Author and graduation date: Katlyn A. KRIST, May, 2001

Committee members: Kathryn LaMaster (Chair), Dennis Selder, Diane L. Borden

Thesis title: An Analysis of the Language Used by NBC Commentators During the 2000 Summer Olympic Games

The purpose of this study was to determine the quality and type of commentary given to female athletes competing in the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Data was gathered by observing video-recordings of the complete NBC broadcastings of the Olympic games. A qualitative analysis was performed in order to uncover each nuance present in the commentary. It was found that, though females received approximately the same number of comments, the quality of comments differed greatly between genders. Female athletes received proportionally more gender-biased comments, while male athletes received proportionally more martial comments. Though coverage time is nearing equality between genders, the biases held by commentators are evident within their speech patterns. Reasoning for differences in commentary between female and male athletes are discussed.

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