@ut-cscm.bsky.social
CSCM brings together interests in the instruction, practice, and scholarship of sports journalism, broadcasting, media production, and human communication. moody.utexas.edu/cscm
The 2026 Deford Lecturer keeps working his beat.
The Student Sportswriting submission deadline is Monday (3/16). Submit your work! Entry form and submission information is available at jenkinsmedal.com.
THIS WEEK: BE IN THE AUDIENCE! SPORT COURT is a fast-paced debate, courtroom-style show (think Judge Judy meets ESPN’s First Take) where biggest issues in women’s sports go on trial. FREE ADMISSION. ATTIRE: Biz casual. Must arrive and be in line by 10:15. luma.com/1n17g8l1
In 2016, the Cubs won a World Series for the first time in 108 years, snapping the longest championship drought in major sports history. The team was named Organization of the Year by Baseball America. Ricketts was named Sports Business Journal Executive of the Year.
More: www.mcgarrsymposium.com
NEW EVENT: We're honored to welcome Tom Ricketts, Executive Chairman of the Chicago Cubs, for the McGarr Symposium on Sports and Society. After leading his family's 2009 bid for the team, Ricketts has overseen unprecedented on-the-field success and the $1B renovation of legendary Wrigley Field.
Wickersham authored two NYT bestsellers:
It’s Better to Be Feared: The New England Patriots Dynasty and the Pursuit of Greatness
American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback
A collection of his ESPN work, Be on That Hill, is forthcoming.
More info at www.defordlecture.org
NEW EVENT: We're delighted to announce that Seth Wickersham will deliver the Frank Deford Lecture in Sports Journalism on March 25. Wickersham has been at ESPN for over two decades. His primary focus is long form enterprise and investigative work on the NFL.
Join us on campus!
BIG NEWS: CSCM is launching a Jenkins Medal award for Best (Sports) Book. Entries open now through 3/27. Any book, fiction or non-fiction, published in 2025 is eligible for consideration. More information and entry form available at www.jenkinsmedal.com.
AMAZING EVENT: 40th anniversary meetup/panel discussion/throw down for the 1986 Texas Women’s Basketball undefeated national championship team. Free and open to the public. Saturday (2/21) afternoon in DMC 2.106. H/T No Cap Space WBB #HookEm
The teams were led by @burnto-butterwo.bsky.social
and Natalie Brown-Devlin.
Get all the information at politicsinsportsmedia.org
and continue paying attention to the ways power and resources are acquired, distributed, and limited in and around sports in the United States.
S/O to our amazing team who helped produce the fifth annual Politics in Sports Media report. We had 22 contributors, including faculty members, graduate students and undergraduates from the Moody College of Communication and across UT-Austin produce the document. Also, Texas Student Media!
"When Bad Bunny takes the stage on Sunday, February 8, he will produce one of the most significant cultural moments in recent history. Not because of any political backlash, but because it will place the Spanish language on a global stage."
More: www.politicsinsportsmedia.org
El Conjeo Malo at the Fifty Yard Line (written before Bab Bunny's recent Super Bowl performance) takes stock of the artist's impact as a Spanish-language performer. Language-related politics are central to understanding the Latinx histories in the USA.
By Paulina A. Serrano
"As the government considers what role regulation should play in this industry, it is essential to push back on the prop-bet narrative that athletic labor poses a risk to gambling when it is betting that is disproportionately affecting players."
More: www.politicsinsportsmedia.org
What's the Risk? Speculating on the Sports Media Industrial Complex looks at the comparative risks between ownership, corporate and labor interests in a time of virtually unbridled wagering. In this environment, players become primary targets for bad actors.
By Kathryn G. Hartzell
"The popular reception to the NBA’s return to China and the subsequent thawing of political relations between the U.S. and China suggest that more NBA-China cooperation is a win-win for the two powers economically and diplomatically."
Learn more: www.politicsinsportsmedia.org
"Public Diplomacy and the NBA's Reconciliation with China" explores the unique cultural power pro-basketball has in a geopolitical relationship that can be contentious. League and corporate financial interests are at stake as well.
By Jinglin Yuan and @burnto-butterwo.bsky.social.
Here's the video from yesterday's panel discussion with Dr. Amira Rose Davis (@mirarose88), Dr. Courtney Cox and Imani McGee-Stafford, esq.
youtu.be/v7FVlnzrIT0
Double Crossover: Gender, Media and Politics in Global Basketball
"As the USTA’s public image took a hit for exclusionary first-world problems on the Open grounds and political stage crafting on the air waves, the event itself extolled the virtues of inclusion and respect regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or able-bodiness."
www.sportsandmedia.org
"A Tale of Two Cities at the US Open" takes stock of Donald Trump's attendance at the 2025 US Open. The tennis tournament has historically emphasized progressive sensibilities. The President's visit provided a sharp cultural contrast.
By Dr. Kathleen McElroy
Digging in to real experiences and observations related to race and gender of Americans in international women’s basketball. Rich dialogue related to Dr. Cox’s new book, Double Crossover: Gender, Media and Politics in Global Basketball.
TODAY!
"…lingering biases about female athletic inferiority still shape decisions in league leadership, suggesting that pay inequity is a symptom of broader gendered control over women’s sports identities."
Read all six of our Critical Case Studies at politicsinsportsmedia.org.
"Laboring over Labor in the WNBA" assesses how the league's dramatic successes in attendance, viewership and media rights valuation impacts the player's collective bargaining position in a labor battle that takes on gendered dynamics.
By Haley Cox and October Heffner
"Put another way, a nationalistic moment of bonding over American territorial expansion unfolded in a space where hegemonic masculinity is taught, affirmed, and policed.”
Read all six of our Critical Case Studies in our fifth annual report at www.politicsinsportsmedia.org.
"Masculine Rhetorical Performances at the 4 Nations Face-off Hockey Tournament" unpacks the unique proxy role hockey matches have played in geopolitical struggle. USA/Canada in 2025 served up another.
by Estee Fresco, Olivia S. Gellar and Ryan Evans
Also, the Best Sportswriting submission deadline has been extended to February 20. All the details available at www.jenkinsmedal.com.
BIG NEWS: CSCM is launching a Jenkins Medal award for Student Sportswriting. Entries open now through 3/16. Any published piece of sportswriting: game stories, long features, blog posts. Work must have been published in 2025. The author must have been a student at publication.
What types of topics did ESPN and Yahoo cover more frequently? Overall, both sports media brands featured most of the twelve topics that received the highest rankings in Survey 1 in terms of being “political” in nature. Read the full report! www.politicsinsportsmedia.org
How do websites such as ESPN and Yahoo Sports handle key editorial decisions when determining what stories will be prominently featured on their homepage? We checked it out and observed this data for "political" content. Here are the research details: utexas.app.box.com/s/4nby2cys7d....