Panel 4 – Issues in media coverage of sports II

This second panel on case studies on media coverage of sports was opened by Andrei Păunescu, from Spiru Haret University, who delivered a presentation of his research about ‘Aggressive Language and Conflict in Live Sport Events’. The researcher has worked as TV producer, and states that violence is actually appreciated by people in television. The sports field are usually chosen as places to unleash violence, but violence amongst athletes can be dangerous as far as they are seen as role models. Television displays violence because it is considered to be part of society, but at the same time the depiction of it can also incentive more violence. Violent language could be deleted, since “language of the media can be used to change reality”, but that’s hard to happen.

Toussaint Nothias, from King’s College London, presented a paper on ‘Sport mega-event, media and Afro pessimism: French and UK newspaper coverage of the 2010 FIFA world Cup in South Africa’. The researcher analysed newspapers from both countries and found out that the country, as well as the whole continent, was mentioned with many concerns about the political environment and social issues, but at the end the outcome was surprisingly well succeeded.

‘Fighting for Rating. New Trends in the Construction of Sports News into the Context of Globalization’ was the INCOMES last presentation. Bianca Marina Mitu, from University of Bucharest, stated that sports have become a media show, as they emphasize facts, like gossip, that catch the public’s attention beyond the sport itself. There is a connection between sports and public sphere, since some sport issues become subject of public debates, for example, when sports events become catalysts to a debate about other issues such as drug comsumption, etc. This is augmented by the stong connection between sports and television and the fact that TV has become the “agora” of today’s society.

This panel was chaired by Teresa Lacerda (University of Porto).