Description
Book SynopsisOnce a shoestring operation built on plywood sets and Australian rules football, ESPN has evolved into a media colossus. A genius for cross-promotion and its near-mystical rapport with its viewers empower the network to set agendas and create superstars, to curate sports history even as it mainstreams the latest cultural trends. Travis Vogan teams archival research and interviews with an all-star cast to pen the definitive account of how ESPN turned X's and O's into billions of $$$. Vogan's institutional and cultural history focuses on the network since 1998, the year it launched a high-motor effort to craft its brand and grow audiences across media platforms. As he shows, innovative properties like SportsCentury, ESPN The Magazine, and 30 for 30 built the network's cultural caché. This credibility, in turn, propelled ESPN's transformation into an entity that lapped its run-of-the-mill competitors and helped fulfill its self-proclaimed status as the Worldwide Leader in Sports. Ambitiou
Trade Review"Vogan's research provides him with ample fodder to engross readers with stories and insights into the world behind their notable shows. . . . Sports fans will enjoy this well-researched and fascinating look at how ESPN has impacted both television and the viewing habits of millions of watchers."--
Library Journal"Represents a genuinely original and overdue assessment of perhaps the most significant entity in sports media since the penny press. An exceptional trove of interviews, archival information, and industrial and aesthetic analysis." --Victoria E. Johnson, author of
Heartland TV: Prime Time Television and the Struggle for U.S. Identity"This smart, lively examination of ESPN's place in American culture and how it continues to consciously work its way in is a trove of research, insight, and fascinating stories."--Robert Lipsyte,
New York Times columnist and author of
An Accidental Sportswriter"This is to date the most thoroughly researched and well-argued analysis of ESPN."--Aaron Baker, author of
Contesting Identities: Sports in American Film"This well-researched book is a gold mine of information about the origin and philosophy of ESPN. Highly recommended."--
Choice"In this fascinating history, journalism professor Vogan imbues the network's nascent struggles with a sense of adventure. . . . Sports fans, especially those of the couch-potato variety, will find this account of the life of a TV network as enjoyable as most star biographies."--
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