REPRESENTATION OF FEMALE ATHLETES IN BENGAL DAILIES: EXAMINING A GENDER GAP IN SPORTS MEDIA COVERAGE

The global gender gap report has shown a persistent gender gap in female representation in sports media coverage, even among the countries ranked top in the global gender gap report. It is no surprising in Indian dailies, with particular reference to Bengal dailies. Based on a quantitative approach involving content analysis, this article explores the representation level of female athletes in three popular Bengal dailies. This article uses Gerbner and Gross’s theory of symbolic annihilation as an analytical tool to examine the gender gap in Bengal dailies. Based on the result, male athletes were found to have received the highest media coverage in all three newspapers compared to female athletes. The sports news coverage for male athletes was found in all newspaper sections, but it was all at the bottom of the sports section page for female athletes. In addition, cricket was found to have received extensive media coverage compared to other sports. Overall, the findings highlighted a gender gap or bias in the representation of female athletes in Bengal dailies, as they have underrepresented female athletes, which seem to be a male preserve.