The global event? The media, football and the FIFA World Cup

An examination of the FIFA World Cup as media mega event and the role played by television in this process

Sport, public relations and social media

This chapter examines the disruptive nature of social media as it alters the relationship between sports journalism and public relations. It looks at some key examples and argues that while much is changing, some aspects of the relationship between the media and sports also remain constant

Hong Kong\u27s dual identities and sporting mega-event policy

Since Hong Kong\u27s reversion to China in 1997, the Special Administrative Region\u27s government and its people have grappled with the problem of trying to pursue dual objectives at the same time. Firstly, to adjust to being a \u27new\u27 part of China and what that means in terms of national consciousness and local identities, particularly given the Beijing leaders\u27 expectations that Hongkongers should come to \u27love China\u27. Secondly, drawing at least in part on the past British colonial legacy, to maintain Hong Kong\u27s international role as a cosmopolitan and commercial city as typified through the aspiration to be \u27Asia\u27s world city\u27. This paper explores the ways in which these two competing narratives intersect in the sports policy arena. Sport is frequently seen as a means to express or reflect nationalism or at the very least contribute to the formation of national identity. By using the case studies of Hong Kong\u27s partial involvement in the 2008 Beijing Olympics (hosting the equestrian events), its hosting of the 2009 East Asian Games and the abortive domestic debates over applying to host the Asian Games, it will be shown that the mixed messages coming from these mega-events (or putative mega-events) reflect the ambivalence felt by many Hongkongers themselves about their place in China and the world

Gamification of sports media coverage: an infotainment approach to Olympics and Football World Cups

Sports media coverage of mega-events is partly oriented to gamification, the use of game elements and game design techniques in non-gaming contexts. This infotainment approach to events has been developed by media outlets as an original and effective way to capture wider audience attention and to place events in context before a competition starts. This article examines 28 gamified sports pieces developed by media outlets from seven countries during the last two Olympics (2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang) and Football World Cups (2014 in Brazil and 2018 in Russia). This sample comprises two categories following Ferrer-Conill (2015): “gamified pieces” (game like elements that are part of a bigger interactive feature) and “newsgames” (more sophisticated pieces often included in complex graphics or multimedia content). The results show that, despite its entertaining formula, gamification serves mainly informational purposes and adds value to sports coverage. Especially in the Summer and Winter Olympics, gamified sports pieces tend to be explanatory and data-driven in order to inform the audience about nonmainstream sports

The Promises and Possibilities of the Pitch: 1990s Ladies League Soccer Players as Fin-de-Siècle Modern Girls

Dr. Edwards\u27 contribution to: Miller, Laura, et al. Modern Girls on the Go: Gender, Mobility, and Labor in Japan. Stanford University Press, 2013

'Sedimented histories' and 'embodied legacies': Creating an evaluative framework for understanding public engagement with the First World War

This article reflects on the development of a new methodological framework for the evaluation of the impact of the Centre for Hidden Histories, one of the Arts and Humanities Research Council's First World War Engagement Centres. It shows how through evaluative processes such as academic and community partner Shared Experience Workshops, and community-focused Reflection Workshops, the historical, social, cultural and economic benefits of the centre can be highlighted. It also demonstrates how public engagement in these community history projects has resulted in the identification of new 'embodied legacies' (Facer and Enright, 2016) and heretofore marginalized 'sedimented histories' (Lloyd and Moore, 2015). These lessons in evaluation can be taken forward to inform future national commemorative moments, such as the centenary of the Second World War.This research has been conducted as part of the AHRC Centre for Hidden Histories. First at the University of Nottingham (June 2016 – September 2018), and then at the University of Derby (September 2018 – present)

Re-enchanting the Chinese Sport Spectator - A Postmodern perspective on Sport Marketing in China

The cultural and philosophical heritage of modernism underpinning general marketing management theory imparts profound implications for organisations operating in professional sport. This theoretical paper uses the context of China’s professional football industry to argue that marketing may benefit from a more postmodern approach to marketing management