This book argues that the examination of sports media within cultural and media studies is organized around more than just a shared topic: mediated sports.
What count as "sports media" in journals, books, and conferences are extremely diverse; they can cover athlete expression on social media, shoe commercials, gender in sports commentary, Indigenous name change activists, and fantasy sports. Besides being mediated and, in some cases, loosely connected to sports events and leagues, it is hard to see what they all share that could serve as the foundation for a unified field of study. Jason Kido Lopez argues that sports media are defined by genre, which is reflected in their industries, within their content, and by their audiences. Throughout the media and cultural complex, sports and sports media are built on the genre of live and real competition and, therefore, to study sports media is to study that genre. Each chapter will explore how the genre is constructed in commodification of mediated sport, representation within sports media, athlete expression, sports fandom, and gaming around sports.
This book will be of interest to those studying sports media as well as media and cultural studies, but also can be used as an introductory survey of the research on sports media from a media and cultural studies perspective.
Introduction: Sports Media, Genre, and Live and Real Competition 1. Branding Live and Real Competition 2. Representing Live and Real Competition 3. Live and Real Athlete Expression 4. Fans of Live and Real Competition 5. Games Based on Live and Real Competition Conclusion: The Pervasiveness of Live and Real Competition
Biography
Jason Kido Lopez is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work on sports media focuses on athlete activism and games based on sports like fantasy sports and sports betting.
