se thesis1

Running Head: College Students’ Perceptions of College Athletes: Analyzing the Media’s
Role in the Penn State Scandal of 2011 and 2013 Hoax Story of Manti Te’o
College Students’ Perceptions
of College Athletes:
Analyzing the Media’s Role in
the Penn State Scandal of
2011 and 2013 Hoax Story of
Manti Te’o
William Chase
Comm 461
Spring 2013

Table of Contents
Abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-6
Rationale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Importance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-7
Literature Review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Research Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-18
Participants, Design, and Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15-17
Data Analysis Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Limitations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Thematically Organized Findings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-23
Suggestions for Further Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-24
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25-27
Appendix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28-29

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Abstract
When it comes to watching the news, there are always segments that have been cut or altered in a
way that makes sense for the news company to film what they want aired. The question is, in
what way is this skewing or altering the perceptions of the viewers? While there is proof the
media has altered viewers’ perceptions—2006 Duke Lacrosse Rape scandal—I focused on how
the perceptions of college students changed as a result of the Penn State sexual abuse scandal
from 2011 and the Manti Te’o dead girlfriend hoax story from 2013. Would these viewers
remember the Duke Lacrosse rape scandal and how the media swayed the public before the facts
were out? This thesis explored how the scandal affected the perception of the Penn State Nittany
Lions football team, Manti Te’o and College Sports moving forward.
Keywords: Penn State, Manti Te’o, scandal, media, college students, perceptions

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Acknowledgements
I would like to take this time to thank the entire communications faculty, including Dr.
Naomi Johnson and Dr. Pam Tracy who helped guide me throughout the writing of this thesis. I
would also like to thank my advisor Professor Jeff Halliday as he is a huge reason why I am a
student in the Communications program today. He has been there every step of the way, even if
it was just to offer a few words of encouragement. In addition, I would like to thank my
participants who helped make this research possible. Their input was invaluable. Lastly, I would
like to thank my friends and family for sticking by me and supporting me throughout.

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Introduction
Rationale
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the media and college
sports. Specifically, this research investigates the role and to what degree the media influences
and alters the perceptions of the viewers. In this introduction, I provided a rationale for this
research project, as well as offered a review of current literature relevant to the research
proposal. The literature review included information regarding the importance of human
perception, as well as the media and the influence they have over an audience over a variety of
outcomes.
College sports are a polarizing aspect of universities across the country as fans cheer
from the stands. The beauty of college sports is that the athletes are playing for the pure reason
that they love the game for what it is, and they want to win. The foundation of college athletics
focuses on that aspect, that it is amateurs playing a game—money is not involved…or it is not
supposed to be. However the perceptions based on the credibility of the Universities, student
athletes, and their coaches have been heavily scrutinized throughout the years based on scandals
and incidents that have occurred in the sport.
Importance
In recent years, Universities such as Ohio State University, University of Miami, and
North Carolina University, were a few of the colleges that had scandals come out in the past few
years in which multiple players were suspended in light of accusations that led to probes of the
Universities, players and coaching staff. The University of Miami suspended eleven players after
it became known that players received gifts from boosters (Pugmire, 2011). The 2011 sexual
abuse scandal that engulfed Penn State University, as well as the 2013 Manti Te’o story, were

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two separate stories I analyzed in accordance with media portrayal on the subjects. The crime at
Penn State centered on former longtime assistant head coach Jerry Sandusky (Boeck & Lackey,
2012) who was found guilty of sexual abuse. As more of the scandal came to light, the country
started to find out that coach Joe Paterno may have had a part in the cover-up of the scandal. A
quote from Paterno:
I didn't know exactly how to handle it and I was afraid to do something that might
jeopardize what the university procedure was, so I backed away and turned it over to
some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn't
work out that way (Boeck & Lackey, 2012).
The resulting public relations damage that the university took was catastrophic. The 2011-12
football teams, as well as legendary head coach Joe Paterno, was put under the microscope.
In addition to the scandal at Penn State, another story was unfolding during the 2012
college football season. A great defensive player at Notre Dame, Manti Te’o, made news for
both his extraordinary play, as well as news off the field. While Te’o helped lead Notre Dame to
the National Championship Game, the country learned he was forced to deal with the death of
his grandmother and girlfriend. When everyone learned in January 2013 that the story about his
girlfriend was a concocted hoax, questions immediately arose (Mungun & Almasy, 2013).
Perceptions of this athlete were interesting to analyze because of how the media portrayal played
into the coverage of this story. NCAA president Mark Emmert called the situation regarding all
NCAA scandals and infractions as “utterly unacceptable” (Pugmire, 2011). The NCAA is
looking to come up with ways to increase the rate of academic progress which would keep teams
that do not meet proper standards from seeing postseason action.
Present research on this topic focused on stereotypes and perceptions of current college

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athletes based in large part on the media, and the factors that it plays into it. I furthered my
research by referencing past events—Duke Lacrosse Rape scandal—and the impact it lends
going forward on stories such as the 2011 Penn State scandal, and 2013 Manti T’eo hoax story.
This was important to look at because the media could be altering the views of the audience,
based on how they present their information. In terms of Penn State and Manti T’eo, this study
focused on how the constant media influenced college students’ perceptions of college athletes.
Literature Review
Stereotypes and Human Perceptions
With this study analyzing the role of college athletes, and the role the media has when
covering these stories, it was necessary that I grounded my research within the three stages of
human perceptions: selection, organization, and interpretation, as well as Agenda Setting Theory,
which is essentially the effect the media has on its viewers.
Mottet, Vogul-Bauer, and Houser (2012) describe the three stages of perceptions that
occur when people decipher new, unfamiliar things. Selection is the first stage which one goes
through when focusing on a variable in a certain environment. This can be a subconscious
process where suddenly tuning into something else diverts our attention (p. 64). Organization is
the role of taking all the stimuli, or information, we have built up. Eliminating, also known as
entropy, is what is used to organize the selected information. We store current information based
on past experiences, also known as cognitive schemata. This is the framework made up in our
mind for which past information is stored. Role schemata are often associated with people in
important roles such as teachers or doctors. Based on a person’s profession—doctor or teacher
for example—we would expect them to have integrity and act accordingly. Public perception
center around what athletes do at all times, so one might base opinions about someone based on

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this criteria (p. 64). Interpretation is the stage where we process information. We evaluate what
we see and take in, and decide if it is good or bad, and also evaluate the person’s role in this step
(p. 66).
Wood (2007) talks about the ways in which “perception shapes how we understand
others’ communication and how we ourselves communicate” (p. 73). Basically, when we
observe something, we make sense of it through our own framework. Since everyone is
different, initial perceptions vary and may produce a biased outlook. What one sees in the news
may impact how one feels about a particular subject. For instance, if an athlete on the football
team is found to have been receiving improper benefits such as passing grades, this may cause a
person to perceive that other athletes could be getting the same treatment.
Agenda setting theory (Griffin, 2008) as discovered by Maxwell McCombs & Donald
Shaw came to mind because of potential media slants that broadcast what they want the public to
know; specifically, what is considered important on the news will be what viewers pay more
attention to” (Chase, 2013). This type of theory brings to mind how media frames “events the
way they want their audience to receive news segments; putting pictures in their heads and
giving them a certain idea to think about” (Chase, 2013), or how to convey a particular subject.
Perhaps ESPN wanted someone to talk positively of Joe Paterno and Penn State. It makes sense
that Matt Millen, PSU alum, would be a person of interest to interview, seeing as he is personally
invested with Penn State. However, the argument could be made that interviewing Millen came
off as a conflict of interest as he is also an ESPN employee.
Penn State
Longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky was revealed to have had encounters with youth over
sexual abuse charges. Iconic head coach Joe Paterno was fired amid the scandal (Boeck &

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Lackey, 2012). An article from Adcox & Armas (2011) examines the relationship the former
coach Joe Paterno had with Penn State University, and how he was allegedly on record saying
his players should not be held to the same moral standards of the students. While he was found to
have made comments regarding player conduct, according to administrators at Penn State,
Paterno had no power to be able to alter disciplinary action for athletes; however, Paterno was
apparently vocal over through disciplinary action for players on his team. “Their status as a
student when they commit violations of our standards should NOT be our concern” (Adcox and
Armas, 2011).
Vicki Triponey, former Penn State vice president of student affairs, added that she
believed Paterno thought college football athletes should be treated different to other students
(Adcox and Armas, 2011). These scandals should evoke how college students view today’s
college athletes and whether views such as these by Paterno and Triponey, or other scandals, are
a basis of thought for students perceptions of college athletes.
Manti Te’o
Throughout the 2012 college football season, T’eo referenced a girlfriend, but wound up
going back and forth on the details. He mentioned in October of that year that he never met her.
But a September tweet a month earlier referenced that she “misses” him, and he tweeted back
saying “you will always be with me wherever I go” (Mungin & Almasy, 2013). During this time,
Notre Dame was heading to the BCS National Championship game and in early January 2013,
the university let out a report saying Te’o was caught up in an “elaborate hoax”. Co-author of the
Deadspin article, Timothy Burke, said he believed Te’o had a part in this story, but Sports
Illustrated writer Pete Thamel, who also had an interview with T’eo, believed the linebacker was
in fact duped:

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If he was acting he deserves an Oscar nomination. The depth and the detail of this scam
is mindboggling, but I do think Te'o ... he caught the wave of this story, maybe
exaggerated the depths of their relationship a little. But at the end of the day, we need to
hear from Manti Te'o (Mungin & Almasy, 2013).
T’eo attributed his strong play on the field during the season to his grandmother and girlfriend he
said died hours apart. Regardless of the story surrounding his girlfriend, and whether or not she
ever existed, the argument could be made that there does appear to be a correlation between him
playing well throughout the season, and the initial attention he received in the form of emotional
support. His strong play brought about a frenzied media affair as fans across the nation took
notice; in addition his name was thrust into the Heisman conversation. When it comes to athletes,
and how good or bad stories encompass them, the media is going to cover every aspect of their
lives. Even the occasional Google search could be enough to bring about information. Aside
from the stories saying Te’o was inspired by the death of his girlfriend, there were no articles
about his girlfriend; no existence of the girlfriend was anywhere to be found. No obituaries when
she purportedly died could be found (Mungin & Almasy, 2013).
Perceptions of Athletes in the media
Message Framing
The process of message framing is when one selects and emphasizes certain elements of a
message, thus removing the emphasis of any other elements (Seate, Harwood, and Blecha, 2010).
Helland (2007) talks about how sports have such a dominating effect on social institutions across
the nation, pertaining mainly to broadcasting and journalism. He added that sports are
tremendous in the aspect of how they shape practices and structures related to media (106).
Studies conducted by Seate, Harwood, and Blecha (2010), show that the framing of messages

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[“influence] how the targets of that coverage are perceived” (351). This was done by using a
sample of thirty three men, seventy three women, ranging in ages from eighteen to thirty three,
across a range of different newspapers which had four variables—an “accusatory-mental,
defensive-mental, accusatory-physical, and defensive-physical” (Seate, Harwood, and Blecha,
2010). The articles out of the New York Times would feature athletes with a criminal past
related to fighting. Based on the four variables involving either accusatory or defensive elements,
(such as, ‘he acted impulsive’, to ‘he acted quickly to defend a teammate’) participants could
pick a topic they felt was appropriate for each athlete in the article.
This was an example of a textual analysis regarding different frames of thought given by
the participants regarding the athletes in the articles. However, according to the research, there
were no correlations among the mental acuity and the racial perceptions of athletes, leading to
the belief that awareness in racial stereotyping is rising and that college students will tend to take
a “race-free” approach when presented with the opportunity. There were no extreme differences
between people who watch news frequently (heavy consumers) and people who do not watch
news frequently (light consumers) when evaluating perceptions of athletes. With that said, there
was a link for heavy television viewers within an accusing frame versus defensive framing,
where heavy television news viewers saw athletes as a more of a representation of the accusatory
condition as opposed to a defensive condition.
According to Seate, Harwood, and Blecha (2010), athletes that were noted highly for
their physical presence were perceived typically as black athletes and afflicted by negative
associations through the accusatory frame that was associated on a more negative basis. However
for those athletes who were perceived to be black, afflicted with the defensive frame, and had
much acclaim towards their mental acuity, the attitudes towards them were seen as positive.

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When the black athlete is praised for highly acclaimed mental acuity, they are generally erceived
to be seen as counter stereotypical, leading towards a more positive perception of athletes of this
kind. Framing in the media alters perceptions of people, athletes in particular, and
may alter students’ perceptions thus turning it into a race matter. While this may be extreme, and
not necessarily true of how all sportscasters portray athletes, it plays into one aspect of human
perception.
Selective News Coverage
In 2006 the Duke Lacrosse rape case scandal (Montaldo, 2011) depicted the accused
suspects as guilty, and the accuser of being innocent, long before the actual verdict was in. The
scandal featured several members of the team fighting for their innocence. The players accused
of rape were white, and their accuser a black female exotic dancer. Barnett, (2008), mentions
how coverage by the news media is superficial and selective, particularly when news reports
focus on the crimes and scandals surrounding celebrities (p. 183). Barnett points out that
communication scholars suggests media will unintentionally organize their facts by framing the
events they show (p. 183) and the viewing audience’s understanding are affected by such
framing. Communication scholars further suggest that framing events could lead to a varied
interpretation among viewers. For instance, they provide information for the public, the facts are
interpreted, and this makes the organization an expert on the topic.
Media outlets, such as ESPN, reinforced the negative connotation attached to the Duke
Lacrosse players. The accuser, Crystal Magnum, had fabricated the alleged details of the rape,
and the charges were dropped. Whether there was a rush to accuse the players, or an agenda in
place from the beginning, an article from Duke University's office of News & Communications
(Duke University, 2007) makes the argument that the media had an agenda. “Many of Nifong's

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statements to the news media ‘had a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation
of the accused,”’ (CNN, 2006) according to a complaint filed against Durham County District
Attorney Michael Nifong. Columnist George Will reiterates the media misinterpretation as a
result of potential claims (Poor, 2012).
Athlete versus Person
According to Rada and Wulfemeyer (2005), while the role of the black athlete has
increased across the sporting landscape, the national media attention has also grown but does not
equate to the same type of coverage that ‘white’ athletes receive. For instance the African
American representation of athletes in the media often places them into a demeaning
stereotypical role (p. 65). These misperceptions typically fall under the categories “of race,
class, and gender” (p. 67) and the situation can be ripe for stereotypical misperceptions of the
common athlete when you have a predominant amount of white reporting, coupled with a
predominant amount of black athletes, and unscripted television.
Research has been done analyzing the perceived bias of complimenting the athlete,
versus complimenting them as a person. According to Rada and Wulfemeyer (2005), when
announcers praise African American athletes, they tend to do so with regards to their athletic
ability (p. 68). For instance, by saying certain athletes have “God-given talent”, it perpetuates the
stereotype that a particular athlete did not, or does not have to work on their craft. In contrast,
when announcers heap praise on the ‘white’ athlete, they tend to bring up that athlete’s intellect,
and strong work ethic (p. 68). When the media refers to athletes a certain way, this might
perpetuate fans’ perception of a certain stereotype of athletes based on specific characteristics.
While I never would have considered this to be negative stereotyping before conducting this
study, it does emphasize how much people associate white athletes of having to work at their
craft, whereas African American athletes are considered to possess great skill-set from birth.

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This, along with other types of media portrayal can lead to the type of negative connotation that
viewers can pick up from sports telecasts.
Surveys of college football players from division 1-A by Potuto and O’Hanlon (2007)
showed that most surveyed college athletes had an overall good college experience. When it
came to their perceived importance of academia, 93% thought graduating was very important
and three-fourths of surveyed students still would have gone to college had they not been athletes
(p. 2). These results show that education is important to the students represented in the survey;
however, actual graduation rates do not necessarily correlate with that of the surveys (p. 2). One
factor could be that students involved in athletics are not majoring in what they really want. This
could be due to lack of interest from an academic perspective. Perhaps students in this scenario
would look to take the easy way out since they were not as motivated to do as well in a major
they lacked interest in.
According to Jolly (2008) college athletes are on a strict time-schedule when it comes to
balancing college athletics with their studies. Due to this, there have been negative perceptions
based off college athletes towards faculty and students. However according to Jolly, any
perceived favoritism that is placed on athletes is more a stereotype, than anything real. In
research done by Potuto and O’hanlon (2007), results showed that athletes believed they were
treated differently by professors. Jolly mentioned that a student-athlete once was highly praised
for academics, and then broke down in tears as he had never been praised in an academic sense
like that before. He quickly jumped on the defensive and pointed out that he did everything fair,
and there was no cheating involved. Jolly also pointed out that taking the time to really
understand what student-athletes go through would negate further misperceptions, and more
communication-efforts by faculty would help lead to increased interaction with the athletes

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(2008).
Research Questions
1. To what extent does ESPN frame media events?
2. To what extent do the media focus on trivial coverage?
Method
Participants, Design, and Procedures
The method for this research utilized the qualitative approach, consisting of focus groups.
The participants recruited for my study were college-aged students from eighteen to twenty three
years old at a small southern university. While all participants regardless of race and gender were
recruited, only Caucasian males expressed an interest and desire to ultimately participate in the
study. Participants were recruited by use of social media and an introductory communication
class. The study was designed to use focus groups as participants were required to be moderate
to heavy viewers of ESPN. Moderate viewer meaning a participant must view ESPN at least a
few times a week and heavy meaning daily. It was important for my study to have participants
that were informed enough of the network, and to be able to relate to my interview questions,
and thus allow me to answer my research questions.
Research Procedure
The instrument used for conducting my research consisted of five focus groups, each with
three to five participants. Participants had been already asked if they were frequent viewers of
ESPN before participating in the focus groups. Upon arrival of the focus groups, each participant
was given a letter of consent to be signed in order to participate. Participants were aware that
they could drop out of the focus group at any time. Following introductions and choosing
pseudonyms for confidentiality, I started off by asking my participants general questions about

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their viewership of ESPN, then showed YouTube clips of Matt Millen, Mark May, and Manti
Te’o, and a Rece Davis narrative about the Penn State scandal. These four clips were relevant to
my study as I wanted to give my participants a chance to react to the interviews, as well as use
this as a gauge for how they would perceive the topics. I then asked my questions relating to
Penn State and Manti Te’o (see appendix). Initial questions ranged from how often they tune into
the network, to what their favorite shows and personalities were. This was important because
potential themes and topic of discussion could arise such as liking certain shows or personalities
for a variety of reasons.
We talked about whether the YouTube clips affected their opinions one way or the other.
One clip featuring Matt Millen, Penn State alum, showed him offering his emotional take on the
scandal, and his former coach, Joe Paterno. In contrast, a second clip featuring Mark May, an
ESPN College Football analyst, expresses dismay of the Penn State situation. A third clip
featured Rece Davis, sports journalist for ESPN, and providing narrative of the Penn State
scandal. The fourth and final clip featured Manti Te’o, which went in depth of the hoax story.
The clips were used to reinforce the participants’ memories of the cases, but also as a way to
trigger perceptions of the separate cases. Discussions that followed were based on their
perceptions of Penn State as a university before and after the scandal. The same discussion was
applied to the Te’o story.
Each focus group lasted 45-60 minutes and the same interview protocol, including
interview questions and video clips, were shown to all participants (see appendix for interview
protocol). I developed questions used in my focus groups, in part from consultation with a
university faculty member from the Communications department, as well as questions I surmised
on my own in accordance to my research questions. Focus groups were ideal as far as interaction,

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both verbal and nonverbal. My method enabled me to answer my research questions by
observing and discussing the influence in which the media has on participants.
Data Analysis Process
Data was analyzed by means of using the information gathered from my focus groups in
relation to my research questions—whether or not the media affected the participants’ views on
Penn State and Manti Te’o. A recording device was used to capture each discussion in its
entirety and then later transcriptions of the conversations were made. As recommended from a
Communications faculty member, I made notes of participants’ verbal and nonverbal behavior,
including facial expressions, body language, and how long it took certain participants to answer a
question or share a thought. This was important to gauge, so as to develop a sense of
participants’ thoughts of a particular topic. Conversations typically flowed easily and freely, but
there were times I had to ask a question to increase interaction among my participants. Upon
reviewing my notes, I began analyzing general themes and trends of the discussion, and then
grouped them with each answer and quote overall.
Limitations
Due to a smaller sample size for which I had to work, the results of my findings might
not truly represent the entire independent student population of the university. The study was
conducted using twenty one students. Ideally there would have been more participants regardless
of race and gender. These different characteristics could have led to different viewpoints that
may otherwise have been left out. The ideas coming from all college students, regardless of race,
age, and other characteristics would likely lead to various viewpoints. With that said, having
utilizing an all-male sample could lead to an important view on male perception of college
athletes; mainly because my study focused on an all-male team, and male athlete.

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Thematically Organized Findings
Altered Perceptions
News segments are often cut or altered in a way that makes sense for the news company
to film what they want to have aired. How does this alter perceptions of the viewers? In
correlation with one of the predominant themes that appeared throughout my focus groups, was
that participants predominately discussed the media’s focus on trivial coverage. Chris, one
participant, says, “this story [Manti Te’o] belongs on TMZ, not a respected news network. It is
the sports world equivalent of high school gossip and is therefore irrelevant.” Keith added, “a kid
with weak moral fiber. How unique, he got caught up in it and would have been humiliated
regardless of the outcome. Let's move on and see who he is in ten years.” In fairness to the media
coverage on Te’o, he was playing stellar football for a team, Notre Dame, which is considered
one of the more storied programs in the NCAA. When good or bad is surrounding anyone
involved with the university, the media anticipates fans to take interest. With that said,
participants ultimately agreed that the coverage of Te’o was a bit much. Lee added, “I thought
the ESPN coverage of Te’o was a little excessive, yes it is a weird story, but they really ran with
it, including talking about it so much leading up to the Super Bowl [the Super Bowl took place
February, 3rd
2013, roughly one month after the Manti T’eo hoax story surfaced]…surely there
are better things that can be talked leading up to the Super Bowl!”
With regards to Penn State and Manti Te’o, contrasting themes took shape. Participants
believed in accordance with the Penn State topic that the media did not influence their
perceptions of the university, from before or after the scandal. Instead, they mention how the
sexual abuse crime itself is the reason for any changed perceptions. In contrast to the Te’o
coverage, participants mention the media coverage of the story for being the predominant reason

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for their changed perceptions of the athlete.
Everyone unanimously agreed that they waited to find out all the facts regarding Penn
State before jumping to conclusions. From an overall consensus, no one wanted to associate
anything negative with Paterno, being the iconic, model citizen that he had been while at Penn
State all his years. Many referenced the Duke Lacrosse Rape case and how they waited to find
out the details surrounding Penn State. According to Mike, “I thought the Duke Lacrosse team
was guilty at first, but then realized the media’s inaccurate portrayal of the team was unfounded
and wrong.” Penn State University has the image of being a “clean, big-time school” as John
said, but upon hearing the charges against assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and those affiliated
with the cover-up of the allegations, including Paterno’s knowledge of the situation, the group
agreed that he should have done more. Jeff shared his ideas as follows, “I remember being
shocked at the allegations they were making and I distinctly remember watching ESPN just after
midnight during their live coverage of the minor riot in reaction to Joe Paterno’s firing. That
became as big a story as the sexual abuse allegations themselves.” The situation regarding Joe
Paterno’s alleged involvement was not lost on other participants, as Mark said:
The only qualms I have about the Penn State scandal is how Joe Paterno was
posthumously convicted based on the findings of one report. I do NOT believe he didn't
know everything that went on in his program but it just seemed like drastic measures
were taken with finances in mind, i.e. lawsuits.
Participants mentioned they did wait to hear all the facts before jumping to conclusions. For
instance, Tom mentioned he held any judgment on a decision until all facts were out. “I
remember the Duke Lacrosse Scandal and just assumed the players were guilty because of the
way the media made them out to be guilty. But after that I waited on Penn State.” Todd, another

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participant, said, “How can you punish the current team when it was those that were before them
that committed this horrible crime? The NCAA should stay out of it”. He added that the only
figures should be punished should be those that were considered guilty by the courts. While I did
not fully agree with his assertion, it is worth noting that the ways in which the NCAA goes about
setting down infractions is not perfect as discussion turned to this during one focus group
conversation. Often times the NCAA can only punish the current team, such as the case with
Penn State where the NCAA deducted wins from Joe Paterno’s overall record, took away
scholarships, and made them bowl ineligible. However, the fact that Penn State was not given the
possible death penalty, meaning the team would have to sit out an entire year without playing
football, is something Penn State could feel lucky about.
Manti Te’o
Participants perceived Manti Te’o as a kid who got involved with a prank and that it was
not the big deal ESPN made it out to be. I played devil’s advocate asking what if Te’o
legitimately thought he was talking to a person on the phone that was his girlfriend for the last
three years; would not he have gone to see her at one point, thus knowing she was not who he
thought she was? There was immediate agreement that the average person would normally
question the whereabouts of their girlfriend. This story was important to analyze because of the
reactions people might have, based off new-found perceptions. For instance, there had been talk
that his NFL draft stock could fall as teams question Te’o’s moral character. It would not be
unreasonable to wonder what else he might do. One participant said that he did not think the
story was a big deal at all, and when prompted about the potential NFL dilemma questioning his
morals, he said, “I don’t see that being an issue at all, why should it, he’s just a kid. Leave him
alone.”

21
Perceptions of Te’o, based mostly off the media portrayal of his hoax story, overshadow
the ability he possessed as a great college football player. Only those questions and comments
surrounding Te’o and the hoax will go away if he goes to the NFL and has a prosperous career.
While Andrew offered sympathy saying “He’s just a kid, I feel bad for him”, Tyler was more
blunt; “He was just a great linebacker, but now I think he’s a little [crazy]. Overall, participants
agree that the Manti Te’o story never should have been the story it was, due to it being a hoax,
but it definitely should not have been the story it was, for as long as it was.
Agenda Setting
Everything in my findings came back to the way ESPN covered its stories and how media
over-sensationalizes their coverage. Manti Te’o would never be a story if not for the media.
Personally, I did not even know who he was until the story broke, and I considered myself
growing up to be a well-informed college football fan, having watching the sport on television
and attending games as a child. To contrast the two stories, Penn State would obviously
dominate headlines under a positive or negative light. The university is known for its football,
and people are going to be interested when icons such as Joe Paterno are involved. Paterno
comes off as the prototypical coach, in part because of the respect he had garnered over the
years. His image appeared flawless. He had been coaching at Penn State since 1966, built a
champion, and donated millions to Penn State. He had built a strong relationship with the Penn
State community. Similarly, Te’o was a part of a storied university in Notre Dame. People are
going to take notice, especially when fans can rally behind a story such as his dead grandmother
and girlfriend, and in addition, during a year in which Notre Dame is undefeated.
Both the Penn State and the Manti Te’o stories come back to the agenda of the media:
Matt Millen’s interview with ESPN, the coverage of Te’o, and other factors, whether

22
hypothetical or real, bring to question the role the media was aiming for. One question posed to
all participants asked about their thoughts regarding whether if it would matter if any other Penn
State alum talked about Penn State; would people associate this person with what is being said or
still just remember them for who they are regardless? One participant said, “I’ll remember him
[Millen] for being the worst General Manager of the [Detroit] Lions” rather than what he said
about Penn State. John commented on this matter by saying:
To say that because he is an alumnus of the school that he cannot be unbiased is unfair. A
professional reporter would handle it fairly. Of course, ESPN is all about sensationalism
so they might have used him on purpose.
Perhaps it was in the best interest of ESPN to air coverage on Te’o regardless of whether there
was anything new to report, because ESPN, as the main essential sports network, has to keep on
top of every potential breaking story; stories that might come out of the bigger story. When you
consider ESPN seeking opinions from Matt Millen, a notable former PSU football player,
perhaps ESPN was most interested in a convenient interview, and maybe they wanted a Penn
State voice to lend a perspective—to shed a more positive outlook on the situation of those
involved, such as Joe Paterno.
With huge network contracts for televising games, and the overall money that is
involved, ESPN might have a potential bias regarding Penn State as far as keeping good relations
for future network contracts, or even trying to appeal to the fans, both of ESPN, and Penn State.
Nathan said, “It was impossible to not have formed opinions about the scandal before all the
facts came out. They all STILL haven't come out. I watched not one single solitary second of that
on ESPN.” While some a potential bias could be hypothetical, these along with the facts we now
know, are some of the important factors to consider when analyzing the media and the role they

23
play in covering stories.
Suggestions for Further Research
As participants for my study were recruited as being sports fans, it would also be
interesting to get the views of those who are not sports fans, or at least have some distance from
the topic. Would they feel any type of emotion towards Penn State or Manti Te’o? The
psychological aspects to consider, such as the life of this Notre Dame individual, and the
situation regarding Penn State and the crime that was committed, could certainly appeal to those
for other reasons, and bring about other views not originally thought of.
In addition, many of my participants mentioned how ESPN is the only 24/7 sports
network, and factored more into why they watch it than whether it was their favorite network.
With the much anticipated Fox Sports 1 network set to launch August 2013, it would be
interesting to find out the impact this will have as a rival 24/7 sports network to ESPN. Views
could be altered, and ESPN may feel the pressure to compete for their audience. For instance
ESPN might value their audience more, and even change the focus for which they have, if they
feel a rival network is trying to steal the spotlight.
Conclusion
The reality of the matter is that there will always be varied perceptions to how we think
or feel about something. The aspect that the media plays into the perceptions we have is
interesting to analyze; first with the Duke Lacrosse Rape scandal, and then comparing what we
have learned since then, and then going forward, and applying the ways we interpret and analyze
the media portrayal to Penn State and Manti Te’o. One has to read between the lines to
understand what the media is telling us. How we perceive or interpret something is on us, but the
media agenda does exist; they frame segments in a way that makes you wonder where the best

24
interest of the media really lies.
The findings of this study showed that participants typically agreed on similar views
when sharing their ideas on Penn State and Manti Te’o, and their views as far as the state of
college sports are not any more altered than previously. The most common finding regarding
agenda setting in the media relates back to my findings about thoughts on Penn State and Manti
Te’o, and how participants viewed the relation of all three. Manti Te’o was a great linebacker for
one of college football’s most prominent teams; becoming a standout player and an essential
figure on the team automatically cast him into the forefront of the national media. Perhaps Te’o
just did not know how to deal with becoming a celebrity, or maybe he just sought attention. He
might have benefited from sympathy when the nation learned of his grandmother’s and supposed
girlfriend’s deaths. The media is going to want to talk to Te’o, and about him, and learn as much
about the story as possible. ESPN caters to the need as they see it, supplying the mass general
public with the most up-to-date information on these stories. Agenda setting theory comes to
mind in that it seems as if the media had nothing better to do than to hound Te’o. Yes, we want
answers on the hoax, but the media’s portrayal of him ultimately tears down his character.
When regarding the Penn State scandal, unlike how the Duke Lacrosse Rape scandal
unfolded before our eyes, participants were much more patient in terms of whether to blame the
alleged. While it was agreed that coach Joe Paterno had a hand in the case as far as what he
knew, his overall character was not completely tarnished as far as how my participants viewed
him. It was an unfortunate situation for all those involved and ultimately, as my research was
grounded in human perception and Agenda Setting Theory, the findings of this thesis points to
the way the media carries out a story, the factors for which they frame the story, and how we as
viewers will process these stories.

25
References
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spotlight. Atssociated Press. Retrieved from http://uk.news.yahoo.com/scandal-puts-
psu-football-discipline-spotlight-094827229.html
Barnett, B. (2008). Framing Rape: An Examination of Public Relations Strategies in the Duke
University Lacrosse Case. E-Journal of Communication, Culture & Critique, 1(2), 179-
202. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-9137.2008.00018.x
Boeck, S, Lackey, K. (2012, 12, January). Penn State coaching legend Joe Paterno dies at 85.
USA.com. Retrieved from
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/story/2012-01-21/former-penn-
state-coach-joe-paterno-dead/52737230/1
Chase, W. (2013, 31 March). Examining The Role Of Gendered Violence In Our Society.
Retrieved from http://blogs.longwood.edu/willchase/2013/03/31/examining-gendered-
violence/
Duke Office of News & Communications (2007). Looking Back at the Duke Lacrosse Case
Retrieved from http://today.duke.edu/showcase/lacrosseincident/
Montaldo, C. (2011). Duke Lacrosse Team Rape Scandal. About.com.
Retrieved from http://crime.about.com/od/current/a/duke_lacrosse.htm
Mungun, L., Almasy, S., (2013). Manti Te’o: A linebacker, a made-up girlfriend and a national
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Poor, J. (2012). Guns and Gear. The Daily Caller. Retrieved from
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ember_duke_lacrosse_team.html
Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/28/duke.lacrosse/index.html
Potuto, Josephine, R., O’Hanlon, J. (2007). National study of student-athletes regarding their
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Pugmire, L. (2011, 28 August). Q&A: NCAA's Mark Emmert Talks about Sports Scandals,
USC—Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/28/sports/la-sp-ncaa-20110829
Rada, James A., Wulfemeyer, K. Tim (2005, March). “Color Coded: Racial Descriptors in
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Media Complete, 49(1), 65-85. doi: 10.1207/s15506878jobem4901_5
Seate, Anita A., Harwood, J., Blecha, E. (2010). ‘He was Framed!’ Framing Criminal
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354. doi: 10.1080/08824096.2010.518917
(2006). Duke lacrosse prosecutor faces ethics complaint. CNN.com.
Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/28/duke.lacrosse/index.html
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YouTube. (10, November 11). ESPN's Mark May on the Penn State Abuse Scandal
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YouTube. (16, January 2013). Manti Te'o's Girlfriend: Notre Dame Football Star and the Alleged
Hoax. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbWmbu55v0
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Appendix
Interview Questions and Protocol
Outlook towards ESPN
1) How often do you watch ESPN a day, week?
2) Can you name some of the ESPN shows and personalities you watch?
3) What ESPN shows and personalities do you prefer?
4) Why do you watch these shows/personalities?
5) Do you view every show and reporter with the same objective outlook?
6) Does a former university alumni reporting (Matt Millen on Penn State) come off as
bias if it’s about their university?
Penn State Scandal
1) What are your thoughts of Penn State pre/post scandal?
2) Compared to recent scandals (Duke lacrosse scandal) did you wait for all facts to come
out before making an objective decision on matter?
3) Does Penn State alum Matt Millen’s emotional response (see clip) regarding the
scandal influence your take/change your perspective at all?
4) Did ESPN frame the Penn State coverage in a way that makes the university look
worse?
5) Did ESPN coverage of the story influence your decision in any way?
6) Tell me anything you remember about the scandals that stick out to you.
Manti Te’o hoax
1) How familiar are you with Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o?
2) What are your thoughts on Manti Te’o pre/post hoax?

29
3) Did ESPN coverage of the story influence your decision in any way?
4) Does ESPN reporting of the hoax regarding Te’o’s fake girlfriend’s death shed
negative light for you regarding this player?
5) Now that this hoax is attached to Te’o, in your opinion, does this affect his moral
character going forward?
6) Wouldn’t Manti Te’o question the whereabouts of his girlfriend after 3 years; how
could he honestly believe his girlfriend existed for 3 years if he hadn’t seen her?
The links I showed my participants:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MKAt1rm9QA emotional, personal experience; Matt Millen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYs2agRil3w personal experience, outlook; Mark May
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbWmbu55v0 Manti T’eo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAg9SdrJGXk Rece Davis narrative on Penn State

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