|
Title
|
|
|
|
Driving the sustainable future? Media representations of environmental sustainability in motorsport: the case of Formula E
| |
|
Author
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
| Media representations of environmental sustainability (hereafter: ES) in motorsport, to date, have received little academic attention. This is surprising, considering that recent events such as the Volkswagen scandal (Dieselgate) have reinvigorated the debate about the sustainability and societal relevance of the automotive industry. This, in turn, significantly compromised the existing motorsport landscape by forcing manufacturers to pursue more sustainable forms of motorsport such as the electric racing series Formula E. Embedded in this lies an ideological debate on environmentally sustainable (motor)sport and mobility. Existing studies point out the significance of mainstream media in generating salience for issues such as ES. Research also shows that the media scrutinize fossil fueled motorsport for its unsustainable practices. That said, academic work on whether the media applies the same scrutiny to more recent non-fossil fueled motorsport such as Formula E remains scarce. This Ph.D. aims to address this void by providing more substantial research, combining the areas of media, ES and motorsport. To this end, a theoretical and analytical framework is developed. Following an initial theoretical conceptualization of both ES and motorsport, a constructivist perspective to representation is rendered, complemented by secondary political economy and historical approaches. The main analytical framework is based in a framing approach, a popular process in sports-media communication studies that unearths how the media influence the messages that audiences receive. Unlike previous research , this study takes a broader overview of the sports-media relationships with respect to the environmental debate. Therefore, a case-study design is followed and includes analyses of the FIA Formula E website, newspaper articles, live television broadcasts , online news media and audience comments on celebrity involvement along with bibliographical and archival materials on early BBC broadcasting of motorsport. Results show diverse representations of ES in Formula E, differing according to varying national media lenses and types of media. Although commodified, ES contributes to a sporting identity of increased sustainability on Formula E’s website. However, other media analyses indicate that ES takes a secondary role in coverage, mostly represented as part of other frames. The ‘strong ecological message’ and ‘electric vehicle’ frames represent ES as a necessary solution to environmental issues, effectively endorsing Formula E’s intentions whereas a less frequent ‘farce’ frame represents it as hypocritical and greenwashing practices. In effect, ES functions predominantly as a ‘neglected’ frame for two reasons. First, a ‘performance’ frame highlights the symbiotic nature of the sports-media complex which requires broadcasting media to comply with advertising and stakeholder commitments by generating traditional motorsport value content. Second, in news media, ES still suffers from a limited newsworthiness compared to other daily news. The doctoral thesis concludes with addressing the theoretical gaps it aimed to fill and a number of suggestions for future research into media representations of ES in motorsport. |
| |
|
Language
|
|
|
|
English
| |
|
Publication
|
|
|
|
Antwerp
:
Universiteit Antwerpen, Faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen, Departement Communicatiewetenschappen
,
2019
| |
|
ISBN
|
|
|
|
978-94-6388-012-1
| |
|
Volume/pages
|
|
|
|
236 p.
| |
|
Note
|
|
|
|
:
Van den Bulck, Hilde [Supervisor]
| |
|
Full text (open access)
|
|
|
|
| |
|