Framing the Paralympic Games: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Spanish Media Coverage of the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympic Games

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increased emergence of studies focusing on the media coverage of the Paralympic Games. Until recently, studies have predominately used quantitative content analyses that, although providing useful interrogation of observational patterns, limit the understanding of and appreciation for the contexts that may have shaped the production of information. By focusing exclusively on the “what” and on the “how much,” it is difficult to reveal the “why” and to identify the underlying motives of any changes. This article recognizes the nuances of the editorial decision-making process by using a mixed-methods approach, employing quantitative and qualitative data drawn from a case study focusing on the Spanish media coverage of the 2008 and 2012 Paralympic Games. An initial content analysis of all news published in Spain’s 12 highest circulation newspapers during Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympic Games was undertaken. Subsequently, 15 semistructured interviews were conducted with journalists that were also sent to these two iterations of the Paralympic Games by Spanish media. Drawing on conceptualisations of media framing, the results highlight that the numerical data alone shed insufficient light on the complexity of the news-making process. The semistructured interviews brought to light issues such as editorial management buoyed by commercial imperatives, and organisational interjection in journalists’ narratives and authorship, that also contoured coverage and content. In addition to further debate about the complexities of media coverage of Paralympic sport, the study underscores the utility of incorporating and combining qualitative methodologies within sport media and communication research.

Uninspired: Framing Wheelchair Basketball and Able-Bodied Basketball in College News Sources

“…Research also has used the media frames approach to examine how adaptive sports are covered in the media (Maika & Danylchuk, 2016; Misener, 2013; Solves et al, 2018). Some media frames research emphasizes the societal ideologies, power of news organizations, and journalists’ professional values, attitudes, and individual characteristics, as part of a hierarchical model of influences on news framing (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996).…”

“…Some media frames research emphasizes the societal ideologies, power of news organizations, and journalists’ professional values, attitudes, and individual characteristics, as part of a hierarchical model of influences on news framing (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996). For example, a recent study concluded that the coverage of the Beijing and London Paralympics was obstructed by organizational and structural controls, editorial attitudes of the Paralympics being less important than the Olympics, production issues (i.e., time differences, available editorial space), and economic limitations (Solves et al, 2018). These financial, personal, and editorial influences compound an ideological pattern in society that stigmatizes people with disabilities.…”

“…Golden (2003) found that Paralympic and Olympic reporters perceived the Paralympics as having logistical problems, illegitimate athletic competition, and lacking audience intrigue. Solves, Pappous, Rius, and Kohe (2018) also found that Paralympic reporters considered the games “less important” than the Olympics and that they were instructed by editors to focus on stories of athletes’ roads to success through obstacles rather than stories about their performance. Paralympic reporters are often tasked with reporting on over 20 sports and several thousand competitors that make up the event, sometimes in one article (Dehghansai, Lemez, Wattie, & Baker, 2017; Golden, 2003).…”

“…Previous studies of adaptive sports media coverage, however, focused primarily on professional reporters’ coverage of the Paralympics, the most elite international multisport event for athletes with disabilities (Chang, Crossman, Taylor, & Walker, 2011; Rees, Robinson, & Shields, 2018; Schell & Duncan, 1999; Smith, Zhou, & Green, 2017; Solves, Pappous, Rius, & Kohe, 2018; Tynedal & Wolbring, 2013). This study, in contrast, examines student news coverage of collegiate wheelchair basketball.…”

A Influência Dos Direitos De Transmissão No Jornalismo Esportivo: Um Estudo Com Jornalistas Sobre a Cobertura Dos Jogos Paralímpicos Rio/2016

“…Para alguns jornalistas, o esporte paraolímpico e os atletas paraolímpicos são uma espécie de "sub-representação esportiva", pois possuem baixa popularidade e supostamente têm pouco teor competitivo e atlético (GOLDEN, 2003;SOLVES et al, 2018). Para atletas paraolímpicos, por sua vez, existe um despreparo de parte dos jornalistas esportivos que cobrem o esporte para pessoas com deficiência.…”