This study explored gender differences within the Australian primetime broadcast of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games. Forty-five broadcast hours from the Seven Network were examined regarding clock-time, name mentions, and descriptions divided by biological sex, finding that the Seven Network devoted nearly equal clock-time to male and female athletes, yet 14 of the top 20 most mentioned athletes (70%) were men. In terms of word-by-word descriptors, gender differences were also uncovered on many levels relating to attributions of athletic success, failure, personality, and physicality. The findings of this study suggest that—at least within an Australian sports context—gender portrayals ranged from relative equality to significant differences depending on the metric employed. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.

This study explored how potential national biases unfolded within the Australian broadcast of the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Applying social identity theory and self-categorization theory, this study content analyzed a total of 45 prime time broadcast hours of Australia’s Seven Network’s coverage of the Rio Games. Although the majority of top 20 most-mentioned athletes were Australian, non-Australian athletes were mentioned more frequently regarding total name mentions. Moreover, Australian athletes and non-Australian athletes were described in significantly different manners when ascribing reasons for athletic success and failure. This study contributed to the literature by uncovering how in-group members were portrayed in the Australian sports context while also providing insight into how consumers’ media consumption could potentially affect how the network broadcast the Olympics from a nationally partisan perspective.

No abstract

The global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in restrictions on gatherings of large crowds, the suspension of live sport events across the globe, and the relegation of topical televised sport to broadcasts of past events and competitions. Consequently, there has been a shift in focus from the entertainment aspect of sport to the health and well-being aspects of sport. As athletes, teams, and sport organizations have become subject to government legislation concerning physical distancing, self-isolation, and lockdowns, the resultant spare time has presented the opportunity for individual athletes and sport organizations to pursue an approach to social media that includes viral challenges, fundraising, and socializing online. This paper provides a commentary on select high-profile athletes’ and sport organizations’ social media behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has adopted an altruistic tone.

Bill Yole is the social media coordinator and webmaster for the ACT Brumbies Super Rugby team. This interview covers Yole's role with the club, including the day-to-day social media operations at the Brumbies and how content creation is key to the engagement of fans locally and internationally. This is particularly vital to Yole's role because of the Brumbies' international exposure through competing in Super Rugby, which is played in seven nations, and the number of representative players in national teams alongside several of the Brumbies players' having heritage in the Pacific Islands. Yole also discusses how he took advantage of opportunities during his studies to secure full-time employment after he completed his sports media degree at the University of Canberra.

International sport has always been associated with nationalism. The purpose of the study was to explore how Chinese media and the general public perceived the doping scandal of their national sports hero, Sun Yang. Through analyzing 11 Chinese media outlets’ coverage on Chinese social media Weibo, the results revealed that Chinese media covered Sun and his team’s reaction and perspectives on this issue more when compared with other news. The general public’s perceptions toward this scandal tended to be favorable toward Sun, with 55.5% of selected Weibo comments defending Sun after his 8-year ban for doping was handed down. The analysis of these social media comments posted by sports fans showed that the general public’s perceptions might have been impacted by their nationalism, international relations, and media coverage. In addition, the study revealed the Chinese public’s perceptions toward current antidoping regulations.

In 2020, nations around the world quickly became engulfed in a crisis with the announcement that the COVID-19 virus had mushroomed to the point that it had become a pandemic. Subsequent to national government attempts to curtail the spread of the virus, there was an immediate impact on the sport industry. For sporting organizations, there was a cessation of competition and a lockdown for all those in the industry. In the absence of live sport, social media producers have been required to think outside of their normal content avenues to create posts that will engage their followers. Sport agency World in Motion-active in soccer, rugby, golf, boxing, and cricket-is an avid user of social media by way of engaging with clients and sports fans alike. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, there have been significant changes to the focus of the company's social media output.Ben Read, the organization's social media manager, is responsible for the design and dissemination of information through various platforms, notably, Twitter (8,715 followers) and Instagram (2,251 followers). Read has been employed at World in Motion since May 2019. Prior to this, Read was an account manager at Rockford Components and completed a psychology degree in 2017. From 2014 to 2017, while at university, Ben was also an event manager for the university student union, where he honed his social media skills. This interview provides background to the customary aspects of Read's role, including content creation and connecting with clients and sports fans. The interview then focuses on how Read's approach to social media has changed in light of the global crisis, based principally around the cessation of live sport and the company's wish to provide relevant and useful social media content.Mountifield and Sharpe: What is World in Motion? What is your role? What do you do on a day-to-day basis?Read: We are a global sports management agency operating across football, rugby, golf, boxing, and cricket.

Media coverage in China and Australia examined a conflict between 2 Olympic swimmers, Chinese Sun Yang and Australian Mack Horton, during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. While both swimmers performed well, there were several conflicts between the 2 leading to both nations’ media coverage portraying the foreign athlete negatively. An analysis of 398 print-media articles revealed there were sharp differences between the 2 nations in both the amount of coverage and the valence of the information sources. From a theoretical perspective, the framing of this conflict showed an “us vs. them” dichotomy, suggesting that both countries’ coverage was strongly influenced to protect the reputation and honor of the home athlete. Coverage in both nations was markedly different, suggesting a home-nation favoritism. Implications for sport communicators are discussed.