Dope and Deny: A Comparative Study of News Frames in American and Russian Coverage of American and Russian Athletes

Abstract

This content analysis builds on past studies done on media coverage, rhetorical analyses, and journalistic role enactment by examining American and Russian news publications’ (N = 422) coverage of American and Russian doping scandals between 2013 and 2016. This time frame was selected because it was the height of Lance Armstrong and Major League Baseball doping coverage in the United States and the height of Olympic track-and-field doping coverage in Russia. It also fell between the time the World Anti-Doping Agency ratified its third code, which gave the antidoping organization the authority to conduct independent investigations. The study investigates media framing from the midpoint of the scandal, after the sports persona or sports entity denied using performance-enhancing drugs. Whether American and Russian coverage differ in the use of episodic and thematic frames, where blame is placed, and whether episodic or thematic framing predicts blame placement were all examined. Furthermore, the study investigates both nations’ coverage of “their own” athletes and of athletes from the other nation and analyzes whether or how the rhetorical posture of denial leads to adversarial journalism as a role enactment in coverage of sport-related scandals.

Hero Shots: The Hero Myth as a Visual Frame in American Television Coverage of Lance Armstrong

“…Thematic frames present an issue as a collective problem, often with government-based solutions (Springer & Harwood, 2015). For example, in their analysis of how Russian and American sports journalists cover Russian and American doping scandals, Reed and Harker (2022) found few differences between Russian and American sports journalists’ use of episodic or thematic frames. However, both Russian and American journalists framed the issue more thematically when reporting on Russian athletes or teams, and framed American athletes or teams more episodically.…”

“…However, both Russian and American journalists framed the issue more thematically when reporting on Russian athletes or teams, and framed American athletes or teams more episodically. When sports journalists framed stories episodically, they were more likely to blame an individual for doping in sport (Reed & Harker, 2022). However, when sports journalists framed stories thematically, they were more likely to tie doping back to a large systemic problem (Reed & Harker, 2022).…”

“…When sports journalists framed stories episodically, they were more likely to blame an individual for doping in sport (Reed & Harker, 2022). However, when sports journalists framed stories thematically, they were more likely to tie doping back to a large systemic problem (Reed & Harker, 2022).…”