Us and them: the influence of discourses of nationalism on media coverage of the Paralympics

Abstract

Recent research suggests that the mainstream media representation of disabled athletes increasingly fits within the ‘norms’ of sports reporting. This study interrogates this suggestion, using the theoretical tools of cultural studies to compare representations of athletes from ‘our’ nation with athletes from other countries. The results suggest the change may be related primarily to athletes who can be constructed as being more like ‘Us’ through their national affiliation rather than to a revolution in how journalists see disability sport. For those focused on creating progressive images of disability (such as increasing the visibility, depth and complexity of reporting), this finding may offer a way forward. Through understanding the conditions under which athletes might become publicly visible, disability sport organizations gain tools that may enhance their promotional activities.

Keywords:

• Paralympics
• media
• images
• nationalism
• othering
• New Zealand
• disability

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the University of Waikato Library for provision of the 2008 newspapers, Cathryn Gibbs, Christina Sedon, Te Amo Hauiti-Parapara and Brenda Cockburn for sharing their Paralympics analyses, and Summer Research Scholars Christina Sedon (in 2008) and Nur Zakaria (in 2012) for contributing to aspects of the project.

Notes

1. This claim may reflect a recent explosion of research and the diversity of disciplinary journals in which such work appears, which makes it difficult to grasp the full breadth.

2. This absence may reflect the single-country focus of much of the research.

3. Pistorius has also attracted research interest in how his case challenges existing understandings of disability/normality or exposes concerns or fears about the disabled body (Booher 2011; Burkett, McNamee, and Pottharst 2011; Corrigan et al. 2010; Swartz and Watermeyer 2008). His international profile is such that his 2013 arrest on a charge of murdering his girlfriend received worldwide attention.

4. Sauvage, duToit and Fairhall are unusual in that they are high-profile female athletes. Existing quantitative studies demonstrate that female Paralympians generally receive less coverage than males; this gendered pattern reflects sports coverage internationally. In contrast, 2012 Paralympics coverage was dominated by New Zealand swimmer Sophie Pascoe, who received 34% of all Paralympic images and 49% of New Zealand Paralympic images.

5. These data were generated as part of a University of Waikato funded Summer Research Scholarship study of newspaper coverage of sport (Sedon 2010).

6. See Hall (1997) for a discussion of this process in relation to racial difference.

7. This pattern was also evident in 2004 television coverage: New Zealand athletes’ disabilities were scarcely mentioned, and were visually obvious in only two cases – an amputee cyclist in action, and distance shots of a field athlete in his wheelchair (Gibbs 2006).