Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters Degree of Technology: Public Relations Management, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / During the Apartheid era in South Africa, women were marginalised from sport. The ability to participate in sport in South Africa is intrinsically linked to the political history of the country. Sport played a dynamic role in the struggle against the diabolical system of apartheid in South Africa and has a powerful role to play in the transformation and nation building of South Africa. Women have made great strides in sport in recent years in South Africa and the way in which media portray these sporting achievements is critically important to dislodging negative stereotypes and overcoming discrimination of women in sport. The unfair coverage of women’s sport displays gender based attitudes which systematically disadvantage women’s position in society. Women’s participation in sport has grown dramatically but despite this growth coverage of women in sport remains inferior to that given to men in sport across all media. Media need to acknowledge, promote and celebrate the wealth of talent that there is to be enjoyed by society. Newspaper reports are seldom challenged for not being accurate or truthful. But readers have a right to truthful information and reporting, and being trustworthy to the reader is the basis of good journalism. Media need to collectively reflect a diversity of content to ensure public access to a variety of viewpoints and they should expect societal intervention if the media fail to meet professional standards. The print media has a fundamental role to play in shaping public opinion and undoubtedly have an influence in portraying women in sport in South Africa. This study critically analyses the influence of the print media in portraying women in sport.

With the longstanding popularity of American team sports having now lead us to a point where athletes are multi‐million dollar investments capable of impacting culture beyond the playing field, the teams and leagues that provide a platform for these athletes to perform are more concerned with image and brand management now more than ever. Consequently, star athletes have become an increasingly vital part of building and sustaining league and team brands. The public relations methods utilized by these groups, especially the teams, when a star athlete has committed a PR blunder have varied over time. This content analysis uncovers whether the public relations tactics used by teams when a star athlete is accused of sexual assault has any impact on fan support. The study also seeks to find the public relations best practices that teams use in this situation, and whether or not there is any relationship in methods used by leagues and their corresponding teams and front offices. Newspaper articles pertaining to the sexual assault accusations of Kobe Bryant, Ben Roethlisberger and Johan Santana were used in this analysis, with two major news publications from each athlete’s home city providing the content. / Department of Journalism

The purpose of this study was to understand the media's impact when reporting on high-profile athlete's legal proceedings. Through the use of text analysis, the study examined whether sports journalists gave preferential treatment to "home-town heroes" in the Kobe Bryant case. The study also attempted to find differences and similarities between sports reporters and sports columnists with regard to positive and negative treatment of the case.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The representation of women in the media has been problematic in many respects. Women have often been portrayed in a limited number of roles and media reports have often unnecessarily focused on their physical appearance. In 2009, South African athlete Caster Semenya astonished the athletics world with her times in the 800 m. However, her performance was soon overshadowed by speculation about her sex. Before long, an Australian publication claimed that Semenya had male sexual organs and no womb or ovaries. The publication of this report left other media with a number of ethical dilemmas. This study examined the representation of Semenya in Beeld and Rapport, two Afrikaans newspapers, during the height of speculation. The aim of the study was to determine whether the specified media, in their portrayal of Semenya, adhered to journalism’s ethical principle of truth-telling. Two theoretical frameworks, namely, Representation and African womanism, were used as analytical tools. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the portrayal of Semenya. The study found that the representation of Caster Semenya did not adhere to journalism’s ethical principle of truth-telling in all respects. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die uitbeelding van vroue in die media skiet steeds in verskeie opsigte tekort. Studies oor die onderwerp dui daarop dat vroue dikwels in ’n beperkte aantal rolle uitgebeeld word. Daar word ook gereeld onnodig na vroue se fisieke voorkoms verwys. In 2009 het die Suid-Afrikaanse atleet Caster Semenya die atletiekwêreld verras met haar uitstekende tye in die 800 m. Dié prestasie is egter gou oorskadu deur media-spekulasie oor die atleet se geslag. ’n Australiese publikasie het kort daarna ’n berig gepubliseer wat beweer het dat Semenya manlike geslagorgane het en geen baarmoeder of ovaria nie. Die publikasie van dié berig het die media voor verskeie etiese uitdagings te staan gebring. Hierdie studie het die uitbeelding van Semenya in Beeld en Rapport, twee Afrikaanse koerante, gedurende die hoogtepunt van dié spekulasie ondersoek. Die doel van die studie was om te bepaal of die spesifieke publikasies gehoor gegee het aan media-etiese voorskrifte met betrekking tot die weergee van die waarheid. Twee teoretiese raamwerke, naamlik Uitbeelding en womanism in Afrika, is in dié verband as vertrekpunt gebruik. Kwalitatiewe inhoudsanalise is gebruik om die uitbeelding van Semenya te ontleed. Die studie het bevind dat die uitbeelding van Semenya nie in alle opsigte in ooreenstemming was met dié beginsel nie.