Environmental Sustainability And The Framing Of Formula E Motor Racing In UK And Flemish Newspapers

Developed in cooperation with the Fédération Internationale d’Automobile (FIA) as motor sport’s governing body, the fully electric racing series Formula E represents itself as a driving force in making the motor sport and automotive industries more environmentally sustainable (hereafter: ES). However, the question remains whether such ES efforts are picked up on by the media, and more specifically newspapers that are still considered a benchmark for in-depth and reflective journalism, despite a dramatic rise of online and social media coverage of sport. Combining a quantitative content analysis with a qualitative framing analysis, this article identified, compared and contrasted frames, and the significance of ES herein, in a range of UK and Flemish quality and popular newspapers. Results indicate that, although ES did not constitute a frame in itself, it was significantly part of other frames that represented Formula E both positively and negatively. Additionally, results uncover distinct differences in reporting on (ES in) Formula between UK and Flemish newspapers. This article suggests such differences are related to reasons of a historical and regional nature and subsequently affect the representation of ES in Formula E

The Need for Speed? A Historical Analysis of The BBC's Post-War Broadcasting of Motorsport

Although many media and cultural histories have looked at the emergence of particular popular sports, few have done so from a detailed perspective with respect to motorsport. Indeed, ever since its conceptualisation, motorsport has shared an intricate relationship with the media. However, despite advancements in camera and broadcasting equipment, significant technical and logistical difficulties to represent early motorsport as televisual, with a strong sense of ‘realism’, persevered. This article explores the emergence of motorsport on BBC television during the post-war period to determine if, and to what extent, early motorsport on television was (not) televised. To this end, a qualitative archival approach is used to examine a sample of archival and biographical media texts from the post-war period. Findings suggest the BBC experimented with the format of the hill climb, a motorsport series, by shaping it to fit the possibilities and requirements of television more appropriately. This resulted in the creation of the Television Trophy Trial, the adoption of scrambling and the rise of Rallycross. This means that the BBC was, in effect, not only using motorsport to its own benefit from the early 1950s onwards, but actively developing and representing motorsport as competitive and dramatic