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

Abstract

The world’s first fully electric racing series Formula E emerged in 2014. It’s organizational identity aims to represent itself as a driving force in making motor sport and automotive industries more environmentally sustainable (hereafter: ES). However, the question remains whether and to what extent Formula E’s efforts are picked up on by investigative news media. Despite a dramatic increase of online and social media coverage of sport, newspapers are still considered a benchmark for in-depth and reflective sports journalism. Combining a quantitative content analysis with a qualitative framing analysis, this article identified, compared and contrasted frames adopted by a range of UK and Flemish quality and popular newspapers. Results indicate that newspapers adopt a range of different frames. However, ES did not appear as a frame in itself. Rather ES appeared as discursive segments that help construct both positive and negative framing of Formula E. Additionally, results uncover a number of 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

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