1. LEADING OFF:
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES
IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
BRIAN MORITZ
Ph.D. STUDENT • S.I. NEWHOUSE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS • SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
SUMMIT ON COMMUNICATION AND SPORT • FEB. 23, 2012 • UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

2. BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

3. EARL WARREN SAYS
INTRODUCTION
I always turn to
the sports section first.
The sports page records people s
accomplishments; the front page
has nothing but man s failures.
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

4. BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

5. BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

6. But really ...
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

7. BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

8. WHY WE RE HERE
PURPOSE STATEMENT
How prominently are sports
stories displayed in newspapers,
on news websites, and on
television and radio newscasts
and news programs?
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

9. Theory
Placement/
Prominence
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

10. Theory
Gatekeeping
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

11. Theory
Setting
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

12. Theory
Newsworthiness
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

13. Theory
Sports as news
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

14. Hypotheses
• H1a: In written media (print and online), sports stories appearing in the news sections of
newspapers are more likely to have high prominence than sports stories on online news
sites.
• H1b: International sports stories are more likely to have higher prominence than local or
national stories.
• H1c: Longer stories are more likely to have higher prominence than shorter ones.
• H2a: In broadcast media (network, cable and radio), sports stories appearing on a network
newscast are more likely to have high prominence than sports stories on cable newscasts or
radio.
• H2b: International sports stories are more likely to have higher prominence than local or
national stories.
• H2c: Longer stories are more likely to have higher prominence than shorter ones.
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

15. How I did it
Methods •
Pew National Coverage Index (NCI) -
2010 sample
1,278 Big Stories 52,614 individual stories
18 sports Big Stories 851 individual sports stories
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

16. How I did it
Methods
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

17. How I did it
Methods •
DV: Placement/prominence
IVs: Geographic focus (U.S./international), Length (word
count, seconds)
Focal variable: Source
Written (print vs. online); Broadcast (network vs. cable/radio)
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

18. Boring stats slide 1
Results
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

19. Boring stats slide 2
Results
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

20. Boring stats slide 3
Results
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

21. Boring stats slide 4
Results
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES

22. Huh?
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

23. What it means
Results
Sports print stories were more than 200 percent more likely
to have middle prominence than sports stories on online news
sites.
Longer stories are more likely to be middle prominence than
high.
Partial support for hypotheses 1a and 1c.
No support for hypothesis 1b.
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

24. What it means
Results
Sports stories on network TV newscasts are 46 percent more
likely to have low prominence than those on cable TV or
radio.
Network TV sports stories of low prominence are also
1 percent more likely to be shorter than sports stories on cable
TV or radio.
Partial support for hypotheses 2a and 2c.
No support for hypothesis 2b.
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY 24

25. But
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

26. Biggest numbers
Results
1.6
Percent of data set
1.4
Percent of stories
BRIAN MORITZ • LEADING OFF •
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

27. LEADING OFF:
THE PROMINENCE OF SPORTS STORIES
IN U.S. NEWS SOURCES
BRIAN MORITZ
Ph.D. STUDENT • S.I. NEWHOUSE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS • SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
SUMMIT ON COMMUNICATION AND SPORT • FEB. 23, 2012 • UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS