1st Edition
The Global Impact of Olympic Media at London 2012
This book explores the biggest sporting event in the world through the lens in which most people witness it: the media. Traversing nations and media formats, contributors offer insights into the manner in which the Olympics is conveyed to the masses and the impact arising from the mass consumption of Olympic media in its plethora of dimensions. The book gleans insight from past Olympic media analyses, but focuses on the role media played within the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Using a variety of methodologies, the book underscores how the Olympic Games are more than just a sporting event but should be understood a vast mosaic of images and events that shape public understandings of nations, society, and the values that undergird such renderings.
This book was published as a special section in Mass Communication & Society.
1. Megasport in a Mega-City to a Mega-Audience: The Impact of 2012 London Olympic Media 2. Olympics Everywhere: Predictors of Multiplatform Media Uses During the 2012 London Olympics 3. Creating a Competitive Identity: Public Diplomacy in the London Olympics and Media Portrayal 4. Celebrity Athletes, Soft Power and National Identity: Hong Kong Newspaper Coverage of the Olympic Champions of Beijing 2008 and London 2012 5. From Pride to Smugness and the Nationalism Between: Olympic Media Consumption Effects on Nationalism Across the Globe
Biography
Andrew C. Billings is the Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting and Director of the Alabama Program in Sports Communication at the University of Alabama, USA.
Marie C. Hardin is associate director of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism in the College of Communications at the Pennsylvania State University, USA.
"Thus, the volume includes a number of interesting, albeit theoretically and methodologically quite diverse contributions. The outstanding quality of the work presented is beyond doubt. … the volume reflects the current scholarship in the field, as media coverage and consumption of Olympics has given rise to a highly diversified academic discourses employing different theoretical lenses and methodological approaches. Scholars interested in one of the topics addressed should definitely consult the relevant chapters."
- Henk Erik Meier, Institut für Sportwissenschaft, Sozialwissenschaften des Sports Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, idrottsforum.org
