Volume 2, No 1.

 
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Images of others: he presentation of nations in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics

by Nancy K. Riverburgh

While some point to television’s capability to bring the world into our homes as fundamental to our increased awareness of others, in practice television is not a forum conducive to inter-cultural learning and understanding. The mass media, whose products are primarily created and used by members of a dominant national group, are predisposed to observe and construct realities about the world through a distinctly national lens. This is quite understandable given that most media structures develop within the norms, rules, and needs of a particular political and economic ideology. In this way, the linkage between communication systems and notions of national identity is inevitable. This paper provides a discussion of the different ways in which an Olympic broadcast is read in various national settings

Cultural variations in Olympic telecasts China and the 1992 Olympic games and ceremonies

by Susan Brownell

e Olympic Games provide a rare opportunity for the social scientist to analyse a single event that is broadcast simultaneously around the world. The technology used by the stations broadcasting the event is, for the most part, the same. In many cases, even the content of the broadcast is similar across nations because they rely on footage provided by the host broadcaster (the international feed) or a regional pool such as the European Broadcasting Union or the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. In the context of this single event, uniform technology and shared satellite feed, the interesting question is : "Why do national telecasts of the Olympic games nevertheless end up being very different from one another?" This paper discusses a Chinese telecast of the Barcelona games.

Olympic power plays Televisual labour and the social use of technology by CTV during the 1988 Winter Olympic ice hockey games

by Margaret MacNeil

The Olympic games are renowned for attracting some of the world’s largest radio and television audiences and for being among the most expensive global media events to produce, yet few researchers have studied the production of Olympic television in situ. This paper examines the ‘labour process’ of Olympic sportscasting within the framework of studying the interpenetration of media labour, organisational politics and technology, and their impact on the view of the games in their final production.

The social distribution of participation in the broadcast Olympic games

by Eric W Rothenbuhler

This paper re-examines data from nationally representative survey studies of the American public before, during, and after the 1984 Summer Olympic games held in Los Angeles – these being the most detailed data available in regard to characteristics of the US television audience for any Olympics. Claims about the uniqueness of the Olympics as either a domestic media event or an international celebration depend upon demonstrating that the broadcast attracts a unique audience. If there are no differences between those giving attention to the broadcast Olympic games and those giving attention to other sports events or even to ordinary television, then it would be very difficult to argue that the broadcast games serve any special function.

Media events and sports orientations to the 1992 Winter Olympics

by M Brian Emerson and Elizabeth M Perse

This study examines a part of the audience for the 1992 Winter Olympic games to explore the functions that the broadcasts of the games serve for individuals. Second , it considers whether the original internationalistic goals of the games are in fact being realised. The inquiry is framed in terms of ‘audience orientations’ to the Olympics. Specifically, it focuses on reasons for watching the 1992 Winter Olympics, attention to different competitive and ceremonial aspects of the games, and feelings of nationalism, internationalism and appreciation for Olympic values

Exposed and basking: Community, spectacle and the Winter Olympics

by Nate Kohn

This paper provides a postmodern reading of the mediated Albertville Winter Olympics.

The ‘Americanisation’ of Australia: Rethinking post-war economic and cultural relationships

by Phillip Bell and Roger Bell

Debate over ‘Americanisation’ beyond the borders of the USA has intensified as we move into an era in which cultural frontiers are more easily crossed and redrawn. The modern state is increasingly porous. To grapple with the nature or implications of these changes it is necessary to recognise not only the elasticity of national borders but to transcend the conceptual boundaries which have led to exaggerated assumptions about cultural loss and change. This paper examines the complex relationship between America and Australia.

The rise of an ethnic newspaper: ergence of an international newsmaking organisation

by Jae Chul Shim

This paper applies a macroscopic perspective to ethnic media. It argues that communication scholars need to investigate the reciprocal relations between current social change in urban America and the growing influence of ethnic media. The research also explores why some contemporary ethnic newspapers remain and flourish while older European immigrant and Black ethnic newspapers are in decline. Finally, it considers how world order changes are likely to affect the growth of ethnic media in urban America.

  
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