Media Representations of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games

Media Representations of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games

Harcup and O'Neill assert that news is not a universal truth, that it is constructed by journalists who work within broader frameworks. This understanding is inherent in every step of news production, from the selection of events that are newsworthy to the representation of the events through specific language choices. The Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games attracted substantive amounts of media attention and was therefore represented by the media in various ways. A discourse analysis of six texts produced by the print media to summarise and evaluate the Commonwealth Games reveals that news values and the defining features of a media event do not just effect decisions about what events are newsworthy. These aspects also influence the way that the event is represented in the media. In many of the texts the media portrays the Sydney Olympics overshadowing the Commonwealth Games. This demonstrates how the news value of negativity influences the ways the media represents an event. The texts also adhere to Dayan and Katz's understanding of the celebration of human achievement as a conquest. In this way descriptions of sports, particularly the marathon, adopt language that connotes battle and heroism. The texts also demonstrate how journalists and participants take on the language of primary definers, such as the organisers of the Commonwealth Games.

The Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games attracted much media attention. Over 3000 registered members of the media attended the Commonwealth Games (Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation). Galtung and Ruge's landmark study into news values and news selection reveals how events such as the Commonwealth Games become news (Harcup and O'Neill). Galtung and Ruge assert that events that comply with news factors are more likely to be newsworthy. These factors include: frequency, threshold, unambiguity, meaningfulness, consonance, unexpectedness, continuity, composition, reference to elite nations, reference to elite people, reference to persons, and negativity. The Commonwealth Games meets many of these factors. For example, they are held every four years and involve teams from over seventy different countries and territories including elite nations such as England (Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation). Because the running of the Commonwealth Games must comply with strict procedures and sporting rules they are predictable and therefore avoid being interpreted in different ways. The 2006 Commonwealth Games have meaning to Australian audiences as they were hosted in Australia, and are historically dominated by Australian athletes. High profile athletes give scope for the media to reference elite people, while lesser known athletes and volunteers also allow for the event to be personified. The various scandals also allow for negativity. Swanton highlights how well the Commonwealth Games appeased the various news values.

"But don't try saying the Games haven't been a fair-dinkum event. They've had everything required. There was crowd trouble when an English spectator was beaten to a pulp at the rugby. There was a drugs controversy when two Indian weightlifters tested positive to banned substances. There was a sex scandal involving an Indian masseur and a young female. [..] There were world records at the swimming and there were performances elsewhere that rivalled the worst ever witnessed anywhere in the world of sport."

However, the Commonwealth Games became more than just a news story: according to Dayan and Katz's definition they became a media event. Dayan and Katz describe media events as having specific defining features, which the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games (CG) complies with in several important ways. Firstly, Dayan and Katz define media events as being transmitted live and causing a disruption to routine broadcasting. According to journalist Cameron Bell, Channel NineÐ'--the official Australian free-to-air broadcaster of the Commonwealth GamesÐ'--produced 150 hours of live coverage (out of a possible 264 hours) over the eleven days of competition. Live footage was even accessible via mobile phone (Sainsbury). Michael Gordon from Melbourne newspaper The Age stated, "during prime time last week more than half of the televisions turned in on Melbourne tuned into the Games" (2). This demonstrates how effectively the Commonwealth Games dominated the media for their duration. Secondly, Dayan and Katz identified media events as being set within a specific timeframe and location, and organised by institutions outside the media. The Commonwealth Games occurs every four years and host cities are given almost six years to prepare (Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation). Thirdly, the events are loaded with symbols and ritual significance. For example, the Commonwealth Games are punctuated by the opening, closing, and medal presentation ceremonies that are bound by rules. Finally, media events portray a heroic personality or group, such as athletes.

There are a range of methods of discourse analysis, however, this essay will make use of Fairclough's approach. Fairclough emphasises the need for discourse analysis to have a "duality of focus" by performing a close textual analysis and situating this within the order of discourse and wider processes of social and cultural change (143). In this way discourse analysis attempts to give a rich description of the texts it examines. It is particularly interested in the language and syntax of texts, which are then considered in reference to the structure of a particular genre and the language it uses. By interpreting the two-way relationship between texts and social structures an understanding of the way texts act within, and act on, their context can be gained. Discourse analysis will reveal that news values and the defining features of a media event do not just effect decisions about what events are newsworthy. They also influence the way that the event is represented in the media.

This discourse analysis examines six texts produced by the print media. The texts all relate to the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and were published within three days of the Commonwealth Games' closing ceremony. This is important as the articles each provide a summary of the event and offer an opinion on how successful the Commonwealth Games were. Many of the articles made reference to the Olympic Games that took place six years ago in Sydney. Five of the texts are newspaper articles. "Dreams Come True" by journalist Jamie Berry appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald. "Games is More About Going Through Emotions" by Will Swanton also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald. "Moments that Matter" by