Informing Future Paralympic Media Approaches: The Perspective of Canadian Paralympic Athletes

Area of Science:

• Disability Studies
• Media Studies
• Sport Psychology

Background:

• Media coverage significantly shapes public perception of disability sport and Paralympic athletes.
• Previous research primarily focused on media representations, neglecting athletes' perspectives.
• A gap exists in understanding how Paralympic athletes interpret and attribute meaning to media discourses about them.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how Paralympic athletes make meaning of disability discourses within media coverage of the Paralympic Games.
• To explore the relationship between athletes' lived experiences, media exposure, and their interpretation of media representations.
• To understand the role of discourse, power, and self-perception in shaping athletes' responses to media portrayals.

Main Methods:

• Conducted semi-structured photo-elicitation interviews with eight Canadian Paralympic athletes.
• Employed reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) to interpret interview data.
• Utilized Michel Foucault's theories on discourse, power, and technologies of the self for analysis.

Main Results:

• Paralympic athletes actively construct meaning from media discourses on disability by integrating personal and media experiences.
• Athletes with greater media experience demonstrated a capacity to critique dominant disability discourses in media.
• These athletes engaged in 'technologies of the self,' actively shaping their self-perception in response to media narratives.

Conclusions:

• Media coverage of the Paralympic Games influences how athletes perceive disability and their sport.
• Understanding athletes' interpretations is crucial for media professionals to develop more informed and nuanced approaches to disability sport reporting.
• This research provides insights for improving future media strategies concerning the Paralympic Games and disability sport.