Power Dynamics in the Media System

Our media system is very capable of influencing society in a big way. Major television networks reach a massive audience almost daily and with the infusion of social media, the reach grows exponentially. I've noticed, because of my interests in sports, that ESPN has some of the power to determine who becomes mega stars in sports. As the premier and go-to sports outlet in America, both on television and online, - ESPN holds a tremendous amount of power in how they can report and portray sports stars.

If you look at ESPN's (Sportscenter) twitter account, or Instagram, it becomes quickly apparent who they are pushing to be the face of sports. Steph Curry is rivaling LeBron as the star of the NBA, Cam Newton is rising very rapidly, and Jordan Spieth has completely taken over golf. I will say it is very deserved that these gentlemen have reached this status in their respective sports but that's only because it serves ESPN's interests to report about them.

There hasn't a sniff of reporting on Rory McIlroy as of late and that coincides with his lack of winning recently in golf, yet in 2014 he was the talk of the town in the gold world. This was evident in his election as the new face on the cover of the EA Sports PGA Tour video game franchise. Yet, here in 2016 the dominant force in golf is Jordan Spieth - 2015 Master champion and 2015 U.S. Open champion.

Rory McIlroy dethroned the long-standing Tiger Woods
as the face of EA Sport's PGA Tour Golf game

Just to show how big of stars guys like Steph Curry and Jordan Spieth have become one can look at Under Armor's massive increase in sales and web traffic since signing Curry and Spieth to contracts - obviously enough due to their success.

However, one could certainly say that Under Armor isn't known for their golf apparel and gear, yet ESPN (shocking, huh?) reports that golf polos sales are up and also a big reason why "visits to Under Armor's website are up 300 percent".

Yes, this increase in sales/traffic is always going to happen when sports stars rise, especially sponsored by such a brand. However, ESPN throws these men on any report, hype commercial, or channel they can manage because it serves their interests to make guys like Spieth and Curry explode so that they can generate a profit. ESPN will always invest their media interests in the biggest most marketable stars and with such an expansive reach in society they will continue to dominate the world of sports.