, Pens & White Board)

Procedure:

1. 20 minutes – Students formulate own opinions on exactly what defines a community followed by a short introduction to the definition of community and its involvements.

2. 10 minutes – Students name the communities they associate themselves which are then listed on the white board.

3. 10 minutes – Students listen to The Jim Rome Show audio mash-up together.4. 10 minutes – Students return to white board and name any additional

communities they can think after listening to the mash-up.5. 20 minutes – Ven-diagram exercise of physical community vs. virtual community.6. 20 minutes – Discussion of Ven-diagram results and wrap-up of community

concept.7. 15 minutes – Swipe file.

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Activities:


Gather all the students together in one large group near the white board prepared for a group discussion. Begin the discussion by asking the students the question of: What makes up a community? As the students answer the question aloud and name the characteristics they believe make up a community write each characteristic onto the white board. After the students have exhausted their ideas on community, state the actual definition and write it on the white board beside the student’s list of characteristics. Along with the definition of community, perform a brief 3-5 minute lecture introducing community.

(Community = a group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage or share common characteristics or interests)


Now that the students have a firm grasp on the concept of community ask them to name the communities that they associate themselves with. As the students list of their respective communities, list each one up on the white board. It is anticipated that the communities listed by the students will be of the physical nature such as Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, or any others of the actual physical communities that they may belong to.


Have students listen to The Jim Rome Show audio mash-up together on the speaker system of the main computer.


After students have listened to The Jim Rome Show audio mash-up bring them together once again around the white board. With their newfound knowledge of the concept of imagined and virtual communities have the students list off any additional communities they can now think of and write them on the white board below the previously listed communities in a different colour marker. It is anticipated that through listening to the audio mash-up the students will now comprehend how the concept of community functions in sports talk radio and be able to name many virtual communities that they belong to that they could not think of before.

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On the white board once again, construct a Ven-diagram. Form a Ven-diagram on the board. In the Ven-diagram position one side focusing on the characteristics of physical communities, the opposite side on imagined communities, and the middle containing features on both. Ask the students to shout out characteristics that fit into the corresponding categories. This exercise should direct the students into thinking of how the two different forms of community are different as well as how they are similar.


After completing the Ven-diagram, discuss the results of the diagram with the students. Focus on the fact that although the two forms of community possess some very different characteristics they also possess many similar characteristics as well. Emphasize the concept that although an imagined concept is not concrete or physical, it is just as powerful and can connect people just as much as a physical community can. This discussion should be modeled as a wrap up to the lesson of community in sports

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Imagined Community BOTH Physical Community


talk radio and the media in general. As a result, any issues missed should be covered now and any questions students have on the concept will be addressed here. This exercise will operate to re-affirm the notions presented in The Jim Rome Show audio mash-up of the community represented by “the Jungle” and the identity formed by the “clones” within it.



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V. Kings of the JungleA Look at How Celebrity Functions in Sports Talk Radio

Due to the decline of organized religion and the emergence of conspicuous consumption within society, the concept of celebrity evolved as people and society needed something or someone to worship.20 This form of worship enabled individuals to identify with a particular lifestyle and belong to a community. Moreover, this practice of ‘idiom’ or idol worship has generated a popular interest and feeling amongst individuals, further adding to the cohesiveness of a community life.21

The media including radio broadcast, print, and television have created images of athletes that exaggerate their athletic achievements and portray them as larger than life figures; some have even been dubbed as the “god” of their sport. In recent years, a growing number of sports stars have been seen on the same level as Hollywood stars and in fact, are now even said to have greater Hollywood star status as celebrities in sports and have much more durability therefore the capability to appeal to mass audiences.22 The main difference between Hollywood stars and sport celebrities, however, is that the actions of an athlete are thought to be authentic. The athletic actions take place in uncontrolled, non-scripted, real time conditions where opponents in the competition or game try to employ their own game strategies to win.23 Therefore, if one agrees that athletes’ actions are a product or reflection of their character, and that these actions occur in real time conditions with no Hollywood script, then it is concluded that athletes are regarded as genuine and trustworthy.

This notion of authenticity of celebrity athletes lends itself well to a corporation’s marketing strategy to have certain athletes endorse their products. Authenticity is an important marketing strategy because research has suggested that in a consumer society, everything that is presented to a consumer is “served up on a fake plate.” 24 Therefore, companies believe that athlete endorsement of their product will convey a feeling of authenticity as the product is now related to the authenticity of the athlete’s performance.

In association with celebrity athletes’ performances, sport events are now viewed as spectacles. This form of spectacle has created a simile wherein athletes are likened to machines as they have increased their fitness levels and made improvements to their technical skill abilities, subsequently creating a more competitive environment as each athlete vies for the top spot. Because everyone is vying for the top spot, some academics have said that athletes may be inclined to place their own interest over that of their team’s.25 At this point, when an athlete is no longer in the sport for their team but themselves and their fame, athletes are said to become ‘marketable human beings,’ true celebrities in sport, produced to satisfy the needs of the market.

Kings of the Jungle – Day 5 Lesson Plan20 Smart, 2005, p.1921 Smart, 2005, p.12

22 Smart, 2005, p.19323 Smart, 2005, p.195

24 Smart, 2005, p.1725 Smart, 2005, p.21

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Objective:

The evolution of sport has seen sport develop into that of a spectacle; star athletes are seen as ‘gods’ or ‘machines.’ For this reason, many celebrity athletes have been noted to significantly increase their fitness levels, make improvements to their technical levels, and even increase the competitive level of the game. However, not all athletes are star players on their teams and therefore, the objective of this activity will be for the audience to critically watch two different interview clips of “the Jungle” of The Jim Rome Show; one an interview with a celebrity sports star, while the other is an interview with a non-celebrity sport figure. The goal of this activity will be to have the students use some of their newly acquired media literacy skills that they have learned and apply them to the two different interview sessions. This lesson or activity will attempt to reveal the different attitudes and tactics used in both interviews and possible reasons for why.

Issues Discussed:- Individuals need someone or something to worship- Athletes are portrayed as larger than life figures in the media- Celebrity athletes are seen as authentic - Authenticity lends itself on to product endorsement deals- Effects of sporting events viewed as spectacles

Program Materials:- Computer (Device and Internet) - Swipe File- 2 Jim Rome interview clips; a). Michael Jordan,

b). Chicago Bull assistant coach - Writing (Pens and Paper)


1. 10 minutes--Watch two interview clips; one where Jim Rome is interviewing sports celebrity Michael Jordan, the other where Jim Rome is interviewing the assistant coach of the Chicago Bulls basketball team

2. 15 minutes-- Students individually reflect on interview clips and try critically analyze attitudes and tactics behind each

3. 15 minutes-- Students get into small groups to share each others thoughts and observations of interview clips. As well, they are encourage to try to come up with additional ideas and rationales that have not be brought to the surface yet

4. 25 minutes--Teacher facilitates a groups discussion where each group can share their ideas with one another

5. 25 minutes-- To work individually choose their favourite sports team along with the teams celebrity athlete and a figure on the team who does not have celebrity status and create two different interview scripts for each

6. 15 minutes-- Swipe file

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Activities:

Activity 1 – 10 minutesThe teacher will be instructed to play two five minute online interview clips of The

Jim Rome Show; one clip will include an interview with, sports celebrity, Michael Jordan while the other clip will include an interview with the Chicago Bulls assistant basketball coach, a non-celebrity sports figure. The students will be instructed to critically watch these clips looking for differences in Jim Rome’s attitude toward his subject, the subject’s attitude toward Jim Rome, the language used in each interview, how do they differ from one another, the delivery of the message, etc.

Activity 2 – 15 minutesHere is where the teacher will give the students 15 minutes to individually reflect

on the two interviews that they have just seen. We emphasize individual work as this encourages and makes each student participate and use some of their media literacy skills to dissect some of the codes and conventions that are present in the interviews. This activity will also increase students’ confidence as they will be able to apply their new knowledge to a real situation.

Activity 3 – 15 minutesIn order to see other students’ points of view, the teacher will then break the

students up into small groups of three or four where the students will share with each other what they have observed. This will provide a chance for students to observe things that they might have neglected to see, but it also provides students with the opportunity to work as a group and discover additional ideas and rationales that have not be brought to the surface yet.

Activity 4 – 25 minutesAfter 25 minutes of small group discussions, the teacher will facilitate an entire

class discussion where each group further has the opportunity to hear what others revealed from watching the interview clips. At this point the teacher can ask questions about why and how the students arrived at their particular conclusions from the media source. This part of the activity is also meant to help the teacher understand the thought processes of the students and see how the students interpretation differed from their own based on difference of knowledge and media literacy skills available.

Activity 5 – 25 minutesThe last 25 minutes of this lesson is allocated to the students to develop two of

their own interview scripts using the skills and knowledge that they have learned throughout this lesson. One script will be for a star celebrity athlete while the other will be created for a figure in sports that does not have a celebrity star status. This activity will encourage students to be creative as they will be required to think of appropriate questions, attitudes, and actions for each interview.


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VI. Creating Your Own Jungle – Day 6 Lesson Plan

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Objective:

After spending the last 5 workshops teaching the students and allowing them to research sports talk radio and how it is both shaped and constructed, the final step in our literacy program is to teach our students that they poses the ability to have their voice heard through the construction of various forms of media, in particular radio broadcast. By referencing the work they have compiled over the course of the workshop in their swipe files, the students are to required to work in groups of 3 to 4 and spend the next 3 classes producing their own radio broadcast. This final lesson is designed to review the conclusions they have developed during this workshop and trigger areas they are to both focus on and include in their radio broadcasts.

Issues Discussed: - Genre/Codes - Student Voice- Masculinity and Sports Talk Radio - Media Production - Females on Sports Talk Radio - Community and Radio

Program Materials:- Swipe Files - Writing (Pens, Paper and White Board)- Computer (Device)- Audacity Software


1. 20 minutes - In a group setting revisit the concept of genre/codes and how it functions in sports talk radio. Have the students share what they have learned about the topic and how they plan on representing the concept in their radio broadcast.

2. 20 minutes - In a group setting revisit the concept of masculinity and how it functions in sports talk radio. Have the students share what they have learned about the topic and how they plan on representing the concept in their radio broadcast.

3. 20 minutes - In a group setting revisit the concept of female gender and how it functions in sports talk radio. Have the students share what they have learned about the topic and how they plan on representing the concept in their radio broadcast.

4. 20 minutes - In a group setting revisit the concept of community and how it functions in sports talk radio. Have the students share what they have learned about the topic and how they plan on representing the concept in their radio broadcast.

5. 20 minutes - In a group setting revisit the concept of celebrity and how it functions in sports talk radio. Have the students share what they have learned about the topic and how they plan on representing the concept in their radio broadcast.

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6. 5 minutes – Have the groups get together, combine all of their swipe files, and come up with a temporary project name..

Activities:

Activity 1 - 20 minutes

Facilitate discussion focusing on genre/codes in sports talk radio. Make sure the students understand and know to address the following areas in there radio broadcast:

1. The concept of genre 2. The specific codes they developed in their swipe file3. How codes form the message being portrayed In the write up on their broadcasts, students must provide a list of 5 codes

they tried to follow while producing. The broadcasts must show evidence of following there codes.


Facilitate discussion focusing on masculinity in sports talk radio. Make sure the students understand and know to address the following areas in there radio broadcast:

1. How masculinity serves as a dominant theme in sports talk radio2. How societal perceptions of masculinity are shaped through sports talk radio3. How the medium controls the message that the audience receive Each broadcast must reference at least one athlete from the afore

mentioned “Big 4” sports and one from an alternative sport


Facilitate discussion focusing on female gender in sports talk radio. Make sure the students understand and know to address the following areas in there radio broadcast:

1. How females have a trivial existence in sports talk radio2. How women are objectified in sports talk radio3. The amount of female coverage in sports talk radio compared to males Each broadcast must reference at least one female athlete and one female

sporting event.


Facilitate discussion focusing on community in sports talk radio. Make sure the students understand and know to address the following areas in there radio broadcast:

1. How sports talk radio creates a community for its audience2. How sports talk radio provides a platform for viewers to express their identity

within their respective communities

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Each broadcast must clearly reference its attempt to build a virtual community and also show examples of how it can be used as a platform to display one’s identity.


Facilitate discussion focusing on celebrity in sports talk radio. Make sure the students understand and know to address the following areas in there radio broadcast:

1. How the concept of celebrity functions in sports talk radio2. How commentaries towards sports celebrities are formed3. How commentaries towards non-sports celebrities are formed Each broadcast must include one interview with a sports celebrity and one

interview with a sports figure that isn’t considered a celebrity. Make it clear how you handle each interview differently. Ask the teacher if you are uncertain who is considered a sports celebrity and who isn’t.


Have the group briefly come together to combine their swipe files that they will be using. Have them come up with a project name that can be changed later in the production process if they feel appropriate.

Write Up:

Along with the broadcast, each group is to provide a 2 to 3 page write up, double spaced, that explains their radio broadcast. In it the will need to illustrate for each of the 5 major themes we have identified: genre/codes, masculinity, female gender, community and celebrity…

1. Why they included such content2. Why they chose to frame each theme the way they did3. What message they intended on sending to the audience 4. What, if any, broadcasts were they mimicking when making production decisions5. Was their decision a reflection of their thoughts or a reflection of what they

thought was a norm across sports media production.

Next 3 Classes:

Spend the next 3 classes allowing the students to work on their broadcasts. Help them with technical as well as cognitive concepts if they are experiencing trouble. Try not to form the direction of their broadcasts, let them develop their own codes and structure. On the final class arrange a viewing day where the students can share their work.

I’m Out!....

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Sources Directly Cited in Workshop:

Dempsey, J.M. (2006). Sports –Talk Radio in America: Its Context and Culture. The Haworth Press Inc: USA.

McCarthy, David & Jones, Robyn L. (1997). Speed, Aggression, Strength, and Tactical Naïveté: The Portrayal of the Black Soccer Player on Television. Journal of Sport & Social Issues 21(4), 348-362.

Nylund, David. (2007). Beer, Babes, and Balls: Masculinity and Sports Talk Radio. The State University of New York: New York, NY.

Rowe, David. (2004). Sport, Culture and the Media (2ed ed.). Open Press University: England.

Smart, Barry. (2005). The Sport Star: Modern Sport and the Cultural Economy of Sporting Celebrity. Sage Publications Ltd.: Thousand Oakes, California.

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