Media Coverage of the Paralympics: Recommendations for Sport Journalism Practice and Education

in International Journal of Sport Communication

Click name to view affiliation

Dunja AntunovicSchool of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Search for other papers by Dunja Antunovic in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMedClose
*
and
Andrea BundonSchool of Kinesiology, International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Search for other papers by Andrea Bundon in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMedClose
*
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2021-0061
Keywords:
parasport; sport media; ethics; stereotypes; communication education
First Published Online:
07 Jan 2022
In Print:
Volume 15: Issue 1
Page Range:
1–9
Restricted access

Researchers have extensively documented the issues in quantity and quality of media coverage of the Paralympic Games. The lack of coverage and stereotypical representations can be attributed to a variety of structural and cultural factors, notably including journalistic norms and values. This scholarly commentary proposes a reconsideration of journalistic values in order to argue that sports journalists have a professional responsibility to cover the Paralympics and issues of disability for at least three reasons: (a) The Paralympics are an elite-level, international sporting event and thus merit sport-focused coverage, (b) sport journalists have an ethical obligation to include diverse perspectives in reporting and to challenge stereotypes, and (c) sport is intertwined with social issues and requires contextualized reporting. The commentary concludes with recommendations for sport communication and journalism education.

Antunovic (dunjaant@umn.edu) is corresponding author, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6045-9484.

  • Collapse
  • Expand

International Journal of Sport Communication

Cover International Journal of Sport Communication

  • Affleck, J. (2016, September 15). Why do the paralympics get so little media attention in the United States. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-do-the-paralympics-get-so-little-media-attention-in-the-united-states-65205

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bartsch, A., Oliver, M.B., Nitsch, C., & Scherr, S. (2018). Inspired by the paralympics: Effects of empathy on audience interest in para-sports and on the destigmatization of persons with disabilities. Communication Research, 45(4), 525–553. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650215626984

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Beacom, A., French, L., & Kendall, S. (2016). Reframing impairment? Continuity and change in media representations of disability through the Paralympic Games. International Journal of Sport Communication, 9(1), 42–62. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2015-0077

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Berger, R.J. (2008). Disability and the dedicated wheelchair athlete: Beyond the “supercrip” critique. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 37(6), 647–678. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241607309892

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bien-Aimé, S. (2016). AP stylebook normalizes sports as a male space. Newspaper Research Journal, 37(1), 44–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739532916634640

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Billings, A.C., Butterworth, M.L. & Turman, P.D. (2018). Communication and sport: Surveying the field (3rd ed.). SAGE.

  • Braye, S. (2019). Tanni grey-thompson—‘The one that got away’: A theological analysis of foeticide, infanticide and the deviant Paralympic success story. Sport in Society, 22(2), 252–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2017.1360575

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Braye, S., Dixon, K., & Gibbons, T. (2013). ‘A mockery of equality’: An exploratory investigation into disabled activists’ views of the Paralympic Games. Disability & Society, 28(7), 984–996. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2012.748648

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Brooke, M. (2019). The Singaporean Paralympics and its media portrayal: Real sport? Men-only? Communication & Sport, 7(4), 446–465. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479518784278

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Broussard, R. (2020). “Stick to sports” is gone: A field theory analysis of sports journalists’ coverage of socio-political issues. Journalism Studies, 21(12), 1627–1643. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2020.1785323

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bruce, T. (2014). Us and them: The influence of discourses of nationalism on media coverage of the Paralympics. Disability & Society, 29(9), 1443–1459. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2013.816624

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bruce, T. (2016). New rules for new times: Sportswomen and media representation in the third wave. Sex Roles, 74(7–8), 361–376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0497-6

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bundon, A. (2021). The professionalizations of Paralympic sport and implications for retirement experiences of Paralympians. In D. Agnew (Ed.), Athlete transitions in sport: Experiences in elite sport. Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Buysse, J.A.M., & Borcherding, B. (2010). Framing gender and disability: Cross-cultural analysis of photographs from the 2008 Paralympic Games. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3, 308–321. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.3.3.308

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Canadian Association of Journalists. (2011). CAJ ethics guidelines. https://caj.ca/ethics-guidelines

  • Cash, R.L. (2020, April 8). What’s a sports journalist to do when the coronavirus cancels all the games? As it turns out, plenty. Poynter. https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2020/whats-a-sports-journalist-to-do-when-the-coronavirus-cancels-all-the-games-as-it-turns-out-plenty/

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Cashman, R. (2008). The benchmark games. In R. Cashman & S. Darcy (Eds.), Benchmark games: The Sydney 2000 Paralympics (pp. 56–73). Walla Walla Press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Chang, I.Y., & Crossman, J. (2009). ‘When there is a will, there is a way’: A quantitative comparison of the newspaper coverage of the 2004 summer Paralympic and Olympic Games. International Journal of Applied Sports Sciences, 21(2), 16–34.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Cherney, J.L., Lindemann, K., & Hardin, M. (2015). Research in communication, disability, and sport. Communication & Sport, 3(1), 8–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479513514847

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Cooky, C., & Antunovic, D. (2020). “This isn’t just about us”: Articulations of feminism in media narratives of athlete activism. Communication & Sport, 8(4–5), 692–711. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519896360

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • DePauw, K.P. (1997). The (1n) visibility of disability: Cultural contexts and “sporting bodies.” Quest, 49(4), 416–430. https://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.1997.10484258

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Disability and Health. (2020, December 1). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Diversity Tipsheet. (2017). Accrediting council on education in journalism and mass communications. https://www.acejmc.org/resources/diversity-tipsheet/

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ellis, K. (2008). Beyond the Aww factor: Human interest profiles of Paralympians and the media navigation of physical difference and social stigma. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 19, 23–35.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ellis, K. (2016). Disability media work: Opportunities and obstacles. Palgrave Macmillan.

  • Geertsema, M. (2009). Women and news: Making connections between the global and the local. Feminist Media Studies, 9(2), 149–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680770902814827

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Geertsema-Sligh, M., Bachmann, I., & Moody-Ramirez, M. (2020). Educating journalism students on gender and inequality. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 75(1), 69–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077695820901927

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Gérard, S. (2020). The best of both worlds? In D. Chatziefstathious, B. García, & B. Séguin (Eds.), Routledge handbook of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (pp. 84–97). Routledge.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Goggin, G., & Hutchins, B. (2017). Media and the Paralympics: Progress, visibility, and paradox. In S. Darcy, F. Stephen, & D. Adair (Eds.), Managing the Paralympics (pp. 217–239). Palgrave Macmillan.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Goggin, G., & Newell, C. (2000). Crippling Paralympics? Media, disability, and Olympism. Media International Australia, 97(1), 71–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X0009700110

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Greico, E. (2020, April 20). U.S. newspapers have shed half of their newsroom employees since 2008. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/20/u-s-newsroom-employment-has-dropped-by-a-quarter-since-2008/

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hardin, B., & Hardin, M. (2004). Distorted pictures: Images of disability in physical education textbooks. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 21, 399–413. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.21.4.399

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hardin, M. (2005a). Stopped at the gate: Women’s sports, ‘reader interest,’ and decision making by editors. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 82(1), 62–77.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hardin, M. (2005b). Survey finds boosterism, freebies remain problem for newspaper sports departments. Newspaper Research Journal, 26(1), 66–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/073953290502600108

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hardin, M., Dodd, J.E., & Lauffer, K. (2006). Passing it on: The reinforcement of male hegemony in sports journalism textbooks. Mass Communication and Society, 9(4), 429–446. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327825mcs0904_3

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Hardin, M., Zhong, B., & Whiteside, E. (2009). Sports coverage: “Toy department” or public-service journalism? The relationship between reporters’ ethics and attitudes toward the profession. International Journal of Sport Communication, 2(3), 319–339. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2.3.319

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Howe, D. (2008a). The cultural politics of the Paralympic movement: Through an anthropological lens. Routledge.

  • Howe, P.D. (2008b). From inside the newsroom: Paralympic media and the ‘production’ of elite disability. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 43(2), 135–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690208095376

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • International Paralympic Committee. (2018). Annual report 2018. https://www.paralympic.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/2018%20IPC%20Annual%20Report%202018.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Karageorgos, A.F., & Higgs, C. (2018). The Paralympic movement and the international development agenda. In I. Brittain & A. Beacom (Eds.), The palgrave handbook of Paralympic studies (pp. 273–294). Palgrave Macmillan.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Learning Outcomes. (2021). American kinesiology association. https://www.americankinesiology.org/SubPages/Pages/Learning%20Outcomes

  • Mao, A., & Sun, S. (2018). The rise of China as a Paralympic superpower. In I. Brittain & A. Beacom (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of Paralympic studies (pp. 295–320). Palgrave Macmillan.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • McEnnis, S. (2020). Toy department within the toy department? Online sports journalists and professional legitimacy. Journalism, 21(10), 1415–1431. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884918797613

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • McGillivray, D., O’Donnell, H., McPherson, G. & Misener, L. (2021). Repurposing the (super) crip: Media representations of disability at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Communication & Sport, 9(1), 3–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519853496

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Misener, L., Bodin, K., & Quinn, N. (2018). Paralympics, para-sport bodies, and legacies of media representation. In B. Hadley & D. McDonald (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of disability arts, culture, and media (pp. 74–85). Routledge.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Misener, L., & Molloy, K. (2018). Organising and delivering the modern Paralympic games: Contemporary debates relating to integration and distinction. In I. Brittain & A. Beacom (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of Paralympic studies (pp. 197–219). Palgrave Macmillan.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Moritz, B. (2021). The year sports journalism changes for good. NiemanLab. https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/12/the-year-sports-journalism-changes-for-good/

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Narasaki-Jara, M., Carmona, C.E., Stillwell, B., Onofre, R., Brolsma, D.J., & Buenavista, T.L. (2021). Exploring ableism in kinesiology curriculum through kinesiology students’ experience: A phenomenological study. International Journal of Kinesiology in Higher Education, 5(3), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/24711616.2020.1753602

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Pullen, E., Jackson, D., & Silk, M. (2020). (Re-)presenting the Paralympics: Affective nationalism and the “able-disabled.” Communication & Sport, 8(6), 715–737. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519837549

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Pullen, E., Jackson, D., Silk, M., & Scullion, R. (2019). Re-presenting the Paralympics: (contested) philosophies, production practices and the hypervisibility of disability. Media, Culture & Society, 41, 465–481.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Purdue, D.E., & Howe, P.D. (2012). See the sport, not the disability: Exploring the Paralympic paradox. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 4(2), 189–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2012.685102

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ramon-Vegas, X. & Rojas-Torrijos, J.-L. (2017). Mapping media accountability instruments in sports journalism. El Professional de la Información, 26(2), 159–171.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Rees, L., Robinson, P., & Shields, N. (2019). Media portrayal of elite athletes with disabilities—A systematic review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 41(4), 374–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2017.1397775

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Rowe, D. (2007). Sports journalism: Still the ‘toy department’ of the news media? Journalism, 8(4), 385–405. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884907078657

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Rowe, D. (2017). Sports journalism and the FIFA scandal: Personalization, co-optation, and investigation. Communication & Sport, 5(5), 515–533. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479516642206

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Rushgrove, B. &Scullion, R. (2014). ‘Human first, athlete second, disabled third’: An edited conversation with Paralympian Ben Rushgrove. In D. Jackson, C.E. Hodges, M. Molesworth & R. Scullion (Eds.). Reframing disability? Media, (dis) empowerment, and voice in the 2012 Paralympics (pp. 233–246). Routledge.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Schantz, O.J., & Gilbert, K. (2001). An ideal misconstrued: Newspaper coverage of the Atlanta Paralympic Games in France and Germany. Sociology of Sport Journal, 18(1), 69–94. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.18.1.69

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Schell, L.A. “Beez”, & Duncan, M.C. (1999). A content analysis of CBS’s coverage of the 1996 Paralympic Games. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 16(1), 27–47. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.16.1.27

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Silva, C.F., & Howe, P.D. (2012). The (in) validity of supercrip representation of Paralympian athletes. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 36(2), 174–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723511433865

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Smith, B. & Bundon, A. (2018). Disability models: Explaining and understanding disability sport in different ways. In I. Brittain & A. Beacom (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of Paralympic studies (pp. 15–34). Palgrave Macmillan.

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Society of Professional Journalists. (2014). SPJ code of ethics. https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

  • Suggs, D.W. & Guthrie, J.L. (2017). Disabling prejudice: A case study of images of Paralympic athletes and attitudes toward people with disabilities. International Journal of Sport Communication, 10(2), 258–276. https://doi.org/10.1123/IJSC.2017-0030

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Thomas, N., & Smith, A. (2003). Preoccupied with able-bodiedness? An analysis of the British media coverage of the 2000 Paralympic Games. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 20(2), 166–181. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.20.2.166

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • von Sikorski, C., & Schierl, T. (2014). Inclusion of persons with disabilities through media sports: Attitudinal and behavioral news-framing effects. International Journal of Sport Communication, 7(1), 90–112. https://doi.org/10.1123/IJSC.2013-0123

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • von Sikorski, C., Schierl, T., Möller, C. & Oberhäuser, K.P. (2012). Visual news framing and effects on recipients attitudes toward athletes with physical disabilities. International Journal of Sport Communication, 5(1), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.5.1.69

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Walker, D.L., Geertsema, M. & Barnett, B. (2009). Inverting the inverted pyramid: A conversation about the use of feminist theories to teach journalism. Feminist Teacher, 19(3), 177–178. https://doi.org/10.1353/ftr.0.0048

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Weedon, G., & Wilson, B. (2020). Textbook journalism? Objectivity, education and the professionalization of sports reporting. Journalism, 21(10), 1375–1400. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884917716503

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Weedon, G., Wilson, B., Yoon, L., & Lawson, S. (2018). Where’s all the ‘good’ sports journalism? Sports media research, the sociology of sport, and the question of quality sports reporting. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 53(6), 639–667. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690216679835

    • Crossref
    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Women’s Sports Foundation. (2017). Women in the Olympic and Paralympic Games: An analysis of participation, leadership, and media coverage. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/wsf-2016-olympic_paralympic-report-final.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Women’s Sports Foundation. (2018). Women in the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games: An analysis of participation, leadership, and media coverage. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/2018-olympic-paralympic-report-real-final-web.pdf

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 4547 3329 83
Full Text Views 140 88 5
PDF Downloads 169 106 8