ABSTRACT
For as long as media have reported on sports, they have reported on athletes of differing race. Sport communication researchers have examined race portrayals in many forms of media, including print, broadcast, and most recently new media. This chapter provides a detailed historical overview of the ways in which athletes of different races have been portrayed in the media over time. The chapter focuses on portrayals of athletes based on race in print (that is, newspapers and magazines), broadcast (that is, television), and new media. Because the depth of research and information on this topic is so broad, this chapter primarily focuses on US-based media outlets.
