PERSPECTIVES ON SPORTS & MEDIA
JOU/CMN 3953 COURSE SYLLABUS
Spring 2013
PROFESSOR
EMAIL
PHONE
OFFICE HOURS
OFFICE
Joe Gisondi
jjgisondi@eiu.edu
581-6003
MW 10:30-11:30 a.m.
T 2:40-3:40 p.m.
Buzzard 2546
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines the impact sports and the mass media have had and are continuing to have on each
other. In addition, this course focuses on the history of sports writing and sports broadcasting and the state
of these fields today.
COURSE GOALS
Students will learn to:
 understand the importance of sports to the mass media
 understand the work of sports journalists, as well as how the sports writing and broadcasting have
evolved.
 understand the history and contributions of women and minorities to sports media
 understand how athletes, regardless of gender and race, have been portrayed by sports journalists
 understand the ethical dilemmas faced by sports journalists, as well as how these challenges should be
handled
TEXTBOOKS
 American Sports: From the age of folk games to the age of televised sports (Rader)
 Communication and Sport
 Grantland Rice & His Heroes (Inabinett)
 Additional books have been placed on reserve in Booth Library.
 Selected magazine articles have been placed on Booth’s eReserve system.
CLASS WEBSITE
PDFs from lectures, selected videos and articles, class requirements, along with information about sport
and media are posted on the class website located at sportsmedia.wordpress.com.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Each student is expected to be in complete compliance with the college policy on academic honesty as set
forth in the student handbook. Any student cheating on an exam or submitting plagiarized work will
receive a zero and be reported to judicial affairs.
ABSENCES & MAKE-UP WORK
Students are expected to be in class on time and remain until the dismissal. Absences are unexcused when
the professor has not been notified of an acceptable reason within 24 hours of the class meeting. When
absent, please contact a fellow student to find out what was missed. You are responsible for all material
covered or assigned during classes, even if you are not there. Your grade on late assignments will drop
one letter grade for every day they are late.
1
GRADING
Assignment
Tests
Quizzes
Assignments
Paper
Attendance
Total
Points
300
100
100
100
100
700
Assignment descriptions
 Tests – Students will be asked to think critically on topics addressed in readings, lectures and
documentaries to develop primarily essay responses. So take comprehensive notes. You will also be
asked to do additional research in order to develop an essay response.
 Paper – Students will write a paper during the semester in response to current sports media issues.
This paper must include expert commentary offered in at least six credible articles, chapters and/or
interviews. Information found at general websites, such as Wiki or NFL.com, will not be counted
toward the six total sources. Articles must be published in credible, vetted news media, such as USA
Today, American Journalism History, American Journalism Quarterly, ESPN.com, Chicago Tribune
and Editor and Publisher. Chapters and articles already addressed in class do not count toward these
six sources, although you may still use them. Papers will be evaluated for content, structure and
writing skills. These papers must be 4-6 typed, double-spaced pages in 12-point Times New Roman.
(Delete extra spacing that’s automatically formatted between paragraphs in Microsoft Word.) Name,
class title, and assignment name must be in the upper, left corner of the first page. Give this paper a
title that should be in ALL CAPITALS and centered. Use 1-inch margins and staple all pages. I will
not accept emailed papers, nor any papers that do not follow all of the above rules. This paper is due
by April 10.
 Quizzes – Assume we’ll have a quiz on every reading. Take comprehensive, detailed notes on each
assigned reading, which you may use as you respond to quiz questions. However, you may not use
photocopies of articles or chapters during quizzes.
 Attendance – Students will lose 6 points for each missed class. 2 tardies = 1 absence.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Contact the Office of Disability Services (581-6583) for answers regarding accommodations, auxiliary
learning aids and physical accessibility. Diagnostic information regarding the disability must be submitted
so the most appropriate accommodations can be arranged. Refer to the Undergraduate Catalog for more
information.
CLASS REVISIONS
Syllabus may be changed at any time during the semester by announcement of the instructor.
2
Schedule of Assignments
Jan. 7
INTRODUCTION TO CLASS
 Review class requirements
 Introduction to the symbiotic relationship between sports and the media
 Discuss best sports moments in our lives, categorizing them
Jan. 9
SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS
 What does it mean to be a fan? Read “Sports Fan Cultures” in Communication and Sport, pp. 41-60
Jan. 14
SPORTS MEDIA THROUGH THE AGES
 Are modern Americans more rabid fans than the ancients? Discuss "Sports and Media in the Ancient
Mediterranean" by Thomas Scanlon in Handbook of Sports and Media, pp. 3-19.
 How were sports different during this country’s early years? Read “Sports in Early America” in
American Sports, pp. 1-18.
Jan. 16
EARLY AMERICAN SPORTS
 How did sports emerge as an essential element of American culture? Read “The Setting for
Nineteenth Century Sports” in American Sports, pp. 19-34, and "The Setting For Organized Sports,
1890-1950," pp. ---------- Watch first chapter from Ken Burns’ Baseball documentary.
Jan. 21
HOLIDAY
 No class in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jan. 23, 28
SPORTS WRITING
 Address language, sources, tone, hyperbole, boosterism, ethics and other elements of contemporary
sports journalism by evaluating stories in class. Afterward, students will analyze stories from several
media, such Sports Illustrated, Grantland.com, and Chicago Tribune, to determine potential
differences among contemporary stories and to make comparisons to stories written in previous
decades.
Jan. 30
BUSINESS OF THE NFL
 How big is the NFL? A former league official will offer an insider’s look into professional football.
Feb. 4
SPORTS JOURNALISM ETHICS
 Review the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.
 Address ethical lapses made by sports journalists.
 Read “Justice Delayed” in American Journalism Review, pp. 18-29 (Aug/Sept. 2007).
Feb. 6
SPORTS MYTHOLOGY
 Was the 1920s the best decade in American sports? Read "The Age of Sports Heroes" in American
Sports, pp. 142-159.
 Read “Sports and Mythology” in Communication and Sport, pp. 61-78
 Discuss modern or historic sports myths – moments, players, events.
 Assess how sports media hyped Jeremy Lin to mythic proportions.
3
Feb. 11
GOLDEN AGE OF SPORTS/MYTHOLOGY
 How did Grantland Rice turn athletes into deities during the 1920s? Read Grantland Rice and His
Heroes – chapters 1, 2, 3 – pp. 1-45.
 Analyze Rice’s stories in class.
 Assignment – Write 2-page, single-spaced paper that specifically cites how Rice deified professional
athletes, as detailed in these opening chapters.
Feb. 13
SPORTS ON TELEVISION
 Read “College Sports in the Age of Television” in American Sports, pp. 280-296.
 Assess approaches to TV coverage
 Outline criteria for assessing TV coverage
Feb. 18
ROONE’S IMPACT ON TV SPORTS
 Address Roone Arledge’s impact on sports TV
 Watch the documentary 40th Anniversary of Wide World of Sports.
Feb. 20
EVALUATE SPORTS NEWS PROGRAMMING
 Watch, assess an episode of ESPN’s ‘SportsCenter.”
Feb. 25
SPORTS ON RADIO
 Review history, trends in sports radio
 Read Chapter 3 (“Inside the Sports Radio Industry”) in Beers, Babes and Balls: Masculinity and
Sports Talk Radio, pp. 28-49.
 Listen, evaluate sports-talk radio.
Feb. 27
MID-TERM
 Please, bring a pen to take a test that will include short response and essays. You may use your notes,
but you may not use electronic devices, photocopies of articles or books. You must also return the
take-home portion of the test to class, which needs to be typed. Late submissions won’t be accepted.
March 4
DIGITAL MEDIA
 How has technology affected modern sports writing and fandom? Read “How Yahoo Sports Became
ESPN’s Biggest Competitor” at outkickthecoverage.com.
 Read “Communication and Sport in the Future,” in Communication and Sport, pp. 291-308.
March 6
SOCIAL MEDIA
 Discuss trends, such as athletes using Twitter and sports information using the Internet to usurp
traditional roles of sports journalists.
 Read “Jock Police. Should colleges censor the posts and tweets of their athletes?” in Time (Oct. ’10).
 Read “For athletes, social media can be a minefield,” by Pete Grathoff in Kansas City Star.
 Review Twitter accounts from professional athletes.
March 11-15
 Rest, relax, repeat.
SPRING BREAK
March 18
FANTASY SPORTS
 How have fantasy sports affected sports’ popularity? How much have fantasy leagues affected how
fans watch sports? Review selected articles distributed in class.
March 20
ECONOMIC TIES – PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
 Address how the media has covered economics issues related to professional sports. Read chapter
4
from the book Field of Schemes and read posts on the related website at fieldofschemes.com.
March 25
ECONOMIC TIES – COLLEGE SPORTS
 Address the economics of the NCAA basketball tournament
 How have universities taken advantage of college athletes in order to promote their schools and to
earn more money? Read “The Shame of College Sports” in The Atlantic (Oct. 11, 2011).
March 27
ECONOMIC TIES – COLLEGE SPORTS
 How have Bowl organizations taken advantage of college football programs’ desire to succeed? Read
the following from Death to the BCS – ‘Lies, Damn Lies, and Bowl Payouts” and “Myth of the Dead
Bowls.”
April 1
ECONOMIC TIES – WORLD CUP 2010
 How did FIFA pressure South Africa to make choices not always beneficial for its citizens before and
during the 2010 World Cup Soccer event? Read the following articles on eReserve from Time
magazine – “The Global Game,” “The World Cup As Big Business,” and “Yes, Soccer is America’s
Game.”
 Read “South Africa: A Big Bounce from the World Cup” in Businessweek (May 13, 2010).
 Watch start of the documentary World Cup Soccer in Africa: Who Really Wins?
April 3
POLITICS AND ECONOMICS – WORLD CUP 2010
 Watch the documentary World Cup Soccer in Africa: Who Really Wins?
April 8
POLITICS AND SPORTS
 How do sports and politics affect one another? Read “Politics/Nationality and Sports” in
Communication and Sport, pp. 125-144.
 Watch documentary “Not Just A Game: Power, Politics and American Sports.”
April 10
CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN ATHLETES
 How did women’s sports emerge? Read “The Rise and Decline of Organized Women’s Sports, 18901960” in American Sports, pp. 218-33.
April 15
CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN ATHLETES
 Read “The Quest for Equity in Women’s Sports” in American Sports, pp. 330-342.
 How do sports media portray women? Watch Playing Unfair: The Media Image of the Female Athlete
April 17
ROLE OF PRESS IN INTEGRATION OF BASEBALL
 How did racism, such as the South’s Jim Crow laws, impact college and professional sports? Read
“The African-American Quest for Equity In Sports” in American Sports, pp. 315-328.
 Watch Baseball: Shadow Ball that focuses on challenges faced by African-American players.
April 22
ROLE OF PRESS IN INTEGRATION OF SPORTS
 Address how newspapers covered both the 1936 Olympics and black athletes like Jesse Owens by
comparing the significantly different approaches taken by mainstream white Southern papers to
coverage in Northern and African-American papers. Review “Jesse Who?: Race, the Southern Press
and the 1936 Olympic Games” in American Journalism (28:4, pp. 81-110).
 Watch part of “American Experience: Jesse Owens” that focuses on challenges African-American
athletes like Jesse Owens faced in the 1930s-40s midst political turmoil in the U.S.
April 24
REVIEW FOR FINAL
 Discuss essay topic for the final, review key ideas from the semester.
5