Reading books can be fun--by deb wallevand
This blog title reminds me of something from my Saturday morning cartoon days with an owl saying "Hey kids books are fun!" That statement and well this whole blog will just confirm how much of a nerd I am.
I would not say that reading is my most favorite thing to do in school, much less in my free time. I have always liked school though, but I prefer television and other visual forms of entertainment. I tend to laugh when people talk about reading for fun (sorry mom!). It just seemed like an oxymoron. However, these last two weeks I found a couple of centerpieces for my research. And yes, reading these two books was fun.
Media, Sports & Society, edited by Lawrence Wenner, provides a foundation for research on the communication of sports. Contributors of this book examined the theoretical, cultural and historical issues, as well as the production of media sports programming, its content and its audience. Individual chapters focus on the Super Bowl, sports violence and sex typing. I really enjoyed reading about how the symbiotic relationship between sports and the mass media in American society. One author wrote, "Media attention fans the flames of interest in sport and increased interest in sport warrants further media attention." This is the chicken or the egg argument that I'm sure I will face in my professional career.
Women, Media and Sport: Challenging Gender Values, edited by Pamela Creedon, adds to the breadth of my research both from a cultural and media perspective. I found this volume of work
incredibly interesting because I'm interested in the history of women's sports and particularly in gender issues as related to varying media will find this volume informative. My favorite chapter from this book provided a complete historical account of women in American sports journalism. I loved reading about women sportswriters during WWII and about the struggles and sexism these pioneers faced in locker rooms. I learned about the impressive careers of Mary Bostwick, Nellie Bly, Margaret Goss, Betty Cuniberti, and Melissa Ludtke. I loved reading about it, but it totally pissed me off too.
While reading these two books I thought a lot about how I could improve my own research about television coverage and women's sports. I think my biggest discovery was that I need to include a few different theories. More specifically I'm going to start combining, media effects, gatekeeping, and feminism. In past research papers I've talked about gatekeeping (framing theory) or some feminist theory, but I totally ignored media effects. In hindsight, I'm a bit of an idiot to completely leave out media effects. Often times I think I probably implied that the sports audience was passive.
This semester I learned not to shy away from books because they were books. In fact, by actually reading a couple books I found two essential centerpieces for my master's work. Furthermore, I think I'll actually purchase these books and read them more thoroughly this summer. Yeah, I'm a nerd and I guess I like to read.
Showing posts with label Deb Wallevand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deb Wallevand. Show all posts
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Life After a Project
Life After a Project--deb wallevand
Is there life after the completion of a project? Finally a somewhat easier question to blog about! My answer is YES. I apologize if that comes off as arrogant, because I am sure there are a lot of people who may be unsure of what the future holds. And that is totally okay.
I guess my feeling is that the project is only the first step for me. As of 10 o'clock Thursday night this 17th of April 2008 I would like to be a sports producer. With this responsibility it will be my goal to level the playing field (haha, no pun intended!) when it comes to the coverage of women's sports on television. I have a slight idea of what's in store for me. It's one thing to observe the problem on TV and read it in journals, but it's completely different when executive producers are telling you 'no' to your face. My project, a 30-minute sports program devoted to women's sports, will have the same attributes men's programs have: good writing, interesting stories, advanced graphics and camera shots.
Obviously though, no matter how good the production is the absence of men's sports and male athletes from the show will be seen as a weakness. I know I can't change all of society's gender-biased attitudes with this one project, but I do believe I can get a least a few people thinking about women's sports differently. I think if we actually see women's sports taken seriously on television then the audience will start to do the same. I know it is going to happen. We've had over a hundred years of men's sports in the U.S. It is established. Women's sports are the new kids on the block. It's going to take some time, but women's sports will be taken seriously if I have any say.
Someday, perhaps when I feel I've given the industry enough of my life, I'll go back to school yet again and pursue a PhD so I can teach those future sports journalists and broadcasters. I've found in my almost 8 months at OU that some undergrads do listen to what you say. It's nice to get them when they're young, before they get into that tired old newsroom routine.
When it comes down to it, I want to influence all audiences.
Is there life after the completion of a project? Finally a somewhat easier question to blog about! My answer is YES. I apologize if that comes off as arrogant, because I am sure there are a lot of people who may be unsure of what the future holds. And that is totally okay.
I guess my feeling is that the project is only the first step for me. As of 10 o'clock Thursday night this 17th of April 2008 I would like to be a sports producer. With this responsibility it will be my goal to level the playing field (haha, no pun intended!) when it comes to the coverage of women's sports on television. I have a slight idea of what's in store for me. It's one thing to observe the problem on TV and read it in journals, but it's completely different when executive producers are telling you 'no' to your face. My project, a 30-minute sports program devoted to women's sports, will have the same attributes men's programs have: good writing, interesting stories, advanced graphics and camera shots.
Obviously though, no matter how good the production is the absence of men's sports and male athletes from the show will be seen as a weakness. I know I can't change all of society's gender-biased attitudes with this one project, but I do believe I can get a least a few people thinking about women's sports differently. I think if we actually see women's sports taken seriously on television then the audience will start to do the same. I know it is going to happen. We've had over a hundred years of men's sports in the U.S. It is established. Women's sports are the new kids on the block. It's going to take some time, but women's sports will be taken seriously if I have any say.
Someday, perhaps when I feel I've given the industry enough of my life, I'll go back to school yet again and pursue a PhD so I can teach those future sports journalists and broadcasters. I've found in my almost 8 months at OU that some undergrads do listen to what you say. It's nice to get them when they're young, before they get into that tired old newsroom routine.
When it comes down to it, I want to influence all audiences.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Adding to the JMC body of knowledge
Adding to the JMC body of knowledge--Deb Wallevand
The "body of knowledge" is ubiquitous. The "body of knowledge" is broad. The first daunting step to take when conducting research in such a way that it connects to the "body of knowledge" in journalism and mass communication is identifying what is missing or lacking in the existing literature. Research is finding out what you do not already know. No one knows everything, but everybody knows something. By writing a literature review, the researcher can convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Reviewing the field allows the researcher to build on the platform of existing knowledge ad ideas. Additionally, this process is important because it demonstrates that the researcher is not re-inventing the wheel (doing research that has already been done).
A literature review is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries. A good literature review requires the following attributes: the ability to conduct exhaustive bibliographic searches, the ability to organize the collected data meaningfully, describe, critique and relate each source to the subject of the research, present the organized literature logically, and last, but not least, to correctly cite all sources mentioned.
It is necessary to consult a wide range of information sources in the process of connecting to the "body of knowledge." Some of these sources include, but are not limited to scholarly journals, books, newspapers, standards, statistics, maps, and government legislation. For example, I utilize Google Scholar quite a bit to find articles regarding women's sports and the media. Not only does this allow me to find articles, but it shows me how many times a certain article has been cited. This in turn tells me if that piece of academia is considered important by those scholars who contribute to "the body of knowledge."
There are cons to doing research because it carries with it an inherent danger to those who are close minded or comfortable in their preconceptions. There are people, including researchers, who reject anything that contradicts, or at least doesn't support, their views of the world. Research may show that what you already know is incorrect. This is a hard thing to accept.
On the other hand, the pros of this process of conducting research certainly outweigh the cons. As I mentioned earlier, a literature review shows where the new research fits into the existing body of knowledge. It justifies the research. The body of knowledge is ever-evolving and it is kind of exciting to think about the fact that your work will help shape the field and the direction that it is headed. Your research may help refine, refocus or even change the field.
The "body of knowledge" is ubiquitous. The "body of knowledge" is broad. The first daunting step to take when conducting research in such a way that it connects to the "body of knowledge" in journalism and mass communication is identifying what is missing or lacking in the existing literature. Research is finding out what you do not already know. No one knows everything, but everybody knows something. By writing a literature review, the researcher can convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Reviewing the field allows the researcher to build on the platform of existing knowledge ad ideas. Additionally, this process is important because it demonstrates that the researcher is not re-inventing the wheel (doing research that has already been done).
A literature review is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries. A good literature review requires the following attributes: the ability to conduct exhaustive bibliographic searches, the ability to organize the collected data meaningfully, describe, critique and relate each source to the subject of the research, present the organized literature logically, and last, but not least, to correctly cite all sources mentioned.
It is necessary to consult a wide range of information sources in the process of connecting to the "body of knowledge." Some of these sources include, but are not limited to scholarly journals, books, newspapers, standards, statistics, maps, and government legislation. For example, I utilize Google Scholar quite a bit to find articles regarding women's sports and the media. Not only does this allow me to find articles, but it shows me how many times a certain article has been cited. This in turn tells me if that piece of academia is considered important by those scholars who contribute to "the body of knowledge."
There are cons to doing research because it carries with it an inherent danger to those who are close minded or comfortable in their preconceptions. There are people, including researchers, who reject anything that contradicts, or at least doesn't support, their views of the world. Research may show that what you already know is incorrect. This is a hard thing to accept.
On the other hand, the pros of this process of conducting research certainly outweigh the cons. As I mentioned earlier, a literature review shows where the new research fits into the existing body of knowledge. It justifies the research. The body of knowledge is ever-evolving and it is kind of exciting to think about the fact that your work will help shape the field and the direction that it is headed. Your research may help refine, refocus or even change the field.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
My Research Topic...This Week
-My Research Topic...This Week by Deb Wallevand
What does it mean to develop a research topic? Well, it would mean the world to me! In fact, it has almost been seven days since I came up with my latest research topic. I think this one is really going to stick. I would like to work with the OU athletic department and SoonerVision, http://www.soonersports.com/school-bio/sooner-vision.html, in developing a recruitment video or a video that highlights the success of OU women athletes.
As far back as I can remember I have always been very passionate about sports and sports broadcasting. Most children dreamed about being in the Olympics, while I dreamed about covering the Olympics. The movie A League Of Their Own had a profound effect on me as a ten year old and I became very interested in the history of the All-American Professional Girls Baseball League, http://aagpbl.org/. That movie was probably the root of my interest in women's sports. During my undergrad I researched the effects of Title IX, http://www.titleix.info/ . Now at the graduate level my studies have focused on media coverage and the language used to describe women athletes and women's sports.
I have not really scratched the surface as far as my current research topic is concerned, but I would like to begin reading the research about sports highlights, sports psychology, feminist sports psychology, and sports recruitment. I'm curious how this new research fits in with my interest in women's sports. Additionally, I'm excited to combine this research with videography and editing techniques.
I think what really gets me excited about this new research topic is the fact that my master's project could help me land a job after school. I feel I would have a few paths to follow including working with a university in-house production studio such as SoonerVision, , a cable sports channel like ESPN, http://espn.go.com/, or a non-profit organization such as the Women's Sports Foundation http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org or Girls Are Champions http://www.girlsarechampions.org/. This web video about the WSF is a good example of what I would like to do because it includes sports, video and promotes women's athletics. I want my work to educate and inspire and not just entertain. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhE9M5i-KZc
So far this process of determining a research topic has been pretty frustrating because every other week it seems like I'm changing my mind. It feels like I'm a six-year old who wants to be a doctor, the president, and an astronaut. However, I do think I'm on the right track finally. I guess the key word is "develop" a research topic. I will continue to read articles and hopefully fine-tune a topic that I'm passionate about.
What does it mean to develop a research topic? Well, it would mean the world to me! In fact, it has almost been seven days since I came up with my latest research topic. I think this one is really going to stick. I would like to work with the OU athletic department and SoonerVision, http://www.soonersports.com/school-bio/sooner-vision.html, in developing a recruitment video or a video that highlights the success of OU women athletes.
As far back as I can remember I have always been very passionate about sports and sports broadcasting. Most children dreamed about being in the Olympics, while I dreamed about covering the Olympics. The movie A League Of Their Own had a profound effect on me as a ten year old and I became very interested in the history of the All-American Professional Girls Baseball League, http://aagpbl.org/. That movie was probably the root of my interest in women's sports. During my undergrad I researched the effects of Title IX, http://www.titleix.info/ . Now at the graduate level my studies have focused on media coverage and the language used to describe women athletes and women's sports.
I have not really scratched the surface as far as my current research topic is concerned, but I would like to begin reading the research about sports highlights, sports psychology, feminist sports psychology, and sports recruitment. I'm curious how this new research fits in with my interest in women's sports. Additionally, I'm excited to combine this research with videography and editing techniques.
I think what really gets me excited about this new research topic is the fact that my master's project could help me land a job after school. I feel I would have a few paths to follow including working with a university in-house production studio such as SoonerVision, , a cable sports channel like ESPN, http://espn.go.com/, or a non-profit organization such as the Women's Sports Foundation http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org or Girls Are Champions http://www.girlsarechampions.org/. This web video about the WSF is a good example of what I would like to do because it includes sports, video and promotes women's athletics. I want my work to educate and inspire and not just entertain. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhE9M5i-KZc
So far this process of determining a research topic has been pretty frustrating because every other week it seems like I'm changing my mind. It feels like I'm a six-year old who wants to be a doctor, the president, and an astronaut. However, I do think I'm on the right track finally. I guess the key word is "develop" a research topic. I will continue to read articles and hopefully fine-tune a topic that I'm passionate about.
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