Mediatization and Doping: Investigating the Interplay in News Framing of Rider/Doping Suspicion During the Tour de France

Abstract

Mediatization theory has been used to describe the development of the Tour de France, from its inception as an event created by a newspaper to sell newspapers to the global spectacle it has become. Yet, perhaps the Tour’s most infamous aspect, its historical reputation for doping, is yet to be explored through the lens of mediatization, as both a media and a social issue. Furthermore, that sport media scholars allude to a need for better understanding of media coverage of doping beyond headline-capturing doping scandals, establishes a precedent for the examination and comparison of newspaper framing of Lance Armstrong (2004) and Chris Froome (2017). To do so, this research operationalizes mediatization theory in combination with framing theory to investigate news framing of rider/doping suspicion grounded in the historical context of the event, revealing the interplay between framing of rider/doping suspicion and event mediatization processes.

Can the credibility of global sport organizations be restored? A case study of the athletics integrity unit

“…In the literature on anti-doping, frame analysis has been used to showcase how different social groups (journalists, athletes in particular) make sense of doping and anti-doping, albeit through various instrumentations of the concept (Sandvik et al, 2017; Starke and Flemming, 2017). When it comes to judging sports integrity, journalists, social media, and researchers do not always use similar frames (Stanley, 2022). They engage in a “frame dispute” over “how to define what has been or is happening” (Goffman, 1974: 322) as was the case for the performances of Chris Froome, the quadruple Tour de France winner (Plassard et al, 2021).…”

“…Secondly, because in a rapid review of positions from experts and public figures, we noticed an apparent lack of critical remarks about the AIU, suggesting a relatively successful performance, and therefore an intriguing case study. In comparison, cycling, the other sport which has faced several major scandals and set up the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) in 2008, continues to attract regular negative judgments (Stanley, 2022) despite its recognized innovations and its credibility among anti-doping insiders (interviews with our informants; Plassard et al, 2021).…”

Image Repair Strategies in Public Relations Crisis: A Case Study of Real Madrid’s Response Strategies to the Bernabeu Leaked Audio Scandal

“…In some conditions, scandals may threaten the existence of sports businesses or prompt them to make substantial organizational transformations (Storm & Wagner, 2015, p. 293). Schol-ars have examined sports scandals concerning doping (Duval, 2017;Engelberg et al, 2015;Galluzzi, 2000;Hermann, 2019;Laine, 2006), political intervention (Altukhov & Nauright, 2018;Harris et al, 2021;Leigh & McAllister, 2021), corruption (Andreff, 2019;Gardiner et al, 2017;Masters, 2015;Ncube, 2017;Philippou, 2021), governance structures Hanstad, 2008;Krieger, 2019;Mandel, 2016), media framing of scandal (Bie & Billings, 2015;Burch et al, 2015;Sanderson & Hambrick, 2012;Smith & Pegoraro, 2020;Stanley, 2021), awful defeats (Compton & Compton, 2014;Compton & Compton, 2022), and communication image repair (Allison et al, 2020;Glantz, 2010;Hambrick et al, 2015;Koa & Abu Hassan, 2022;Onwumechili & Bedeau, 2017;Smith & Keeven, 2019;Walsh & McAllister-Spooner, 2011).…”