Manufactured conflict in the 1992 Olympics: The discourse of television and politics¹

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Communication Association meeting in 1993 and received a Top Three Paper Award from the Political Communication Division.

Abstract

Textual analysis of U.S. television discourse during the 1992 Winter Olympics supplies a rich source for deconstructing the creation of national “enemies” and “friends.” Scripted and off‐the‐cuff remarks to the television audience by network hosts and commentators reveal an ideology reflective of unfolding U.S. foreign policy at the time of a disintegrating Soviet Union and the economic rise of Germany and Japan. CBS and TNT commentary was analyzed by decoding the neutrality of the mention of a country's name and by weighing valence and power dimensions of accompanying remarks. Results demonstrate how political nationalism is woven into the fabric of international sports discourse, which couches team and individual performances in terms of the performances of their nation‐states in relation to the United States.

Notes

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Communication Association meeting in 1993 and received a Top Three Paper Award from the Political Communication Division.