Effect of sports sponsorship on building international media agenda: a study of the international news coverage of the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games

Abstract

This study examined the influence of event sponsorship on the image of Kaohsiung as portrayed by the international news coverage of the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games. A content analysis of relevant news coverage reveals that the media's increased positive description of Kaohsiung's landscape, citizens, and public officials, as well as the increased use of conquest and coronation frames, enhanced the city's image. However, this positive coverage may have been eclipsed by the more rapid increase in the object salience of the event and the increased use of other media frames. The increased media coverage of Kaohsiung also promoted the visibility of Taipei, but did not affect the visibility of political issues and other Taiwan cities. The findings imply that hosting a mega sports event is a useful way for a city to increase visibility and gain positive coverage, but an ineffective approach to avoiding negative political news frames on international media.

Keywords:

• City image
• agenda setting
• media event
• content analysis
• sports sponsorship
• World Games

Notes

^1. One of the slogans of the 2009 World Games is “Let the world see Kaohsiung”.

^2. The city received little coverage by the media beyond this period.