Sports Illustrated,the Mainstream Press and the Enactment of Drug Policy in Major League Baseball

Abstract

This article advances on existing studies in agenda-building theory, examining how a prominent sports magazine can build an agenda for mainstream press coverage, which in turn assists in building policy agendas. When Ken Caminiti, a former Most Valuable Player in the National League, admitted to Sports Illustrated in June 2002 that he used anabolic steroids during his award-winning season, mainstream newspaper journalists reported the revelations heavily, with many calling for changes in policy and the introduction of drug testing. As discussed here, policy-makers apparently listened: approximately three months after the magazine exposé appeared, baseball instituted a drug testing procedure. The study reveals how mainstream newspaper reports ( n = 231) built on the Sports Illustrated investigation and how policy-makers reacted to a widespread condemnation of professional baseball, namely its apparent inability to police itself.

Applying the Health Belief Model to Examine News Coverage Regarding Steroids in Sports by ABC, CBS, and NBC Between March 1990 and May 2008

“…Along with these mixed results, meta-analytic research reports null to modest effect sizes when comparing the persuasiveness of gain-and loss-frame messages (see O'Keefe & Jensen, 2006). Increasingly more and more studies examine media coverage of a particular issue (e.g., Denham, 2004b;Lapinski, 2006;Morgan, Harrison, Chewning, Davis, & DiCorcia, 2007). For example, Denham's (2004b) analysis of newspaper stories following a report published in Sports Illustrated about steroid use by Ken Caminiti, a former professional baseball player, played a key role in prompting lawmakers to encourage baseball to enact a drug-testing policy.…”

“…To the contrary, benefits refer to the rewards of performing a healthy behavior or not engaging in an unhealthy act. For example, barriers to using steroids in sports include the health risks associated with using these illegal substances, penalties (i.e., suspensions, monetary fines), and drug-testing concerns (Denham, 2004b;Wilson & Schmidt, 2007). On the other hand, steroid use provides athletes with a competitive edge.…”

“…Each news broadcast was coded to determine whether the news story addressed barriers of steroid use (SA = .93, K B & P = .86). Barriers were grouped into six subcategories: health costs, issues of illegality, drug testing, financial expenses of purchasing steroids, fines for steroid usage, and suspension for steroid usage (Denham, 2004b;Wilson & Schmidt, 2007) (Rogerson et al, 2007;Strauss et al, 1985). …”

“…Media coverage about steroids in sports has received modest attention with most investigations concentrating on a particular event, e.g., Carl Lewis's positive test result 248 QUICK (Denham, 2004a) or Ken Caminiti's steroid use confession (Denham, 2004b). The present study seeks to extend this research by examining television news coverage across ABC, CBS, and NBC between March 1990 and May 2008 using a framing framework (Bartlett, 1932).…”

“…In response to this rising health concern, others have developed curriculum to curb the use of performance-enhancing drugs among male (Fritz et al, 2005;Goldberg, MacKinnon, Elliot, Moe, Clarke, & Cheong, 2000) and female (Elliot et al, 2006) athletes. Research also examines the influence of socializing agents such as peers, parents, and the media on steroid use (Cafri et al, 2006;Denham, 2004aDenham, , 2004bDenham, , 2006Field et al, 2005;Smolak, Murnen, & Thompson, 2005). From these reports, in America, males are driven to increase their muscles in a way similar to females desiring to be thin (Cafri et al, 2006;Harrison & Bond, 2007).…”