Setting a Super Agenda: A Rhetorical Analysis of Mythical Framing Messages in ESPN.com's Coverage of the NBA Finals
Creators: name: Coombs, Hayden
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Framing Theory
Agenda Setting Theory
Sport
Basketball
Mythical
Superhero
Framing
Agenda Setting
Goffman
Lippmann
ESPN
Disney
Marvel
Star Wars

description: This grounded research project examines mythical messages in ESPN.com’s coverage of the 2005 and 2015 NBA Finals through the lens of frame and agenda setting theories. During the 2005 and 2015 NBA Finals series combined, ESPN.com (including the ESPN-owned Grantland.com and FiveThirtyEight.com) published a total of 52 articles. The idea of studying the NBA Finals through the lens of mythical framing came from purely empirical observations gathered as a spectator of the television broadcasts of the series, as multiple instances were noted of broadcasters comparing physical attributes and the skillsets of the players participating in the finals to those of super heroes and mythological beings. The complete census of 52 articles published by ESPN.com was analyzed. These articles included game recaps, feature stories, and game previews. This study revealed that there was significant evidence of mythical framing messages in the articles published by ESPN.com in their coverage of the 2015 NBA Finals, but not the 2005 NBA Finals. The relationship between Walt Disney Company-owned properties ESPN and Marvel Comics is observed. It is the belief of the researcher that the mythological framing elements will continue to play a large role in reporting major sporting events, especially as the Walt Disney Company continues to acquire and create new intellectual properties. <em>Keywords: Framing, Agenda Setting, Sport, Basketball, Mythical, Superhero</em>
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