The Tour de France is not only a global spectacle because of the athleticism being shown by its competitors but also because of its wide range marketing and economic benefits to the country. Finding an international hook in the sporting industry is valuable for the reputation that comes from being successful in holding the event and the type of audience it is able to draw in. Social media and media coverage in general of these events is crucial in order to give the competitors and the event itself sufficient exposure on a global stage.
Where the media coverage comes from in relation to the event can generate some potentially biased and unfair reporting of news in the sporting industry. Research conducted by Kulchina investigated the extent of media coverage done in Russia and the number of foreign entrants in Russian cities between 1996 and 2005 (2014). Although this is unrelated to the sports industry and the Tour de France, it is worth investigating the realm of news and media coverage in other areas and how the source of where we get our news can still affect our perception of what the actual story is and what message we are meant to receive from the story. Results from Kulchina found that the more extensive media coverage of a city has, or in the Tour’s case, a sporting event held in a particular region, the number of foreign entrants or foreign interest there is in the city or event (2014).
The Olympics are an example of an event on a much larger global scale than the Tour de France that must ensure a neutral reporting stance on all events, as many of the reporters presenting the news will be from the host country. Because the news coverage is centralized within one country, there is little opportunity for international broadcasters like NBC or CBC to be able to report accurately, as the home nation’s newscasters will only release specific information to these global outlets. Also, each nation may have specific stereotypes of the genders that are projected into their reporting. In North American sports media however, the female sports teams or athletes are generally less focused on than their male counterparts in terms of media exposure but more on that issue was looked at in a prior post.
In conclusion, with a global presentation of news, we as an audience are able to obtain a more neutral and well-rounded report of the events without a bias or altered perception by the home nation. It is crucial to have this neutrality because many audience members or spectators are un-informed about the inner workings of some sporting events and so some comments may sway them to have a particular impression that might not be completely true, but only based on the impression of the reporter or broadcast.
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References:
Kulchina, E. (2014). “Media Coverage and Location Choice,” Strategic Management Journal, 35, 596-605, doi: 10.1002/smj.2106
Have Wheels, Will Travel 