Project MUSE®: Journal of Sports Media - Latest Articles
https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/402
Project MUSE®: Latest articles in Journal of Sports Media.daily12026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00text/htmlen-USVol. 1 (2006) through current issue.Latest Articles: Journal of Sports MediaTWOProject MUSE®Journal of Sports Media1940-50731558-4313Latest articles in Journal of Sports Media. Feed provided by Project MUSE®Fight Within a Fight: Negotiating Narratives in a UFC Bout's Hype Videos
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/973886
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If anything is more prominent than controlled violence in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), it is the hype narratives that precede and proceed from action in the octagon. The hype, which has created a juggernaut brand that is now worth $21 billion after its recent merger with World Wrestling Entertainment, is often fueled by hypermasculinity (Choi, 2017), spectacle (Butryn et al., 2020; Downey, 2014), and feuds (Cheng, 2017; Hussain, 2021). Each element is critical to the sport's symbolic and narrative allure (Hershey & Branch, 2011). Few UFC feud narratives represented a moment of social relevance quite like the UFC 268 featured fight, held November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, a
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/402/image/coversmallFight Within a Fight: Negotiating Narratives in a UFC Bout's Hype Videos2025-11-13text/htmlen-USFight Within a Fight: Negotiating Narratives in a UFC Bout's Hype Videos2025-11-132025TWOProject MUSE®1285332026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002025-11-13Drowning in Information but Starving for Knowledge: Sports Journalists Frame Major League Baseball's Recognition of the Negro Leagues
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/973887
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Major League Baseball on December 16, 2020, announced that it was formally recognizing seven Negro Leagues as comparable to the American and National Leagues and that it would incorporate league statistics into baseball's official record (Kepner, 2020). The decision, announced by Commissioner Rob Manfred, meant that nearly 3,500 players who played in the leagues between 1920 and 1948 are now considered Major Leaguers. Inclusion was positioned by officials, in part, as rectification for a 1969 decision by the all-White, all-male Special Baseball Records Committee to officially recognize six leagues while failing to consider recognizing the Negro Leagues. It came a little more than six weeks after the conclusion of
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/402/image/coversmallDrowning in Information but Starving for Knowledge: Sports Journalists Frame Major League Baseball's Recognition of the Negro Leagues2025-11-13text/htmlen-USDrowning in Information but Starving for Knowledge: Sports Journalists Frame Major League Baseball's Recognition of the Negro Leagues2025-11-132025TWOProject MUSE®1425852026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002025-11-13Kits Say a Thousand Words: The Strategic Messaging of MLS and NWSL Jerseys
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/973888
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Soccer jerseys—more commonly referred to as "kits"—do not merely serve to identify players during matches but have become an important extension of a soccer club's identity (Bühler et al., 2013; Couvelaere & Richelieu, 2005; Nufer et al., 2017), as commercial marketing opportunities (Butler & Butler, 2021; da Silva & Las Casas, 2017; Stride et al., 2020), and as tangible products for fans to express their allegiance (Stride et al., 2020). To the latter point, Ruihley and Pate (2017) argue that "a fan's relationship is important for teams, athletes, and organizations because it can be filled with emotion and loyalty, beyond reason in many cases" (p. 136). Therefore, the designs of kits and what they represent become
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/402/image/coversmallKits Say a Thousand Words: The Strategic Messaging of MLS and NWSL Jerseys2025-11-13text/htmlen-USKits Say a Thousand Words: The Strategic Messaging of MLS and NWSL Jerseys2025-11-132025TWOProject MUSE®1845372026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002025-11-13It's a Problem for All of Us: Discursively Explaining the Destruction of Sports Journalism
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/973889
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On July 10, 2023, the New York Times announced that their long-running sports desk would shut down before the end of the year and that the Athletic would feature their sports coverage instead (Robertson & Koblin, 2023). The announcement rocked the industry, as sports journalists lamented the loss of one of the longest running sports desks in the United States. Belth (2023) called the announcement "hamfisted" and unworthy of the historical prestige of the sports paper, and Bucholtz (2023) noted that the industry was losing the home of four Pulitzer Prize winners and a sports desk whose history had stretched as far back as the 1896 Olympics.The announcement occurred mere weeks after ESPN announced a surprising layoff
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/402/image/coversmallIt's a Problem for All of Us: Discursively Explaining the Destruction of Sports Journalism2025-11-13text/htmlen-USIt's a Problem for All of Us: Discursively Explaining the Destruction of Sports Journalism2025-11-132025TWOProject MUSE®1236482026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002025-11-13Defending the Indefensible? Deshaun Watson, In-House Reporting, and the Shifting Values of Sports Journalism
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/973890
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Nearly all prior sports transgression research has inherently focused on transgressions in singular form, largely because a single incident is the cause of the crisis (Billings et al., 2018). However, there arguably has never been a transgression case akin to that of NFL Quarterback Deshaun Watson. Exhibiting behavior dubbed both "frequent and startling" (Vrentas, 2022, para. 1), Watson solicited massages from at least 67 different women in less than a year and a half, with 24 filing sexual assault claims, harassment claims, or both against him in 2021. With allegations ranging from exposing himself to forced sexual contact and assault, the reports were far ranging and incriminatory for Watson, his team at the time
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/402/image/coversmallDefending the Indefensible? Deshaun Watson, In-House Reporting, and the Shifting Values of Sports Journalism2025-11-13text/htmlen-USDefending the Indefensible? Deshaun Watson, In-House Reporting, and the Shifting Values of Sports Journalism2025-11-132025TWOProject MUSE®1383322026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002025-11-13Tracking the Gaze: Visual Attention on an International Federation's Instagram Posts
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/973891
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Within the field of communication and sport, there has been significant scholarly attention to differences in media coverage and portrayals between male and female athletes (e.g., Arth et al., 2022; Billings & Angelini, 2019; Cooky et al., 2015; Johnson, Romney, & Burroughs, 2022; Romney & Johnson, 2020). There is a well-documented difference in the amount of coverage female athletes receive compared to their male counterparts, as well as how men and women athletes are discussed and framed (e.g., Fink, 2015). This lack of media coverage of female athletes and the framing of female athletes by the media can influence how the public perceives them. However, there are instances when there is an upsurge in attention to
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/402/image/coversmallTracking the Gaze: Visual Attention on an International Federation's Instagram Posts2025-11-13text/htmlen-USTracking the Gaze: Visual Attention on an International Federation's Instagram Posts2025-11-132025TWOProject MUSE®1236782026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002025-11-13Beyond a Mega Sports Event Capture, Qatar World Cup 2022: Dribbling Between Media Narratives
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/973892
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Traditionally, mega sports events (MSEs) are used as a soft power by the host country to polish its image and promote its positive stands regionally or globally, depending on the scale of that event. Yet research confirms what the media can do beyond that function to work in favor of the political elites and promoted political agendas, especially if these events are hosted by a non-Western country or state.This pattern was seen during the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, where scholars argue that it was “a textbook example” of how media are used to promote Western political agendas (Meier et al., 2021, p. 787). At the time, Russia was involved in Ukraine; and according to the European Union (EU), that involvement was a
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/402/image/coversmallBeyond a Mega Sports Event Capture, Qatar World Cup 2022: Dribbling Between Media Narratives2025-11-13text/htmlen-USBeyond a Mega Sports Event Capture, Qatar World Cup 2022: Dribbling Between Media Narratives2025-11-132025TWOProject MUSE®1164132026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002025-11-13Front Office Fantasies: The Rise of Managerial Sports Media by Brandon Buehler (review)
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/973893
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Front Office Fantasies offers an insightful analysis of the rising prominence of sports management and its portrayal across a variety of media platforms, such as film, television, digital content, video games, and fantasy sports. Drawing inspiration from his experiences at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, author Branden Buehler explores how media narratives have increasingly shifted the focus from athletes to front-office executives, highlighting figures like Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets. This shift mirrors broader trends in managerialism, financialization, and quantification, reflecting neoliberal values that celebrate the intellectual capabilities of sports executives. As sports continue to evolve
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Project MUSE®https://muse.jhu.edu/2026-05-11T00:00:00-05:00https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/402/image/coversmallFront Office Fantasies: The Rise of Managerial Sports Media by Brandon Buehler (review)2025-11-13text/htmlen-USFront Office Fantasies: The Rise of Managerial Sports Media by Brandon Buehler (review)2025-11-132025TWOProject MUSE®120892026-05-11T00:00:00-05:002025-11-13