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"The Old White Sportswriters Didn't Know What to Think": Tradition vs. New Journalism in the New York Times's Coverage of Muhammad Ali, 1963-1971

Zidonis, Jeffrey J
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1542123659696673

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, Journalism (Communication).
Boxer Cassius Clay exploded unto public consciousness during a time of turbulent change in U.S. politics, race relations, and journalism. This thesis examines a particular subset of news coverage of Clay from his first title fight through his conversion to Islam and adoption of the name Muhammad Ali, on through his refusal to be drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, and finally to his triumphant return to boxing. The author chose to examine the work of two New York Times reporters, Arthur Daley and Robert Lipsyte, as a case study of traditional vs. “new” journalism in their coverage of one of the most colorful and controversial figures of the 1960s and 1970s. Daley, an old-school journalist, saw Clay/Ali primarily as a clown, iconoclast, and threat, while Lipsyte, much younger and an outsider to mainstream journalism in significant ways, saw him primarily as an avatar of positive change. The author examined the stories and columns by these two writers using critical discourse analysis and the Hierarchical Influences Model of media content developed by Pamela Shoemaker and Stephen J. Reese.
Michael Sweeney (Committee Chair)
Eddith Dashiell (Committee Member)
Hans-Joerg Stiehler (Committee Member)
164 p.
American History; Black History; Journalism; Mass Communications; Mass Media
Muhammad Ali; Cassius Clay; Arthur Daley; Robert Lipsyte; New York Times; sportswriting; boxing; 1960s; civil rights movement; generation gap

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Zidonis, J. J. (2018). "The Old White Sportswriters Didn't Know What to Think": Tradition vs. New Journalism in the New York Times's Coverage of Muhammad Ali, 1963-1971 [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1542123659696673

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Zidonis, Jeffrey. "The Old White Sportswriters Didn't Know What to Think": Tradition vs. New Journalism in the New York Times's Coverage of Muhammad Ali, 1963-1971. 2018. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1542123659696673.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Zidonis, Jeffrey. ""The Old White Sportswriters Didn't Know What to Think": Tradition vs. New Journalism in the New York Times's Coverage of Muhammad Ali, 1963-1971." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1542123659696673

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.