The portrayal of sports doping in the media: a systematic review of the literature on doping in the context of the theories of agenda-setting and framing

Abstract

Doping in sports is well documented in the public sphere in the form of news reports, but additional weightage is given to such media coverage during a year in which a mega sporting event such as Olympic Games is being held. This article aims to study the academic publications on sports media coverage of doping and their influential role in the formation of public opinions. A systematic review of academic publications on sports media coverage of doping published between the years 2000 and 2021 was conducted and led to the identification of twenty-seven relevant articles from a sample size of 1,152. Most of the relevant publications were based on qualitative research of the American media and utilised content originating in the traditional media format such as the print newspaper. The key gaps existing in the academic literature on this topic were due to lack of quantitative studies, exclusion of new media such as social media networks and over-reliance on American media sources which have their own vested interests and national agenda to push forward to the masses. Recommendations are mentioned along with potential areas of interest for future studies.

Keywords: doping, mass communication theories, sports journalism