Making the News:' the 2004 Athens Olympics and Competing Ideologies?(Essay‪)‬

This paper examines how the Olympics 'make the news' and how, in so doing, competing ideologies are framed and represented. Considered in the context of a discussion of broader questions concerning the Olympics and global sport, the paper details the findings of a content analysis that identifies and outlines the main themes of British news reporting of the Athens Olympics 2004 on television (BBC and ITV) and in the press (The Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Daily Mail, and the Sun). 1170 newspaper articles on Olympic-related news and 91 television news items were identified and coded as part of the content analysis. The main focus of news coverage was on medals, whether it be medal-winning performances, medal contenders/winners, or medal prospects. Such framing often fell within a nationalistic framework, and nearly two thirds of all news media coverage was on British athletes. Aspects of Olympism were referred to in a fifth of television news coverage and nearly a third of press coverage. In contrast, news coverage that refers to commercial interests was minimal; reference to corporate sponsors occurred in just 2.6 per cent (press) and 2.2 per cent (television) of all Olympic-related news stories. This study broadly demonstrates the dominance of national interests, the muted presence of Olympism, and the significant absence of reporting of commercial aspects in news media coverage of the Athens Olympics 2004. It also highlights how such news negotiates the 'competing' and overlapping ideologies underpinning the modern Olympic Games. **********