Media analysis is an established area of sport sociology which has been documented by researchers systematically since the 1980s. Some trends have explored the differences between male and female athletes in the print media with significant evidence demonstrating that female athletes do not gain proportional representation and that many strategies employed by journalists traditionally seek to trivialise, sexualise and emphasise the female identity as ‘other’ rather than as athlete. This longitudinal study uniquely documents an analysis of a two week period in the British print media across four decades 1984-2014. This study, grounded in liberal feminism, presents both quantitative and qualitative data and the main quantitative results demonstrate that coverage for female athletes has decreased from 13% to 6.2%. Qualitative themes presented include: relationships, appearance, performance and nationality, the latter emerging as a new theme from the 2014 data set. The results demonstrate that there is little change in amount of representation afforded to female athletes but that there are reporting changes with a greater emphasis on performance and less reliance on appearance. The paper concludes with the position that although sports reporting, in general is on the increase, women athletes are being given less but potentially better coverage

The representation of female athletes by the British print media has been an area for close scrutiny since the mid-1990s. This article examines the representation of England's Women's performance at the 2009 Cricket World Cup. Using a qualitative content analysis of 29 articles from seven newspapers over the duration of the tournament, results show that the main themes emerging were: description of play, performance, celebration, media coverage and women's sport. These results are discussed in the context of changing trends since the 1990s. Concurring with previous authors we acknowledge that trends have changed in terms of what is reported but not in terms of how much is reported.

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This article aims to analyse and reflect upon the support offered to advanced GNVQ students in business, and leisure and tourism by college staff across seven further education colleges in the West Midlands conurbation. Specifically, the work offers a focus on elements of college support pertinent to the possible transition of these groups of students to undergraduate study in higher education. The elements of support studied are three-fold. First, strengths and weaknesses in the availability and usage of college support mechanisms aimed at facilitating course success for students are studied with respect to different student groups. Secondly, student concerns and attitudinal misconceptions are studied and related to the efficacy of college support advice. Finally, awareness of college support staff concerning the current culture and demands of undergraduate study is studied as a means to explore the information base used in advising and motivating their students. The study raises concern with respect to key skill support and its relationship to potential course success, and hence entry to higher education. It also suggests that college support staff need to be vigilant in ensuring a close relationship between the information, guidance and reassurance they provide, and identified student concerns. Finally, it indicates that some staff in further education tend to under-estimate the level of support available in higher education, and perceive significant and perhaps prohibitive differences in student skill requirement between the two sectors. These findings are discussed within the context of the need for additional networking and dialogue between colleagues in the two sectors.

The development and pilot stage of a Sport England programme called GirlSportTM is described. The programme consisted of a magazine and workshop addressing issues surrounding the loss of interest from sport and physical activity amongst adolescent girls. Although teenagers were a clear target market for the programme, it was also designed to be delivered to adult facilitators. Focus groups were undertaken with a select group of 14 & 15-year-old teenage girls and their responses fed into the production of a magazine. The magazine was developed into a supporting workshop. The resources were then utilised in a pilot phase during which the messages and content were evaluated and monitored to assess the effectiveness of the programme. The girls enjoyed an opportunity to reflect about their sport and welcomed the positive messages of women in physical activity. The adults were not surprised by the messages and felt that the content reinforced many of their previously held views. They considered the workshop to be a worthwhile experience and the magazine an interesting read. The comments highlighted in the evaluation are discussed in the context of the cult of femininity and the role of teenage magazines in the construction of successful health promotion messages.