How Canadians Communicate V: Sports

by Christopher Waddell (Editor)

Overview

Fewer Canadians than ever are lacing up skates, swimming lengths at the pool, practicing their curve ball, and experiencing the thrill of competition. However, despite a decline in active participation, Canadians spend enormous amounts of time and money on sports, as fans and followers of sporting events and sports culture. Writing from a variety of perspectives, the contributors to this collection set out to explore the impact of the media on our reception of, and attitudes toward, sports—to unpack the meanings that sports have for us as citizens and consumers. Well-known hockey writer Roy MacGregor delves into the influence of big media and big sports on the practice of objective journalism; Richard Gruneau examines the worrisome relationship between sports participation and socioeconomic class; blogger Derrick Newman investigates the impact of fantasy leagues on sports coverage; sociologist Harry Hiller looks at the iconic dimensions of the Vancouver Olympics..

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771990073
Publisher:	University of British Columbia Press
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Series:	How Canadians Communicate
Pages:	460
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Christopher Waddell is director of the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University, where he holds the Carty Chair in business and financial journalism. He was formerly national editor for The Globe and Mail and Parliamentary bureau chief for CBC television news. David Taras holds the Ralph Klein Chair in media studies at Mount Royal University. He served as an expert advisor to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and is the coauthor of The Last Word: Media Coverage of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Table of Contents

Power Plays: Communication and Control in Canadian Sports David Tarns 3

Part I The Medium Is the Money

1 Troubles in the Toy Department: Conflicts of Interest, the Triumph of Trivia, and the Changing Face of Sports Journalism Roy MacGregor 31

2 The Hall of Mirrors Christopher Waddell 41

3 The End of CBC Sports? Jay Scherer 55

4 Playing Make-Believe: How Fantasy Leagues Have Changed Sports Derrick Newman 79

Part II Searching for Heroes in the New Media World

5 Questioning Assumptions: A Comparison of Canadian and American University Sports Duane Bratt 95

6 Of Home Teams and Visiting Players: Imports and Substitutions in Canadian Professional Sports Ira Wagman 117

7 The Changing World of Sports in Québec André Richelieu 137

8 The Olympics as an Iconic Event: The Question of National Unity and the Vancouver 2010 Games Harry Hiller 157

9 Debating Disability: Paralympic Athletes and the Media David Legg 175

Part III Hockey Night in Canada

10 Hockey, Concussions, and the Media Tom Maloney 195

11 The Hockey Calgary Body-Checking Vote: Colliding Views Janice Paskey 209

12 Goodbye, Gordie Howe: Sport Participation and Class Inequality in the "Pay for Play" Society Richard Gruneau 223

13 Cultivating Distinction Through Hockey as Commodity Peter Zuurbier 247

14 Hockey Art as Visual Communication: Insights from Oral Culture Chaseten Remillard 267

Part IV Drugs, Violence, and Death

15 The Kayfabe Era: Early Professional Wrestling in Canada Glenn Ruhl 285

16 "The UFC Is Selling Wolf Tickets": Sport and Fiction in the Ultimate Fighting Championship Bart Beaty 303

17 On the Temptations of Doping: Moral Relativism and the Tour de France Angela J. Schneider 319

18 An Insider's Look at the Vancouver 2010 Luge Tragedy Regan Lauscher 341

19 Communicating Tragedy: The Death of Nodar Kumaritashvili at the Vancouver Olympics Jeremy Berry 349

20 The Half a Mile of Heaven's Gate Aritha van Herk 361

List of Contributors 377

Index 381