The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare sports coverage provided by the male-centric website ESPN.com and its affiliated female-centric website ESPNW.com. The amount and type of coverage provided for female athletes was the primary focus of this study. Results suggest that ESPNW.com provides an outlet for increased coverage of women’s sports, but the type of coverage provided to female athletes is not equivalent to that of their male counterparts. These results supported findings in previous studies on mass media coverage of women’s sports, specifically coverage on the emerging field of Internet coverage.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare sports coverage provided by the male-centric website ESPN.com and its affiliated female-centric website ESPNW.com. The amount and type of coverage provided for female athletes was the primary focus of this study. Results suggest that ESPNW.com provides an outlet for increased coverage of women’s sports, but the type of coverage provided to female athletes is not equivalent to that of their male counterparts. These results supported findings in previous studies on mass media coverage of women’s sports, specifically coverage on the emerging field of Internet coverage.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Caldwell, Rachael"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Journalism (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Watkins, Patsy","Dittmore, Stephen W."],"advisors":["Wicks, Jan L."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:58:53Z","subjects":["Philosophy","religion and theology","Social sciences","Communication and the arts","Content analysis","ESPN","Sports","Journalism Studies","Sports Management","Sports Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1640","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Watkins, Patsy","Dittmore, Stephen W."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Wicks, Jan L."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Caldwell, Rachael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2016"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Journalism (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Philosophy","religion and theology","Social sciences","Communication and the arts","Content analysis","ESPN","Sports","Journalism Studies","Sports Management","Sports Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1640"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare sports coverage provided by the male-centric website ESPN.com and its affiliated female-centric website ESPNW.com. The amount and type of coverage provided for female athletes was the primary focus of this study. Results suggest that ESPNW.com provides an outlet for increased coverage of women’s sports, but the type of coverage provided to female athletes is not equivalent to that of their male counterparts. These results supported findings in previous studies on mass media coverage of women’s sports, specifically coverage on the emerging field of Internet coverage.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Leveling the Playing Field? A Content Analysis of ESPN.com and ESPNW.com’s Online Coverage"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Watkins, Patsy","Dittmore, Stephen W."],"dc:contributor.advisor":["Wicks, Jan L."],"dc:creator":["Caldwell, Rachael"],"dc:date":["2016"],"dc:date.available":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare sports coverage provided by the male-centric website ESPN.com and its affiliated female-centric website ESPNW.com. The amount and type of coverage provided for female athletes was the primary focus of this study. Results suggest that ESPNW.com provides an outlet for increased coverage of women’s sports, but the type of coverage provided to female athletes is not equivalent to that of their male counterparts. These results supported findings in previous studies on mass media coverage of women’s sports, specifically coverage on the emerging field of Internet coverage.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1640"],"dc:subject":["Philosophy","religion and theology","Social sciences","Communication and the arts","Content analysis","ESPN","Sports","Journalism Studies","Sports Management","Sports Studies"],"dc:title":["Leveling the Playing Field? A Content Analysis of ESPN.com and ESPNW.com’s Online Coverage"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Journalism (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:58:53Z"}