Media and Women Elite Athletes in the Arab World: Current Status and Perspectives for Developments

Abstract

Media coverage of elite sport dates back to the 1960s, and ever since, media coverage of sport has been highly prevalent. This significant relationship has an impact on many factors including the social status of elite athletes. Thus, this paper first highlights the growth of media popularity in elite sport, and then proposes a new method of measurement of the media popularity of recognized sports, based on the methodology of the World Ranking of Countries in Elite Sport. This innovative index will allow the identification of the most popular sports around the world within the Arab context. After providing this data, this paper seeks to evaluate whether the popular sports indeed provide social advantages to the elite athletes who practice them, and to estimate accurately the impact that media have on the development of elite sport. These concepts extend to show the disparities between media coverage of male and female athletes and its wider impact on the athlete, sport, and/or culture. Recommendations for development of media practices are noted, including the proposition to refer in media contexts to sportspersons as athletes, as opposed to the use of terms which reinforce stereotypical divisions (male vs. female) thus challenging the reinforcing of gender stereotypes within the media.

Keywords:

• Media
• Arab
• women
• elite athlete

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nadim Nassif

Nadim NASSIF is an Associate Professor in Physical Education and Sports at Notre Dame University - Louaize (NDU), Lebanon. He is the academic advisor of the physical education and sports major and former manager of the NDU FIFA/CIES Sports Management Program. He has a BA in Physical Education, MA in Sport Management, MPhil in Sport history and PhD in Sport Sociology. His research interests are in sport history, coaching and sport management, mainly in sport governance. He created the World Ranking of Countries in Elite Sport, which goal is to give an accurate evaluation of all the countries’ performances in elite sport.

Jessica R. EL-Khoury

Jessica R. EL-KHOURY is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media Studies and Director of International Relations at Notre Dame University – Louaize, Lebanon. Dr. El-Khoury received her PhD in Mass Communication from Texas Tech University with a concentration on health communication, an MA in Media Studies and a BA in Broadcast Journalism. She is passionate about promoting a healthier society and building self/collective confidence through media messages which endorse positive behaviors such as anti-domestic violence, anti-drug addiction, community engagement, sports, proactive cancer awareness and inclusion for persons with disability.