Abstract
The Olympic Games is the largest multisport event in the world, regularly drawing global audiences in the billions to watch coverage of athletes from hundreds of nations. It has received a great deal of scholarly attention, especially in terms of media coverage, consumption, and co-creation. As coverage has the ability to impact media consumers' perceptions of nations, cultures, and issues, it is important to develop an understanding of research trends relating to the Olympic Games and media in order to uncover gaps in the literature which may be filled by future scholarly work. Therefore, in order to highlight trends in the established literature and uncover areas for development, a systematic literature review was conducted to examine the state of Olympic media research over a 20-year time period (1999–2018). A total of 221 articles were examined, revealing insights into the types of research being produced from theoretical, methodological, and contextual perspectives. Results revealed a significant proportion of scholarship focused on the Summer Olympic Games, the United States, newspaper accounts of the Games, and utilized media framing and agenda setting frameworks and the content analysis methodology. Just over half of the studies utilized a theoretical or conceptual framework, the prevalence of which increased over time. Core areas for continued development in the Olympic media space include embracing and grounding research in theory, diversification in research context, and expanding upon the definition of the Olympic Games within the greater Olympic Movement.
Highlights
Since its inception in 1896, the modern Olympic Games have grown to become the largest multisport event in the world
The first research question asked which Olympic contexts were examined in the literature focused on Olympic media from 1999 to 2018
Studies that focused on multiple Olympic Games were recoded to accurately indicate the number of studies focused on each Olympics, resulting in 297 cases
Summary
Since its inception in 1896, the modern Olympic Games have grown to become the largest multisport event in the world. While a very small portion of the worldwide population is able to attend the Games in person, media coverage of the Games reaches global audiences of at least 4.5 billion [International Olympic Committee (IOC), 2019]. It is well-documented in the Olympic media literature that coverage of the Games has the ability to impact entire nations and cultures, and the study of such media is important. Eagleman et al (2014) stated that media coverage plays a large role in crafting the reality of the Olympic Games for those who cannot attend and experience it firsthand, and the ways in which media outlets present the Olympic Games can have “profound impacts on citizens’ views of topics such as gender, nationality, and the perceived importance of some sports over others” (p. 457).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
