Framing a vice: how America learned to stop worrying and love sports betting

Petrotta, Brian

Framing a vice: how America learned to stop worrying and love sports betting

dc.contributor.advisor	Kerr, Robert
dc.contributor.author	Petrotta, Brian
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Leshner, Glenn
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Moore, Jensen
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Reedy, Justin
dc.date.accessioned	2021-08-11T14:26:21Z
dc.date.available	2021-08-11T14:26:21Z
dc.date.issued	2021-08-05
dc.date.manuscript	2021-08
dc.description.abstract	The purpose of this study was to analyze 27 years’ worth of public communication and newspaper coverage of arguments surrounding legalized sports betting in the United States and to assess current perceptions of legitimacy related to this emerging industry. The three-step process produced a rich collection of qualitative and quantitative data from a Narrative Policy Framework analysis of transcripts from Congressional hearings and court documents, framing analysis of newspaper articles, and a broadly distributed survey that tested perceived legitimacy. Findings from the first two stages of the study described and explained a stunning shift in tone between the early 1990’s, when protecting the integrity of the games dominated the discourse, and the mid-2010’s, when sports betting (most of it illegal) was perceived to be such a normalized slice of society that a landmark Supreme Court decision that reversed 150 years of tradition and policy was met with eager acceptance instead of shock and outrage. The final stage of the study appeared to confirm that key publics expressed apathy towards potential problems associated with expanded gambling opportunities. By providing a baseline explanation for the normalization of sports betting, this study intends to inspire a new line of sports media and communication research.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/11244/330711
dc.language	en_US	en_US
dc.rights	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International	*
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/	*
dc.subject	sports betting	en_US
dc.subject	newspaper framing	en_US
dc.subject	organizational legitimacy	en_US
dc.subject	policy narrative	en_US
dc.thesis.degree	Ph.D.	en_US
dc.title	Framing a vice: how America learned to stop worrying and love sports betting	en_US
ou.group	Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication	en_US
shareok.orcid	https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8994-8989	en_US