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The spectacular success of Team GB in the London 2012 Olympic Games saw an extension of a popular celebration of Britishness. Drawing on an analysis of Olympic coverage in the Western Mail, self-styled national newspaper of Wales (papur cenedlaethol Cymru), this study explores the ways in which narratives of the nation are (re)presented in a particular locale. After a brief discussion of the opening ceremony, key events from the Games, including the staging of football matches in the capital city of Cardiff, the singing of “God Save the Queen” before football matches, and the medal successes of Welsh athletes, are used as cases to explore the multiple layers of national identities at play. The analysis highlights the complementary, complex, and at times contradictory interplay between Welsh and British identities within these narratives and explores the often fuzzy and sometimes hazy frontiers of identity.

This study compared the narratives of 3 broadsheet newspapers of selected female and male tennis players competing in the Wimbledon Championships. From Canada, The Globe and Mail; from Great Britain, The Times; and from the United States, The New York Times were examined. Dominant narratives were identified from 161 articles taken from 44 newspaper editions during the 16-day period coinciding with the Wimbledon Championships fortnight. Drawing on Connell’s (1987, 1993, 2005) theory of gender power relations, textual analysis was used to examine the gendered narratives and, where it was applicable, how the gendered narratives intersected with race, age, and nationality. The results revealed that although the gendered narratives were at times complex and contradictory, they were generally consistent with dominant cultural patriarchal ideology and served to reiterate and legitimize the gender order.

This study compared how The Globe and Mail and The New York Times covered the Canadian and U.S. women’s and men’s ice hockey teams competing in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. A content-analysis methodology compared the amount and prominence of coverage devoted to the women’s and men’s teams. Each newspaper provided more coverage of the men’s teams and to its own national teams, particularly in prominent locations. Textual analysis was used to analyze how the gendered themes intersected with national identity in the narratives. Theoretical insight was drawn from Connell’s theory of gender–power relations, Anderson’s concept of the imagined community, and Hobsbawm’s theory of invented traditions. Four themes emerged: the future of hockey at the Winter Olympic Games, postgame celebrations, gendered discourses, and the importance of the gold-medal games. A discussion of each theme is presented.

This case study of the University of Alabama’s Where Legends Are Made illustrates how a 30-s television advertisement with a catchy tagline was transformed into a strategic branding campaign that communicated the essence of the university in a compelling story. Employing a qualitative methodology, the case study drew on personality archetypes to develop an institutional brand communication management conceptual framework that illustrated the guiding principles and creative contexts used to break through the communication clutter. It did so by emphasizing the University of Alabama’s leadership, competitive spirit, and transformative innovation by making its fabled athletic tradition an extension of its everyday excellence in academic disciplines. It also demonstrated how empirically tested archetype personas can be effectively employed in persuasive storylines to emotionally resonate with key stakeholders and prospective consumers alike, with each interpreting it in a way that is compatible with their own values, lifestyles, and culture.