MEP315 SPORT, MEDIA
AND CELEBRITY
5. MEDIA SPORTS STARS
Origins of celebrity (Rojek 2001) (1)
THREE historical processes:
1. The democratisation of society
(POLITICAL CHANGE)
2. The decline of organised religion
(RELIGIOUS CHANGE)
3. The commodification of everyday life
(ECONOMIC CHANGE)
Meanings of celebrity (Rojek 2001) (2)
THREE types of celebrity status:
1. ASCRIBED CELEBRITY: lineage (status
predetermined; gained at birth)
2. ACHIEVED CELEBRITY: individual
accomplishment (status gained through
own actions/abilities/talent)
3. ATTRIBUTED CELEBRITY: endowed on
individuals by others (status gained
through public recognition/media
exposure)
Sports stars and narrativity
(Whannel 2002; 2007) (1)
Whannel’s narrative functions: emergence of a striking talent;
extraordinary feats accomplished;
public celebration;
secondary circulation of star image;
displays of arrogance;
a failure to deliver;
public doubts;
erratic behaviour;
public scandal;
failure;
hero redeemed by performance;
forgiveness;
the power wanes
Sports stars and narrativity
(Whannel 2002; 2007) (2)
Biographies: “the past, far from being
fixed, is constantly being reinvented”
(Whannel 2002: 56)
‘Golden success story’: released shortly
after a famous victory (e.g. player biogs
after the 2003 Rugby World Cup win)
‘Ups and downs’: ‘flawed genius’, ‘rise-andfall’, ‘critical’ narratives (e.g. Ali accounts)
Cricket v. football (Smart 2005)
British sports press allocated greater coverage
to cricket pre-1960s
The first media sports stars in Britain were
cricketers (e.g. W. G. Grace)
Cricket journalists like John Arlott were better
known than football journalists
Unlike cricketers, footballers remained local,
w-class heroes and media coverage remained
local / regional until the television age
Football’s labour relations
(Giulianotti 1999)
Pre-20thC – amateur status of footballers
Pre-1960s players were ‘slaves’ to their clubs
and had little career mobility
1960 – Maximum wage abolished
1963 – ‘Retain and transfer’ system abolished
1977 – ‘Freedom of contract’ principle (out-ofcontract players can negotiate their transfer)
1995 – Bosman case – clubs no longer receive
financial compensation for out-of-contract
player transfers
Gender construction of sports
personalities (Lines 2002)
Under-representation of female sports
stars in the British press
In many cases “Photographic space
prioritised glamorised, sexualised images
of them” (p. 200)
“Glamour girl Mary [Pierce] was a
sensation at the French Open with her
all black dress” (The Sun, 25/6/96, p.27)
Sport stars versus other stars
(Andrews and Jackson 2001 p.7-9)
Status is achieved through meritocracy
Sport is a universally valued, cross-cultural
practice
Stars contribute explicitly to a sense of local
or national identity
Realist figures, relatively short playing/
performing careers, unpredictable situations
Sports stardom is insecure – PR, agents, etc.
have limited impact on managing of success
Sporting stardom today –
postmodern characteristics?
Style over substance – the top stars often earn
more income through image (e.g. advertising
work) than performance
The ‘wild men’ in a hostile world (modernity
figures like Clough and Best) replaced by PRconstructed, media-trained personalities fit for
global consumption
Clough as charismatic ‘socialist’ authoritarian
‘Retro culture’ – nostalgic representations of
bygone eras fostered by players-turned-pundits