Why do female athletes receive less media coverage than male athletes? Male athletes dominate professional sports broadcast on television. The media easily overlooks female athletes except on occasions like the Winter Olympics. The articles Media coverage of women's sports is important (Lopiano, 2008) and Resume the sports page? (Sommers, 2010) recognize the factors that determine the amount of media coverage female athletes receive. [Lopiano and Sommers approach this issue differently with respect to media coverage of female athletes. Lopiano focuses on the general message the media broadcasts and Sommers uses statistics to show the difference between female and male media. Lopiano and Sommers agree that the media views women's sports as less valuable. Both focus on different aspects such as problems and solutions as well as different consequences of unequal media coverage.] The authors discover similar and different factors that contribute to unequal media coverage of female and male athletes . Lopiano and Sommers agree that the amount of media coverage female athletes receive compared to male athletes indicates that female athletes are less valuable. Both Lopiano and Sommers point out that the media tends to highlight female athletes in action only at major events. Fortunately, for male athletes the trend is different because no matter the time of year, men's events are always broadcast on television. The media only decides to highlight events such as the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) women's basketball Final Four, the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. Since the Olympic Games and the World Cup are held every four years, the Final Four, also known as the semi-final, is the rare event...... middle of paper .... .. athletes feel safer than their female counterparts. Lopiano and Sommers create realistic, reliable and clear material that reveals how female athletes struggle to gain media coverage. Lopiano's (2008) article is broad and simple, while Sommers' (2010) is specific and precise. Overall, Lopiano and Sommers prove to be effective, straightforward, and unique sources that challenge the inconsistency in media coverage between female and male athletes. Works Cited Lopiano, DA (2008, February 12). Media coverage of women's sport is significant. Sports management resources. Retrieved from http://www.sportsmanagementresources.com/library/media-coverage-womens-sportsSommers, CH (August 12, 2010). Resume the sports page? The American Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.american.com/archive/2010/august/take-back-the-sports-page/