Pervasively Offside

Abstract

Women remain underrepresented in sport media despite increased opportunities in other facets of sport and journalism. Further, women who have held positions in sport media are often perceived as being less credible than men in the field. In an effort to understand why these perceptions exist, the present study examined the influence of gender-role stereotyping and sexism on perceived sportscaster credibility. Using a posttest-only quasi-experimental design, 544 participants watched a video of a basketball debate between a male and female sportscaster, in addition to assessing the credibility of these sportscasters. Participant attitudes toward the sportscaster, gender-role stereotyping, and sexism as well as media consumption intentions were also measured. Results indicated that participants’ endorsement of gender stereotypes and level of sexism had a negative effect on the perceived credibility of the female sportscaster. Credibility was also found to have a significant relationship with attitudes toward the sportscaster, which in turn was related to media consumption intentions.

Keywords

sport social role theory sexism credibility media consumption

Working in sport media has been challenging for women. Although sport coverage in the United States gained prevalence in the 1920s, it was not until the 1960s that women were included in its media production component (Pedersen, Miloch, & Laucella, 2007). During the 1970s, though, women began to appear in more prominent roles. Notably, Lesley Visser of The Boston Globe became the first official beat reporter for a National Football League (NFL) team, while Phyllis George and Jayne Kennedy worked for CBS’ NFL pregame coverage (Schwartz, 1999). Even with these increased opportunities, women encountered significant resistance from those in the industry and received ample negative scrutiny from the public (Grubb & Billiot, 2010).

In televised sport broadcasting, women are often relegated to sideline reporting—a role with limited airtime—while their male counterparts assume other more prominent anchor or analyst duties with longer segments (Messner, Dunbar, & Hunt, 2000). This gender inequity can be attributed to the perception that women are not credible enough to analyze sport (Sheffer & Schultz, 2007). Given the long-held tradition of sport as a male activity (Messner, 2002), women may be perceived as lacking fit when it comes to the production and dissection of sport content (Mastro, Seate, Blecha, & Gallegos, 2012).

Given the recent findings that demonstrate a robust level of female participation (Acosta & Carpenter, 2014) and fandom (Stern, 2014) in sport, it is reasonable to assume that the idea of women being associated with sport has become more common. Nevertheless, such reality has yet to translate into an increased number of women in media covering a wide variety of sport genres (Cooky, Messner, & Musto, 2015; Lapchick et al., 2015). The 2014 Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) Race and Gender Report Card noted that women comprised just 13.3% of sports newspaper and website staffs (Lapchick et al., 2015). Women were more likely to be copy editors/designers (19.2%), as opposed to reporters (12.7%), columnists (12.4%), and editors (9.9%). Such figures indicate that the more prominent the role, the less likely it will be a woman.

Furthermore, a content analysis of op-ed sections of 10 major newspapers across the United States found that just 4.2% of sport-related stories were written by women (Harp, Bachmann, & Loke, 2014). Sport appears to lag in comparison to news reporting as a whole, as a report by the American Society of News Editors (2014) noted that 37% of news stories in 2014 were written by women. Similar findings exist in televised media, as well. In a study of Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) and Los Angeles local television networks, just 4.4% of anchors and coanchors were female (Cooky et al., 2015). A mere 14.4% of ancillary anchors were women, all employed at ESPN (Cooky et al., 2015).

Based on the aforementioned statistics, sport remains a unique topic within media, to which women appear to face a “glass ceiling.” Cooky, Messner, and Musto’s (2015) findings on the lack of women sport anchors indicate that employment trends continue to lag, 5 years after an initial 25-year assessment of the industry demonstrated similar numbers. The 2014 APSE report card was the fourth straight in which gender hiring practices received a failing grade (Lapchick et al., 2015).

Given the lack of women in many areas of the sport media industry, discrimination toward women certainly appears to exist within hiring practices. Moreover, problems exist for women who have assumed such positions, as they are often harassed and challenged by sport fans (Grubb & Billiot, 2010). The ability for consumers to access news digitally has allowed for increased direct contact to journalists, be it e-mail or Twitter. This can be problematic for women, given the unfiltered nature of the Internet and social media. Sport writers Julie DiCaro (CBS Chicago and Sports Illustrated) and Sarah Spain (ESPN) produced a public service announcement video illustrating the vile tweets that they received from sport fans on a daily basis, many addressing their gender (Ryan, 2016). These examples, be it potential hiring biases or fan castigation, are problematic not only because they impact women in the sport industry (Fink, 2016), rather they affect perceptions of a woman’s role in particular occupations, and in society, as well (Koenig & Eagly, 2014). Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine how gender-role stereotyping and sexism may impact the perceived credibility of a female and male sportscaster. Consumer perceptions of credibility are especially vital if there is a relationship with media-based behavioral intentions related to the sportscaster in question, as ratings, downloads, and website traffic are conventionally used to determine the success of a media production. Thus, the relationship between sportscaster credibility on consumer attitudes and media-related behavioral intentions has practical value but may also reveal why decision makers have been hesitant to increase the number of women in the field.

Studies have demonstrated the perceptual disadvantages that women face in sport media, particularly when it comes to credibility. Early work found that participants were less likely to agree with a woman reporter’s projection for a college basketball team (Ordman & Zillman, 1994). In sportscasting, men have been perceived as more authoritative than women (Etling & Young, 2007). Mastro, Seate, Blecha, and Gallegos (2012) also found men to be considered more credible when covering football, suggesting a potential match between the sex of the reporter and the predominance of athletes in the sport of focus. Such findings would certainly be detrimental for female reporters, especially considering the majority of mainstream sport coverage in the United States is given to men (Cooky et al., 2015).

While other studies (e.g., Mastro et al., 2012) have examined perceptions of women lacking credibility as sport media professionals, it is also important to understand what attitudes and beliefs may activate such impressions, which may contribute to bias against women in sport media. Thus, as gendered norms of masculinity and femininity impact perceptions of a woman’s role in society (Wood & Eagly, 2012), this bias is particularly pronounced for women who are involved with sport (Fink, 2015), given the pervasiveness of sexism in sport (Fink, 2016).

Conceptual Framework(s) and Hypotheses

As suggested by social role theory (Wood & Eagly, 2012), the endorsement of specific behaviors perceived to be more appropriate for men (e.g., dominant, aggressive) or for women (e.g., nurturing, caring) could link sport to more stereotypically masculine behaviors (Messner, 2002) and suggest women as not credible in the role of sportscasters. Further, individuals who hold sexist beliefs may also perceive female sportscasters to be lacking credibility. Given that media assessment research has utilized source credibility as an applicable framework (Davis & Krawczyk, 2010; Mastro et al., 2012), it is also essential to examine the integral components of source credibility theory, particularly in relation to the study topic.

Source Credibility

Source credibility has traditionally been used as a framework to evaluate the effects of messages intended for audience persuasion (Kiousis, 2001). A credible source is more likely to persuade a consumer on a topic, in addition to fostering the development of a favorable attitude toward the source or associated product (Boyd & Shank, 2004). Because attitudes have been found to have substantial influence on future usage, perceived source credibility can thus serve as an important predictor of consumer behavior (Vermeir & Verbeke, 2006). Historically, source credibility research has examined several key components, including trustworthiness, expertise, dynamism, and attractiveness (Berlo, Lemert, & Mertz, 1969).

Ohanian (1991) defined trustworthiness as “the consumer’s confidence in the source for providing information in an objective and honest manner” (p. 47). Trustworthy sources are especially vital with regard to opinion-based media content (Hovland & Weiss, 1951). Such content has become pervasive within the realm of sport media, particularly with the emergence of ESPN and its numerous commentary (e.g., Outside the Lines) and debate shows (e.g., Pardon the Interruption, Around the Horn).

The appearance of source expertise involves the display of an ability to present topic or area knowledge to the audience (Ohanian, 1991). A source should also be perceived as connected to the area in which he or she is immersed either through sufficient knowledge or experience, so that association with topical expertise does not come into question. However, women working in sport media have long dealt with the perception that depicts them as lacking sport expertise. Ordman and Zillman (1994) found that female print and radio reporters were perceived as possessing less knowledge in comparison to males regarding sport in general and college basketball in particular.

Other investigations into the different components of source credibility have argued that source charisma is more likely to effectively persuade an audience (Berlo et al., 1969; Whitehead, 1968). As a result, dynamism has also been considered as a factor of credibility. According to Berlo, Lemert, and Mertz (1969), dynamism allows the source to utilize knowledge and trustworthiness in aggregation with persuading the audience in an effervescent manner.

As televised media became popular, visual appeal, along with dynamism of the message source, also gained primacy. According to Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, and Longo (1991), attractive individuals are more likely to induce positive reactions. Consequently, the perception of a message source’s visual appeal has been typically associated with the source’s perceived competence (Eagly, Ashmore, Makhijani, & Longo, 1991). Hence, physical attractiveness can be a vital characteristic for individuals who appear in a visual medium such as television. Nonetheless, Davis and Krawczyk (2010) found that, for female sportscasters, attractiveness was positively correlated with perceived competence and expertise, but not trustworthiness or dynamism. Thus, attractive women may be seen as less authentic in a telecast.

Social Role Theory

Social role theory proposes that there are differing expectations regarding behaviors and attributes considered appropriate for men and women (i.e., social role stereotypes; Wood & Eagly, 2012). The theory suggests that “the beliefs that people hold about the sexes are derived from observations of the role performances of men and women and thus reflect the sexual division of labor and gender hierarchy of society” (Eagly, Wood, & Diekman, 2000, p. 124). Thus, individuals cultivate shared beliefs about how men and women should behave and shape a schematic prototype of specific roles for men and women; these shared beliefs, in turn, help form the basis of gender-role stereotypes (Koenig & Eagly, 2014). Behaviors believed to be consistent with female gender roles include being nurturing, caring, and compassionate (i.e., communal), yet male gender roles are described by behaviors such as assertiveness, dominance, and self-confidence (i.e., agentic; Eagly & Karau, 2002). These shared cultural beliefs about gender roles typically “derive from specific family and employment roles commonly held by men and women in society” (Wood & Eagly, 2012, p. 466).

When considering how occupational roles contribute to perceptions of gender roles and stereotypes, work by Koenig and Eagly (2014) demonstrated that individuals “use occupational and other types of social roles to organize behaviors into more general concepts that describe the everyday behaviors that occupants of those roles enact” (p. 388). Men continue to dominate occupational roles within sport media, reinforcing group stereotypes that they are more appropriately suited for and therefore have more knowledge of sport. Due to these stereotypes, when individuals pursue activities or occupations that are typically associated with the opposite gender, they are deemed as acting outside of their congruent gender roles (Eagly & Karau, 2002).

The status incongruity hypothesis, proposed by Rudman, Moss-Racusin, Phelan, and Nauts (2012), describes that the backlash against women who violate stereotypically appropriate gender roles (e.g., demonstrating leadership) can be attributed to a defense of gender hierarchy (i.e., men as the higher status gender). Further, in establishing support for the status incongruity hypothesis, women who were perceived as more agentic (masculine) were subject to greater backlash (Rudman, Moss-Racusin, Phelan, & Nauts, 2012). In the current study context, if sportscasting is perceived as a male position, and one in which men should dominate, female sportscasters could be perceived as less credible due to perceived social role incongruence. Further, in order to maintain gender hierarchy, female sportscasters can be ostracized for engaging in this stereotypical masculine role (Koenig & Eagly, 2014).

Based on the above-discussed empirical evidence and theoretical assumptions, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 1: Gender-role stereotyping will be significantly related to perceptions of sportscaster credibility. Specifically, a stronger endorsement of gender-role stereotypes will be related to lower perceived credibility of a female sportscaster, when compared to a male sportscaster.

Sexism

Although the disparate treatment of women has appeared to dissipate over time (Swim, Aikin, Hall, & Hunter, 1995), the continued practice of gender-role stereotyping reinforces sexism. Old-fashioned or hostile sexism holds that women are inferior, and their roles should be restricted to conform to their gender roles (Glick & Fiske, 2001). Benevolent sexism, a more subtle but equally damaging form of contemporary sexism, characterizes women as “wonderful though weak” to legitimize female inequality—by valuing stereotypical feminine gender roles and offering protection for women—only when they act within those stereotypical roles (Becker & Swim, 2012, p. 3). Benevolent sexism also associates women with being incompetent in vital societal positions, such as leadership (Glick & Fiske, 2001).

While benevolent sexism may not be egregiously caustic, it limits social progression and curtails gender equality for women (Becker & Swim, 2012). Related to benevolent sexism, Swim, Aikin, Hall, and Hunter (1995) introduced a construct, “modern sexism,” which purports that those holding modern sexist beliefs consider gender discrimination a thing of the past. Further, those holding modern sexist beliefs also believe women do not deserve or need support to overcome gender inequity.

Sport has historically been an institution that strongly showcases masculinity and exhibits sexism toward women (Fink, 2016). The mainstream media has been blamed for exacerbating the fascination of connecting aggression and masculinity, while degrading women in sport. In a review of media coverage of female athletes, Fink (2015) noted that coverage included both a focus on femininity and heterosexuality and “infantilizing” female athletes, often referring to women as “young ladies” or “girls.” American media coverage of the 2016 Olympics was also derided for the sexism demonstrated in covering female athletes (Rogers, 2016). Such labeling, which does not persist for male athletes, is a way to discredit. If female sport participants are often disparaged for a lack of abilities due to their sex, it is reasonable to suggest that a position such as media, where a variable like sport expertise is valued, would be at a perceptual disadvantage. Little work, though, has examined the influence of sexism on women from the context of sport media credibility. Etling and Young (2007) used sexism as an antecedent variable to predict a lack of authoritativeness in the voice of a female sportscaster and found a small, yet significant positive relationship. It is likely that sexist attitudes toward women in a sport setting would influence perceptions of source credibility. To validate the relationship between sexism and source credibility, the following hypothesis will be tested.
Hypothesis 2: Sexism will be significantly related to perceptions of sportscaster credibility. Specifically, a stronger sexist attitude will be related to lower perceived credibility of a female sportscaster, when compared to a male sportscaster.

While women in sport media have dealt with perceptions of lacking credibility, it is also important to examine its impact on consumer behaviors. That is, are there other important outcome variables that have relationships with source credibility? As mentioned, source credibility has been found to be a valuable predictor of attitudes toward a product (Ohanian, 1991). Therefore, if women in sport media are perceived as lacking credibility, this is likely to have a detrimental effect not only on the production they are a part of but potentially on consumer attitudes toward these female sportscasters. Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) defined attitude as “a person’s general feeling of favorableness or unfavorableness for that concept” (p. 54) and claimed it is rooted in one’s beliefs about an individual or activity.

Attitude, thus, represents a vital form of assessing consumer judgment of products or activities, given its ability to impact future usage or exhibitions of loyalty (Vermeir & Verbeke, 2006). Within the media landscape, for instance, attitude is likely to predict behaviors such as reading, television, or radio consumption. Practically, this can be measured via ratings, which are used to assess the success of television or radio programming. Ratings are important variables considering they represent the amount of audience consumption and are typically considered with programming decisions (Lin, 2006). If consumer attitudes are resistant to a woman in a sportscasting position due to a lack of credibility, this scenario may present a practical challenge for female sportscasters who wish to develop an audience following. To verify the interrelationships between source credibility, audience attitude, and sport media behavioral intentions, the following hypotheses are postulated.
Hypothesis 3: For both a male and female sportscaster, perceived credibility will be positively related to attitudes toward the sportscaster.

Hypothesis 4a: For both a male and female sportscaster, attitudes toward the sportscaster will be positively related to sport media behavioral intentions.

Hypothesis 4b: For both a male and female sportscaster, attitudes toward the sportscaster will mediate the relationship between perceived sportscaster credibility and sport media behavioral intentions.

Method

Participants

Participants (N = 544) were recruited from Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk (AMT) in exchange for payment. AMT is a digital market for labor recruitment, where workers receive payment for completion of tasks (Buhrmester, Kwang, & Gosling, 2011). Per Mason and Suri (2012), AMT can be an advantageous resource for research, as it provides “access to a large, stable, and diverse subject pool” (p. 1) at a low cost and the data collector must approve each survey submission. Therefore, if a participant completes the survey in significantly less time than expected, their responses may be excluded, and their account will receive a “poor rating” (Mason & Suri, 2012).

The sample consisted of 57% males (n = 310) and 43% females (n = 234). Only AMT users with a 100% prior survey acceptance rating were allowed to take part in this study. With regard to ethnicity, 76.3% identified as White, followed by 7.1% African American, 5.5% Hispanic, 3.4% Asian-Pacific Islander, 3.2% Asian American, 1.9% mixed race, 1.8% Native American, and 0.9% the “other” category. The average participant age was 35.3 (SD = 11.2). Half of all participants (50.6%) reported spending more than 6 hr weekly consuming sport media. While 25% of study participants spent less than 3 hr per week with sport media, another 24.4% spent between 3 and 6 hr with sport media per week. On average, participants reported consuming the following forms of sport media per week: newspaper/magazine (31 min), radio (50 min), televised talk show analysis (73 min), Internet news (96 min), and live game viewing (241 min).

Materials and Procedures

A posttest-only quasi-experimental design was conducted to collect study data. This term is applicable in describing the procedure, as no control groups were utilized, and variable measurement occurred after stimulus exposure. Participants watched a video of a discussion between two sportscasters (one male/one female). The video segment, which lasted approximately 4 min, starred ESPN sportscasters Michael Smith and Jemele Hill, from the show Numbers Never Lie. This video involved a debate over which National Basketball Association (NBA) star—Michael Jordan (in his “prime”) or Kevin Durant—would win a one-on-one contest. After watching the debate, participants were randomly assigned to evaluate one of the two sportscasters.

The use of a debate format, which is popular for sport talk shows, was deemed a viable way to gauge perceptions of sportscaster source credibility. A pretest was conducted with a group of undergraduate students (n = 19) who watched three varying Numbers Never Lie segments and identified the show segment that best showcased a debate between the two sportscasters who sought to persuade the audience toward their argument. The other two segments included Kobe Bryant’s rank in NBA history and the salience of former player Allen Iverson’s basketball impact. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance test indicated significant differences between the three segments, F(1.56, 31.11) = 28.32, p < .001. A pairwise comparisons analysis revealed a significant mean difference between the segments (M = 4.52 [Durant/Jordan] vs. M = 3.71 [Iverson], p < .01; M = 4.52 [Durant/Jordan] vs. M = 2.43 [Bryant], p < .001). All variables were measured by a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree). Descriptive statistics for all key variables, including zero-order correlations, are reported in Table 1.

Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics for All Key Variables.

Variable 1 2 3 4 5

Endorsement of gender norms —

Sexism .509 —

Perceived credibility −.184 −.213** —

Attitudes −.100* −.139 .720 —

Behavioral intentions −.084* −.116 .544 .727** —

M 2.30 2.39 3.91 3.61 2.91

SD 0.87 0.83 0.73 0.92 1.05

Critical Ratio 0.75 0.77 0.75 0.88 0.85

Average Variance Extracted 0.53 0.56 0.52 0.77 0.70

Note. N = 544.

**p < .01. p < .05.

Measurement

An 11-item scale (α = .93) was adapted from Levant et al. (2007)—which was revised based on the Male Role Norms Inventory–Revised (MRNI-R)—to measure endorsed masculine gender-role stereotypes. Two adapted subscales from the MRNI-R were utilized in the current study and consolidated into a single variable: dominance (e.g., “Men should be the leader in any group”) and avoidance of perceived feminine activities (e.g., “Boys should play with action figures, not dolls”).

Eight items (α = .91) were adapted from Swim et al.’s (1995) modern sexism instrument to capture adherence to sexist beliefs in general but also within the context of media and sport. The scale consisted of 8 items. Sample measurement items include “Discrimination against women is no longer a problem in the United States” (general adherence to sexism) and “It is easy to understand why women are concerned about limitations of women’s sport media opportunities” (sport media context).

Sportscaster source credibility was tested via two scales totaling 15 items (α = .95). Ohanian’s (1991) three differential source credibility dimensions—trustworthiness, attractiveness, and expertise—were measured via a semantic differential scale. The second credibility scale, which assessed dynamism, was adopted from Berlo et al. (1969). Previous work in sport media credibility (i.e., Baiocchi-Wagner & Behm-Morawitz, 2010; Hahn & Cummins, 2014) has likewise combined multiple dimensions into a single construct. Examples of the semantic differential items include “passive–active” and “tired–energetic.” Each of these constructs was consolidated into a single source credibility variable.

Attitude toward the source (or sportscaster) was measured by adapting the attitudinal scale by Bagozzi, Lee, and Van Loo (2001) on a semantic differential measure (e.g., rewarding–punishing, useful–useless; α = .95). A sample measurement item includes, “I feel that consuming media (i.e., watching on television, following on social media, or listening to a podcast) involving Michael Smith/Jemele Hill in the future would be rewarding/punishing.”

Behavioral intentions were measured by items adapted from Sartore-Baldwin and Walker’s (2011) Media Consumption Subscale (α = .92). The scale consisted of 5 items. An example includes “If given the opportunity, I would watch segments involving Michael Smith/Jemele Hill on television in the future.”

Four control variables were measured. Two of these measures were existing familiarity with each sportscaster and fandom of the players discussed in the video. Sample items include “I am aware of Michael Smith/Jemele Hill as a sportscaster on ESPN” and “I am a fan of Michael Jordan.” The third control variable, perception of social dominance (Kteily, Sidanius, & Levin, 2011), was included to control for racial perceptions, as both sportscasters in the program were African American. The fourth control variable, perceived NBA knowledge, was self-constructed. Due to the NBA discussion used in the video, in conjunction with the assessment of a sportscaster’s credibility, accounting for one’s basketball aptitude was desired. This control item was “In general, I would consider myself knowledgeable about NBA basketball.” All control variables were found to have good scale reliability (sportscaster familiarity α = .95, player fandom α = .78, and social dominance α = .89).

Results

Structural equation modeling was utilized to test the hypotheses. However, before testing the hypotheses, a confirmatory factor analysis was employed to determine appropriate fit for the proposed overall conceptual model. The analysis revealed that the model had sufficient fit: χ² = 1,977.707, df = 1,018, p = .000; comparative fit index (CFI) = .956, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = .951; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .042; 90% CI [.039, .044]. Confirmatory factor analyses were also conducted to assess the female and male sportscaster models. Overall, the female sportscaster model had good fit: χ² = 1,779.023, df = 1,027, p = .000; CFI = .934, TLI = .927; RMSEA = .053; 90% CI [.049, .057]. The male sportscaster model had adequate fit: χ² = 1,777.359, df = 1,023, p = .000; CFI = .930, TLI = .923; RMSEA = .051; 90% CI [.047, .055]. Confirmatory factor analysis is known to be sensitive to large sample sizes. Hence, even though a significant χ² value was present in the models tested above, the fit was considered acceptable, when combined by other model fit statistics. Fit statistics and standardized regression weights for each model are presented in Table 2. A visual of direct path estimates and their significance levels are illustrated in Figure 1.

Table 2.
Fit Statistics and Standardized Regression Weights.

Associations

1 2 3 4

CFI TLI SRMR RMSEA β β β β

Female sportscaster 0.926 0.919 0.076 0.054 −0.173 −0.162* 0.731 0.689

Male sportscaster 0.922 0.915 0.071 0.051 0.072 0.004 0.709 0.664

Overall model 0.954 0.949 0.077 0.041 −0.032 −0.094 0.719 0.681

Note. 1 = endorsement of gender norms to credibility path, 2 = sexism to credibility path, 3 = credibility to attitudes path, 4 = attitudes to behavioral intentions path. CFI = comparative fit index; TLI = Tucker–Lewis index; SRMR = standardized root mean square residual; RMSEA = root mean square error of approximation.

**p < .001. p < .05.

Figure 1.
Path estimates and significance.

Hypothesis 1 posits that gender-role stereotyping would be negatively related to perceptions of female sportscaster credibility. The path analysis indicates support (β = −.177, p < .05). Similarly, Hypothesis 2 proposes that sexist attitudes would be negatively related to perceptions of female sportscaster credibility; this hypothesis was also supported (β = −.161, p < .05). Further, for endorsement of both gender-role stereotyping and sexist attitudes, no such relationships existed with perceived credibility for male sportscasters. Therefore, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported. Additionally, an independent sample t-test was conducted to test differences between sportscaster gender on perceived credibility. No significant differences were found. This demonstrates the importance of the sexism and endorsement of gender-role stereotype variables, as their presence appears to impact perceived sportscaster credibility.

Hypothesis 3, which predicts that perceived sportscaster credibility would be positively related to attitudes toward the sportscaster, was supported (β = .868, p < .001). Hypothesis 4a postulates that attitudes toward the sportscaster would be significantly related to sport media behavioral intentions. This hypothesis was supported (β = .833, p < .001). Hypothesis 4b predicts that attitudes toward the sportscaster would mediate the relationship between perceived sportscaster credibility and sport media behavioral intentions. Perceived credibility was found to have a significant direct effect on behavioral intentions without the presence of attitudes (p = .001; 95% CI [.635, .839]), in addition to having a significant indirect effect with the inclusion of attitude (p = .001; 95% CI [.569, .828]). However, with the presence of the attitude variable, the direct effect of perceived credibility on behavioral intentions was insignificant (p = .545; 95% CI [−.106, .177]), thus, we can conclude that credibility has a significant influence on behavioral intentions due to the fully mediating presence of attitudes toward the sportscaster, in support of Hypothesis 4b.

Discussion

This study is the first to utilize a posttest-only quasi-experimental approach to explore gender differences in sportscaster credibility and examine the antecedents that influence such differences. Findings from this study established that the endorsement of gender-role stereotypes and sexist attitudes is related to lower perceived credibility of a female sportscaster. Although these findings were expected and support previous work in this area (i.e., Etling & Young, 2007; Grubb & Billiot, 2010), they help to explain why women are often denigrated for lacking competence in sport media, through explicit and implicit bias.

Given that the endorsement of gender-role stereotypes and sexist attitudes did not have a similar negative relationship with the perceived credibility of a male sportscaster, this demonstrates the continued struggles that a woman faces when working in sport media. Explicitly, as long as sport remains a sexist entity and is gender typed as masculine (Fink, 2016), women in the media will continue to face biases. These findings reinforce the perception that masculinity is an important component to perceptions regarding credibility in sportscasting (Mastro et al., 2012).

However, those strongly endorsing gender-role stereotypes may not be overtly sexist, such as those who harass female reporters online (Ryan, 2016). Yet, this implicit bias may serve to implicitly discredit women in sport media due to the perception of traditional role casting in sport media, where women are rarely able to showcase their professional expertise. This occurs as a result of stereotypes being formed based on observations of people in particular roles, including occupational functions (Koenig & Eagly, 2014). Perceptions of a group’s typical occupational roles (e.g., men in sport media) contribute to group stereotypes (e.g., men know sports). For instance, popular shows such as ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption and First Take often position male sportscasters against each other for sports debate. When women are covering sport events, they are often relegated to supporting roles, such as sideline reporter or panel discussion moderator (Messner et al., 2000). These duties can reinforce a gender-role stereotype of women knowing less about sports, as they are not provided credible roles to discuss sport within the industry.

The endorsement of gender-role stereotypes may also negatively impact women in sport media by way of unconscious bias. Although individuals may develop progressive attitudes about macro-social issues, unconscious bias occurs when a contradictory conventional stance is internally retained but not openly displayed (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995). These attitudes remain as implicit stereotypes and may be activated by certain symbols (Dovidio, 2001). In the context of this study, the female sportscaster, thus, may trigger the conception that being a woman in sport media is socially incongruent. Furthermore, a male in sport media represents a conventional norm and is more likely to be perceived in positive fashion.

In addition to evaluating gender-role stereotyping and sexism, this study examined perceived credibility’s relationship with attitudes toward a sportscaster and sport media behavioral intentions. As expected, credibility had a significant positive relationship with attitudes toward the sportscaster, which, in turn, was positively related to media consumption desires. Previous work in endorsement effectiveness claimed that spokesperson credibility is related to positive brand attitude, which increases the likelihood of consumer purchase behaviors (Boyd & Shank, 2004; Ohanian, 1991). This study demonstrates similar findings in a different context that the relationship between credibility and behavioral intentions is indirectly influenced by attitudes toward the sportscaster. Hence, this concept can be applied to multiple disciplines to which source credibility is a prominent concept.

From a practical standpoint, the relationship between perceived credibility, attitudes toward the sportscaster, and behavioral intentions presents a bleak outlook for women in sport media. Industry leaders have the ability to promote positive attitude change, a key mediating variable in this study. That is, credibility impacts behavioral intentions but only indirectly via attitudes toward the sportscaster. Although attitude transformation is said to occur gradually, change agents have been found to serve as catalysts within innovative undertakings (Haider & Kreps, 2004). The more viable and respected the change agent, the more likely consumers will accept a persuasion attempt. Given the prominence and powerful effect of mass media on public perception (McCombs & Reynolds, 2009), major networks could serve as catalysts toward perceptual change. For example, if networks provide women with more opportunities to take on authoritative roles in sport media, such as that of Hill on ESPN, there could* be an increase in positive attitude change toward female sportscasters overall. Additionally, it has been found that females were less likely to aspire to write in college newspaper sport sections due to perceived sexism (Schmidt, 2013) and an appearance of “token” status due to low numbers in the profession (Hardin & Whiteside, 2009). Such programming changes, however, may positively impact young women’s enthusiasm toward entering or progressing in sport media, which may, in turn, mitigate perceived barriers attached to being a woman in the field.

Given the implicit biases found in this study, another implication is a need to educate sport consumers on their existing dispositions toward women in sport media. According to Becker and Swim (2012), individuals may curtail their own sexist beliefs when made aware of the detrimental effects on women resulting from holding such attitudes. However, being aware of stereotype possessions may not consistently translate to a reduction in behavior guided by those stereotypes. While individuals may be cognizant that their thoughts are biased, they may continue to promote such views if they believe that others in society share similar opinions (Duguid & Thomas-Hunt, 2014). Further, though individuals are aware that minority groups are underrepresented at executive levels in organizations, decision makers and those in positions of power in those organizations may not feel compelled to act toward greater inclusion (Duguid & Thomas-Hunt, 2014). This lack of change has been attributed to perceptions of similar organizational norms among competitors, such that individual organizations cannot be held accountable for these actions (Duguid & Thomas-Hunt, 2014). The lack of accountability for increasing women’s representation in credible positions in sports media industry is an industry-wide phenomenon. This further reiterates the aforementioned call for sport media entities to serve as catalyzing change agents with regard to offering opportunities for women to serve in credible positions.

Last, with the proliferation of coverage of sport as part of a 24-hr news cycle, there should be greater opportunities for a more diversified pool of knowledgeable and dynamic hosts and panelists. Further, with noted increases in viewership of women’s sports as evidenced by the 2015 Women’s World Cup, watched by over 25.4 million in the United States (Kane, Daniels, LaVoi, Fink, & Cooky, 2015) and the 46% increase in ratings for the 2016 NCAA women’s basketball tournament (Wilder, 2016), there could be improved perceptions of women involved in sport. Additionally, Harris (2013) reported that heavy consumers of sport media perceived female sportscasters as equally credible to male sportscasters. Thus, such increased viewership may translate to more positive perceptions of women in sport media positions.

Suggestions for Future Research

In general, future studies could investigate the perceived credibility of men and women of similar sport media roles, such as female sideline reporters with male sideline reporters, in-studio female panel moderators, and male panelists. Additionally, studies could also compare the perceived credibility of male and female college basketball color commentators for NCAA men’s and women’s basketball games, as at least one female commentator (Doris Burke) has provided commentaries on selected men’s games on ESPN. While this study examined televised media sport radio, which is nearly completely dominated by male sportscasters, it is another area for additional research to explore female sportscaster fit and credibility.

While increased exposure to more women in sport media may reduce perceptions of less credibility, this has not been examined empirically. Further, if individuals are cued to the damaging consequences of sexist beliefs toward women in sport media, a change in mind-set may follow. In fact, findings by Becker and Swim (2012) indicate that knowledge of the detrimental effects of benevolent sexism was significantly stronger in its association with the endorsement of nonsexist beliefs. Therefore, future research could assess the salience of educating sport media consumers on the harmful consequences of benevolent sexist beliefs of women in sport media in relation to advocating egalitarian attitudes.

Limitations

Several limitations of this study should be noted. First, we must consider the study design (posttest-only quasi-experimental). A true experimental design, with control groups and manipulation of roles and messages, could strengthen the salience of a study of similar nature’s results. Second, due to the use of Mechanical Turk for sampling and data collection, the age of the sample tends to be younger. More older adults would add increased diversity and may strengthen the generalizability of the results. Third, the scarcity of any television sports programs that position a male and female sportscaster as “equal” restricted the current study to select the only such show that was on the air at the time of data collection as the experimental stimulus. Fourth, the use of two African American sportscasters, even though both may be well known to regular ESPN consumers, could have helped produce study findings that are primarily applicable to only African American sportscaster credibility and gendered norms. It is possible that as an African American woman, Jemele Hill was evaluated differently than Michael Smith. However, when examining perceptions of leadership that accounted for race and gender, African American women were similarly evaluated to White men when demonstrating agency (i.e., assertive, competitive, and dominant behavior) yet Black men were penalized for such display (Livingston, Rosette, & Washington, 2012). Lastly, in terms of the debate itself, the side the male or female sportscaster was advocating could also have an influence on audience perception of their credibility. It is possible that younger basketball fans may favor Durant, and older basketball fans may prefer Jordan (who retired in 2003) in the debate.

Conclusion

This study examined the relationship between gender and sportscaster credibility by integrating the concepts of social role theory and sexism in the conceptual framework. Although female sport involvement has increased exponentially over the years (Acosta & Carpenter, 2014), the number and roles that female sportscasters play in the sports media industry remain small, restricted, and gender typed. Those who endorse specific gender role–oriented behaviors—as distinguished by masculinity and femininity—tend to associate female sportscasters as lacking credibility. This finding is consistent with the tenets of social role theory. On balance, stereotypical gender-based perceptions about women in sport media represent a persistent barrier for career development and advancement opportunities for women in the sports media industry. As long as an adherence to gender stereotypes and sexist beliefs toward women persist, perceived female sportscaster credibility will continue to negatively impact consumer attitudes and consumption intentions toward sport media coverage presented by women sports professionals.

Variable	1	2	3	4	5
Endorsement of gender norms	—
Sexism	.509**	—
Perceived credibility	−.184**	−.213**	—
Attitudes	−.100*	−.139**	.720**	—
Behavioral intentions	−.084*	−.116**	.544**	.727**	—
M	2.30	2.39	3.91	3.61	2.91
SD	0.87	0.83	0.73	0.92	1.05
Critical Ratio	0.75	0.77	0.75	0.88	0.85
Average Variance Extracted	0.53	0.56	0.52	0.77	0.70

					Associations
Female sportscaster	0.926	0.919	0.076	0.054	−0.173*	−0.162*	0.731**	0.689**
Male sportscaster	0.922	0.915	0.071	0.051	0.072	0.004	0.709**	0.664**
Overall model	0.954	0.949	0.077	0.041	−0.032	−0.094	0.719**	0.681**

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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					Associations
					1	2	3	4
	CFI	TLI	SRMR	RMSEA	β	β	β	β
Female sportscaster	0.926	0.919	0.076	0.054	−0.173*	−0.162*	0.731**	0.689**
Male sportscaster	0.922	0.915	0.071	0.051	0.072	0.004	0.709**	0.664**
Overall model	0.954	0.949	0.077	0.041	−0.032	−0.094	0.719**	0.681**