Vanessa Peña
Biographic Data
| ID | 131944 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Vanessa Peña |
| GIVEN NAMES | Vanessa |
| FAMILY NAME | Peña |
| SIGNATURE | PEÑA V |
| AFFILIATIONS | DePaul University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2201-058X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
(Dana) White Privilege
This study examines the media coverage of Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White’s domestic violence, an occurrence that featured a video showing White slapping his wife. We analyzed coverage ( N = 163 articles) across major sport media platforms, conducting a critical discourse analysis that reveals a stark disparity compared with how other sports figures who have committed similar acts have been covered. Despite White’s stature, ma…
“Not My Team”
In September 2022, the killing of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman reportedly accused of not wearing a hijab, ignited widespread protests across Iran and other parts of the world. Two months later, as the Iranian national soccer team competed against England, Wales, and the United States in the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage, the echoes of these protests persisted both within Iran and on global social media platforms. Scholars have noted that durin…
All the Right Questions
Sports press conferences are an area in need of more study and critique, especially regarding how sports journalists ask questions to athletes. This study analyzes the press conferences ( N = 44) for four major college football teams during the 2021–2022 season, using textual analysis to explore whether sports journalists’ questions differ based on the race of the athlete and whether those questions reflect racial stereotypes. This study relies o…
"Exploring the "perfect physique
In 2023, a Korean reality show, Physical 100, captured international audiences and became the most-watched non-English-language show on Netflix. It features a hundred contestants competing in a series of physically demanding obstacles to claim the prize and honor of having the "perfect physique". This study aims to understand how the "perfect physique" is conceptualized through the show's framing and the (re)production of mind-body discourse disc…
Who Is Worthy of a Name? Identity, Naming, and Social Difference in News Images’ Captions
This study examined news images and captions published by The Associated Press ( N = 7,455) between 2018 and 2022 to ascertain whether names were more frequently included for certain groups of people. The analysis found that people depicted in the Global North are named far more frequently than in the Global South, and that sports, entertainment, and political images include names more often than news and feature images. These pervasive patterns …
The Planet’s Champion” Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan’s WWE Championship reign, from November 13, 2018, to April 7, 2019, provides an interesting case study to analyze the intersection of politics, mediated sport, neoliberalism, and colorblind ideology in professional wrestling storylines. This study conducts uses textual analysis to uncover how WWE utilized Bryan’s reign to communicate ideologies in their weekly programming. The findings suggest that Bryan’s persona as a villainous lef…
Questioning Sports Journalists
Sports scholars have long studied how stereotypes pervade sports. However, little if any of this research has examined the origins of these stereotypes and how they influence journalistic practice. This study explores sports journalists’ work routines, their perception of stereotypes in sports, and whether there is a connection between the two. The authors conduct a critical discourse analysis of in-depth interviews with 13 sports journalists fro…
Playing (& Smoking) by the Rules
Sports media research has often found that athletes are depicted differently based on stereotypes attached to their racialized bodies, and often along a Black/white racial binary. Furthermore, Black men often receive more and harsher penalties for drug use compared to all other racial and gender categories. Using critical discourse analysis, this study explores how NFL athletes who either openly admitted to using illicit drugs or failed National …
Championship and Sponsor Analysis in Intercollegiate Athletics
To examine the relationship among identification, fan expectations, and sponsorship outcomes, this study examined Alabama and Clemson fan expectations and responses to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) football championship game outcome. This case study sought to understand how fans of winning and losing teams evaluated a sporting event’s sponsor following the conclusion of an event, positing that highly identified fans would de…
Churning off the news
Subscriber churn is of utmost importance for newspapers, which have for decades been struggling to maintain the robust readership they used to enjoy. This is especially true in a digital media landscape that operates within an attention economy. This study examined the difference in subscriber churn across 29 newspaper properties in large U.S. chain. Using subscriber data gathered from all 29 newspapers, this study analyzed whether the device and…
The blame game
Violence against women is prevalent both in and outside the sports world, and dozens of professional athletes have been accused, although the reactions and consequences to such accusations are not always the same. This study examines three instances of athletes committing misogynistic violence and the effect that video evidence has on sports media discourse. We look at a wide range of online media sources and print newspaper articles (n = 153) to…
We F—ing Got Osuna”
Elite professional athletes in the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB have all been accused of domestic violence. This occurs in a cultural arena already predicated on patriarchy and capitalism and rife with toxic masculinity, which combine to create traumatic, gendered realities for women sports journalists and violent and exploitative labor norms for athletes. Through a critical discourse analysis of 76 articles from U.S. newspapers, magazines, and online n…
Supporting Black women's pursuits in STEM
Research related to achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) does not provide a clear understanding of the conditions that influence the experiences and performance of Black women. Studies make it difficult to tease out the forces shaping student aspirations and outcomes in STEM, which can lead to flawed explanations that do not take in account the influence of macro forces that can structure students' pathways to degree. Thi…
All the Right Questions
Sports press conferences are an area in need of more study and critique, especially regarding how sports journalists ask questions to athletes. This study analyzes the press conferences ( N = 44) for four major college football teams during the 2021–2022 season, using textual analysis to explore whether sports journalists’ questions differ based on the race of the athlete and whether those questions reflect racial stereotypes. This study relies o…
"Exploring the "perfect physique
In 2023, a Korean reality show, Physical 100, captured international audiences and became the most-watched non-English-language show on Netflix. It features a hundred contestants competing in a series of physically demanding obstacles to claim the prize and honor of having the "perfect physique". This study aims to understand how the "perfect physique" is conceptualized through the show's framing and the (re)production of mind-body discourse disc…
Playing (& Smoking) by the Rules
Sports media research has often found that athletes are depicted differently based on stereotypes attached to their racialized bodies, and often along a Black/white racial binary. Furthermore, Black men often receive more and harsher penalties for drug use compared to all other racial and gender categories. Using critical discourse analysis, this study explores how NFL athletes who either openly admitted to using illicit drugs or failed National …
We F—ing Got Osuna”
Elite professional athletes in the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB have all been accused of domestic violence. This occurs in a cultural arena already predicated on patriarchy and capitalism and rife with toxic masculinity, which combine to create traumatic, gendered realities for women sports journalists and violent and exploitative labor norms for athletes. Through a critical discourse analysis of 76 articles from U.S. newspapers, magazines, and online n…
Supporting Black women's pursuits in STEM
Research related to achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) does not provide a clear understanding of the conditions that influence the experiences and performance of Black women. Studies make it difficult to tease out the forces shaping student aspirations and outcomes in STEM, which can lead to flawed explanations that do not take in account the influence of macro forces that can structure students' pathways to degree. Thi…
The blame game
Violence against women is prevalent both in and outside the sports world, and dozens of professional athletes have been accused, although the reactions and consequences to such accusations are not always the same. This study examines three instances of athletes committing misogynistic violence and the effect that video evidence has on sports media discourse. We look at a wide range of online media sources and print newspaper articles (n = 153) to…
We F—ing Got Osuna”
Elite professional athletes in the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB have all been accused of domestic violence. This occurs in a cultural arena already predicated on patriarchy and capitalism and rife with toxic masculinity, which combine to create traumatic, gendered realities for women sports journalists and violent and exploitative labor norms for athletes. Through a critical discourse analysis of 76 articles from U.S. newspapers, magazines, and online n…
Championship and Sponsor Analysis in Intercollegiate Athletics
To examine the relationship among identification, fan expectations, and sponsorship outcomes, this study examined Alabama and Clemson fan expectations and responses to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) football championship game outcome. This case study sought to understand how fans of winning and losing teams evaluated a sporting event’s sponsor following the conclusion of an event, positing that highly identified fans would de…
Churning off the news
Subscriber churn is of utmost importance for newspapers, which have for decades been struggling to maintain the robust readership they used to enjoy. This is especially true in a digital media landscape that operates within an attention economy. This study examined the difference in subscriber churn across 29 newspaper properties in large U.S. chain. Using subscriber data gathered from all 29 newspapers, this study analyzed whether the device and…
Who Is Worthy of a Name? Identity, Naming, and Social Difference in News Images’ Captions
This study examined news images and captions published by The Associated Press ( N = 7,455) between 2018 and 2022 to ascertain whether names were more frequently included for certain groups of people. The analysis found that people depicted in the Global North are named far more frequently than in the Global South, and that sports, entertainment, and political images include names more often than news and feature images. These pervasive patterns …
The Planet’s Champion” Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan’s WWE Championship reign, from November 13, 2018, to April 7, 2019, provides an interesting case study to analyze the intersection of politics, mediated sport, neoliberalism, and colorblind ideology in professional wrestling storylines. This study conducts uses textual analysis to uncover how WWE utilized Bryan’s reign to communicate ideologies in their weekly programming. The findings suggest that Bryan’s persona as a villainous lef…
Questioning Sports Journalists
Sports scholars have long studied how stereotypes pervade sports. However, little if any of this research has examined the origins of these stereotypes and how they influence journalistic practice. This study explores sports journalists’ work routines, their perception of stereotypes in sports, and whether there is a connection between the two. The authors conduct a critical discourse analysis of in-depth interviews with 13 sports journalists fro…
Playing (& Smoking) by the Rules
Sports media research has often found that athletes are depicted differently based on stereotypes attached to their racialized bodies, and often along a Black/white racial binary. Furthermore, Black men often receive more and harsher penalties for drug use compared to all other racial and gender categories. Using critical discourse analysis, this study explores how NFL athletes who either openly admitted to using illicit drugs or failed National …
“Not My Team”
In September 2022, the killing of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman reportedly accused of not wearing a hijab, ignited widespread protests across Iran and other parts of the world. Two months later, as the Iranian national soccer team competed against England, Wales, and the United States in the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage, the echoes of these protests persisted both within Iran and on global social media platforms. Scholars have noted that durin…
All the Right Questions
Sports press conferences are an area in need of more study and critique, especially regarding how sports journalists ask questions to athletes. This study analyzes the press conferences ( N = 44) for four major college football teams during the 2021–2022 season, using textual analysis to explore whether sports journalists’ questions differ based on the race of the athlete and whether those questions reflect racial stereotypes. This study relies o…
"Exploring the "perfect physique
In 2023, a Korean reality show, Physical 100, captured international audiences and became the most-watched non-English-language show on Netflix. It features a hundred contestants competing in a series of physically demanding obstacles to claim the prize and honor of having the "perfect physique". This study aims to understand how the "perfect physique" is conceptualized through the show's framing and the (re)production of mind-body discourse disc…
(Dana) White Privilege
This study examines the media coverage of Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White’s domestic violence, an occurrence that featured a video showing White slapping his wife. We analyzed coverage ( N = 163 articles) across major sport media platforms, conducting a critical discourse analysis that reveals a stark disparity compared with how other sports figures who have committed similar acts have been covered. Despite White’s stature, ma…
Political science (10 works) · Psychology (10 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Advertising (8 works) · Sports, Gender, and Society (8 works) · Media studies (7 works) · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts (7 works) · Gender Studies (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Business (5 works)