It is true that men’s sport events generally receive wider coverage from media outlets, particularly television, than those of women. I personally believe that although TV channels are tempted to broadcast men’s sport more because of its greater appeal to viewers, women’s sport should be given equal airtime.
To begin with, sport events with male participants are admittedly more entertaining and competitive in most cases, which makes them more attractive to TV viewers and, therefore, TV stations. With their superior physical strength, sportsmen are able to perform skilful but taxing feats that most sportswomen cannot when they compete. For instance, it is common to see a male football player deftly dribble the ball with great speed multiple times during a match, something that female football players do not do very often due to the lack of stamina.
That being said, ignoring women’s sport events is, in my opinion, discriminatory and unjust. Just like those of their male counterparts, women’s sport events deserve public attention and media coverage, not because they are exciting to watch but because it is a sign of equality between sportspeople of both genders. Furthermore, giving more time for female sport shows might encourage more girls and women to partake in sports and motivate female athletes to always improve their skills and competence, thereby enhancing the quality of these events. This, in turn, will possibly attract more coverage as well as investment in female sport shows.
In conclusion, despite being less appealing to the general television viewer, women’s sport events should still be given as much airtime as those of men to promote equality and encourage their development in the future.
VOCABULARY HIGHLIGHT
- coverage (n.): the reporting of a particular important event or subject
- media outlets (n.): a newspaper, television company or other mass media which publishes news stories
- airtime (n.): (the amount of) broadcasting time that someone or something has on television or radio
- taxing (adj.): difficult or needing a lot of thought or effort
- deftly (adv.): in a skilful, clever, or quick way
- discriminatory (adj.): treating a person or group differently from and usually worse than other people, because of their skin colour, sex, sexuality, etc
- unjust (adj.): unfair
- partake (in sth): to become involved with or take part in something
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