Fueling nationalism: social and cultural media frames in French and British newspaper coverage of Formula 1 racing, 1981–1985

ABSTRACT

Research into media coverage of sports news has lately shed new light on expressions of nationalism and media framing. Nevertheless, much of such research has been about national teams, has offered little historical perspective, and has neglected most of the socio-cultural aspects through which nationalism is connected to sports. This article aims to overcome these shortfalls by examining how French and British newspapers shaped and sustained national identities in writing about Formula 1 racing between 1981 and 1985. It demonstrates the complexity of the relationship between nationalism and sports through the interlinked connections of media framing, class, and gender.

KEYWORDS:

• Nationalism
• national identities
• motor sport
• framing
• Formula 1

Acknowledgements

For their valuable comments on earlier drafts, I am indebted to Dr. Eric Storm (Leiden University), who supervised this research, and to Peter George for his critical reading of it. I am also grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive input. I am grateful to the Leiden University Institute for History for hosting this project, thereby facilitating open access publication of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Caroline (J.E.) Schep

Caroline (J.E.) Schep (1998) graduated in Art History and History at Leiden University, and is currently enrolled there as a research master student of ‘History: Politics, Culture and National Identities, 1789 to the Present’. At Leiden University, she assists in the research project ‘Scholarly Vices: A Longue Durée History’ and supports the Foundation for Austrian Studies.