Effects of Attractiveness, Gender, and Athlete–Reporter Congruence on Perceived Credibility of Sport Reporters

Abstract

Studies examining factors that influence credibility perceptions have demonstrated the importance of a source’s gender and attractiveness. However, scholars have only begun to extend these findings to credibility in the context of mediated sports. This experiment tested the relationship that gender and attractiveness have with credibility and whether this varies as a function of the gender of the athlete in a given story. Results indicate that reporters’ gender and attractiveness and athlete gender affect perceptions of credibility such that when reporters are of the opposite gender of an athlete, they are perceived as most credible when they are less attractive. Results also reveal a gender bias such that reporters are perceived as most credible when covering male athletes, regardless of reporter gender. Explanations are offered for these findings, in addition to a discussion of the implications for news practitioners.

“Elevator Eyes” in Sports Broadcasting: Visual Objectification of Male and Female Sports Reporters

“…To assess sportscaster credibility, an abbreviated version of Ohanian’s (1990) Source Credibility Scale was used (e.g., Hahn & Cummins, 2014; Mudrick & Lin, 2017). Because credibility served as a repeated dependent measure after each stimulus, the 15-item scale was abbreviated to 9 items: dependable, reliable, trustworthy, expert, knowledgeable, qualified, sexy, beautiful, and attractive.…”

“…Subsequent research further demonstrated the importance of physical attractiveness. Hahn and Cummins (2014) report the results of an experiment where reporter attractiveness, participant gender, and gender of athlete featured in a print news story were systematically manipulated. Their results showed that the reporters judged as most credible were unattractive reporters covering opposite-gender sports (e.g., an unattractive male covering female basketball).…”

“…Second, because past research has reported mixed findings with respect to reporter attractiveness and perceived credibility (Davis & Krawczyk, 2010; Hahn & Cummins, 2014), the study seeks to examine the relationship between reporter credibility and attractiveness. Research Question 2: What is the relationship between rated attractiveness of sports reporters and perceived credibility? …”

Pervasively Offside

“…The second credibility scale, which assessed dynamism, was adopted from Berlo et al (1969). Previous work in sport media credibility (i.e., Baiocchi-Wagner & Behm-Morawitz, 2010; Hahn & Cummins, 2014) has likewise combined multiple dimensions into a single construct. Examples of the semantic differential items include “passive–active” and “tired–energetic.” Each of these constructs was consolidated into a single source credibility variable.…”

The Effect of Statistics on Enjoyment and Perceived Credibility in Sports Media

“…Examination of source credibility has its roots as far back as antiquity (Benoit, 1984) and has in past decades received ample attention in media scholarship uncovering its dimensions in an effort to shed light on the positive effects of credibility (Hong, 2006; Hovland & Weiss, 1951; Hovland, et al, 1953; Infante et al, 1980; Miller, 1970; O’Keefe, 2002; Schlenker, 1980). Increased credibility can lead to greater viewership and loyalty (Hahn & Cummins, 2014). Despite the important nature of objectivity in journalism historically, some have questioned its presence in news media (Ryan, 2009) which may lead to declining perceptions of credibility.…”