Facts and Statistics

Researchers at Vanderbilt University found that in three newspapers, The Tennessean, USA Today and The New York Times, men received 82% of all sports coverage and women received 11% (6% of sports coverage included both genders). (Coaching Women’s Basketball, Jan./ Feb. 1997.)



An examination of ESPN’s SportsCenter in both 1999 and 2004 showed that the show devoted only two percent of its air time to women’s sports. In 2004, Fox Sports’ Southern California Sports Report devoted only three percent of air time to women’s sports. (Messner, M.A., Duncan, M. C. & Willms. N. (2006). “This revolution is not being televised.” Contexts.)

In ESPN’s list of the top 100 athletes of the 20th century, only three women were listed from number 51-100. (#69 Bonnie Blair, #64 Althea Gibson, #59 Billie Jean King) The top 50 included five more women — Chris Evert (#50), Wilma Rudolph (#41), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (#23), Martina Navratilova (#17) and Babe Didrikson Zaharias (#10). (ESPN, 1999.)

Only four women made the list of Sport Magazine’s “Players of the Half-Century” – Billie Jean King (#12), Martina Navratilova (#22), Chris Evert (#33) and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (#36). (Sport, September 1996.)

A study reviewing school reading texts found that boys were represented in physical activities 65% of the time, while girls were represented 35% of the time. In addition, boys dominated throwing and catching activities, while girls dominated dance and swing-set activities. (Henschel-Pellet, H.A. (2001). “Physical Activity Gender-Role Stereotyping: An Analysis of Children's Literature,” Research Quarterly.)

“Media Coverage and Sport: FACTS AND STATISTICS”
http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/Content/Articles/Issues/Media-and-Publicity/M/Media-Coverage-and-Sport-FACTS-AND-STATISTICS.aspx