Olympic Games and values in disruption: The fundamental renewal of Coubertinian renewal seems necessary
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Rohde, Erik [1]
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[1] Institute of Sport Science, Technical University of Kaiserslautern
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- Localización: Diagoras: International Academic Journal on Olympic Studies, ISSN-e 2565-196X, Nº. 2, 2018, págs. 193-214
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
The Olympic Movement (OM) is in an identity crisis. Recent Olympic Games (OG) in Sochi, Rio de Janeiro, and Pyeongchang have highlighted current problems, revealed grave violations of Coubertinian key values, and led to increased distrust among onlookers and observers. In the age of global networking, increasing media power, and digital transformation OM must renew itself as soon as possible from scratch, otherwise it threatens even greater damage to its image and an unprecedented break with the Olympic idea (OI). The media play a major role in the dissemination of information, the resulting opinion, and image shaping of today’s modern OG. Hence, the background coverage of three international high-quality newspapers, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), and The New York Times (NYT), was analyzed overall 127 days, before, during, and after Rio Summer Olympics, by using the method of qualitative content analysis and a special, developed analysis grid. The results rarely show positive newspaper representations and assessments on important subjects like, for instance, Brazilians as hosts, host city Rio de Janeiro, organization of OG, or International Olympic Committee (IOC). Specific Olympic values and basic principles, according to Coubertin, Lenk, or Olympic Charter, are marred in print media communication.
