“New Heights” in Storytelling?: Considerations for Cross-National Analyses of Broadcasters’ Social Media Coverage of the Paralympics

Abstract

Prior to the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games, rights-holding broadcasters in multiple countries promised record-amount of coverage, including on digital platforms. This paper analyzes how NBC and CBC, the broadcasters in the U.S. and Canada, respectively, utilized social media platforms during the Paralympic Games. We employed two methodological approaches. The first draws on agenda diversity literature to provide a quantitative, descriptive analysis of Paralympics-related posts, interactions with other accounts, and gender representations. The second approach draws on research on the televisual logic of digital media to identify and interpret presentation, sequence, and visualization patterns. Our multidimensional analysis found differences in the volume of Paralympics-related posts and the utilization of interactive elements, across the two broadcasters. The coverage on both accounts highlighted home-nation athletes and their competitions, which shaped gender representations and the rhythm of social media coverage. Both broadcasters followed established sequences of mega-events, with the exception of an international conflict. CBC relied primarily on one journalist to provide updates and curling-related recaps, while NBC directed audiences to watch sports where U.S. athletes succeeded. We discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of cross-national comparative coverage of the Paralympics.