The way Rome presents sports news has a hegemonic tone to it especially when speaking about sex scandals involving strippers. David Nylund, the author, uses quotes from Jim Rome’s talk show about a sex scandal involving professional athletes at a strip club. When discussing the story on air, Rome and his callers use many derogatory terms including, skank and tramp. However, they remain respectful to the athletes, calling them by their names. This dialogue creates a misconception that the strippers are at fault and that the men were not held responsible for their actions.
Additionally, when listeners, or "clones", call into the show he either "runs" them by ringing a buzzer and hanging up or lets them finish stating their opinion and "racks em" which enters the caller into a contest. This method is a form of approving or disapproving of other people's opinions. Nylund interviewed listeners who admitted that they would not call in because of the fear of being "run". This shows the traditional masculinity that men have, looking for approval from other masculine men. This idea dates back to middle school days when many teens look to be in the "cool" crowd.
Rome does speak out against homophobia; especially when referring to a scandal where professional baseball pitcher Julian Tavarez called fans of another team "faggots". He shows disapproval for the name calling and openly discusses the topic of sexuality in his talk show. This is a notable action because his opinion influences many people.
Nylund highlights both the negatives and positives to Rome's talk show. Although the sports radio show seems aggressive and hegemonic against females, his main purpose is to attract viewers, mainly men to listen. He has successfully done this and stands by his opinions on sports, homophobia, and heterosexism.
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