Two perspectives on one competition: Slovenian coverage of artistic gymnastics at the 2008 summer Olympics

Televised sports images are complemented by the speech of network-employed announcers who dramatize the narrative and interpret the on-screen events. The purpose of this study was to analyze Slovenian coverage of artistic gymnastics events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Over 7 hours of broadcasts were recorded and analyzed. All references to athletes or teams spoken by the commentators were transcribed and coded according to a 17-item taxonomy to study discursive framing in sports broadcasting. Frequencies of each category of descriptors were then calculated and compared between groups. A total of 4,472 descriptors were transcribed and coded: 56% were spoken by the play-by-play announcer and 44% by the technical commentator. The color commentator provided more evaluative descriptions and background information (especially concerning the gymnasts' routines), while the play-by-play announcer offered more factual commentary, as well as more attributions of personality. Evaluative commentary most often relied on assessments of athletic talent and ability, experience, and consonance. It also featured emphases on national feelings. The share of broadcasters' subjective commentary in gymnastics is considerably higher than that found in team sports. Commentators wield tremendous narrative power with the masses as their dialogue transcends topics in sports.