Jamón, Tortilla y Cola-Cao

National Identity and the Spanish Press Coverage of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games

Résumé

The Olympic Games and other sports events such as the FIFA World Cup are
primarily consumed, on a global scale, through the mass media. The interdependent
relationship between the Olympic Movement and the media, and more fundamentally
between sport and the media, has been identified as forming a ‘media sport complex’
(Rowe, 2003). As part of this relationship, the media represents and interprets sports,
giving meaning to events that directly contribute to the definition of the role of sports in
society. Through its sports coverage, the media affects the construction of individual
and collective identities.