The article takes as its point of departure the concept of media event and presents some of the main results from an international comparative study of the media coverage of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Participants from USA, England, Scotland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Norway contributed to the project. The results of the Norwegian study show the usefulness of the media event concept in analysing both the planning and mediation of the event and its effects. The Norweigian people, including most of those who had opposed the Games, were absorbed in a truly festive atmosphere during their duration. Still, it is argued that more emphasis should be directed to the processes evident in the event. Other countries neither covered the same event in the same way, nor made similar interpretations. The article deals with some of the differentiation mechanisms under the headings: selection, transformation and contextualization. Based on empirical results it is argued that the concept of media event has to be treated as more complex in its mediation and in its effects. As media events, the Olympic Games should rather be analysed as a layered series of events of varying `strength' and meaning.
Berkaak, O.A. (1999) ` “In the Heart of the Volcano”: The Olympic Games as Mega Drama', in A.M. Klausen (ed.) The Olympics as Performance and Public Event: The Case of the XVII Winter Olympic Games in Norway.New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books.
2.
Bernstein, A. (1998) `Things you Can See from There you Can't See from Here: Globalisation, Media and Olympics', paper presented at IAMCR conference, Glasgow.
3.
Blain, N. , Boyle, R. and O'Donnell, H. (1993) Sport and National Identity in the European Media.London: Leicester University Press.
4.
Boyle, R. and Haynes, R. (2000) Power Play: Sport, the Media and Popular Culture.London and New York: Longman.
5.
Bårtvedt, R. (1984) `Vor gode bræ også i sommer beskuet af høiformemme øine' [Our Good Glacier has Once Again been Viewed This Summer by Distinguished Eyes], unpublished Masters dissertation, University of Bergen.
6.
Cantelon, H. and Gruneau, R.S. (1988) `The Production of Sport for Television', in J. Harvey and H. Cantelon (eds) Not Just a Game: Essays in Canadian Sport Sociology.Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.
7.
Danner, L. (1997) `Lillehammer Love Affairs', in R. Puijk (ed.) Global Spotlights on Lillehammer. How the World Viewed Norway during the 1994 Winter Olympics.Luton: John Libbey and University of Luton Press.
8.
Dayan, D. and Katz, E. (1992) Media Events: The Live Broadcasting of History.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
9.
Debeij, J. and Puijk, R. (1997) `Skating around the Edges', in R. Puijk (ed.) Global Spotlights on Lillehammer. How the World Viewed Norway during the 1994 Winter Olympics.Luton: John Libbey and University of Luton Press.
10.
Di Tota, M.F. (1997) `Sporting Success and Political Failure', in R. Puijk (ed.) Global Spotlights on Lillehammer: How the World Viewed Norway during the 1994 Winter Olympics.Luton: John Libbey and University of Luton Press.
11.
Ellis, J. (1982) Visible Fictions: Cinema, Television, Video.London and New York: Routledge.
12.
Gudoniene, V. (1997) `Their Olympics, our Television', in R. Puijk (ed.) Global Spotlights on Lillehammer. How the World Viewed Norway during the 1994 Winter Olympics.Luton: John Libbey and University of Luton Press.
13.
Haraldsø, R. and Solvang, L. (1994) Lillehammer '94: NRK Fjernsynets største satsing [NRK Television's Greatest Investment] Report 3/1994.Oslo: NRK.
14.
Hazan, B. (1982) Olympic Sports and Propaganda Games: Moscow 1980.Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
15.
Johansen, A. (1995) Den store misforståelsen. `Kulturarv' og `nasjonal egenart' i Norgesreklame og politisk kultur. En advarsel [The Great Misunderstanding. `Cultural Heritage' and `National Uniqueness' in Norwegian Advertisements and Political Culture].Oslo: Spartacus and Tiden norsk forlag.
16.
Kang, S.-P. (1991) `The Seoul Olympic Games and Dae dae Cultural Grammar', in F. and M. Landry and M. Yerlès (eds) Sport: The Third Millennium.Sainte Foy: Les Presses de l'Université Laval.
17.
Klausen, A.M. , ed. (1999) The Olympics as Performance and Public Event: The Case of the XVII Winter Olympic Games in Norway.New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books.
18.
Klausen, A.M. , Berkaak, O.A., Aslaksen, A.K., Puijk, R., Rudie, I. and Archetti, E. (1995) Fakkelstafetten: En Olympisk Ouverture [The Torch Relay: An Olympic Ouverture].Oslo: Ad Notam.
19.
Larson, J.F. (1991) `Commercial Imperatives: NBC's Construction of the Seoul Olympic Opening Ceremony', in F. and M. Landry and M. Yerlès (eds) Sport: The Third Millennium.Sainte Foy: Les Presses de l'Université Laval.
20.
Larson, J.F. and Park, H.-S. (1993) Global Television and the Politics of the Seoul Olympics.Boulder, CO, and London: Westview Press.
MacAloon, J.J. (1984) `Olympic Games and the Theory of Spectacle in Modern Societies', in J.J. MacAloon (ed.) Rite, Drama, Festival, Spectacle: Rehearsals Toward a Theory of Cultural Performance.Philadelphia, PA: Institute for the Study of Human Issues.
23.
MacAloon, J.J. (1996) `Olympic Ceremonies as a Setting for Intercultural Exchange', in M. de Moragas, J.J. MacAloon and M. Llinnés (eds) Olympic Ceremonies, Historical Continuity and Cultural Exchange.Lausanne: IOC.
MacNeill, M. (1996) `Networks: Producing Olympic Ice Hockey for a National Television Audience', Sociology of Sport Journal13: 103-124.
26.
May, W. and Suzuki, M. (1986) `A Glimpse from East Asia: Olympics Coverage in China, Korea and Japan', in M. Real (ed.) Global Ritual: Olympic Media Coverage and International Understanding.Paris: UNESCO.
27.
Moragas, M. de (1991) `Spanish Television (TVE) and the Coverage of the Opening Ceremony of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games', in F. and M. Landry and M. Yerlès (eds) Sport: The Third Millennium.Sainte Foy: Les Presses de l'Université Laval.
28.
Moragas, M. de and Botella, M., eds (1992) The Keys to Success: The Social, Sporting, Economic and Communications Impact of Barcelona '92.Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
29.
Moragas, M. de , Rivenburgh, N.K. and Larson, J.F. (1995) Television in the Olympics.London: John Libbey.
30.
NOS and KLO (1995) Sport op televisie [Sport on Television], Rapport 95-037.Hilversum: Nederlandse Omroep Stichting.
31.
O'Donnell, H. (1997) `Yes, we Love this Country that Looms', in R. Puijk (ed.) Global Spotlights on Lillehammer. How the World Viewed Norway during the 1994 Winter Olympics.Luton: John Libbey and University of Luton Press.
32.
O'Donnell, H. and Boyle, R. (1997) `Playing the Game', in R. Puijk (ed.) Global Spotlights on Lillehammer. How the World Viewed Norway during the 1994 Winter Olympics.Luton: John Libbey and University of Luton Press.
33.
Papa, F. (1997) `Between Archaism and Modernism', in R. Puijk (ed.) Global Spotlights on Lillehammer. How the World Viewed Norway during the 1994 Winter Olympics.Luton: John Libbey and University of Luton Press.
34.
Papa, F. (1998) `Du signal universel à la pluralité des images' [The Universal Signal and Plurality of Images], Communications67: 91-104
35.
Puijk, R. , ed. (1997) Global Spotlights on Lillehammer. How the World Viewed Norway during the 1994 Winter Olympics.Luton: John Libbey and University of Luton Press.
36.
Puijk, R. (1999a) `Producing Norwegian Culture for Domestic and Foreign Gazes—the Lillehammer Olympic Opening Ceremony', in A.M. Klausen (ed.) The Olympic Games as Performance and Public Event.New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books.
37.
Puijk, R. (1999b) `Sports as Media Events', paper presented at IAMCR conference, Leipzig.
38.
Real, M. , ed. (1986) Global Ritual: Olympic Media Coverage and International Understanding.Paris: UNESCO.
39.
Real, M. (1989) Super Media: A Cultural Studies Approach.London: Sage.
40.
Rivenburgh, N.K. (1991) `Learning about Korea — or did we?', in F. and M. Landry and M. Yerlès (eds) Sport: The Third Millennium.Sainte Foy: Les Presses de l'Université Laval.
41.
Rivenburgh, N.K. (1992) `National Image Richness in US-Televised Coverage of South Korea during the 1988 Olympics', Asian Journal of Communication2(2).
42.
Rivenburgh, N.K. (1999) `The Olympic Games: 21st Century Challenges as a Global Media Event', paper presented at the IAMCR conference, Leipzig.
43.
Rowe, D. , McKay, J. and Miller, T. (1998) `Come Together: Sport, Nationalism, and the Media Image', in L.A. Wenner (ed.) MediaSport.London and New York: Routledge.
44.
Scannell, P. (1995) `Media Events', Media, Culture and Society17: 151-157.
45.
Senn, A.E. (1999) Power Politics and the Olympic Games: A History of the Power Brokers, Events, and Controversies that Shaped the Games.Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
46.
Steenveld, L. and Strelitz, L. (1998) `The 1995 Rugby World Cup and the Politics of Nation-Building in South Africa', Media, Culture and Society20: 609-629.
47.
Sørensen, Ø. , ed. (1998) Jakten på det norske: Perspektiver på utviklingen av en norsk nasjonal identitet på 1800-tallet [The Search for Norwegianness: Perspectives in the Development of a Norwegian National Identity in the 19th Century].Oslo: Ad Notam.
48.
Tomlinson, A. (1996) `Olympic Spectacle: Opening Ceremonies and Some Paradoxes of Globalization', Media, Culture and Society18: 583-602.
49.
Tomlinson, A. (1999) The Game's Up: Essays in the Cultural Analysis of Sport, Leisure and Popular Culture.Aldershot: Ashgate and Arena.
50.
Tomlinson, A. and Whannel, G., eds (1984) Five Ring Circus: Money, Power and Politics at the Olympic Games.London: Pluto Press.
51.
Wenner, L.A. and Gantz, W. (1989) `The Audience Experience with Sports on Television', in L.A. Wenner (ed.) Media, Sport and Society.London: Sage.
52.
Wenner, L.A. and Gantz, W. (1998) `Watching Sports on Television: Audience Experience, Gender, Fanship and Marriage', in L.A. Wenner (ed.) MediaSport.London and New York: Routledge.
