GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM MEN AND WOMEN FOOTBALL IN THE GHANAIAN PRINT MEDIA: A CASE STUDY OF GRAPHIC AND GHANA SPORTS NEWSPAPERS BY . DESMOND NlI L~MrTEY .. A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL O F G RADUAT E STUDIES AND RESEARCH, GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM IN P ARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE A WARD O F A MAST E R OF ARTS IN JOURNALISM OCTOBER,2015 j GHANA INSTITUTE OF .JOURNALISM MEN AND WOMEN FOOTBALL IN THE GHANAIAN PRINT MEDIA: A CASE OF GRAPHIC AND GHANA SPORTS NEWSPAPERS BY DESMOND NIl LAMPTEY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH, GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER OF ARTS IN JOURNALISM OCTOBER, 2015 GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM MEN AND WOMEN FOOTBALL IN THE GHANAIAN PRINT MEDIA: A CASE OF GRAPHIC AND AFRICA SPORTS NEWSPAPERS BY DESMOND NIl LAMPTEY (MAJN 14007) A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH, GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER OF ARTS IN JOURNALISM OCTOBER, 2015 DECLARATION CANDIDATE'S DECLARATION I, Desmond Nii Lamptey, the author of this study, Men and Women Football in Ghana: A Case Study of Graphic Sports and Ghana Sports Newspapers, do hereby declare that except for the reference to other people's work which has been duly acknowledged, the work presented here is the result of my own original research for the award of a Master of Arts degree in Journalism at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. I also declare that this thesis, carried out under the supervision of Zakaria Tanko Musah has neither in whole or in part been submitted to any institution for the award of any certificate. CANDIDATE: L-l#-,,-¥-"" Desmond Nii Lamptey SUPERVISOR: DATE: Mr Zakaria Tanko Musah ii DEDICATION I dedicate this work 'to God Almighty whose abundant Grace, unending love and favour has seen me through and brought me this far in my educational career. Also to my parents: Mr Sampson Lamptey and Madam Elizabeth Torto who painstakingly made sure I had the best of education. To my siblings, Gertrude Lamptey and Edwina Lamptey, Keiron Dowuona and Gifty Tsagli who have always been there for me through thick and thin, God bless you. Again to the late K warne Amo Appiah, Rest In Peace. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many who have helped me with this dissertation and therefore there are many to thank. I am most grateful to God Almighty, the creator of the heaven and earth, who has bestowed me with the gift of life and has granted me the strength and knowledge to produce this intellectual work. I also thank Him for helping and protecting me through my study at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. My sincere thanks go to my lecturer, supervisor, Mr Zakaria Tanko Musah for his rich sense of direction, patience and constructive criticism during the production of this work. Thank you for your continued support, guidance and encouragement (often when I needed it the most) which enabled me to complete this work. Thank you for showing a great deal of interest in my work and my life. I couldn't have had a better supervisor. My thanks also goes to the management and staff of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), especially Mr Ebo Afful, the Acting Vice Rector, for your assistance at the early stages of my work, the priceless advice, positive encouragement, support, professional knowledge and insight, and his concern for my personal and professional success. I am so grateful. My sincere appreciation also goes to Miss Gifty Tsagli who always encouraged and supported me in diverse ways. Thank you for helping me gather data for this study and even typing for me sometimes. You always have my love and respect. I looked forward to your text messages reminding me of deadlines, telling me my supervisor is around and asking me how the work is going. Sincere thanks go to Irene Naa Lamile Jones-Nelson, Leena Dossah and Dufie Asare for helping me with the typing of this work. Special thanks also go to Tommy Annan-Forson, Dr Emma Animah Addai, Madam Florence Dick and Naomi Dogbey for their encouragement. I cannot forget about Mr Patrick Sackey, Miss Victoria Ohui Adusu and Miss Faustina Rose Dwumah all of New Times Corporation for their generosity on my visits to their library. My profound gratitude goes to all 2014/2015 Masters students especially my study mates Ouaraba, Daniel, Gina, Rockson, Jaleel, Sadat Gabriel and Sadat. Thank you iv TABLE OF CONTENT Item Page Declaration ...................................................................................... 11 Dedication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Acknowledges.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . IV Table of Content... ...... ... .................. ............ ............ .................... ...... V List of Tables and Charts...................................................................... viii Abbreviations and Acronyms ..................... ... ... ... ... .................. ................ IX Abstract......................................... ... ....... .................... ... ... ............ ...... ..... X CHAPTERONE 1.1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................... 1 1.2 Background Study... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1.2.1 The Ghanaian Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 16 1.3 Statement of Problem. ..... ... ......... ......... ........................... ............ 18 1.4 Objective of the Study... ...... .................. ........................ ... ........... 20 1.5 Research Questions................ ......... ..... ............................. ............ 20 1.6 Relevance/Significance of the Study............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 1. 7 Scope of Study and Limitation of the Study ........................................... 21 1.8 Organisation of Chapters .................................................................................. 21 CHAPERTWO 2.0 THEORETICAL FRAMWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW... ... .... 23 2.1. 2.2 2.3 Introduction .................................................................................. . Nature of Football ...................................................... . ............... The Ghanaian Media ....................................................................................... . 2.4 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................... . 2.4.1 The Agenda Setting Theory ............................................................ . 2 4 2 The Framing Theory ..................................................... . . . . .............. .. 2.4.3 Social Expectation Theory ........................................................... . 2.4.4 The Functionalist Theory ................................................................................... . v 23 24 25 27 27 35 38 41 2.5 2.6 Review of related Studies ................................................................................ . Operational Definition of Terms ..................................................... . CHAPTER THREE 45 54 3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGy................................................. 56 3.1 Introduction............................................................................. 56 3.2 Research Design........................................................................ 56 3.3 Content Analysis ....................................................................... 61 3.4 Population of the Study... ........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 63 3.5 Sample Size of the Population.......................................................................... 64 3.6 Sampling and Sampling Technique .................................................................. 65 3.7 Data Collection Instrument ............................................................................... 68 3.8 Unit of Analysis ................................................................................................. 69 3.9 Data Presentation and Analysis Procedure ......................................................... 70 3.10 Discussion of Findings ..................... ...................................................... ............ 70 CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ....................................................................... . 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... . 4.2 Findings ................................................................................. . 4.2.1 Total Number of Stories ......................................... '" ..................... . 4.2.2 Total Number of Stories for Men and Women ..................................... . 4.2.3 Picture Presentation .................................................................... . 4.2.4 Total number of Coloured and Black and White Pictures ............................... . 4.2.5 Treatment of Stories for Male and Female ................................................ . 4.2.6 Tone of Football Stories .......................................................................... .. vi 71 71 72 72 73 75 78 80 82 CHAPTER FIVE 5.0 CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION................................................. 85 5.1 Introduction....................................... ........................ ...... ........... 85 5.2 Summary of Findings. .................................................................. 85 5.3 Limitation of the Study............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 94 5.4 Recommendations....................................................................... 95 REFERENCES ................................................................................... . 97-109 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................. . 110 vii Table 1 Chart 1 Table 2 Chart2 Table 3 Chart 3 Table 4 Chart 4 Table 5 Chart 5 Table 6 Chart 6 LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Total number of Stories ........................................................ . Graphical representation of total number of stories analysed ............... . Total number of stories for men and women .............................. . Graphical representation of total number of stories for men and women ...... ........................................................................................................ Picture Presentation ............................................................ . Graphical representation of picture presentation ............................. . Total number of coloured and black and white pictures for male and 72 73 73 75 76 77 female stories......... ... ... ... ... ......... ......................... ...... ......... ... ... 78 Graphic representation of total number of coloured and black and white pictures for male and female stories ................................................ 79 Treatment of stories for both men and women........................................... 80 Graphical representation of treatment of stories for men and women ..... 82 Tone of stories for men and women ... ..... ....... ....... .... .... ..... ..... ... .......... ..... 83 Graphical representation of tone of stories for men and women.............. 84 viii FIFA GFA GJA MTN NBC NMC WNBA ABREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS Federation of International Football Association Ghana Football Association Ghana Journalism Association Mobile Telecommunication Network National Broadcasting Company National Media Commission Women National Basketball Association ix ABSTRACT Sports media are seen as the medium which has a large influence on sports. According to research on sports media, reporters have gender biases. Women are marginalised in the media (Billings, Halone, & Denham, 2002). This is the motivation behind this study which is intended to analyse the prominence that the print media give to both male and female football news. Content analysis was used to collect data for this study. Six (6) months publications of Graphic Sports and Ghana Sports newspapers were purposively sampled and critically analysed. Five hundred and twelve (512) stories of both newspapers were used to collect the data. The findings showed that coverage is not equal. More articles are written about male football and athletes than that of the females, as well as males receiving more photographs and coloured photographs than females. Females received less coverage in the newspapers. Over all, the findings revealed that the print media, both the state-owned newspapers and privately-owned newspapers, give more prominence to male football news than female football news. The consequence is that the people of Ghana will not get well informed about women's football, but get to know all about male football which does not augur well for the total development of football in Ghana. This indicates that the print media sets the agenda for male football activities and leave female football behind which is not good for the total development of football as the functionalist theory says. x CHAPTER ONE 1.1 INTRODUCTION Two words, 'media' and 'football' seem to be recurring over and over again. The two (2) go hand in hand like a horse and carriage and "a positive and mutually beneficial relationship" (Chadwick and Hamil, 2010, p.66) is created when they come together. It appears the relationship between media and sports has become of particular interest to media scholars over the last decade. Media and football, which is a sport, are two (2) symbiotic entities that when they are connected, they help in the proper development of society. "Sports and the mass media enjoy a very symbiotic relationship in .... society" (McChesney, 1989, as cited in Beck and Bosshart, 2003, p.3). Beck and Bosshart continued to state that "The very symbiotic relationship between media and sports has profoundly affected both participants" (ibid). Both sports and media keep on trying to reach people like spectators, fans as well as consumers because advertising industry forms part of the relationship (ibid). Nazemi and Khashemehr (2012, p.624) reminds us that 'sport's relationship with the media has many positive aspects.' They further explained the mass media's ability to reach the general public and introduce them into the game by stating that "media allows the public access a variety sports" (ibid). Media and sports are natural team mates. Lussier and Kimball (2014) added that the media are the lens through which most of us view most of the sports we follow and the media continually tell us what to think about sport - the media shapes our thinking about sports and ourselves. The masses, spectators and fans of sport, football for that matter, get to know about sport through the mass media. For instance, in their research, Nazemi and Khashemehr (2012, 1 p.624) stated the media "allows access to sports to be made available to a mass audience and it can provide access for the old, the infirm and those displaced from their hometown." The impact of the media on sport is very evident here. It is an undeniable fact that enthusiastic fans are ready to know more about fovourite teams, their favourite athletes and the opportunity to say what went wrong in the match, what is happening to their teams and why their coach should be fired. The media which "serves as a system for communicating messages and symbols to the general populace" (Herman and Chomsky, 1998, p.l) is a powerful tool that can be used to do these and even more. The media according to Asakitikpi (2010, p.47), "not only aids in the promotion of events but also in the promotion of the people behind the event." Since the 1980s, the media has become the main source of revenue for professional sport (Popescu-Joudey, 2009). Scholars say that, sport has become a bankable item: audience ratings and advertising revenue help guarantee a channel's success. The media today, as it has been witnessed in most ... countries, cannot survive without sport (Coakley, 2007). The story is not different from what happens in Ghana. Many scholars believe that sport has become strategically significant to the economic viability of many Ghanaian organisations. In 2008 when Ghana hosted the African Cup of Nations, it is believed that a lot of organizations including hotels made millions of cedis associating themselves to the tournament. There are organizations, entities and individuals who take advantage of the Premier League in Ghana to make a lot of money. Sport is becoming increasingly commercialised and sport entities have become more professional over the years. Revenues are generated by media broadcasts, tickets, sponsorships, merchandises, etc and sport events are transmitted easily all over the world as media content (Rahimizadeh, Sajadi, 2 Goodarzi and Ghamati, 2012). All these and many more show the relationship between media and sport, football to be precise. Media is instrumental in defining what we think, how we look and our social place and issues in the society. Media are the main means of mass communication. McQuail (2000) describes mass media as the means of communication or technologies that operate on a large scale, reaching and involving virtually everyone in a society to a greater or lesser degree. According to Meigas (2008, p.6), 'McQuail describes media as a "social institution within the society with its own rules and practices. On the other hand'''. "Creedon (1994) found that sport is both an expression of the socio-cultural system in which it occurs and a mirror of the rituals and values of the society in which they are developed (Creedon, 1994 as cited in Toro, 2005). Creedon (2004) asserts that athletes and teams become our symbolic mirrors defending the honour of our schools, towns or nations. Beck and Bosshart (2003) also refer to sport as a playful self- development, self actualization, and competitive use of physical and mental skill. According to Woods (2007) sport is defined as an institutionalised, competitive activity that involves physical skill and specialised facilities or equipment and is conducted according to an accepted set of rules to determine the winner (as cited in Mwambwa, 2007, p.9). Scholars have found out that sport is an entrenched part of our lives that help define our culture. Jarvie (2006, p.67) supported this claim when he mentioned that "the relationship between sport and ... culture has rested upon ... sports as contributing to a particular way of life of different sub cultures; sport as contributing to forms of cultural policy, sport as one form of the broader notion of body culture .. . sport can also support social and cultural identities and the 3 construction of national identities. Sport is so powerful that a lot of countries have depended on it to project their countries to the world. Ghana is not exempted in this process. The general view is that Ghana has used sport, football included, to put itself on the world map. Ghana's first president and prime minister, Osagyefo Dr K warne Nkrumah saw that need to use sport (in general) as a public relations tool to market the "Blackman" after so many years of negative perceptions that had been conceived by Europe and the rest of the world that Africa was a continent of doom where mothers ate their own babies (Quarcoo, 2006, p.4). The sport policy of Dr Kwarne Nkrumah was to project the country's image to the international community through sport. He saw the power of sport and the role it can play in the new Ghana, after Ghana has attained its independence from the British in 1957. It is so obvious how success in sport could create pride and dignity in the people of Ghana. Sport can be use to do a lot of public relations work for a country like Ghana and the media can be used as a conduit to do that work. The media make the sport an important public issue and; with the help of entertaining stimuli, sell them (Beck and Bosshart, 2003). Sport has become an integral source of entertainment for contemporary societies because spectator sports have every single ingredient of delightful entertainment (ibid). Sport has been a useful way for people to increase their mastery of nature and the environment (Lamptey, 2013, p.3). Sport is seen as a mirror of our identities, both personal and national, one shaping our hopes, our dreams, our wishes and our understanding of culture (Anonymous, 2001, p.I31, as cited in Lamptey, 2013, p.2). Scholars have found out that we can look at sport as a catalyst - sport change us, create desires and forge our identities. The media support all these efforts by reporting on sport to the public. The media is the lens through which we have access to 4 sport and the media continually tells us what to think about sport - from persuasive arguments about athletes to messages about our very identity. It is a general view that the media shapes our thinking about sports and about our identity. Sport, in particular football, constitutes one of the most dynamic, sociologically revealing domains of globalization (Guilianoti and Robertson, 2004, p.2). People of varying economic, social and racial backgrounds find a common ground when supporting their home nation during games (Billing, 2008, p.160). For instance, during the World Cup competitions in Germany, South Africa and quite recently in Brazil, this was clearly seen, without a doubt, as Ghana and other countries of different backgrounds met on one world stage to compete for the gold. Football has contributed greatly to enhance consciousness of human kind (Guilianati and Robertson, 2004, p.16) so men and women football should be given the same importance if football is to contribute more fully to the world itself. However, McGuigan (2012) found out that sport has traditionally been regarded a male­ dominated and male-centered, leaving little space for women to enter into, thrive or succeed (p.9). That is why in his MPhiI thesis, he made an assertion that "the realm of sport has often been criticised for its clear association with hegemonic masculinity and male domination (ibid, p.13). Sport, football for that matter, has been played more by men, watched more by men and crucially controlled by men. This is definitely not a product of the nature of sport; it is part of a more general pattern in which social power is brought to bear by men over women. And so sport is profoundly and openly gendered or rather in most instances musculinised. In fact, a number of 5 authors argue that perhaps more than any other social institution, sport propagates male superiority and female inferiority ( for example, see Bernstein, 2002, Duncan and Hasbrook, 2002, Cole, 1993; Hall, 1996; Hargreaves, 1994; Messner, 1988; Willis 1982; Young, 1995). In the same way, for Duncan and Messner (1998), sport is becoming increasingly significant as it provides opportunities for men to assert their dominance at a time when male hegemony is continually challenged and opposed in everyday life (Duncan and Messuer, 1998, as cited in McGuigain, 2011, p.l4). Although females have increasingly gained access to and enjoy participation in a variety of sport, scholars and lay people alike have called tackle football the "last bastion" of male power domination (Krawec, 2014, p.l). This is to say that the condition for women in sport has improved considerably, with the expansion of sport now open to women and increase in the number of women entering into traditionally all male sport" (Lamptey, 2013, p.3). However, the struggle to secure equality is far from over, as both popular and academic debates on women's participations in sport shows (ibid). It appears there is no equity in the coverage for men and women. As stated by Grappendorf, Henderson, Sanders and Peel (2007, p. 30) equitable coverage can be defined in several ways. First and foremost, researchers have argued that equity is not achieved by solely providing an equal number of articles and photographs, but also, as stated by Fink and Kensicki (2002), by not discrediting females by using them as plain sex symbols in the media while men are depicted as powerful and talented athletes. Secondly, equitable sports coverage should also provide equal coverage to all types of sports; females participating in sports deemed by society as masculine 6 (Le., rugby, basketball, soccer) should be covered at the same rates as sports considered to be feminine (Le., golf, tennis, swimming) (Kane, 1996, as cited in Grappendorf, Henderson, Sanders and Peel, 2007, ). Thirdly, in view of the fact that, coverage of sports can create excitement and drama surrounding a sporting event (Messner, Duncan, & Wachs, 1996) it is important to examine the quality or type of coverage being provided. When considering what comprises "equitable sports coverage" - the type of coverage in terms of whether or not the information is merely factual (i.e., basic statistics regarding the competition) or personal in nature (Le., writing with a "human interest" lens) is also important. The latter provides a unique frame for the story, which helps build fan base and draw support for teams by providing a personal connection for readers and fans. By writing from such a viewpoint, an advantage is afforded to the athletes in the personalised stories because the personal information provides a cue by which each team or coach or individual player is more easily recalled and therefore more likely to be followed in the media (Messner et al., 2003, Messner et aI., 1996). In addition, Messner et al. (1996) argue that the media impacts the preferences of fans by not only the amount; but the type of coverage provided. Therefore, sexism occurs when differential treatment of men's and women's sports occurs by the media as women are viewed as "outsiders" or "others (Eastman & Billings, 2000). The problem of women in sport and its relationship with the media has always been a hot topic with a variety of debates, opinions and perspectives. Certain media, including the print media, have framed women's sport as being as significant as male sport. The ace journalist Greg Baum wrote an article titled "Count Me Out: Women Must Earn Coverage" stating that women's sport did not deserve to receive mass media coverage. This is not different when it comes to football 7 but if we will not underestimate the power of sport and football in particular, then women's football must be given the importance male football enjoys. Both male and female footballers perform in high status competition, but most often than not, it appears the print media coverage of those games are more focused on male footballers or male football stories than that of female stories. According to research on sports media, reporters have both gender and racial biases (Fischer, 2010, p. v.). Women are marginalised in the media (Billings, Halone 7 Denham, 2002, P. 295) and Svenja Mintert (2013, p.2) added that "The reason for the lack of media coverage is a complex issue which may be connected with a low interest in women's sport in general" but the media being a powerful tool can be used to whip up interest in that direction. Mwamba (2007, p. 19) acknowledges that studies of the media have demonstrated clearly that women's coverage is still very low and limited in areas of sport. Studies on print ... have revealed inequalities when comparing the coverage of women's athletic events to men's athletic events (Billings & Eastman, 2003; Kane, 1996; Tuggle et al. 2002). It has been revealed in most researches that 'males are offered both more media attention and more salient coverage' (Banet­ Weiser, 1999; Billings, Halone and Denham, 2002). An example of a study conducted in the United Kingdom by Women Sport Fitness Foundation (WSFF) which found out that on the average, only 5% of sport coverage in national and local print media is dedicated to women's sport (Sport Scotland, 2008). In the same light, a study conducted in Australia reveals that 'Women have made a consistent and significant contribution to Australian sport at all levels, yet their achievements on the whole 8 receive limited coverage by the mass media'(McGrouther, 2011). It appears that the quality and quantity of the coverage of women's sport by the media is not an accurate reflection of the amount of sport played or watched by women. Media coverage is generally inadequate and selective. In Ghana, we will not be far from right if we say the story is not different. A high media profile is for attracting sponsorship, spectators and other sources of financial support. This is one of the many reasons why coverage must be equitable for both male and female football. Although women's participation in sport has reached unprecedented highs (Acosta & Carpenter, 2008), research shows that media coverage of female athletes still lags behind that of men's (Duncan, Messner, & Williams, 1991; Fink, 1998; Fink & Kensicki, 2002; Tuggle & Owen, 1999). Additionally, research has indicated the quality, or ways in which me and women sport is covered is inequitable (Messner, Duncan, & Cooky, 2003). Scholars have found out that the story is not different in other parts of the world. F or instance preliminary findings of a media monitoring project of the National Organisation for women in Sport Physical Activity and Recreation in Zambia also found that less than 15% of all stories on the sports pages of daily newspapers in Zambia are about women (NOWSPAR:2009, as cited in Mwambwa, 2007, p.19) 'Soccer, also known as football or association football' (Vigar, 2008, p.228) occupies a special place in the Ghanaian society and has enjoyed a lot of coverage in the media especially the print media, but this cannot be said about the balance when it comes to male and female football stories. It is perceived that over the past few years women's football in Ghana has gained some measure of importance but the media coverage is favoured towards men. More coverage is 9 directed toward male football stories and footballers than females even though they both participate in the world class football tournaments and both have regular leagues. This is to say that women football news is not given the prominence that the male soccer is given. Since the passage of Title IX in 1972, male and female athletes in collegiate sports were expected to have equal access to equipment and practice facilities, media representation, coaches of the same quality, and scholarship money proportional to participation (Huffman et aI., 2004). As powerful as the print media is, it must give equal prominence to both male and female football stories. This is because the way male football can sell the country out there and help with development to assist economic growth; the female football too can sell the country there by making investors aware of the country. Many Stories have been done on media and football but less concern has been given to the prominence or importance the media gives to the male football and amount of coverage given to I the female football and its implications to development. According to Lamptey (2013), in trying to assess the problem of media and football, most studies focus on the effects of the foreign , football on local football, the effectiveness of the contribution of the media in the development of football, media coverage of women in sport by National Newspapers, the impact of advertising on influencing supporters to attend day matches, just to mention a few. The purpose of this study therefore is to analyse the coverage that print media give to male and female football news in Ghana against the backdrop that football can give a country a global recognition and media is very powerful tool which can be used to sell football and to win more spectators, followers and sponsorship. Boutilier and San Giovanni (1983) referred to newspaper coverage of women's sport as "ghettoization" because sports editor generally treat women's sporting news as 10 1 I !' essentially not newsworthy. It is perceived that when coverage exists, it is assigned to non­ prominent space. In viewing male and female football stories or news, it appears that more importance is given to male. 1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY In his masters' dissertation entitled "Football is Forever", Pontus Forslund stated that any academic work that deals with football must include this quote by former Liverpool Fe manager, Bill Shankly: "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you that it is much, much more important than that" - Bill Shankly (as cited in Forslund, 2006, p.1). Football is a sport and according to Obeng (2006, p.l) sports has no defined origin, but it is believed to have been practiced many centuries ago. He continues to say that its origin is normally associated with the ancient Greek games (Olympic Games) (ibid). Sport as a form of entertainment has from time immemorial become the "sought" activity worldwide (Botchway, 2009). Sport has grown to become one of the major forms of , entertainment that can boast of having the largest number of enthusiastic and passionate followers across the world (ibid). According to Vigar (2008), football is arguably the world's most popular spectator sport (p.288). It is fair to state that football is the most popular sport in the world today, both when it comes to the amount of players, spectators and worldwide spread (Forlund, 2006, p.7). The 'global game' spans culturally diverse societies in all continents; an estimated 250 million people are direct participants, around 14 billion have an interest, and football's flagship tournament, the World 11 Cup finals, attracts a cumulative global television audience of 33.4 billion (Giulianotti, and Robertson, 2004, p.3). Giulianotti and Robertson (2004), continues by asserting that only recently has the game unparalleled cross-cultural appeal been realised financially. In 1998, Football's world governing body, FIFA controlled contracts worth some £4 billion; by 2001, world football's turnover was estimated at around £250 billion, equivalent to the Netherlands' GDP (Walvin, 2001). Given these figures alone, the people of Ghana including the Ghanaian media might see how important the game is and the seriousness we, as a country, need to attach to it and its reportage. Modern football, known as Association football, was formally established in English public schools in 1863 although historical references to football - like games are evident from ancient China, Greece, Rome to Middle Age Europe and pre - Columbus America onwards (Guilianotti 1999, Walvin 1994). The history and origins of football are complex and multifaceted but the I birth of the modem game has been set to England in 1963, when the English Football Association (FA) was founded and agreed on uniform rules (Armstrong and Guilianotti 1999, Walvin 1994). Forslund (2006, p.7) stated that the Football Association's rules separate Association Football from other types of football such as Australian Football, American Football Gaelic Football and foremost Rugby Football. , In 1904 FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) was formed which is still the international governing body of football and has today six (6) confederations that supervise football in the various regions of the world that in their turn holds National Federations and 12 Associations as members (Sugden and Tomlinson, 2003). Forslund (2006) found out that FIFA and its confederation is made up of 207 member nations, which according to him is more than the United Nations that has one hundred and ninety one (191) member states. This is a good indicator of the extent of football's worldwide spread and appeal. Research have established that FIF A's Big Count Survey that was launched in the summer of 2000 found that 250 million footballers were active worldwide (one in every twenty-five of the world's population) along with 5 million officials The FIF A World Cup, which is played every four (4) years, was in 2002 broadcast in 213 countries almost reaching 41,336 hours of total transmission time reaching a worldwide audience of almost twenty nine (29) billion (www.fifa.comlinfoplusIIP-401 054 TVstats.pdf). These facts and figures may not be regarded as very interesting but they are still a valid , illustration and indication of the size, popularity and importance of football to people around the world. Football's special position as the most widespread sport in the world gives it a unique status in its characteristics of the uniform execution that contributes to a cross-cultural fellowship, communication and respect between those who understand the game. Forslund (2006, p.7) noted that following the expansion of football in a number of clubs and practicing nations, more and greater meanings and values have been credited to football as sociological and global phenomenon. Football can be compared to a universal language. One does not have to I speak a particular language to participate. That is why the World Cup bring all countries (no matter the language) together to compete for one golden cup. Football brings people together. 13 It is reported however that, football is at its core built on identity and fellowship that is found in the team, in the club and in the colours of the shirts and shorts. A strong solidarity in the team and a sound security in the identity of the player's role are requirements to optimise the performance in the game, thus considerably increasing the chance of winning. The concrete "we­ against-them"-factor and the simple structure of the match itself make the theme of identity even more apparent. Win, lose or draw are the only outcomes possible. It is simple, concrete, and easy to understand and as the rules are universal football brings people together as those initiated in the game can meet and communicate independently of ethnic background, political or religious conviction or cultural origin. Thus football can be compared to a universal language, not actually being one but rather playing the role of one. Sport in general, and football in particular, are found to be ascribed to many other aspects than I the mere sporting aspects in both media and academic literature as it is being discussed in terms of and is compared with political, military, sociological, artistic, popular cultural, and religious subjects (Forslund, 2006, p.8). It is obvious that sports, politics and nationalism are closely connected and football is no exception. Indeed, "national identity is important to any regime in various degrees and examples from the world of football illustrate its evidence" (ibid). The fascist regime of Italy established football (Calicio) as a fascist game in 1926 in order to generate a sense of national identity and to improve the regime's status in international politics (Martin, 2004, p.2). 14 Similarly, it can be said that, without any doubt, sport is the only activity that has succeeded in uniting all spheres of mankind. As Vigar, (2008, p. xiii) noted: The qualification of the war tom Rwanda to its first MTN Africa Cup of Nations in 2004 at the expense of Ghana was widely reported to have united the war - ravaged nation, as sworn tribal rivals - Hutus and Tutsis embraced one another forgetting they had ever been involved in an internal war that claimed close to one million lives. Similar cases are dotted all over the world. That is the power of sport. Forslund (2006) asserts that sociology has shown an extensive interest in the culture of football supporters, particularly the hooligans and publications on rivalry, violence and hooliganism are Common in the sphere of academic literature on football. Engstrand (2003) established the correlation between football and religion when he declared that "football's relationship with religion ... that draws parallel to the supporter's support of a team to something that basically can be described as worship and devotion". Football is said to have quasi-religious qualities that could learn people about morale and ethics. : It is no exaggeration to say that football is one of the great popular cultures alongside fashion, music, film and television. Even though to some, football is more than just a popular culture _ and they would not feel comfortable with label- sociologist Richard Guilianotti noted: "No other form of popular culture engenders football's huge and participatory passion among its devotees" (Guilianotti, 1999, p.xi). Guilianotti's observation could not have been more appropriate as the I situation in Ghana proves. For instance, any time the senior national team, The Black Stars, play against any national team and wins a game, the resultant effect on the national psyche is phenomenal. Supporters from all parts of the political divide are united in their support for the 15 r I I i national team. This is the unity power of football. "Football is a fine art" - Gunner Green (Gren and Gren, 1993). The present beauty of the game is often discussed in terms of art and great footballers are described as artists, goals can be worthy of framing. However, "Football is great not because of its similarities to other pursuits but because of its differences to them. In the end if people cannot recognise that greatness it's because they are idiots. Admittedly this is not much of an argument, but it has worked pretty well for modem art over the past half century" (Pearson 1996:7 in Moore 1997:125). 1.2.1 THE GHANAIAN MEDIA According to the National Media Commission (NMC), currently, there are over thirty (30) established newspapers that carry news on sports in the country. Some papers are basically established to report on sports. Newspapers like the Graphic Sports, African Sports, Kotoko Express, Hearts News, All Sports, 90 Minutes, and Sport Fylla, to mention a few. Others like The Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, The Chronicle, Daily Guide and others, carry news with a page or two (2) allotted for sports. Ben Koufie (2010, personal communication), states that the media have played a massive role in the development of the game. The more they write, the better it is for the populace to join in and the interest is created to get what we, the populace, need for sports". Tsorme (2009, p.3) explains that the growth and popUlarity of football globally depends on the development of the mass media. The publicity and spotlight given to sports has been very massive over the years. The 16 electronic media coverage of various tournaments, the print writing on the events have both given fans and enthusiasts the needed awareness and passion towards the game. In the past, the print media gave a lot of spaces to the local football league and other sporting activities locally. With those publications, soccer fans are able to gather news about their idol clubs and teams. Spectators get attached to clubs the more they are exposed to news about these clubs and matches. Due to this, the local teams used to have a lot of followers going to the stadium to watch their darling teams play but the level of coverage and importance given to men's football is not accorded women's football. This has affected the supporting level of women football in Ghana. In my opinion, the passion for male football is not the same for female football and it affects patronage and support for the women's national teams. It is evident that most people are much more interested in male football than women's football. Sections of Ghanaians prefer to watch, listen or read about men's football at the expense of women's football. This development is due largely to the perception that football is a masculine rather than a feminine sport. Another difficulty is that today, the average Ghanaian soccer fan can mention the entire squad of the men's team without blinking an eye. Ask the names or players of these women's teams or even the women's national teams of Ghana and you will be disappointed, if not disgusted and appalled, by the lack of knowledge on women's football. 17 With their agenda-setting functions, the print media is part of this problem. Ghanaian newspapers and sports newspapers give majority of their spaces reporting on men's football and teams. It is perceived that newspapers like Graphic Sports, Sports Fylla, 90 Minutes, All Sports, Ghana Sports, Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, and many others, splash their pages with these men's football news giving some small space for women's sports news at some comer, hardly noticeable for the reader. This makes the reader want to leave women's games and follow that of the men. Having loyal fans and a winning team generally results in higher attendance at game (Wakefield and Sloan, 1995) but our newspapers have not helped the women's teams in that direction by reporting on them and their football stories. Arguably, the newspapers have lost their sense of patriotism and balance helping only men's football rather than developing women's football. This issue about our print media or newspapers leaving our women's football and promoting the men's football has become one sensitive issue that has received so many public debate and interest. It is this public interest, coupled with the spaces allotted to the male football that have made this topic a relevant area to study. 1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM The media performs a vital role within society and in particular, is a powerful tool which influences our beliefs, attitudes, and the values we have of ourselves and others as well as the world surrounding us (Koivula, 1999, p. 589). Some of media's numerous roles and functions are I to educate, inform, to entertain, to amuse, to shape opinion, to persuade, to inculcate individuals 18 with the values, beliefs and codes of behaviour that will integrate them into the institutional structures of the larger society and to set agenda (Lamptey, 2010, Herman and Chomsky, 1998). The media also plays a role of influencing people or audience to accept something (Lamptey, 2010). Accordingly, the media do not merely reflect reality, instead it can entail a process of negotiation and reconstruction, which shapes and manages our beliefs and opinions (McGuigan, 2011, p.26). Hargreaves declares that in recent years, the mass media has played an active role in side-lining and trivializing female sporting success, with the ultimating aim of preserving sports as a male domain (1994 as cited in King, 2007, p.187). McGuigan (2010, p.27) established that on average, men receive for more coverage than any women's sport, and more over, this coverage is much wider. There is a view that mass media and print media (newspapers) for that matter has ignored female football. It is a general view that , women have made a consistent and significant contribution to Ghana, yet their achievement on the whole received limited coverage by the mass media meanwhile Lamptey (2010) indicated that, it is important to note that soccer is now the platform for the successful running of big organisations. The game can put a country on the world map, making its citizens, culture, philosophy to be respected, thereby attracting investors and tourist to come to one's country (ibid). Due to this, there is the need to look at the prominence the print media give to both male and female football; that is to do a comparative analysis of the coverage for male and female football 19 and see if the print media, newspapers for that matter, are not setting the agenda for readers to follows the male football and give less importance to female football. The problem at hand therefore is: What is the relative importance that the print media in Ghana attach to male and female football reportage? 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The study expects to broadly analyse the relative importance that the print media in Ghana attach to the male and female football coverage. The specific objectives are: 1. to measure the frequency at which male and female football stories appear in the sports newspapers in Ghana. 2. analyse the picture presentation of the male and female football stories in Ghana. 3. To assess the treatment or genre given to male and female football in Ghana. 4. to examine the tone of male and female football stories in Ghana. 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1. what is the frequency of coverage given to both male and female football stories in Ghana? I 2. how does the sports newspapers present pictures of male and female football in Ghana? 3. what is the treatment given to male and female football in Ghana? 20 4. what is the tone of the various stories for male and female football in Ghana? 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study will be beneficial in the following ways: It is hoped that the research will add to the advancement of knowledge. It will be beneficial to academia. It will also add to the small body of research into international research into sports­ media content production and hopefully encourage similar investigations elsewhere. It will add to existing knowledge. It will promote scholarship, help educational institutions and also help policy makers. 1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY This study will be limited to print media, that is newspapers. Despite the number of newspapers we have in Ghana, the study will focus on Graphic Sports and Ghana Sports newspapers. The study will be limited to six (6) months editions of the two papers. The six (6) months was arrived at by taking the period of the men's World Cup and an addition periods from May 1 to August 31,2014 and that of the women from May, 1 to August 1,2015. 1.8 CHAPTER ORGANISATION The study consists of five chapters. Chapter one (1) deals with background to the study .It outlines the introduction and media and football. Chapter two (2) which the literature review 21 looks at related studies and also provides a theoretical framework to guide the research. Chapter three (3) discusses the approach used to address my research question, the explanation data, empirical results and interpretation of data while chapter four (4) looks at the presentation and analysis of data. Chapter five (5) concludes the thesis with the summary, discussion of findings, conclusion and suggestions future research. 22 CHAPTER TWO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION Darling (1986) has suggested that literature review is very important in terms of providing information about the work of researchers and whether the idea has been investigated before or not (as cited in Alomenu, 2015, p.l7). Kumekpor (2002) also gives additional importance to literature review as it can help the research to avoid some of the defects, flaws, and difficulties of predecessors from whom he may have a lot to learn through reading their published work. In undertaking a study such as investigating the press coverage of men and women football in Ghana, it is important to review relevant studies and also draw on other people's work to learn how much of the issues relating to the topic under study has already been done and various approaches available for use. This chapter therefore looks at the existing body of knowledge on the subject of football and media. This session is concerned with the review of available literature and related researches that have been conducted in the field of media and football. The chapter also outlines the theoretical framework which gives a solid academic grounding to this study. The theories and related literature formed the basis for the research as well as the analysis and discussion on the research finding. The chapter also deals operational definition of words used throughout this study. 23 2.2 NATURE OF FOOTBALL Soccer, also known as football or association football in Britain and other European countries, is played on a rectangular field where two opposing teams of eleven (11) players, aim to kick or head the ball into the other team's goal post. Within the rules of the game, only the goalkeeper of each team is permitted to handle the ball with their arms and hands; unless in the case of a throw-in where up - field players have that right. The game is played on a field ninety (90) to one hundred (100) metres long and forty five (45) to ninety (90) metres wide. In international matches, the measurements are stricter. The minimum length is one hundred (100) metres and it cannot exceed one hundred and ten (110) metres. The width has to be between sixty (64) and seventy five (75) metres. The goal of the game is to kick or head the ball into the opponent's goal without the use of hands. There is a penalty area at the goal line where the goal is. It is played in two forty-five (45) minute halves. The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the official governing body of soccer worldwide. It is responsible for both the Olympics and the World Cup. According to FIFA, the official name of soccer is association football. 24 i I ! , ~ I 2.3 THE GHANAIAN MEDIA Currently, there are over thirty (30) established newspapers that carry news on sports in the country. Some papers are basically established to report on sports. Newspapers like the Graphic Sports, African Sports, Kotoko Express, Hearts News, All Sports, 90 Minutes, and Sport Fylla, to mention a few. Others like The Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, The Chronicle, Daily Guide and others, carry news with a page or two (2) allotted for sports. Ben Koufie (2010, personal communication), states that the media have played a massive role in the development of the game. The more they write, the better it is for the populace to join in and the interest is created to get what we, the populace, need for sports". Tsorme (2009, p.3) explains that the growth and popularity of football globally depends on the development of the mass media. The pUblicity and spotlight given to sports has been very massive over the years. The electronic media coverage of various tournaments, the print writing on the events have both given fans and enthusiasts the needed awareness and passion towards the game. In the past, the print media gave a lot of spaces to the local football league and other sporting activities locally. With those publications, soccer fans are able to gather news about their idol clubs and teams. Spectators get attached to clubs the more they are exposed to news about these clubs and matches. Due to this, the local teams uses to have a lot of followers trooping to the stadium to watch their darling teams play but the level coverage and importance given to men's football is not accorded women's football. This has affected the supporting level of women football in Ghana. 25 ----" ----- ~I' I I In Ghana, the passion for male football is not the same for female football and it affects patronage and support for the women's national teams. It is evident that most people are much more interested in male football than women's football. Sections of Ghanaians prefer to watch, listen or read about men's football at the expense of women's football. This development is due largely to the perception that football is a masculine rather than a feminine sport. Another difficulty is that today, the average Ghanaian soccer fan can mention the entire squad of the men's team without blinking an eye. Ask the names or players of these women's teams or even the women's national teams of Ghana and you will be disappointed, if not disgusted and appalled, by the lack of knowledge on women's football. With their agenda-setting functions, the print media is part of this problem. Ghanaian newspapers and sports newspapers give majority of their spaces reporting on men's football and teams. It is perceived that newspapers like Graphic Sports, Sports Fylla, 90 Minutes, All Sports, Ghana Sports, Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, and many others, splash their pages with these men's football news giving some small space for women's sports news at some comer, hardly noticeable for the reader. This makes the reader wants to leave women's games and follow that of the men. Having loyal fans and a winning team generally results in higher attendance at game (Wakefield and Sloan, 1995) but our newspapers have not helped the women's teams in that direction by reporting on them and their football stories. Arguably, the newspapers have lost their sense of patriotism and balance helping only men's football rather than developing women's football. 26 This issue about our print media or newspapers leaving our women's football and promoting the men's football has become one sensitive issue that has received so many public debate and interest. It is this public interest, coupled with the spaces allotted to the male football that have made this topic a relevant area to study. 2.4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK This section of the study examines the theories that underpin this study. This is important to situate the study within the context of media and football Mass communication theories related to the topic have been revived to find out how the effects of media campaigns influence society. For the purpose of this research, this media effects appropriate for this study are the Agenda Setting Theory, Framing Theory, Social Expectations Theory and Functionalist Theory. 2.4.1 The Agenda Setting Theory The term "agenda setting" has become increasingly popular when characterising the contemporary media (Meigas, 2008, p. 6). The basic premise of the agenda setting theory examines how news media reports on particular issues and influences or shapes public awareness ! and debate (McCombs and Shaw, 1972, cited in Franklin et aI., 2005, p. 46). Kayode and Adeniran (2012) mentioned that editors act as gatekeepers of mass mediated messages and they promote a media agenda by prioritising certain issues. They can provide sustained and prominent coverage to an issue while others are marginalised or ignored (ibid). 27 1 : According to McQuail (2000) Agenda setting is a process of media influence (intended or unintended) by which the relative importance of news events, issues or personages in the public mind is affected by the order of presentation (or relative salience) in news reports. It is assumed that the more the media attention, the greater the importance attributed by the news audience. The media influence is not on the direction of opinion, but only on what people think about. (p.49) Media influences the topics that the audience thinks about, but not the direction of the public opinion itself (ibid). Van Dijk states that the power of media is symbolic and persuasive having the potential to control the media consumer's mind but not their actions (cited in Coulthard and Caldas-Coulthard, 1996). Kayode, Adeniran and Jimoh (n.d.) asserts that it is assumed that 'the more media attention given to an issue or event, the greater is the importance attributed to it by the audience' (p. 3). According to the Agenda Setting Theory, the mass media (including the print media) have a large control on the audience by the choice of stories that are considered newsworthy and how much prominence and space is given to them (Lamptey, 2010, p 16). Earlier propositions about the agenda setting theory suggested that while media do not tell us what to think, they may tell us what to think about (McComb and Shawn, 1972). They believe that the mass media has the ability to transfer the prominence of items on their news agendas to their public agenda. This goes on to suggests that mass media has the potential to draw people's attention to certain issues, and allows for conclusions already raised in the public agenda. Griffin (2011) notes that the agenda setting theory reaffirms the power of the press, while still maintaining the individual's freedom to choose. The agenda setting theory reckons that individual members of society reflect on such issues already raised, and then make personal 28 submissions based on their subjective reasoning. The theory states that the kinds of things people discuss, think and worry about - are powerfully shaped and directed by what the news media choose to publicise. Govender (2010) suggests that it is the ability of media to direct thought processes and attention towards certain issues by the possible exclusion or scant coverage of others which seem to decide for media audiences what they should focus on. This agenda setting theory declares that the mass media, simply by the fact of paying attention to some issues and ignoring others will have an effect on public opinion. This theory clearly relates to this research in that it refers to how media coverage put more prominence or less prominence on both male and female football in Ghana. Walter Lippmann, a journalist, first observed this function, in the 1920s. Sanchez (2002) states that Lippmann then pointed out that the media dominates over the creation of pictures in our head. This is to say that WaIter Lippmann argued in his work, Public Opinion that 'people do not deal directly with their environment as much as they respond to "pictures in their head'" (Lippmann, 1922, p. 16). Four (4) decades later, Bernard Cohen (1963) who is generally attributed for the refinement of Lippmann's idea about agenda setting theory, wrote that: The Press is significantly more than a supplier of information and opinion. It may not be successful in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful much in telling its readers what to think about. And it follows from this that the world look different to different people, depending not only on their personal interests, but also on the map that is drawn for them by the writers, editors and publishers of the papers they read (as cited in Baran and Davis, 2012, p. 294). 29 The suggestion here is that, the news media set the agenda for the public in the sense that their coverage of issue help to define for the public what they should be thinking about on a given day. Baran and Davis (2010) said, "Cohen's writing became the basis for what we now call the agenda-setting function of the mass media (p. 294). Baran and Davis (2010) stated that the agenda setting theory was supported by communication experts Maxwell McCombs and Donald L Shaw in 1972. McCombs and Shaw (1972) explained their interpretation of agenda-setting: "In choosing and displaying news, editors, newsroom staff and broadcasters play an important part in shaping political reality." Readers learn not only about a given issue, but how much importance to attach to issue from the amount of information in a news story and its position - that is, the media may set the 'agenda' of the campaign (p. 176). That is, the mass media sets the agenda for public opinion by highlighting certain issues. McCombs (n.d) himself acknowledged that "The power of the news media to set a nation's agenda, to focus public attention on a few key public issues, is an immense and well- documented influence. Not only do people acquire factual information about public affairs from the news media, readers and viewers also learn how much importance to attach to a topic on the basis of the emphasis placed on it in the news. Newspapers provide a host of cues about the salience of the topics in the daily news-lead story on page one, other front page display large headlines, etc... These cues repeated day after day effectively communicate the importance of each topic. In other words, the news media can set the agenda for the public's attention to that small group of issues around which public opinion forms (p.l)". The agenda setting function has several components, of which public agenda is one of them. The others are media agenda, policy agenda and corporate agenda. These four (4) components are interrelated. Public agenda are issues discussed and personally relevant and important to members of the public. 30 Sparks (2002) assets that the coverage style of news alone may not determine exactly what position people take on a given issue, but it helps guarantee that the issue is considered to be an important one. He also mentioned that the fact that the media's agenda correspond with the publics' does not really provide most powerful evidence in favour of agenda setting theory (as cited in Adorsi, 2008). Though it has been established that the media is powerful and have powerful influence - the ability to tell its audience which issues are relevant and important - the public too have agenda. Based on the public agenda, it is believed that the media come out with their own agenda, Andoh' s (2006) study found that Ghana is a known sporting country with over twenty (20) sporting disciplines but the most recognised, supported and patronised is association football. This tells us how important sport is to Ghanaians and the interest they have in it. With this interest, in informing the public about football, it appears that the media pays too much attention to the male football, male football teams, male footballers and it makes it imbalanced because there are female teams with female footballers in Ghana. According to McCombs and Stroud (2014, p.70) in addition to showing the broad agenda-setting effect of the news media on the public, there is an introduction of Need for Orientation as a psychological moderator ... by David Weaver. David Weaver (1977) adapted the concept of "individual's need for orientation" defined regarding relevance and uncertainty. Lamptey (2101) found out that: Research done by Weaver in 1977 suggested that individuals vary on their need for orientation. Need for orientation is a combination of the individual's interest in the topic and uncertainty about the issue. The higher levels of interest and uncertainty produce higher levels of need for orientation. Due to this, the individual is likely to be influenced by the media stories. 31 This is to say that, there is also the need for audience to be passionately interested in an issue and identify with it. If the public does not show interest and identify themselves with issues, the needed impact would not be made. In short, the media can put its agenda setting machinery in motion, but if the audience is not interested in it, it will not sustain the discussion to make the media successful at telling people what to think about. The agenda setting theory also gives reason why people with similar media contacts prioritise the same topic or issue. Although people may have different thoughts about a topic, most people feel the same issues are important. In effect, the focus of a story and its consistent publication affects how the story is discussed by the public. This reminds us that the public must contribute to make agenda setting to be complete. Therefore there is a mutually beneficial relationship between the media and the public in the way by which issues come from both ends almost in cycle. I t has been pointed out already that the media pick some stories and they highlight on them to make them important. It is clearly seen that when editors or publishers of newspapers decide on particular stories, for example, they make football as their main focus, readers are likely to pay bigger or more attention to these stories, thus developing interest in what happens there after. The house style of the various media can influence its readers' decision on issues. For instance, it is believed that if the newspapers decide to give much prominence to male football and put their stories at very important pages, highlight their pictures in colour and write more editorials and features on them as part of their editorial policy, leaving news on female football in some obscure, small corner, the readers of that paper are likely to be influenced such that the readers will have more interest in the male football than the female stories. 32 '. I , : In relation to this study, the points that have been made above refer to how concentrated media attention on sport played by men and a lack of focus on female athletes could lead to the trivialisation of female athletes. In other words, this theory explains that people will tend to know about those things, which the mass media deal with and adopt the order of priority assigned to different issues covered in the media. For example if the media focus their attention on male football and continuously play down the female football, the public may tend to regard female football as insignificant. It is an indisputable fact that the male football is more popular than female football in Ghana. It is believed that it is against this backdrop that the editors of newspapers may want to give greater attention to news on male football to enable them increase patronage of their papers and gain profit to grow their businesses. However, this does not mean female football should be left at the backyard to suffer. It is also part of the society and helps to put Ghana on the world map, just like male football. Bernard Cohen (1963) stated that "the press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling it readers what to think about" (as cited in Baran and Davis, 2012, p. 294). Relating to this study, this means that although the press does not control one's choice of what to read, they give one insight in to what to think about. This is what may be happening to Ghanaians if it is found out that the pages of Graphic Sports and Ghana Sports newspapers are giving much more reportage to male football than female football. This therefore gives an indication that the media are directing the readers to what to think about. 33 , ; I In connection with this theory (that is the agenda setting theory), it is a general perception that the Graphic Sports and Ghana Sports newspapers in their reportage of football, allot a lot of pages and highlight pictures of male football stories to make those stories more important such that they shape Ghanaians minds towards these stories rather than female football. From the above, it is perceived that, the print media playa significant role in making information concerning these male football news available to the public thereby facilitating and sustaining interest in male football. Most of the time, before and after these male football matches, a lot of people are seen gathered doing discussions on the possible outcomes of matches and even serious arguments as to which the best club is. Similarly, if the media has reported and given most of their sports pages to the female football and news on the female footballers, people will perceive it as important to talk about it. If the Graphic Sports and the African Sports newspapers and other newspapers decide to bring more stories on female football to balance that of the news on the male football, fans' interest in female football will also grow thereby giving equal interest if the agenda setting theory is anything to go by. Therefore the agenda setting theory presents a foundation for investigating how the media set the agenda based on football-related issues: how much space and prominence is given to female football and male football for people to think about it, as well as frequency, picture presentation and if editorials and features are written on both. The agenda setting theory also gives a basis for investigating how the agenda set by the media based on the public agenda, affects the people's behaviuor or perception on issues on male and female football. 34 ~-. Agenda-setting is related to the framing concept, which characterizes the effects of media (McQuaiI, 2000). 2.4.2 Framing Theory Agenda-setting pioneer McCombs has undertaken an effort to expand and develop the theory by linking it to a broad range of other media theories - for example, framing theory (McCombs and Ghanem, 2001). Framing refers to the way in which news content is typically shaped and contextualised by journalists and media houses and the adoption of such frames offered by journalist and media by the audience. Iris Meigas (2008) reiterates this when she says that the media sets a frame to the context in which a news item is presented and as such influences the audience's interpretation of the information, and subsequent attitudes as well as behavior towards the issue. According to Baran and Davis (2010, p. 330) sociologist Ervin Goffman (1974) developed frame analysis to provide a systematic account of how we use expectations to make sense of everyday life situations and the people in them. Goffman's (1974) framing theory proposes that media coverage provides social cues that help viewers interpret events. The framing process involves reporters and editors selecting and highlighting particular aspects of reality while obscuring or omitting other elements (Goffman, 1974). That is, the frame helps determine the way people interpret message's meaning (Kellow and Steeves, 1998, p. 110). As a result, the mass media have the ability to actively set the frames of reference that readers or viewers use to interpret events (Tuchman, 1978). Rowe (1999, p. 237), stated that "if culture is the 'stuff of everyday life - the frame through which we experience, interpret, mold and represent everything that surround us - then sport occupies ... an uncommonly prominent 35 position with it". This means that framing can increase or decrease the importance of an event. In effect, the media frame a story, whether it is a photograph or the text of an article, by selecting certain aspects of the story to promote a desired reality. Broadly defined, Dimitrova and Stromback (2005, p. 404) sees framing as "the ways in which the mass media organize and present issues and events". Here, it is perceived that, the print media in Ghana organize and present male football stories in a way that make them more important than the female football stories. Framing essentially involves selection and salience. In his effort to clarify the framing concept, Entman (1993) offered the following definition: "To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem, definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation and treatment recommendation for the item described "(p. 52). Scheufele (1999), in one of the most comprehensive typologies of framing, put in plain words that there are four (4) types of framing research: studying frames as either (1) dependent variables, or (2) independent variables; and studying (3) individual frames as opposed to (4) media frames. Individual frames are sometimes described as mental schemas, heuristics or scripts (Entman, 2004). That is, they assist an individual perceive, interpret and discuss public events. On the other hand, media frames are contained in journalistic stories across media (like the print media). Photos, which are a very important part of print media work, have been identified as an important reference by which readers judge a news story (Mathews & Reuss, 1985). As a result the types of photographs used to portray female football stories and female footballers should not send the readers false sense of reality that women are not as athletic as 36 ------- ) I .i: their male counterparts. This is the reason why the print media in Ghana should give equal balance coverage when it comes to the reportage of male and female football so that it will not look as if they are portraying one more important than the other. Based on framing theory, Billings and Eastman (2003), argued that portrayals of gender, ethnicity and nationality are changed through a media controlled shaping function in which images are manipulated to appeal to the desired audience. According to Dimitrova and Stromback (2005, p. 405) "the subtlety of framing is in the way it can construct reality, impact interpretations and influence audience responses and opinions towards a particular event after the event enters the public agenda." In other words, framing affects the perceptions of the evenly not just its salience (ibid). Based on this study, it means that the media highlight and make male football stories more important than female football stories, when this happens, it affects the event too which is the football matches, thereby making fan patronise the male football matches than the female football matches. In relation to the frame theory, it is percieved that the Graphic Sports and Ghana Sports newspapers select and make important the male football stories and leave the female football story less important. For instance, scholars have found out that, the print media, in their usage of pictures to send their messages, use more coloured pictures for male football stories than female football stories. This shows how important they portray male football stories as against female football stories which most of the time are represented by black and white pictures. If it is found out that they Graphic Sports and Ghana Sports newspapers do that, then it means they make male football stories more important than the female football stories. The highlighting and saliency can also come in the form of the type of stories which editorials and features are done on mostly. That is if the journalist or the media houses does a lot of editorials and features on the 37 :1 : j j. I :,1 male football stories than the female football stories, it arguably means that they have framed that to the audience, that the male football stories are more important than the female football stories. Based on the above, the framing theory also gives the underpinning for studying how the media frames male and female football stories. 2.4.3 Social Expectations Theory Social expectation theory is an account of long-range and indirect influences of the media. Social expectation theory talks about socialisation influences of mass communications that result from their portrayals of stable patterns of group life. This theory shows that people can use the mass media as sources, either deliberately or without conscious awareness, from which to acquire guides to appropriate behaviour that will help them to adapt to the complex world in which they live. The theory assists in explaining how certain kinds of media presentations and content can play a part in the long-term socialisation of people in a society where mass communications are available. This indicates that when sporting events, of female are ignored or trivialised as compared to male's sporting events the public may unconsciously develop a negative attitude to female footballers. According to Jones (2006, p.l08) for decades journalists have been accused of telling only half the story in their coverage of sport. Donohoe (2003, p.4) states when women do get newspaper space, it is less likely to be accompanied by photographs and a 'substantial 38 proportion of it IS actually derogatory or focused excessively on the sportswoman 's physical appearance. ' \ Through their news reporting, media may often reproduce and reinforce symbols of a patriarchal \\ society (Govender, 20 I 0). Van Zoonen (1998, p.34) confirms this by stating that, "Because the news is made by men, it is thought to reflect the interests and values of men too". Meanwhile the med ia must provide info rmation that is balanced. O'Shaughnessy and Stadler (2005 , p.455) declare that balanced reporting entails the presentation of both sides of an argument, giving the equal space and time. Ghanaian sportswomen, including female foo tballers, have overcome huge challenges to become active participants in sport and their achievements need to be acknowledged . This means that media have a duty in providing a true portrayal of women in sport. Media scholars and other scholars have stated that media influence can have a long term effect on the public. Dr CorU1ie De Boer, a specialist in Communications Science at the Amsterdam School ofComl11unications Research (cited in Moy and Van Halem, 2001 ) says newspapers have been shown to have a more long-term effect, because you have to make a cognitive effOit to read the text and by doing so the information processing goes deeper and you are more involved. Herman and Chomsky (1988, p. l ) state that the function of the mass media is to amuse, ente rtain, and in fo rm, and to inculcate individuals with the values, beliefs, and codes of behavior that will integrate them into the institutional structures of the wider society. O' Shaughnessy and Stad ler (2005, p.457) further put fo rward that media has a cumulative effect on audiences. They 39 believe long term exposure to media 'cultivates' attitudes and beliefs through the persistent repetition of messages and images. If women in sport are not given the acknowledgment they deserve, they will remain the 'weaker sex' because of media influence. The media will then indirectly influence the public in thinking that sport played by women is insignificant. This theory relates to this study in that it indicates that the media sometimes indirectly influence people and can influence public opinion on female football. F ourie (2001, p. 241) maintains in social expectation theory we can over a period of time learn the social norms adhered to by certain social groups, people and organisations in society - by watching television, films, reading newspapers, listening to the radio and surfing the internet. This theory explains that we learn and get an image from media on for example who the leading Sportspersons are - and often this coverage and these images are idealised. In the same way because the media give much prominence to male football, male footballers and male teams, the Ghanaian society see the male footballers and their football as more important than the female football. The emphasis on social expectations theory is on social norms and roles. DeFleur and Dennis (1994, p.591) list the assumptions of this theory: • Various kinds of content provided by the mass media often portray social activities and group life; • These portrayals even if they are fictitious are representations of reality that reflect, accurately or poorly, the nature of many kinds of groups in society; 40 • Individuals, when exposed over a long period of time to these representations, receive information, one can even say unintended lessons and education, about the norms and roles that prevail within the groups; • The experience of exposure to portrayals of a particular kind of group results in incidental learning of behavior patterns that are expected by others when acting within such a group; • These learned expectations concerning appropriate behavior for self and others serve as guides to action when individuals actually encounter or try to understand such groups in real life. This social expectation theory - which shows that people can use the mass media as sources to acquire guides to appropriate behaviour that will help them to adapt to the complex world in which they live - gives a foundation for studying the way people see male football more important than the female football based on the things they get from the media, print media for that matter. 2.2.4 The Functionalist Theory Society is made up of many parts which work together for its betterment. Functionalist theory is based on the assumption that society is an organised system of interrelated parts held together by shared values and established social arrangements maintain the system in a state of balance or equilibrium (Anon, n.d.). The most important social arrangements are social institutions such as 41 the family, education, the economy, the media, politics, religion, leisure and sport (ibid). Scholars say that, if these social institutions are organised around a core set of values, functionalist assume that a society will operate smoothly and efficiently. In their explanation, Baran and Davis (2010, p. 175) say "the cornerstone of functionalist theory is the metaphor of living organism, whose parts and organs, grouped and organised into a system, function to keep its essential processes going. In other words functionalism theoretical approach that conceives of social systems as living organisms whose various parts work, or function together to maintain essential processes (ibid). Similarly, "members of a society can be thought of as cells and its institutions as organs whose functioning ... presents the cohesive whole and maintains the system's homeostasis" (Bryant and Miron, 2004, p. 677). Sport, football for that matter, is part of society and it must work well to contribute to the stability of the society. The media can contribute to sport working well. According to Anderson and Taylor (2009), the functionalist theory, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It has its origins in the works of Emil Durkheim, who was especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable (ibid). Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole society. Anderson and Taylor further explain that society is more than the sum of its parts: rather, each part of society is functional for the stability of the whole society. This is to say that, it is a framework for building theory that sees a society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. The different parts are primarily the institutions of society, each of which is organised to fill different needs ... and the parts depend on each other (Anderson and Taylor, 2009). 42 When sociologists use functionalist theory to explain how a society, community, school, family, sport team or other social system works, they study the ways that each part in the system contributes to the system's overall operation. For example, if Ghanaian society is the system being studied, a person who is using functionalist theory wants to know how the Ghanaian economy, educational system, family, government, media religion, sport are related to one another and how they work together in contributing to the smooth operation of the society as a whole. An investigation based on functionalism focuses on the ways that each of these social institutions help the larger system to operate efficiently. Using Social Theories which is the Chapter Two (2) of the book entitled Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies explains that: According to functionalist theory, social systems operate efficiently when they are organized to do four (4) things: (1) socialize people so they learn and accept important cultural values, (2) promote social connections between people so that they can cooperate with one another, (3) motivate people to achieve socially approved goals through socially accepted means and (4) protect the overall system from disruptive outside influences. Functionalist assume that if these four (4) "systems needs" are satisfied, social order will be maintained and everyone will benefit (p. 30). Football, which is a sport, is part of the social life and does contribute to social stability, efficiency and even development. Sport is a valuable social institution that benefits society as well as individuals in a society. Sport is a source of inspiration on both personal and social levels. Football is a sport and it is an integral part of society and it must be looked at with all the seriousness given to the other parts of the society and it must be looked at with all the seriousness given to the other parts of the society. In attaching that importance to sports as a whole and football to be specific, female football should not be overlooked. 43 Functionalism is looking at society as a whole and instilling values, principles and nonns. Different method can be used to do this, including sport. "In sports, people are taught to be self- discipline, motivated, how to work as a team and potentially the role of a leader, .. (www.webanswers.comlsports/soccer-football/ ... ).Itis often an effective method of bringing " people together and can teach people how to reach their goals (ibid). I' Coakley (2001) affinned that society is an organized system of interrelated parts and that sport is studied in terms of their contributions to the system. This was reiterated that "functionalist theory focuses on the ways that sport contribute to the smooth operation of societies, communities, organizations and groups" (Anon, n.d., p. 30). "They want sociologist to tell them how sport contribute to the smooth operation of the social systems in which they have been successful'" (ibid). A view of the relationship between sport and politics that suggest that sport is used to promote common values held essential for the integration and development of a society (Kent, 2007). Thus, sport helps to maintain social order. This is one of many reasons why sport will have to be looked at seriously. If the functionalist theory says that society is an organized system of small parts working together for the betterment of the system, then sport is one of the parts. Sport has helped the society in so many ways. In looking at football, which is part of sport, female football should not be left out. Female football is part of sport and it can as well boost the economy and put Ghana on the world map just like the male football. The media and newspapers in Ghana have to realize that female football is also part of the interrelated parts which come together to work 44 for the betterment of the whole system. Whatever the male football can be used to do in the society, female football can also be used to do that so it should not be left at the backyard. Women and women football are part of the society and functionalism looks at the society as a Whole and how small parts will work for the good of the bigger system then female or woman football must not be left to suffer. It must be given the same prominence as that of the male football. After all, society is an organised system and the small parts - which include female football and male football - need to work together for the whole system to work effectively. If the newspapers decide not to give equal prominence to female football like they do for the male football, that part of the small parts of the system has been neglected and so the bigger system will not function well. Based on the above, the functionalist theory also provides a basis for investigating how male and female football forms part of the system and why prominence has to be given it with equal measure. 2.3.0 REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES This section of the study looks at earlier studies conducted in relation to the study. A great number of studies have been completed on how the media gives prominence to male football and female football. The previous stories help to throw more light on the kind of relationship that exist between print media reportage of football and the extent to which the media coverage and highlight can affect the fans of football. 45 i Ij II II ii I, I " ., fi I: ': :1 ,I ,I , -iL Football ... have become a global phenomenon that everyone loves to play or watch people play and it is reputed to have the power to shut governments and even lower productivity as it transcends all borders' (Kayode, Adeniran & Jimoh, n.d.,p.3). It has been regarded as a tool for social development and as the best answer to socio-political disharmony wherever it is allowed in the world (Carlin, 2010). Adam and Tuggle (2004) discovered that "practices for representing gender in the media - including sports - have become standardized, therefore reinforcing stereotypes" (p. 240). The media has been criticized for the type and extent of coverage that it has given to sports women and feminised sports (ibid). The study completed a thirty (30) - day analysis of the broadcast stories of the ESPN in a period of 1995. The ESPN "showed seven hundred and thirty two (732) stories about men, only twenty nine (29) about women, a ratio of about 25: 1. The ratio in 2002 was more than 48:1, (ibid). This analysis identifies a clear gender disparity between the coverage of sports and furthermore put forward that the condition has, in fact, worsened for contemporary sports. Findings confirmed that few females and their sports receive neither adequate, nor comparable coverage to their male counterparts. All sixteen (16) stories about women included at least some video, but no female story involved a reporter, though eighty three (83) men's stories were "packaged' by a reporter" (ibid). In a study to establish the relationship between the effects of team loyalty and selected stadium attendance factors on spectator turn out, Wakefield and Sloan (1998) established that the stadium planning and management decision could enhance the experience of fans and augment the possibility of future attendance. They also established that team loyalty was to establish the important measure of spectator desire to be present at stadium events. The study by Wakefield and Sloan, however, failed to look at the role of the media in whipping up interest and support by fans to throng to the stadium to support football teams. This is to say that, Wakefield and Sloan 46 (1998), in their research, failed to look at the power of the media which can also draw supporters or fans to the stadium, among other things. So if the media which has so much power is used to promote both male and football activities, it will go a long way to help promote the games and also develop it. KOivula (1998) did a study which was aimed at measuring the potential effect that mass media may have in influencing beliefs about gender appropriate sports behaviour. Her study thus examined samples of televised sports in Sweden during 1995/96 (1,470 minutes), with a follow­ up examination in 1999 (528minutes) (ibid). For Koivula, the results of her study indicated that gender differences exist regarding both quantity and type of coverage for example. Less than 10% of the total examined sports news time covered female athletes and less than 2% of the time was used to cover women athletes in sports categorised as m~scuIine. It seems that the mass media coverage of sports coverage continues to reInforce construction of division along lines of gender and to reproduce traditional expectations regarding femininity and masculinity (ibid). This is t~ say that there is no equity when it comes to the coverage of male and female football In the media and that is what this study seeks to investigate. Pruegger (2003) conducted a study on the effect of promotions on attendance on hockey matches. He established that the day of the week on which a game is played; winning percentage of clubs, ticket price and city size were factors linked to stadium attendance. Pruegger (2003) also found out that a significant rise in attendance for teams that gave a number of promotions both on match day and non - match days as measured up to teams that did not use promotions. It means that clubs that make their tickets affordable on match - days and the size of the city hosting the matches and whether or not clubs give incentives for their supporters are factors that 47 affect stadium attendance. He used questionnaire and telephone interviews in gathering data. The Marketing Directors, Public Relations Directors or Personnels in charge of fourteen (14) hockey clubs Were Purposively sampled for the study. The sample technique used is good because it gave the researcher the prospect of receiving the right information from the appropriate quarters. The tools used by the researcher allowed the researcher to cover a wide geographical area in a comparatively short time. Meanwhile, Pruegger (2003) has a few limitations: first, the data that was collected was based on just a season and might follow an analysis of more than one season to establish a trend that links the said factor and stadium attendance. Another limitation is that, the researcher omitted the view of hockey fans which would either confirm the responses of the administrators or debunk them through their (fans) response. Bernstein (2002) found an amazing difference between the sport coverage of men's and women's sport on sport - related programmes on BBC 1. For instance, 'a 1998 analysis of the sport Coverage resulted in the key findings that 90.2% sport - related programmes on BBC 1 covered men's events, 6.7% were devoted to women's sports and 3.1% related to mixed sports' (p. 41 7). This statistic conveys a significant message to society and its audience. Here male sport is prioritised and regarded as superior, whilst female sport is side -lined a