Examining Identity in Sports Media

About the Author

Heather L. Hundley (Ph.D., University of Utah, 1999) is a Professor at California State University, San Bernardino. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in mass media including media history, media and culture, media law, interpretative approaches, seminar in mass media, and digital culture. Her research interests range from issues of gender, feminism, sport, pop culture, law, and health related issues such as portrayals of alcohol consumption, cancer, and sexual promiscuity. Hundley has published in scholarly journals such as Visual Communication Quarterly, Communication Reports, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journal of Men’s Studies, The Journal of Intergroup Relations, Journal of Popular Film and Television and American Behavioral Scientist. She has book chapters in Critical Approaches to Television, Transmitting the Past: Historical and Cultural Perspectives on Broadcasting, and Critical Thinking about Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media: Media Literacy Applications.Dr. Andrew C. Billings (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1999) is the Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting, Executive Director of the Alabama Program in Sports Communication, and Professor in the Department of Journalism & Creative Media at the University of Alabama. His research interests lie in the intersection of sport, mass media, and consumption habits. With 20 books and over 200 journal articles and book chapters, he is one of the most published sports media scholars in the world. His books include Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television (Routledge, 2008), Mascot Nation: The Controversy Over Native American Mascots in Sports (with Jason Edward Black, University of Illinois Press, 2019), Media and the Coming Out of Gay Male Athletes in American Team Sports (with Leigh M. Moscowitz, Peter Lang, 2019) and The Rise and Fall of Mass Communication (with William L. Benoit, Peter Lang, 2020).  His journal outlets include the Journal of Communication, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Communication & Sport, Mass Communication & Society, and the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. His writings have been translated into five languages. He has lectured in nations around the world, from Spain to China to Austria. He serves as Associate Editor for both Communication & Sport and Journal of Global Sport Management as well as a book series, “Communication, Sport, and Society” with Peter Lang Press. His work in the classroom has also earned him many teaching awards. He has been interviewed over 600 times by media outlets ranging from The New York Times to The Los Angeles Times to ESPN. Billings has also consulted with many sports media agencies and is a past holder of the Invited Chair of Olympism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Before joining the faculty at Alabama, he was at Clemson University (1999-2001). He is an avid Green Bay Packers fan and pop culture watcher.

Heather L. Hundley

Dr. Andrew C. Billings (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1999) is the Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting, Executive Director of the Alabama Program in Sports Communication, and Professor in the Department of Journalism & Creative Media at the University of Alabama. His research interests lie in the intersection of sport, mass media, and consumption habits. With 20 books and over 200 journal articles and book chapters, he is one of the most published sports media scholars in the world. His books include Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television (Routledge, 2008), Mascot Nation: The Controversy Over Native American Mascots in Sports (with Jason Edward Black, University of Illinois Press, 2019), Media and the Coming Out of Gay Male Athletes in American Team Sports (with Leigh M. Moscowitz, Peter Lang, 2019) and The Rise and Fall of Mass Communication (with William L. Benoit, Peter Lang, 2020).  His journal outlets include the Journal of Communication, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Communication & Sport, Mass Communication & Society, and the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. His writings have been translated into five languages. He has lectured in nations around the world, from Spain to China to Austria. He serves as Associate Editor for both Communication & Sport and Journal of Global Sport Management as well as a book series, “Communication, Sport, and Society” with Peter Lang Press. His work in the classroom has also earned him many teaching awards. He has been interviewed over 600 times by media outlets ranging from The New York Times to The Los Angeles Times to ESPN. Billings has also consulted with many sports media agencies and is a past holder of the Invited Chair of Olympism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Before joining the faculty at Alabama, he was at Clemson University (1999-2001). He is an avid Green Bay Packers fan and pop culture watcher.