DRIVING THE SUSTAINABLE

FUTURE?

Media Representations of Environmental

Sustainability in Motorsport:
The Case of Formula E

Timothy Robeers
DRIVING THE SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE?

Timothy Robeers
Supervisor
Prof. Dr. Hilde Van den Bulck – Drexel University (USA)

Doctoral committee
Prof. Dr. Philippe Meers – Antwerp University (BEL)
Prof. Raymond Boyle – The University of Glasgow (UK)

Doctoral jury
Prof. Dr. Pieter Maeseele – Antwerp University (BEL)
Prof. Dr. Richard Haynes – The University of Stirling (UK)

Copyright © 2019 Timothy Robeers. All rights reserved. No part of this

publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without written
permission from the author.

ISBN: 9789463880121
Publisher prefix: 978946388012
Wettelijk depotnummer: D/2019/Timothy Robeers, uitgever

Cover design and layout: Timothy Robeers

Printed by Universitas Digital Printing, Antwerp

Contact information: [email protected]

 Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor in Social Sciences at the
University of Antwerp to be defended by

Timothy ROBEERS

DRIVING THE SUSTAINABLE

FUTURE?
Media Representations of Environmental
Sustainability in Motorsport:
The Case of Formula E

UNIVERSITEIT ANTWERPEN
FACULTEIT SOCIALE WETENSCHAPPEN
DEPARTEMENT COMMUNICATIEWETENSCHAPPEN
VAKGROEP: MEDIA, BELEID EN CULTUUR

Supervisor:
Professor Dr. Hilde Van den Bulck Antwerp, 2019
 A WORD OF THANKS
First of all, I would like to express my utmost and sincerest gratitude to
my Ph.D. supervisor, Prof. Dr. Hilde Van den Bulck for her profound guidance
and support during all the years of writing my Ph.D., as well as for her
unrelenting belief in my abilities and passion for communication and
motorsport. Without a doubt she has taught me to be the academic that I am
today, for which I am very grateful. It really has been a privilege to have been
able to study under such a kind, helpful and, simply put, such cool human being.
Thank you so very much, Hilde!
Beyond this, I would like to thank the members of my doctoral
committee. I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Philippe Meers as chairman of the
doctoral committee for his wise comments and guidelines throughout the
course of the Ph.D. They have benefitted me a lot. I would also like to thank
Prof. Dr. Raymond Boyle for providing me with the opportunity to study at
Glasgow University. It is much appreciated. In addition to this, I would also like
to thank doctoral jury member Prof. Dr. Pieter Maeseele for his guidance
regarding environmental sustainability and communication during the earlier
stages of my study. Second, I want to express my thanks to doctoral jury
member Prof. Dr. Richard Haynes for his introducing me into the realm of
broadcasting history on (motor)sport, cooperating on a subsequent article and
his welcoming character. I have greatly enjoyed our meetings at Stirling
University.
Further, I would like to thank my colleagues at Antwerp University for
always contributing to a feel-good office environment that no doubt benefitted
my work when I was there. I also very much appreciate the words of wisdom
by Dr. Koen Panis in helping me prepare for my teaching assignments abroad
and the kindness of Dr. Daniëlle Raeijmaekers in answering my many
administrative questions in the lead-up to defending this Ph.D.
Finally, I want to express my profound gratitude to my friends and family for
their support.
To my friends: In particular to my best friend Dr. Koen Van Hooste who
got me interested in doing a Ph.D. in the first place, to Rebecca Van Herck, Sarah
Levrie, and my life-long friend Jeroen Reypens, thanks for always being there
when it mattered. It really means the world to me. To Michael Dickson, thanks
for getting me from behind my desk with all the bar talks about motorsport and
for those Formula 1 Spa Francorchamps weekend outings. And to my
endurance rally navigator and good friend Guy-Matthieu Soki, thank you for
being my soundboard during our adventures in the Sahara and for supporting
me to combine motorsport and academia.
To my family: Mum and Dad. I could not have done this without your
tremendous and unrelenting support, motivation and interest in me, both
before and during the Ph.D. To my girlfriend Lindsay whom I met only just
before I committed to this Ph.D. and who has, thus far, always been dating both
me and my Ph.D. I feel very grateful for having such an amazing and supportive
person stand by my side. To my grandfather Herman and my grandmother
Yvette, who sadly is no longer with us to witness this moment, and to whom I
wish to dedicate this Ph.D., thank you for your sincerest interest in me and my
passions.
Antwerp, 2019

DEDICATED TO OMA,
YVETTE PHILOMENA CALLENS
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
References 8

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 11

Conceptualizing Motorsport 11
Towards A Definition 11
General Historical Overview 12
Pioneering ‘Sustainable' Motorsport: The FIA Formula E Championship 18
Motorsport and The Environment 20
Conceptualizing Environmental Sustainability 22
Definition 22
From Concern to Engagement 23
Corporate Social Responsibility, Commodification and Greenwashing 24
Celebrity Activism and Endorsement 26
The Media and Motorsport 28
Conceptualizing Representation 28
From Identity and Image … 32
… To Environmental Issues/ Sustainability 33
Representation and The (Motor) Sports-Media Complex 34
Representations of Motorsport 36
Representing Environmental Sustainability in Motorsport 37
Summarizing the Research Questions 38
References 39
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK 52
Methodological Setup 52
A Mixture of Methods 52
Methodologies For the Study of Representation 53
From Theory to Practice: Framing Analysis 53
Complementary Approaches: From a Political Economy
To an Archival Approach 60
Contribution of the Ph.D. 63
References 66

CHAPTER 3: ‘THE WEBSITE AS A DIGITAL STOREFRONT: AN ANALYSIS OF

(COMMODIFICATION IN) FORMULA E’S SELF-ORGANISATIONAL
REPRESENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY’ 71
Preface 71
Abstract 72
Formula E Motorsport Meets Environmental Sustainability 72
Environmental Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility 74
A More Critical View on Environmental Sustainability Marketing Strategies 76
Factors of Commodification in Motorsport 77
Glamour 77
Celebrities 78
Gamification 78
Advertising 79
(Self-)Representation 79
Research Set-up 80
Quantitative Content Analysis 81
The Qualitative Connection: Thematic Analysis 83
Findings 83
 Webpage Layout 83
Environmental Sustainability: Goals, Concerns and Objectives 84
From ES, Other Initiatives, the Future and Technical Developments to
Gamification 86
Celebrities and Glamour 88
Promotion through Sport: Advertisements, Partners and Sponsors 89
Discussion and Conclusion 92
References 95

CHAPTER 4: ‘ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND THE FRAMING OF

FORMULA E MOTOR RACING IN UK AND FLEMISH NEWSPAPERS’ 100
Preface 100
Abstract 101
Introduction 102
Where Environmental Sustainability and Motorsport Meet 103
The Role of the Media 105
Setting the Agenda on Formula E 105
Framing Formula E 106
Methodology 107
Constructing the Sample 107
The Coding Process: From a Quantitative Analysis … 108
… To A Qualitative Method: Framing Analysis 109
Formula E and ES In The UK and Flemish Press 109
Quantitative Analysis: The Prominence of Formula E
in the UK and Flemish Press 110
Qualitative Analysis: ES in Formula E Coverage in UK and Flemish Press 113
Framing ES In Formula E 114
Discussion And Conclusion 118
References 120

CHAPTER 5: ‘WE GO GREEN IN BEIJNG’: SITUATING LIVE TELEVISION, URBAN

MOTORSPORT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY BY MEANS OF A
FRAMING ANALYSIS OF TV BROADCASTS OF FORMULA E’ 129
Preface 129
Abstract 130
Introduction 130
Literature Review 132
Public Consciousness of ES in the UK 132
ES Media Coverage in the UK 133
The (Motor) Sports-Media Complex 134
Environmental Sustainability in the (Motor) Sports-Media Complex 135
Theoretical Framework: Sports Media Framing 136
Methodology 137
Formatting The Race Broadcasts 139
Findings and Discussion 140
The Way Forward 147
Conclusion 148
References 149

CHAPTER 6: ‘HYPOCRITICAL INVESTOR’ OR HOLLYWOOD ‘DO-GOODER’?

A FRAMING ANALYSIS OF MEDIA AND AUDIENCES NEGOTIATING LEONARDO
DICAPRIO’S ‘GREEN’ PERSONA THROUGH HIS INVOLVEMENT IN FORMULA E’
155
Preface 155
Abstract 156
Celebrity Activism: Green is the New Black 157
Celebrity Activism, Environmental Sustainability and Formula E 159
 Celebrity Activism and the Celebrity Construct 159
Anatomy of a Celebrity Activist: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Green Persona 161
Leonardo DiCaprio, the Environment and Motorsport 162
Analysing DiCaprio and Formula E: 164
A Framing Approach 164
Steps in the Analysis 165
Sampling 165
Coding the Sample 165
Framing Leonardo DiCaprio’s Formula E Involvement 166
Motorsport Related Frames 167
Celebrity Related Frames 169
Do Different Media and Audiences Produce Different Frames? 173
Audience reaction Moderators: Personal Experiences, Peers and Parasocial
Relationships 174
Discussion and Conclusion 177
References 180

CHAPTER 7: ‘THE NEED FOR SPEED? A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BBC’S

POST-WAR BROADCASTING OF MOTORSPORT’ 188
Preface 188
Abstract 189
Introduction 189
From WWII Onwards: The Emergence of Motorsport in Britain 193
Representing (Motor) Sport through Television 195
Framework and Methodology 199
Results and Discussion 202
First Contact? The BBC’s Adoption of Hill Climbs and Scrambling for Television 204
Overcoming Obstacles: From Hill Climbs to Rallycross 209
Conclusion: The Post-War Years and Beyond 210

FINAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 212

Addressing the Research Question(s) 212
Conceptualizing Representation of ES in Formula E 213
Conceptualizing Representations of Formula E 217
Addressing Theoretical Gaps, Limitations and the Way Forward 220
Issues for Future Research 224
Reaching the Chequered Flag: A Final Summary 225
References 227

SUMMARY 233
Abstract in English 233
Abstract in Dutch 235
 INTRODUCTION
Over time, media and sport have become increasingly intertwined due to the
expanding possibilities of their symbiotic relationship (Wenner, 2002; Rowe,
2003; Boyle & Haynes, 2009). Sport provides the media with potentially
dramatic content and in return, the media provides exposure for sport (Helland,
2010; Kidd, 2013). For example, by organizing and/or sponsoring the first ever
motor races at the end of the 19th century, newspapers and magazines (Flower,
1975) were able to tap into the highly exotic and dramatic content that the
emergence and racing of motor cars generated. With the further development
and evolution of media technologies over time, i.e. radio, television, the
internet and the rise of social media, came the possibility for motorsport to
reach greater (global) exposure. More so, it allowed motorsport to materialize
on the opportunities to transition from a commercialised sport1 to a true high
commodity-value and spectacle sport which it still is today (Sturm, 2011).
This evolution of media technologies and the subsequent growth of the
media has also provided other areas and topics with the opportunity to gain
exposure and awareness and significance. One such area is the environment
and subsequent derivatives such as environmental sustainability (hereafter: ES)
and climate change (Lester, 2010; Cox, 2012). Boykoff (2013) identified a
fivefold quantitative increase in (UK broadsheet newspaper) coverage of event-
based environmental issues (e.g. climate change) occurring across four periods
between 2000 and 2010. Still, even now, coverage of the environment and ES
suffers from issues such as limited newsworthiness (Lester, 2010), green fatigue
(Cox, 2012), a lack of story context creating ‘missed critical opportunities to
advance the climate story’ (Boykoff 2013, p. 96) and a framing that ‘remains
within the broad ideological parameters of free-market capitalism and neo-
liberalism’ (Carvalho, 2005, p. 21). Despite these lingering weaknesses, the

1
The commercial aspect of motorsport emerged from the onset as automotive manufacturers
took part based on the ‘Race on Sunday – Sell on Monday’ principle (Walz, 2017; Miller,
2018).

1
emergence of more media platforms including online and social media has
provided ES with increased exposure and possibilities for raising awareness and
advocacy and campaigning. A direct result of this has been that for the last
couple of decades, motorsport has come under increasing criticisms from
environmental groups, political parties and the wider public (Dingle, 2009). In
particular, criticisms revolve around a wasteful use of finite resources, harmful
effects on human health (Tranter & Lowes, 2005) and behavior (Tranter &
Warn, 2008) and its impact on public (Lowes, 2018) and natural environments
(Miller, 2016). By focusing on ES in motorsport, the media can pressure
motorsport businesses and organizations to become more sustainable. They
achieve this by monitoring and scrutinizing motorsport’s (ES) efforts, or by
means of positively communicating corporations’ ES efforts along with
commitments to stakeholders (Trendafilova et al., 2013).
As a result, motorsport organizations, clubs and teams have started to
acknowledge the need to manage and market itself as sustainable, either for
profit-related reasons or for the greater societal/environmental good or both
(Haase-Reed et al., 2007; Dingle, 2009). For example, the Fédération
International de l’Automobile (hereafter: FIA), which functions as motorsport’s
governing body, has put great emphasis on its responsibility to establish and
follow up on efforts to improve as well as monitor the environmental, socio-
economic and safety aspects of motorsport and motoring in general (Dingle,
2009). Besides participating in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development
Agenda and cooperating with the United Nations Environmental Programme
(UNEP), the FIA has developed a range of initiatives such as the FIA Action for
Environment and the Make Cars Green Campaign (FIA, 2007).
In 2013, the FIA announced a new motorsport series that would embrace
ES alongside the notions of energy and entertainment. This novel electric series
called Formula E runs fully electric open-wheel race cars on city-centre race
tracks around the globe. Electricity for race cars are generated emission free,
i.e. through glycerin based generators, solar and wind power. Further,
emissions through logistics would also be reduced through the use of sea
freight and land based transport rather than relying on airplanes to shift cargo

2
(Sturm, 2018). In short, Formula E aims to (1) represent a pivotal vision for the
future of the motorsport and (2) serve as a framework for both research on and
development of electric vehicles (hereafter: EV) to raise awareness for and
accelerate general interest in EV’s as well as promote clean energy and ES
(Jarvie, 2018).
Despite the enormous growth and variety of media as well as the global
public and political acknowledgement to protect the environment, stories
about the environment and its subsidiaries such as ES and climate change have
been shown to be neither innocent nor neutral in their representations (Cox,
2012). Bearing this in mind and as much as the FIA and Formula E might try to
change perceptions through their increased ES efforts, it remains unclear how
and to what extent the media represent the presence of ES in Formula E and
how and to what extent it affects the overall representation of Formula E. This
constitutes the main research question of this Ph.D. As such, this research
question addresses the need to examine a phenomenon, ES, that has truly
become a key issue in contemporary global societies and (predominantly)
Western media as well as the need to expand academic theory relating to
motorsport and the media. Drawing from a variety of academic literature, this
Ph.D. will answer this main research question by means of a set of secondary
research objectives. First, and with a view to the use of CSR and ES as a means
for an organization such as Formula E to manage its own organizational identity
and image it will look at how Formula E chooses to represent itself in relation to
ES? Second, and by means of media type comparison, this Ph.D. also aims to
ascertain how and to what extent media representations of (ES in) Formula E
differ depending on different media types? A third objective draws from the
symbiotic interplay of integrating celebrity activists in corporate and
organizational environments, namely how and to what extent does the
involvement of a major celebrity activist impact media representations of ES in
Formula E? A fourth and final objective is aimed at contextualizing the previous
research questions and their subsequent findings by looking at how and to what
extent is the current situation of media representations of (ES in) Formula E
similar to earlier representations of motorsport?

3
 In short, this Ph.D. looks at the mediated relationship between a
motorsport series (Formula E) and ES. Indeed, only a decade ago, Pflugfelder
(2009) stated that what existed of motorsport studies was very limited and
fragmented in nature. These limitations are a little strange, considering the
huge financial and social significance of motorsport (Hassan, 2011). In the
meantime, much work has been done and a steady increase of academic
contributions have followed, yet only a limited number in the area of sport
media and representation studies (e.g. Evans, 2013; Evans, 2014; Sturm, 2011;
Sturm, 2017), let alone in relation to the environment (Sturm, 2018).
Considering this Ph.D.’s aim of ascertaining how and to what extent the
media represents efforts by Formula E to improve on environmental
sustainability as well as how and to what extent these representations affect
media representations of Formula E, the focus of this Ph.D. lies with the
relationship between the media and the motorsport industry, and more
specifically Formula E. This Ph.D. acknowledges the importance of the
reception side of Hall’s (1980) communication model and how audiences as
active actors help construct, i.e. decode and (re)code, mediated messages
about (ES in) Formula E. However, starting a Ph.D. involves making some hard
choices about what to include and what to leave out. Consequently, the focus
on the production side, i.e. the motorsports-media relationship, has come at
the expense of an analysis of the mediated relationship between Formula E and
audiences and is as such not covered in this Ph.D.
Specifically, this Ph.D.’s main research question is explored and
addressed by means of five empirical chapters. The empirical studies that make
up these chapters are all formulated and formatted in the form that they are
(to be) submitted and published in academic journals or books. They are
preceded only by a brief introduction as a means of situating the chapter more
concretely in function of the main research question.
Chapter three or the first empirical chapter is entitled ‘A Self-
Representational Analysis of (Commodification in) Formula E’s Adoption of
Environmental Sustainability’. It adopts a political economy and case study

4
approach to gain valuable insights in Formula E’s organizational identity. More
specifically, it investigates how and to what extent Formula E integrates ES in
its self-representation. For this, varying factors of commodification and notions
of marketing prove important (Mosco, 2009). It achieves this by means of
applying a systematic quantitative content analysis with a qualitative thematic
analysis to Formula E’s organizational website.
Chapter four is titled ‘Environmental Sustainability and the Framing of
Formula E Motor Racing in UK and Flemish Newspapers’ and - following on from
the previous chapter - presents a case study of the media coverage of ES in
Formula E. As such, it combines a systematic quantitative content analysis with
a qualitative framing analysis on a longitudinal (four years) sample of
newspapers from both the UK and Flanders. This comparative study not only
shows that ES does not take up a leading position in news reporting on Formula
E in either of the two geographical regions, but that it’s presence does not wane
over time. Further, ES does not constitute a frame itself, yet it does form part
of dominant motorsport frames. Interestingly, newspapers also use ES as part
of subsequent counter frames, indicating a clear split in newspaper
representations of Formula E and ES.
Transgressing from the printed press in chapter four, in chapter five,
entitled ‘We Go Green in Beijing: Situating Live Television, Urban Motorsport
and Environmental Sustainability by Means of A Framing Analysis of TV
Broadcasts of Formula E’, a further case study presents a sample of UK live-
television coverage of Formula E’s three consecutive season-opening races in
Asia to which this Ph.D. applies a qualitative framing analysis. Interestingly,
findings indicate the emergence of a (secondary) ES frame in the inaugural
Formula E broadcast which functions as a neglected frame throughout the
other broadcasts and indicates the use of ES as a ‘green selling card’ or
marketing tool (McComas & Shanahan 1999).
The sixth chapter on celebrity activism in Formula E, which applies a
qualitative framing analysis to online media articles and related audience
comments from three two-month periods across a timespan of four years,

5
consists of an extended version of the (to be) published article. Indeed, besides
the celebrity-related frames required for publication in a scholarly journal on
celebrity studies, it also includes motorsport-related frames. Results indicate
that a celebrity’s personal involvement with Formula E positively affects media
coverage of Formula E over time and that audiences read media messages
differently as the study finds both hero frames and hypocrisy frames.
The seventh and last of the empirical chapters of this Ph.D. is titled ‘The
Need for Speed? A Historical Analysis of the BBC’s Post-War Broadcasting of
Motorsport’. The article underlaying this chapter was not originally part of the
initial Ph.D. outline as the opportunity to conduct a co-operative project with
Prof. Dr. Richard Haynes presented itself only later during the course of this
Ph.D. Its added relevance for this Ph.D. lies in providing additional
contextualization to 21st century media practices of representing motorsport
(Boyle & Hayes, 2009). Indeed, and considering this Ph.D. entails a variety of UK
media as its base of study, this chapter focusses on how BBC as the UK’s first
(public) television broadcasting channel struggled to represent motorsport
during the post-war period (i.e. 1946 to 1970) and just before motorsport’s
commercial successes through selling broadcasting rights. As such, the study
underlying this chapter makes use of an archival approach to ascertain how and
to what extent the BBC was able to represent motorsport as televisual, i.e. real,
and indicates that the BBC was directly responsible for not just the modification
of existing racing series such as hill climbs but was even directly involved in the
creation of the, at that time, completely new motorsport series Rallycross.
Following these empirical chapters, a final discussion and conclusion aims
to bring together the comprehensive collection of findings and compare,
contrast and discuss these and subsequent implications for the theoretical
fields this Ph.D. has drawn on. With the exception of chapter seven, the order
of the chapters accurately follows the actual development chronology of this
Ph.D. More so, the chronology also reflects a logical flow towards answering
the main research question. Namely, insights into Formula E’s self-
representational identity provide a starting point and a base of comparison for
following media coverage analyses. Such analyses follow a historical chronology

6
ranging from a content-based interest from more ‘traditional’ printed press and
television broadcasting and ending with an interest in both content and
reception of a wide range of online media sources.
Prior to these chapters though, this Ph.D. aims to contextualise itself by
drawing from larger theoretical frameworks of cultural studies, communication
studies, marketing, history and environmental studies in academia. More
concretely, the first chapter following this introduction includes three
theoretical sections that aid this theoretical contextualization.
A first section defines motorsport and contextualises the sport through a
concise historical overview with a particular view to electric motorsport
followed by an introduction to the novel racing series Formula E. The second
section shows the link between ES and motorsport. As such, it defines and
conceptualises ES and relates it to notions of motorsport, marketing, such as
Corporate Social Responsibility, greenwashing, societal engagement and
celebrity activism. In the third section, the relation between the media and
motorsport is conceptualised, first, by means of representation theory and,
second, by means of an overview of existing representations of (ES in)
motorsport. This is then followed by a methodological framework in chapter
two which the different approaches and methods that this Ph.D. uses are
discussed and motivated in detail. Following this, each of the five chapters
presents the empirical studies.
Lastly, a general discussion and conclusion will summarise the most
relevant findings and present these in function of the main research question
as well as draw some final implications.

7
References

Boykoff, M. T. (2011). Who speaks for the climate?: Making sense of media
reporting on climate change. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Boyle, R., & Haynes, R. (2009). Power play: Sport, the media and popular
culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Cox, R. (2012). Environmental communication and the public sphere. London:
Sage Publications.
Dingle, G. (2009). Sustaining the race: a review of literature pertaining to the
environmental sustainability of motorsport. International Journal of Sports
Marketing and Sponsorship, 11(1), 75-91.
Evans, C. A. (2013). The media representation of Formula One as ‘spectacle’:
constructing sport as a live mediatised event. (Doctoral Dissertation, Cardiff
University, Cardiff, United Kingdom). Retrieved from
http://orca.cf.ac.uk/44837/
Flower, R. (1975). Motorsports: A pictorial history. Glasgow and London:
William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.
Haase-Reed, A., Kushin, M., & Koeppel, T. (2007). Framing the ELF: an
exploration of media representation and self-representation of a social
movement organization, presented at the annual meeting of the NCA 93rd
Annual Convention, Chicago: National Communication Association.
Hall, S. (1980). Cultural studies: Two paradigms. Media, Culture & Society, 2(1),
57-72.
Hall, S., Evans, J., & Nixon, S. (Eds.). (2013). Representation. London: Sage
Publications.
Hassan, D. (2011). Epilogue: The Evolution of Motorsport Research. The
International Journal of the History of Sport, 28(2), 319-322.
Helland, K. (2007). Changing sports, changing media: Mass Appeal, the
sports/media complex and tv sports rights. Nordicom Review, 28.

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Kidd, B. (2013). The Olympic movement and the sports–media complex. Sport
in Society, 16 (4), 439-448.
Lester, L. (2010). Media and environment: Conflict, politics and the news.
Cambridge: Polity Press
Lowes, M. (2018). Toward a conceptual understanding of formula one
motorsport and local cosmopolitanism discourse in urban place marketing
Strategies. Communication & Sport, 6(2), 203-218.
McComas, K., & Shanahan, J. (1999). Telling stories about global climate
change: Measuring the impact of narratives on issue cycles. Communication
Research; 26(1), 30-57.
Miller, T. (2016). Greenwashed sports and environmental activism: Formula 1
and FIFA. Environmental Communication, 10(6), 719-733.
Mosco, V. (2009). The political economy of communication. London: Sage.
Pflugfelder, E. H. (2009). Something less than a driver: Toward an
understanding of gendered bodies in motorsport. Journal of Sport and Social
Issues, 33(4), 411-426.
Rowe, D. (2003). Critical readings: Sport, culture and the media. Berkshire:
McGraw-Hill Education.
Sturm, D. (2011). Masculinities, affect and the (re) place (ment) of stardom in
Formula One fan leisure practices. Annals of Leisure Research, 14(2-3), 224-241.
Sturm, D. (2017). The Monaco Grand Prix And Indianapolis 500: Projecting
European glamour and global Americana. In L. Wenner & A. Billings (Eds.),
Sport, Media and Mega-Events (1st ed., pp. 170-184). London: Routledge.
Sturm, D. (2018). Formula E’s ‘green’ challenge to motorsport events, spaces
and technologies: the London e-prix as a case study. In H. Seraphin and E. Nolan
(Eds.), Green Events and Green Tourism (1st ed., pp. 165-173). London:
Routledge.
Tranter, P. J., & Lowes, M. D. (2005). The place of motorsport in public health:
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Tranter, P. J., & Warn, J. (2008). Relationships between interest in motor racing
and driver attitudes and behaviour amongst mature drivers: An Australian case
study. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 40(5), 1683-1689.
Trendafilova, S., Babiak, K., & Heinze, K. (2013). Corporate social responsibility
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Wenner, L. (Ed.) (2002). Media sport. London: Routledge.

10
 CHAPTER 1
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Conceptualizing Motorsport

At the heart of this Ph.D. is the concept of motorsport. Therefore, this Ph.D.
first narrows down the meaning of motorsport and provides a working
definition. Second, it presents a concise history of motorsport covering its initial
conception and relevant developments up to the contemporary situation.

Towards A Definition

Any study looking to approach motorsport as an area of research benefits from

a clear understanding of what motorsport means. Interestingly, an initial search
to define motorsport provides varying possibilities. For example, the Merriam-
Webster dictionary (motorsport, 2018a) defines motorsport as ‘any of several
sports involving the racing or competitive driving of motor vehicles’ whereas
the Oxford Learners Dictionaries (motorsport, 2018b) defines it as ‘the sport of
racing fast cars or motorcycles on a special track’ and the Cambridge Dictionary
(motor racing, 2018) as ‘the sport of racing extremely fast and powerful cars
around a track’. Even though these definitions agree on the inherent sporting
characteristic of competition that is racing, they also point towards an
incongruence in narrowing down which sport(s) are meant, but also where
these sports take place. Indeed, and regarding the former, the first definition
suggests a multitude of sports apply. As such, sports such as auto racing,
motorbike racing, truck racing, power boat racing, air[plane] racing,
snowmobile racing etc. can all be categorised as motorsports. As Matthews and
Pike (2016, p. 1534) state: ‘motorsport is an umbrella term for many different
types of motor-vehicle racing (including motorcycles, aero planes and
motorboats) but is commonly associated with the motor car’. Considering the
sporting emphasis of this Ph.D. lies with the competitive racing of cars and
despite the generic nature of the term motorsport, in this Ph.D., motorsport is

11
limited to auto sport. Indeed, as much as motorsport is a generic term, auto
sport too can be deemed a generic term in its own right. On the basis of a top-
down approach, and as figure 1 (see below) indicates, this Ph.D. suggests that
auto sport constitutes varying auto sport disciplines such as open-wheel racing,
sports-car racing, stock car racing and rallying. These disciplines, in turn, all
contain a wide range of auto sport series that cover both grassroots and
professional levels and take place nationally and internationally (Matthews and
Pike, 2016).
For example, the discipline of open-wheel racing combines series such as
Formula One (international), Formula 2 (international), Super Formula
(national: Japan) and IndyCar (national: USA) whereas sports-car racing
combines series such as the World Endurance Championship (hereafter: WEC)
(international), the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship (national: USA) or
the Porsche Carrera Cup (international). Second, regarding the location of
where races take place, both the second and third definition restrict
motorsport to race tracks, which indeed holds true for series such as Formula
One, IndyCar, WEC and NASCAR but effectively cancel out rallying, for example
World Rally Championship (hereafter: WRC) or the Dakar Rally, in particular,
which take part on (special) stages within and across countries.

General Historical Overview

The history of motorsport is very dense due to a high frequency of competitions

having taken place globally for more than 125 years. As such, a detailed
overview of motorsport history would not only require a great deal of time and
space to describe but is also beyond the scope of this Ph.D. Therefore, in what
follows, this Ph.D. provides a concise history of motorsport in general and as
relevant to further understanding the idea of electric motorsport.

12
Figure 1: Generic Model of Motorsport - Disciplines and Series

MOTOR
SPORT

Motorbike
Boat Racing AUTO SPORT Air Racing Other
Racing

Auto Sport
Disciplines

Other
Open-wheel Sports Car Stock Car Rally Touring Car
(e.g.
Rallycross,
Hillclimb, etc)
Open Wheel Sports Car Stock Car Touring Car
Rally Series
Series Series Series Series

Formula 1, World Endurance World Rally World Touring Car

Formula 2, Championship NASCAR, Championship Championship (WTCC),
Indycar, Super (WEC), BlancPain AUSCAR, Turismo (WRC), Dakar Deutsche Tourenwagen
Formula, GT Series, Porsche Carretera, etc Series, etc Masters (DTM), etc
Formula E, etc Carrera Cup, etc

13
 The history of motorsport is inherently linked to the history of the
automobile as even the early automotive inventors and designers wanted to
prove to their fellow man and competitors that their product was the most
efficient, i.e. reliable and durable, at that moment in time (Walz, 2017).
Although often forgotten due to a mere single competitor, the first motor
(sport) event was organised by the chief editor of the Paris magazine Le
Vélocipède on 20 April 1887, only two years after Gottlieb Daimler invented the
first combustion engine using petroleum spirit, and ran for 20 miles between
Neuilly and Versailles in France (Flower, 1975). However, after some more
fledgling events that took place in the following years, the first official
motorsport competition started in Paris on 22 July 1894. Two key elements
arise from this, namely the fact that motorsport competition in its early years
manifested itself through reliability races or trials that took place between
major cities such as, for example, from Paris to Bordeaux and back (1895 - 1175
kilometers), from Paris to Amsterdam and back (1898 - 1431 kilometers) and
from Paris to Madrid (1903 - 1313 kilometers). Second, the media organizing
and sponsoring so many of the first automotive and motorsport events
indicates the close relation media and motorsport shared from the onset and
which led to motorsport becoming a national sport before the turn of the
century (Flower, 1975). This culminated in 1908 when Le Matin and The New
York Times both co-sponsored the Peking-to-Paris race (1908 - 19509
kilometers). As such, it accounts for the huge popularity the sport experienced
almost immediately with three million spectators lining the course for the Paris
to Madrid race of 1903 (Flower, 1975) and 10000 spectators flocking to the first
closed racetrack competition in Vienna in 1899 (Walz, 2017). It was also at the
latter event where the technological performance of electric race cars became
apparent. More so, from 1899 until 1902, all land speed records were set by
electric vehicles, whose low noise was hailed as an advantage for taxi services
(Walz, 2017). Indeed, in 1899, the Belgian Camille Jenatzy, nicknamed the Red
Devil, was the first person to break the 100 km/h barrier and did so in an electric
car called ‘La Jamais Contente’ [The Never Appeased] (Walz, 2017). Alongside
other famous automotive pioneers including a young Ferdinand Porsche, who

14
greatly appreciated the homogenous power output of the electric drive that
made the complicated and laborious clutch and gearbox systems of the time
redundant, Jenatzy continued to develop other electric and hybrid (gasoline-
electric) vehicle technology (Walz, 2017). However, due to a limited battery
autonomy of 40 to 60 kilometers, a problem that would last until one century
later, electric race cars were not suited to the popular city-to-city races of the
time. As internal combustion engine technology and the network of petrol
stations improved (Ikuta, 1988), electric race cars all but vanished from the
motor racing scene of the 20th century2. Again backed by ‘traditional’ media3,
the Paris-to-Rouen Motor Trial was sponsored by Le Petit Journal and attracted
21 entrants in steam, petrol, compressed air, gas as well as electric vehicles of
which 17 reached the finish line after 127 kilometers (Walz, 2017).
With the new century, motorsport further expanded both in terms of
going beyond Europe and in terms of the number of disciplines and technology
(Flower, 1975). Indeed, the First World War’s war-time developments (for
example metallurgical) directly led to enhancements in automotive design and
construction (Walz, 2017). As such, the interbellum became a period during
which motorsport could thrive with true international races such as the
Indianapolis 500, the 24 hours of Le Mans as well as the emergence of Grand
Prix racing, the predecessor to Formula One. Besides key countries such as
France, Germany and Italy, Belgium proved a main player in the development
and organization of motorsport during the first part of the 20th century (largely)
due to its pioneering culture of daredevil aviation and motor cycle racing as well
as its access to valuable resources such as rubber from the Congo (Ameye et
al., 2011). During the 1930s, the emergence of radio further contributed to the
spread and popularity of the sport (Walker, 2002). Most motor racing was
halted during the Second World War years which reshuffled the motorsport

2
Although electric race cars largely disappeared from the racing scene during the first decade
of the 19th century, manufacturing and sales of electric cars continued until the end of the late
1910s. Some of the most successful brands were Baker Electrics, Waverly Electric, Rauch and
Lang Electrics as well as Willys Knight (Ikuta, 1988).
3
Drawing from Dart (2014), this Ph.D. avoids operating the artificial dichotomy between old
and new media and instead opts for traditional versus new media.

15
landscape as many motor racing infrastructure on the European mainland was
damaged, unlike in Great Britain where plentiful airfields were converted into
flat race tracks (Aston and Williams, 1996). The latter subsequently instigated
the rise of Great Britain as the country with the largest motorsport industry
(House of Commons, 2010).
With the arrival of the ‘romantic fifties’ came not only the first decade of
Formula One and legendary performances in open road and sports car racing
such as the Mille Miglia, Targo Floria and Le Mans, but also tragic accidents.
Disasters like the one at Le Mans in 1955, which left 81 dead, and the 1957 Mille
Miglia, which left 11 dead, signaled the end of motorsport as it was known
before (Flower, 1975, p. 144). France and Italy forbade open road racing and
Switzerland banned racing altogether for seven decades (Sturm, 2018). The
Suez crisis in 1957, for the first time, brought to light the issue of limited fossil
fuel resources (Walz, 2017). This materialised in the rise of smaller and lighter,
i.e. more efficient, race car developments, in particular by British
manufacturers such as Lotus (Colin Chapman), Cooper (Charles Cooper and
John Cooper) and BMC Mini (Sir Alec Issigonis) that dominated disciplines from
Formula One and Formula Two to rallying and touring car racing (Aston and
Williams, 1996). This technological evolution manifested itself further through
the 1960s and along with advancements in camera and broadcasting
technologies, motorsport continued its emergence, albeit still limited, into the
world’s living rooms (Haynes, 2016). With the energy crisis of the 1970s, the
efficiency debate emerged again during the second part of the 20th century and
the need for more economical vehicles and solutions really took hold (Walz,
2017). Despite this, the commercialization of motorsport also started in 1974
and further materialised throughout the 1980s (Grant-Braham, 1996). This
turned Formula One not only into the pinnacle of motor racing that it still is
today, but also into a global spectacle (Sturm, 2014). During the 1990s diesel
technology was adopted to further increase efficiency which saw huge
successes in endurance sports car racing such at Le Mans.
However, with the turn of the century and pressured by environmental
and political groups as well as the media (Dingle, 2009; Jarvie, 2018), ‘the

16
debate on how to lower CO2 emissions along with the resulting objectives for
modern automotive engineering, alternative drive concepts and environmental
factors start playing major roles in racing’ significantly impact the direction of
the sport’ (Walz, 2017, p. 195). For example, Formula One swapped its V10
engines for V8’s in 2005 and switched to turbo hybrid V6’s in 2014 whereas in
2004, the World Endurance Championship (hereafter: WEC) forced
manufacturers of its ‘premiere league’ LMP1 category to adopt hybrid
technology. More so, for the first time since its conception more than one
century ago, private motorsport entrepreneurs, manufacturers and governing
bodies started to experiment with electric drivetrains. Some of the most
important are:
- In 2010, the French Venturi Automobiles in cooperation with Ohio
State University broke the electric vehicle speed record with ‘La
Jamais Contente’, resonating Belgium’s Camille Jenatzy’s electric
speed breaking car from 1899, on the Bonneville Salt Flats, USA (Walz,
2017).
- Although originally conceived in 1998, Formula Student was revised
for 2012. This series’ focus lies on the designing and construction of
single seater cars by international university students that can be
powered by fuel or electricity. This series has recently enjoyed a
tremendous popularity with 3600 students attending the 2016 event
in Germany.
- Although done away with as a ‘milk float’ by some sports broadcasting
media such as Eurosport (Kurby, 2016), Acciona entered a fully
electric rally car in the grueling 2015 Dakar rally. At its third attempt
in 2017, it managed to successfully finish the two week race.
- Both Jaguar (2017) and Tesla (2018) have been given the green light
for a one-make international racing series using production based
race cars, the I-PACE (I-PACE eThrophy) and the Model S (Tesla GT
series).

17
 - In 2020, the World Rally Cross (WRX) championship will be the first
long-standing championship to convert from a fossil fuelled internal
combustion engine to a fully electric drivetrain.
It is important to emphasise that all these initiatives and early
achievements can thus be framed as direct consequences of the 21st century
public’s shift towards a more sustainable electro-mobility paradigm which will
only manifest itself further in the coming decades (Winkelhake, 2017).
However, the most significant game-changer for the move towards electric
motorsport can be found with the motorsport governing body, namely the FIA.
Indeed, and for a while now, the FIA committed itself to monitor and improve
the environmental and socio-economic of motorsport and motoring in general
(Dingle, 2009) by cooperating with the United Nation’s Sustainable
Development Agenda, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
and by means of its environmental campaigns such as the ‘FIA Action for
Environment’ and the ‘Make Cars Green Campaign’ (FIA, 2007). As such, in 2013
the FIA announced the creation of a new motor racing series: Formula E.

Pioneering ‘Sustainable' Motorsport: The FIA Formula E Championship

Formula E is the world’s premier electric-power motorsport series that uses

energy from sustainable sources (e.g. glycerin based generators, solar and wind
power). Being an open-wheel racing series, the first generation cars esthetically
resemble the more well-known Formula One cars, yet the series is not simply
an environmentally friendly version of Formula One but rather a new code of
racing (Matthews, 2016). From the onset, Formula E has proven to be very
polarizing with many from within and outside of the motorsport industry
criticizing its necessity, legitimacy, and longevity (Walz, 2017). Indeed, one of
the biggest concerns besides an outright lack of speed compared to Formula
One, was its limited battery autonomy and the same reason electric motorsport
disappeared after 1902 (Ikuta, 1988). Formula E ‘solved’ this during the first
four seasons by switching cars during a pit stop halfway through the race. The
fifth season, i.e. 2018-2019, will see many of these early criticisms addressed
through the arrival of the generation two Formula E car which is not only able
18
to complete a race on a single battery charge whilst competing at higher speeds
but is also visually different from any other Formula race car (Werth, 2018).
Due to the electric nature of the race cars, noise levels are much reduced,
allowing races to take place nearly exclusively in major city-centres, something
no other series has been able to achieve. This is due to big cities being most
likely to take pioneering roles in the implementation of the electric mobility
revolution (Bär, 2016). Because of the additional component of difficulty
associated with city race tracks, Formula E has been able to deliver on
competitive racing during its first seasons (Matthews, 2016). Further, Formula
E and the FIA aim to raise awareness by bringing the sport to urban and
potentially previously uninterested audiences and enabling them to showcase
a wide variety of electric mobility technologies and solutions (Chauhan, 2015):
‘As the world’s first fully-electric racing series we aim to represent
a vision for the future of the motor industry, serving as a framework
for research and development around the electric vehicle. We hope
to accelerate general interest in electric cars and in turn promote
clean energy and sustainability’ (Formula E Sustainability Report,
2016)
An independent report by EY (formerly Ernst & Young) on the impact of
Formula E and its contribution to the viability of electric mobility and battery
technology conservatively calculated that Formula E could raise the profile of
electric vehicles (hereafter: EV) and contribute to additional sales of 77 million
EV’s by 2040, a drop of 900 million tonnes of CO2 and generate savings of more
than 25 million dollars on health-care costs related to respiratory and
cardiological conditions (Jarvie, 2018). Of course, prognoses do not necessarily
equate reality. However, so far, after four seasons, Formula E has received
numerous awards for its pioneering environmental role and has official support
from organizations such as the United Nations, RE100 and Greenpeace, the
latter being one of the most prominent grass-roots NGO’s to denounce harmful
activities to the environment (Jarvie, 2018). Only a handful of automotive
manufacturers, including Renault, Citroen and Venturi, joined Formula E from

19
the start. A great deal more decided to join Formula E since. For example, for
the sixth season, i.e. 2019-2020, confirmed manufacturers include Audi Sport,
BMW AG, Citroen DS Automobiles, Jaguar Land Rover, Mahindra Racing,
Mercedes-Benz, Porsche AG, Nissan, NextEV NIO and Venturi Automobiles,
amongst others. This move towards Formula E by manufacturers is largely sped
up by the 2015 Volkswagen Diesel scandal (Dieselgate) that saw subsidiaries
Audi and Porsche pull out of leading motorsport series such as the WEC. For
these, and other, manufacturers, Formula E has therefore realised one of its
main goals, namely to become ‘a development center and test lab for
electromobility’ (Walz, 2017, p. 209).
It seems clear then that Formula E is a new, yet key player in the
contemporary motorsport landscape that aims to disrupt through innovation.
However, with this arises the question how the media, with which motorsport
enjoyed such a strong and positive relationship during its early years, responds
to Formula E and its supposedly sustainability ethos. This is a key point this
Ph.D. addresses.

Motorsport And The Environment

The next step in this Ph.D. is to combine the notions of motorsport and the
environment. Traditionally and commonly, these are considered to be mutually
exclusive rather than compatible. Major (motor) sporting events can generate
beneficial environmental and societal impacts such as enjoyment, community
development, encouraging healthy athletic lifestyles as well as foster academic
interest in sciences (Winston, 2011). However, throughout its existence
motorsport has been blamed for its ‘wasteful’ tradition of consuming resources
and water along with emitting greenhouse gasses for the sake of mere pleasure
and entertainment, subsequently causing harm to both society and the
environment (Hickson, 2014; Winston, 2011, Miller, 2016). By far the greatest
criticisms of motorsport are those that relate to its wider negative effects on
the wellbeing of both the public and the environment (Goldenberg, 2011).

20
 These criticisms have increased as a result of a global recognition of the
relationship between health (inequalities) and the environment to the extent
that ‘in order to promote good levels of health and to reduce health
inequalities, there is also an overwhelming responsibility to promote a healthy
environment’ (Philpott and Seymour, 2011, p. 72). Indeed, the effects of motor
racing on public health are worth noting and can range from affecting fan driver
behavior (Tranter & Warn, 2008) to affecting air quality through carbon
emissions and contributing to pulmonary and coronary health problems
(Tranter & Lowes, 2005; Lowes, 2018). Further, motorsport disciplines and
series that take place outside of designated race tracks such as rallying have
been criticised for their destructive impact on their natural surroundings,
ranging from forests to the delicate desert eco-systems (Hassan & O’Kane,
2011). Additionally, motorsport’s suggested wasteful tradition of consuming
resources and subsequent endorsement of harmful practices to gain access to
those resources (Hickson, 2014) has become the most significant criticism
against the sport. Bearing in mind the long history of the sport, one of many
examples in relation to this would be the boycott of the Shell Formula One
Belgium Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps race track in 2013. Here,
Greenpeace activists used the live-television broadcast of the post-race podium
ceremony to protest Shell’s drilling activities in the Arctic.
However, motorsport organizations increasingly have been working
towards reducing and offsetting their environmental impact and as a result, the
‘sport is increasingly becoming part of the solution rather than part of the
problem, even though a lot more needs to be done’ (Oben, 2011, p. 26, 31).
Adopting a macro-perspective, what these continuing criticisms imply is
that the practice of motorsport, as it has been conducted traditionally,
increasingly clashes with what is considered to be acceptable practices in
contemporary society. As such, it seems that the larger generic criticism of
motorsport is one of (environmental) sustainability and directly impacts on the
success of the sport over time.

21
Conceptualizing (Environmental) Sustainability

Definition

When looking at environmental considerations in general, and as Savery and

Gilbert (2011) indicate, a first important aspect to consider is that ES forms part
of the much larger holistic concept that is sustainability. The concept of
sustainability originates from the forestry industry, where it denotes the idea
to not harvest more than what the forest can provide in terms of new growth
(Wiersum, 1995; Kuhlman & Farrington, 2010). Further, the concept of
sustainability constitutes three pillars or dimensions, i.e. environmental,
societal and economic (Gibson, 2001). Indeed, the Our Common Future report
(United Nations, 1988) suggests that the environment does not merely exist as
a sphere separate from human actions, ambitions and needs. What proved to
become a decisive foundation for the conceptualization and global
acknowledgement of (environmental) sustainability in 1988, the World
Commissions on Environment and Development drafted and submitted the
report, also commonly referred to as the Brundtland Report, to the 42nd Session
of the general Assembly of the United Nations (Savery & Gilbert, 2011). This
outlined and repeatedly called for global environmental concerns and
associated developmental challenges whilst noting the specific interrelation
between the environment and poverty (Savery & Gilbert, 2011). According to
the Brundtland Report (United Nations, 1988) then, the concept of sustainable
development or sustainability can be defined along the lines of developments
that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. However, the report also acknowledges
the existence of inherent limits, i.e. ‘not absolute limits but limitations imposed
by the present state of technology and social organization on environmental
resources and by the ability of the biosphere to absorb the effects of human
activities’ (United Nations, 1988, p. 24).
Although the Brundtland Report has been pivotal in setting out the
concept of sustainability, varying definitions and new meanings of sustainability
have come about since its conception (Kuhlman & Farrington, 2010). For

22
example, the Cambridge Dictionary (sustain, 2018) defines the verb to sustain
as ‘to cause or allow something to continue for a period of time‘ and the
Chambers Concise Dictionary (sustain, 2000) adds to this ‘to hold up; to bear;
[…]; to support the life of; to prolong’. Based on the idea of incorporating a
society that enables people to enrich their lives into the future, Savery and
Gilbert (2011) consider the previous definitions as a limitation in their own right
as, according to them, the aim should not be to maintain or prolong a positive
status quo of the human, i.e. societal, environmental and economical condition
but rather to improve over time, leaving future generations with more
opportunities. Another definition relevant for conceptualizing the concept of
(environmental) sustainability and that applies specifically to sport is that of
David Chernushenko (2011), namely ‘Sport is sustainable when it meets the
needs of today’s community while contributing to the improvement of future
sport opportunities for all and the improvement of the integrity of the natural
and social environment on which it depends’ (Chernushenko, 2011, p. 21).

From Concern to Engagement

The prominence of sustainability generated by the United Nation’s Brundtland

Report increased throughout the 1990s with the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change being signed in 1992 and which culminated in
the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in Kyoto (Japan) in 1997 (De Heer & Bochatay,
2011). The latter in particular would be the first significant political and global
acknowledgement of the effect that humans have on the climate and provided
global exposure for the importance of environmental sustainability. In the years
following this treaty and into the 21st century, this political acknowledgement
of ES not only increased, but also started to pressure businesses and (sporting)
organizations alike to adopt more (environmentally) sustainable practices
(Lester, 2010; Cox, 2012).

23
Corporate Social Responsibility, Commodification and Greenwashing

In addition to the institutional pressure, i.e. referring to government policies

and regulation, pressure from media and share- and stakeholders also
manifested itself further into a growing emphasis on ES (Orlitzky et al., 2011).
As such, ES is fast becoming an integral part and even a central focus of
corporate social responsibility (hereafter: CSR) (Mohr et al, 2001). In a sense,
the emergence of CSR is directly related to the emergence of philanthropy.
According to Sheth and Babiak (2010), the concept of CSR can be traced back
to the beginnings of the 20th century when business tycoons such as
Rockefeller, Carnegie and Ford started to donate funds to improve societal
conditions. However, more contemporary interpretations of CSR seemed to
have emerged from the 1960s onwards, when corporations started to question
their role in society and societal issues (Clark, 2000).
As a means of defining CSR, the World Business Council of Sustainable
Development, suggests it refers to ‘the commitment of a business to contribute
to economic development, working with employees, their families, and the
local community to improve quality of life’ (Servaes & Tamayo, 2013, p.1046).
In this sense, social aspects relate to areas such as the environment and the
community, whereas on the other hand, treatment of employees would classify
under the focus of stakeholders (Amanda et al., 2016; Servaes & Tamayo, 2013;
Dahlsrud, 2008). Definitions of CSR remain highly debated and a consensus still
remains absent (Sheth & Babiak, 2010). This Ph.D. considers CSR as it is most
generally seen, i.e. as the initiative to minimise or eliminate harmful effects on
society with the aim to create long term sustainability in businesses and
communities (Mohr et al, 2001). Besides the institutional incentives, i.e.
government policies and regulations, CSR is also driven by the possibility of
either creating new or tapping into existing markets through ES (Trendafilova
et al., 2013).
Considering the fact that (motor) sport affects societies and the
environment in various ways across the entire globe, it presents a unique
platform for sporting organizations to address their environmental impact and

24
promote environmental awareness and actions (Dolf, 2011; Oben, 2011).
Despite a long tradition of academic research into CSR, the study of CSR in sport
has only picked up in the last decade (Sheth & Babiak, 2010). The result of this
is that CSR has been found to perform differently in the sporting industry
compared to the way it functions in other industries (Sheth & Babiak, 2010).
For example, Smith and Westerbeek (2007) indicated that sport in general has
the unique ability to affect (1) the nature and scope of CSR efforts, (2) its
distribution via mass media and (3) public awareness of sustainability (Smith
and Westerbeek in Sheth & Babiak (2010)). Babiak and Wolfe (2009; 2010)
show that sport executives use CSR first as a means to further the strategic
position of the sport organizations and which subsequently indicates that their
primary aim, much like other businesses, is to generate profits and second, to
positively impact the environments in which they operate.
From a marketing perspective, it is important to note that this double
intent of profit and societal impact is achieved through the implementation of
cause-related marketing and cause branding. Indeed, ‘categorised as
sponsorships, cause-related marketing involves profit-motivated giving and
enables firms to contribute to nonprofit organizations while also increasing
their bottom line4, which by tying those contributions to sales’. This has two
important consequences. First, criticisms can arise which suggest sporting
organizations are not able to either live up to their CSR goals, or that they are
simply inadequate to compensate for the ‘damage’ by the organization’s
activities. This more critical approach suggests a certain reduction of ES to a
public relations exercise referred to as ‘greenwashing’ (Barnfield, 2011). More
specifically, greenwashing entails a form of misleading information released by
an organization with the aim of presenting itself as having an environmentally
sustainable public image and constitutes the major limit of green
communications (Cox, 2012, p. 286; Platel, 2010; Miller, 2018). For example,
the Dakar Rally’s contributions to offset its participation have been criticised

4
The bottom line refers to the triple bottom which highlights non-market and non-financial
areas of corporate performance and responsibility with a specific emphasis on economic,
environment, and social impact (Fairley et al., 2010).

25
for just this and rendered its CSR efforts as a ‘smokescreen’, meant to divert
criticism of possible dangers or lack of ES away from the rally (Hassan & O’Kane,
2011). Second, such greenwashing has been shown in wider contexts to be
related to commodification, a process by which goods and services with high
use value are transformed into marketable products as commodities (Mosco,
2009, p. 127-9, 156). Professional sport has long since been producing
commodities such as live events in order to generate revenue (Dart, 2014, p.
530), which, in the case of motorsport, is exemplified through Formula One as
both the pinnacle of motor racing and a global commodity spectacle (Sturm,
2014). As suggested by Sturm (2014) and Cox (2012), this occurs with a view to
mass reproduction and consumption and through the usage of commodified
objects or factors, for example advertisements, games, glamourous lifestyles
and celebrities. In this regard, a celebrity can be considered a hyper-commodity
in the sense that he/she functions as (a) a platform for presentation of
commodities and (b) as a tradable commodity him/herself (Rojek, 2006).
Further, such commodification also applies to the environment, to
environmental sustainability and derivatives such as ecotourism and, indeed,
professional sport (Dorsey et al, 2004). More so, the promotion of commodity
consumption as environmentally sustainable is known to be associated with
greenwashing (Cox & Pezzullo, 2015).

Celebrity Activism and Endorsement

Most, if not all, sporting organizations now use philanthropy as part of their CSR
activities to not only improve societal and environmental issues but also as
strategic image enhancement (Babiak & Wolfe, 2007; Sheth & Babiak, 2010).
For example, through a number of Gala dinners, Formula E supports charities
and foundations such as the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which aims
to improve air quality, and One Drop, which aims to improve water and
sanitation (FIAFormula E, n.d.). Another way to achieve image enhancement,
i.e. raise the visibility, credibility and legitimacy of an issue (Cashmore, 2006),
and increase the environmental profiling of sporting organizations’ activities
with media and audiences, is through becoming the subject of celebrity

26
endorsement (Lester, 2010; Tsaliki et al., 2011). Especially during the last two
decades, celebrities increasingly take up the role of endorsers of social and
environmental causes, so much so that it has now become part of a celebrity’s
job description (Lester, 2010; Cox, 2012; Panis & Van den Bulck, 2014; Van den
Bulck, 2018). Most importantly, this celebrity engagement extends to issues
regarding the environment, from celebrities driving eco-friendly cars such as
John Travolta (Toyota Prius), Lance Armstrong (Nissan Leaf) and George
Clooney (Tesla Roadster) (Wheelsforwomen, 2012) to celebrity activists such as
actor and race car driver Patrick Dempsey campaigning for road safety (FIA,
2018) or actor Leonardo DiCaprio addressing politicians at environmental world
summits (Palotta, 2014), marching with environmental protesters (Prince,
2014) and becoming Chairman of the Sustainability Committee of Formula E
(Price, 2015). With regards to ES, Brockington (2009, p. 24) contends that
celebrity endorsement functions as ‘a means by which environmental
narratives appear as more truthful’ to audiences, indicating ES efforts can
become more effective when endorsed by celebrities’. Logically, a celebrity
activist’s commitment can also boost his/her public visibility and, when kept up
over time, build authenticity (Samman et al., 2009; Meyer & Gamson, 1995).
However, when media and/or audiences discover a discrepancy between a
celebrity’s behaviour and a sporting organization’s ethos, for example Formula
One champion and road safety ambassador Lewis Hamilton taking a selfie when
riding a motorbike, or on revealing additional motives for the celebrity’s
support such as financial gain, celebrity endorsement can prove
counterproductive to both the organization’s and the celebrity’s image
(McCracken, 1989; Van den Bulck, 2018).
As with all celebrity endorsement, DiCaprio’s involvement can help raise
much needed visibility and goodwill with media and audiences (Tsaliki et al.
2011) for a new organisation’s brand (Formula E) that is working towards an
image (ES) that is different from that of its wider context (motorsport). Indeed,
as a new concept, what Formula E brings in innovation, it also brings in
uncertainty as ES has not been part of the values that fans traditionally
associate with motor racing with its long tradition of focusing on speed, danger

27
and glamour (Roy et al. 2010), while being criticised for its disregard for the
environment (Smith & Westerbeek 2004).

The Media And Motorsport

Conceptualizing Representation

Having conceptualised both motorsport and ES, a third important concept

underlying this Ph.D. is the way motorsport and ES are presented in the media,
i.e. media representation. As both verb and noun, the Chambers Concise
Dictionary (represent, 2000; representation, 2000) provides the following
descriptions of representation:
(a) To represent: ‘to use, or serve, as a symbol for; to stand for; to exhibit,
depict, personate or show an image if, by imitative art’
(b) Representation: ‘the act, state or fact of representing or being
represented; an image; picture; dramatic performance; a
presentation of a view of facts or arguments’
What these definitions indicate is that the act of representing that makes
up representation is in fact centered around the production of meaning
through words and images used and stories told. As Stuart Hall et al. (2013, p.
45) suggests: ‘representation is the process by which members of a culture use
language (broadly defined as any system which deploys signs) to produce
meaning’. Indeed, as Du Gay’s ‘circuit of culture’ (1997) reveals, meaning is
constantly being produced and exchanged through interaction, albeit personal,
social or, in fact, mediated. In relation to the latter, meaning is currently
produced in a wide range of different media, i.e. local and global, traditional
and digital that circulate meanings between cultures rapidly and globally (Hall
et al., 2013). However, as a result of these cross-cultural pathways and because
cultures inherently differ from one another, different meanings can arise from
one media text which points towards an inherent polysemic character of media
texts (Kennedy & Hills, 2009). As such, Hall et al. (2013) suggests this inherently
requires an acceptance of at least a degree of cultural relativism between

28
cultures as well as a lack of equivalence and the subsequent need for
translation during the act of navigating between cultures. Codes, as social
conventions rather than fixed ‘rules’ due to the changing nature of meanings
over time, allow for such translation. Indeed, and considering culture functions
as a process as can be deducted from Du Gay’s circuit of culture (1997), a
constructivist approach to representation involves social actors using a
conceptual, linguistic and representational system to represent concepts to
communicate about the world in a meaningful way to others (Hall et al., 2013,
p. 11).
The successful production of meaning, however, is correlated to, and
dependent on, the process of interpretation. Indeed, Hall’s (1980) model of
media communication suggests an active understanding and usage of codes for
the processes of encoding and decoding. In doing so, it positions the media to
be the result of a negotiation between on the one hand institutional producers
of meaning and the other hand audiences as producers of meaning (Kennedy &
Hills, 2009). In other words, rather than simply absorbing a message, audiences
as active social actors can generate meaning through different readings of
media texts. This subsequently lays bare the importance of power in the
process of media representation. On the other hand, it implies that when the
process of encoding and decoding occurs in different regions, countries or
cultures, the efficiency in terms of the production of meaning can be affected.
For example, a media message outlining the need to get more women involved
in motorsport and encoded by BBC World might not be decoded by British
audiences in the same way as by Middle-Eastern audiences. As such, media
representations of national and international (motor) sport can be seen as the
product of a number of production practices that are framed by (professional)
ideologies set within a context of institutional structures, i.e. are positioned
within historical, economic and political settings, which all simultaneously
embody hegemonic relations that constitute societies (Whannel, 2002;
Hetsroni, 2004; Boyle & Monteiro, 2005). Bearing all this in mind, two key
points concerning media representations need further attention, namely (1)
that media representations are dependent on the media landscape from which

29
they originate and (2) that media representations can apply to a wide range of
things including identity and various other issues. Regarding the first, the
manner in which media ownership is concentrated and the wider political
economy of the media directly affects economic competition and
representation of content (Carvalho, 2005). Indeed, media industries are meant
to be part of a democratic process in which the public can objectively become
informed about daily national and international (sporting) issues yet have long
since sparked significant concerns about how television, radio, newspapers,
and online/social media are owned and how this affects public access to
reasoned debate (Abercrombie, 1996). Often with a view to increasing brand
awareness through communication and corporate strategies, media
corporations buy (parts of) sports clubs, teams and organizations to control
both distribution and content, a process called vertical integration, and which
can directly affect objective standards for representation (Boyle & Haynes,
2009). Although a more extreme example, the Atlanta Braves (Major League
Baseball, USA) were first owned by Ted Turner, the media magnate who at that
time also owned television stations WTBS, CNN and TNT after which they
became part of Time Warner (Wenner, 2002). Another factor that affects
representation is state/media censorship. According to The Economist, China’s
‘authoritarian’ internet censorship apparatus continuously blocks ‘undesirable’
foreign websites and mobilises ‘an army of cyber-police … and paid online
propagandists to watch, filter, censor and guide Chinese internet users’ (Yang,
2014). As Yang (2014) indicates, one of the cultural responses by Chinese
netizens is to adopt the practice of recoding, i.e. the use of codes (words and
images) to (re) circulate information that is deemed sensitive by the state.
Despite the effort to keep alive topics and issues through recoding, state, i.e.
political, censorship greatly affects representation.
Besides censorship, political inclination or affiliation of media also play a
part in the process of representation. For example, studies conducted with a
focus on American media reveal that conservative media such as Fox News and
the Wall Street Journal are much more counteracting claims of climate change
per se or as a direct result of human action on the environment in comparison

30
to less conservative television media such as MSNBC or CNN or print media such
as The New York Times and the Washington Post (Dunlap and McCright, 2011;
Nisbet, 2011; Feldman et al., 2012; Feldman et al., 2015). Similarly, a study of
the British elite press revealed clear ideological perspectives that were
underlying and embedded in representations of scientific claims about climate
change and the environment (Carvalho, 2007; Feldman et al., 2015). As such, it
is important to bear in mind that the media can play an important role in the
sustenance but also contestation of political choices (Carvalho, 2005).
Turning to the second key point, representation by the media applies to
a wide range of issues centered around power relations, such as for example
identity. One particular example is national identity, i.e. the cohesive force that
holds a nation state together and shapes the relationship it has with other
nations (Billig, 2002). As such, national identity is one pattern of orientation set
within a larger set of multiple social identities that become relevant depending
on varying contexts (Billig, 2002). More importantly, an individual’s sense of
national identity and characteristic stereotypical images of other nations can
be traced back to the way in which the media represent sport (Whannel, 2002).
Such representations are inherently polysemic in nature whereby national
media continuously contribute to a marking and remarking of difference
depending on issues and frames of national socio-economic and political
interest (Billig, 2002). Another notion regarding media representation of
identity concerns gender identity or, more specifically, the representation of
biological difference between male and female which has long been central to
perceptions of sport and/in society (Kennedy and Hills, 2009; Boyle and Haynes,
2009). Indeed, and despite a considerable rise of women media professionals
in print, online and broadcast media and which acts as a normalizing factor, the
media is still a key site for maintaining and reinforcing dominant ideologies and
subsequent values, ideas and notions regarding gender inequality in media
sport (Boyle & Haynes, 2009). One study by Messner (2007) revealed that
despite growing efforts and a growing participation rate of women athletes in
sport, this increase has not been reflected in subsequent media coverage.

31
This indicates that representation works as much through what is not shown as
through what is (Hall et al., 2013).

From Identity and Image …

Considering the near omnipresence of media representation in contemporary

and capitalist society, the construction of identity, and image for that matter,
also plays an important part in the success of businesses and organizations
alike. Indeed, the construction of organizational identity, i.e. ‘a self-
categorization process in which organizational members internalise their
perceptions and express their beliefs about their organization’ by answering
the question ‘who are we’ (Wan et al., 2015, p. 209), represents the internal
perceptions of an organization and the way that organization wants to be seen
by the outside world. In a digital world, the use of a website as an external
communication tool presents one of the easiest ways for an organization to
choose its own organizational identity and to market itself (Haase-Reed et al.,
2007; Wan et al., 2015). The use of such a ‘digital storefront’ also helps to
circumvent, at least initially, potential scrutiny and gatekeeping functions of the
media (Haase-Reed et al., 2007). Although closely related to organizational
identity, the organizational image on the other hand, indicates how outsiders
see and appraise an organization (Dhalla, 2007). According to Wan et al. (2015),
the organizational image comes about through the process of self-
(re)presentation whereby it emerges as the result of the communication
process between the organization and outsiders, i.e. the media, the public or
others. In doing so, the media and the audience are considered to be ‘active’ in
the sense that the process of decoding for them occurs as a choice of three
readings, i.e. hegemonic, negotiated or oppositional (Hall, 1980; Hall et al.,
2013).

32
… to Environmental Issues/ Sustainability

Representation does not only relate to issues of (organizational) identity but

also to issues such as ES, either as a separate entity or as a as part of an
organization’s identity. Particularly the way in which discursive practices
contribute to the construction and evolution of environmental meanings in the
media are important both for public understanding and for political debates,
judgements, and resolutions (Carvalho, 2005). Since the early 2000s, there has
been a surge of academic interest in representations of the environment
relating to sustainability, climate change and a range of other issues, in both
the media and its subsequent discourses (Carvalho, 2005; Lester, 2010). Studies
such as Boykoff and Mansfield (2008), Carvalho and Pereira (2008) and Smith
and Joffe (2009) have looked at media representations of the environment in a
variety of temporal and geographical contexts. In their study on social
representations of climate change in British media from 1988, Jaspal and
Nerlich’s (2012, p. 135-6) analysis shows that the British broadsheet press
encourages subsequent representation as ‘a multi-faceted threat with various
supporting peripheral elements’ (see also Abric, 2001; Boykoff, 2008) which
implicitly activate a collective action frame of mitigation (see also Olausson,
2009). The representations of environmental issues such as climate change as
a threat (Abric, 2001) and ES as a solution (Cox, 2012) appear most often.
Despite a continued media attention over time, media coverage of
environmental issues such as ES are rarely granted priority as a dominant topic
due to an inherent limitation in terms of newsworthiness, i.e. its limited ability
to attract readers (Lester, 2010; Cox, 2012). Consequently, the frequent
‘invisibility’ of environmental issues and sustainability mean audiences are
largely dependent on the media, which have been shown to be neither
‘innocent’ nor neutral in their representations, and their stories to ‘hear’ or
‘read’ about the climate and sustainability (Cox, 2012). The ‘making visible’ of
this invisibility of environmental issues requires a great deal of communicative
work as, inherently, environmental/ ES news ‘is largely event focused and event
driven’ which impacts ‘which environmental issues get coverage and which

33
don’t’ (Lester, 2010; Hansen 2010, p. 95-6) which, in turn, impacts how the
environment and related issues such as ES are represented. Here, too,
representation works as much through what is shown as through what is not
shown (Messner, 2007; Hall et al., 2013).
Based on the above, this Ph.D. examines first in what way and to what extent
an issue such as ES is represented as a part of a sporting organization’s
organizational identity. Second, it examines how and to what extent these
media representations of ES impact the media representations of the sporting
organization itself. In doing so, this Ph.D. hopes to uncover any subsequent
hegemonic relations underlying such representations.

Representation and The (Motor) Sports-Media Complex

Through the emergence of the sporting press, sports pages, sports movies,
television sport and sports on social media, both the media and subsequent
media texts have been, and still are, instrumental in constantly reformulating
and shaping our understanding of the meaning of sport (Horne, et al., 1999),
and subsequently of motorsport, within cultural and societal contexts. This
process is commonly referred to as the mediatization of sport and can be said
to be largely shaped by processes such as globalization, individualization and
commercialization (Livingstone, 2009; Hepp, 2011; Frandsen (2014). According
to Jarvie (2018), such a constant reformulation of our understanding of the
meaning of sport is made possible through a flexibility, elasticity and
interactivity of the sports-media texts which provide the sports-media space
with a limitless capacity to exchange information, to integrate and to exclude
as well as influence the boundaries of what constitutes sport and how sport
and related issues are represented through the sports-media complex. Helland
(2007, p. 105-6), too, suggests that the relationship between sport and the
media has led to the development of the ‘sports-media complex’. Jhally (1989)
is the first to have referred to the notion of the sports-media complex as the
result of the commercialization of both the sporting and media industries, not
in the least television and social media, through new technologies and
enhanced social developments. They have become entangled to the point that
34
they hardly can be separated from one another. This is largely due to the
symbiotic nature of the relationship which Wenner (2002, p. 9) describes as a
‘dance’ between sporting organizations and media organizations, i.e. the
owners of broadcast networks, satellite super channels (e.g. Sky), local radio
and television stations and newspapers, magazines and other forms of printed
press. A recent example is the recent buy-out of Formula One, which was
previously owned by the Formula One Group led by Bernie Ecclestone, by the
American mass media and Fortune 500 company Liberty Media Corporation.
Yet, Frandsen (2014) points outs out that although individual case studies from
the sports-media complex perspective illustrate both hegemonic (quantitative)
and explicit (qualitative) aspects of media culture, they are often extrapolated
as general social and cultural trends. She therefore suggests to not exclusively
adhere to a media-centric perspective, but to make use of a more
interdisciplinary approach, through for example the inclusion of historical
perspectives, that could further our understanding of how the media affects
and contributes to society and culture alike (Frandsen, 2014; Billings and
Wenner, 2017).
Although Formula One, and early motorsport in general, was not the
highly sponsored and media-rich business that it has been for some time now,
it has always been commercialised (Nye, 1994; Grant-Braham, 1996). From its
early beginnings, the connection between the sport and the automobile
industry has been obvious: not only has there been a transfer from motorsport
technology into road car manufacturing (for Formula One this is much less so
now than what it used to be) but also to the marketing, i.e. advertising and
promotion, of automotive manufacturers (Foxall & Johnston, 1991; Grant-
Braham, 1996) based on the ‘race on Sunday, sell on Monday’ principle (Miller,
2018). More specifically, this sports-media symbiosis entails that media
coverage of sporting events provides a vast amount of content for the media
itself. Indeed, from a self-promotion point of view, the media can apply
strategic measures to draw in audiences for their advertisers, something which
has proven vital for (traditional) media as they have been repositioning their
appeals in an attempt to attract new audiences in a time of increased online

35
media activity (Boyle & Haynes, 2009). This, in turn, helps to raise the sport’s
appeal and value through sponsorship and advertising (Helland 2007; Kidd,
2013). However, Helland (2007) also posits a paradox, namely that the media
constitute great potential for exposure but are also weak at safeguarding
journalistic ideals because of political (e.g. vertical integration) and economic
(e.g. advertising and sponsorship) obligations. In Formula E’s case, free access
to its broadcasting rights will most likely (cf. Chauhan 2015) generate increased
exposure, but considering broadcasters’ predefined time and content restraints
which limit the selection of relevant stories (Lewis & Weaver 2013), it remains
to be seen if this will indeed positively impact exposure of Formula E’s ES
efforts.

Representations of Motorsport

The 21st century has seen an increase in attention to the area of motorsport in
sociology, culture studies and beyond, resulting in a number of contributions
that have studied representations of motorsport.
In a comparative study on the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the
Indianapolis 500, Sturm (2017) found that both events make use of informative
and entertaining production techniques that underlay the way they are
represented in the media as spectacles of speed. These events validate their
status by reinforcing unique traditions, prestige and histories which, in turn, are
re-codified for audiences through mediated processes (Sturm, 2017). Lowes
(2018, p. 215) looked at Formula One and local cosmopolitan discourse and
concluded that Formula One motorsport and its role in urban place-marketing
strategies is best understood as the result of a complex interplay of image,
spectacle, sport, and capitalism which make the sporting event into an example
of the complexities and paradoxes of the lived experience of local
cosmopolitanism and whereby the landscape of the cosmopolitan world-class
city constitutes a form of representation for Formula One.

36
Representing Environmental Sustainability in Motorsport

A considerable amount of academic literature focuses on citizens’ growing

awareness of ES as a means to reduce harmful practices on society and its
implementation in the world of sport (Sheth & Babiak 2010). In the case of
motorsport, Lowes (2004) investigated the media representation of the impact
of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix on the local environment, showing
how media pay attention to motorsport as disruptive, paying attention to the
Save the Albert Park protest Group opposition that emphasised the effects on
the ecosystem, i.e. disruption to wild life and public life as well as detracting
from public use of a green space (Sturm, 2018). Another study by Haase-Reed
et al. (2007) found that, as a result of a socially responsible sport starting to
acknowledge its own ecological footprint and developing appropriate policies,
media increasingly focus on ES in sports despite it suffering from a limited
newsworthiness, i.e. a limited ability to attract readers (Cox 2012). Still, a media
focus on ES can pressure sporting businesses (e.g. Formula One, Formula E) and
organizations (e.g. FIA) by monitoring and scrutinizing their (ES) efforts, or by
means of positively communicating corporations’ ES efforts along with
commitments to stakeholders (Trendafilova et al. 2013). Hassan and O’Kane
(2011) looked into (the media coverage of) the Dakar Rally and its impact on
the development of environmental Corporate Social Responsibility within
motorsports. They show that the organisers of the Dakar Rally implemented
CSR by means of the ‘Actions Dakar Project’ which was scrutinised by the media
and environmental organizations as a smokescreen to reduce criticism. As such,
the question arises to what extent media representations in Formula E consider
ES to be a smokescreen.

37
Summarizing the Research Questions

Based on the literature set out in this chapter, we formulate a number of

research questions. The Ph.D.’s main aim is to understand:
how and to what extent do the media represent ES in Formula E?
and
how and to what extent do media representations of ES affect the overall
representation of Formula E?
These two main research questions are broad in scope and require a set of
secondary, more specific research questions:
First, and with a view to the use of CSR and ES as a means for an organization
such as Formula E to manage its own organizational identity and image,
how does Formula E choose to represent itself in relation to ES?
Second, and by means of media type comparison, this Ph.D. also aims to
ascertain
how and to what extent media representations of (ES in) Formula E differ
depending on different media types?
Third, based on the symbiotic interplay of integrating celebrity activists in
corporate and organizational environments, we ask
how and to what extent does the involvement of a major celebrity
activist impact media representations of ES in Formula E?
Fourth, and final, we aim to contextualize the previous research questions and
their subsequent findings:
How and to what extent is the current situation of media representations
of (ES in) Formula E similar to earlier representations of motorsport?
In the following chapter, these core and secondary research questions are
operationalized on the basis of sampling and choice of methods.

38
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 CHAPTER 2
METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

Methodological Setup

A Mixture of Methods

In this Ph.D., a combination of methods is adopted as a means to obtain a

deeper understanding of how and to what extent ES in Formula E is represented
in a range of media and, additionally, how Formula E is represented during the
same process. As this Ph.D. is built around a number of case studies, each
makes use of the most appropriate approach and research method in relation
to the research question. This requires a number of clarifications. First, this
Ph.D. crosses the boundaries of specific paradigms (e.g. cultural studies, social
sciences and even humanities) and combines the best-suited methods for each
research topic and question. Second, the research strategies adopted in this
research are primarily inductive, i.e. starting from the data to develop
conceptual insights, yet in some instances also deductive, i.e. testing theory-
derived hypotheses by means of data (Bryman, 2012). Third, this Ph.D. makes
use of an interplay between qualitative research (e.g. framing analysis and
thematic analysis) and quantitative research (e.g. content analysis). As Bryman
(2012) indicates, this not only allows for improved sampling and potential
triangulation but also for more comprehensive research questions to be
posited within one study, such as for example in chapter two where the
research question is not only how ES is represented in newspaper coverage of
the UK and Flanders, but also how much coverage of ES exists in these media.
Indeed, the added value of the interplay between qualitative and quantitative
methods is that it provides a more elaborate understanding of the research
topic as it offers ‘different types of intelligence’ (Ritchie, 2003, p. 38).

This chapter sets out the different methods by means of their characteristics,
advantages and disadvantages, and how they are applied in this Ph.D.

52
Methodologies for the Study of Representation

The study of (media) representation has various ways of approaching it. For
example, considering the (omnidirectional) power-knowledge relations that
permeate all levels of society and which are inherent to representation (Hall,
2013). Foucault (1977; 1980) suggests the route of looking at representation
through the study of discourse. However, up to today, there is no agreement
among cultural studies researchers what discourse truly means and,
subsequently, how to analytically approach it (Bryman, 2012) to the extent that
discourse analysis ‘sometimes comes close to standing for everything, and thus
nothing’ (Alvesson & Kärreman, 2000, p. 1128). Another and more suitable
approach for the Ph.D.’s goals of textual analysis is that of framing analysis
which takes into consideration not only the importance of language and themes
but is also constituted through frames as powerful units of discourse (D’Angelo,
2002). More so, framing is near-inherent to society as public life is nearly
impossible to conceive of without frames and framing practices (Callaghan &
Schnell, 2005). Thus, adopting a framing approach, as this Ph.D. does, allows to
understand how occurrences of a given narrative form, i.e. hard or soft stories
that break or continue in various (media) formats, construct meanings of what
appear to be isolated issues and events (D’Angelo, 2010).

From Theory to Practice: Framing Analysis

Framing has become an increasingly popular approach for media

communication research (D’Angelo & Kuypers, 2010). Although initially used
predominantly for research in political communication (De Vreese, 2005), it has
now established itself as a successful research method that is grounded in firm
theoretical understandings and balanced trends of empirical findings
(D’Angelo, 2010) for various domains, including those adhering to both ES and
sports-media studies. To this extent, framing analysis by now enjoys a deep-
rooted tradition in mediated sports research and has been used by many
researchers analysing sports (media) companies on the basis of frames
rendered (Turner, 2014). Interestingly, Van Gorp (2010) states that many

53
framing studies choose to adopt a deductive analysis approach over an
inductive analysis approach. The former uses a predefined and limited set of
frames and is combined with the empirical aim to decide to what extent these
existing frames are applied in news, on websites, in TV series etc, yet do not
provide answers to the origins of such frames or on what level and by which
techniques they are to be observed (Van Gorp, 2010). An inductive analysis,
although more complicated in its execution, is able to provide more ‘rich’ data
to answer such questions compared to the more popular deductive analysis
approach and, as such, provides the main motivation for its selection by this
Ph.D.
Since its emergence as a widely applicable research method, framing has
drawn in an array of scholars (see Gamson & Modigliani, 1989; Gitlin, 1980;
Goffman, 1974; Iyengar, 1991; Benford & Snow, 2000; Scheufele, 2004; Van
Gorp, 2010) that have focused on its theoretical characteristics and as such,
slightly varying definitions of framing exist. However, Entman’s (1993, p. 52)
definition is widely considered among scholars to be the most accurate in
depicting framing, namely as ‘a process whereby a frame suggests which
aspects of reality are selected, rejected, emphasised, or modified in the
production of a media text and, at the same time, provides the audience with
context and suggested meaning’. Subsequently, by selecting what to emphasise
and what to exclude, the media effectively influences the messages the
audience receives by providing them with a suggested meaning which is the
consequence of the effect of power relations (Cheek 2004; Van Gorp 2004). Of
course, the process of framing renders frames. These can be defined as
‘persistent patterns of cognition, interpretation, and presentation, of selection,
emphasis, and exclusion, by which symbol-handlers routinely organise
discourse, whether verbal or visual’ (Gitlin, 1980, p. 7). Further, according to
Entman (1993, p. 52), ‘to frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality
and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to
promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral
evaluation and/or treatment recommendation for the item described’. The
latter four elements make up the defining functions of frames and, as reasoning

54
devices, constitute the core logical flow that may come about when an issue is
linked to a specific frame (Van Gorp, 2010) and act as the guiding principles in
the framing analyses of this Ph.D. Reasoning devices are accompanied by
framing devices or manifest elements within a text that function as indicators
of a (re)constructed frame (Van Gorp, 2010). Such framing devices consist of
lexicon/ word choice, metaphors, stereotypes, depictions and catchphrases
and can also include visual imagery. Although other framing devices exist, these
are most commonly referred to (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989). Importantly,
word and image numbers, text layout, article on page placement and the
editing of audiovisual production fall under the category of formatting devices,
rather than under framing devices (Van Gorp, 2010). The most important
difference between the two sorts of devices lies with the fact that reasoning
devices can be implicit in a mediated message whereas framing devices cannot
(D’Angelo & Kuypers, 2010). Together, reasoning and framing devices form the
integrated structure that indicates how any given frame functions to represent
a certain issue and that makes up the frame package (Van Gorp, 2010).
As with many methodological approaches, there are advantages and
disadvantages associated with the adoption of a framing approach. A first
advantage for the use of a framing analysis is that it allows for the analysis of
both media and audience frames. As such, it deals with providing insight in both
production and reception of frames that have come about through the process
of encoding and decoding (Hall, 2013). A second advantage is that a qualitative
framing approach tends to allow for a greater emphasis to both the political
and cultural content of news frames as specific and explicit agents of ideological
processes that are more general and encompass news themes, topics and
issues (Reese, 2010). Considering then that framing connects media production
and content and that frames are embedded in society, framing is also widely
considered to provide insight in the underlying norms and values of a society
(Van Gorp, 2007; Reese, 2008; Reese, 2010). Third, a framing analysis provides
a productive approach for comparative and longitudinal research. In particular,
it allows insight into how certain frames tend to (re)appear over time and from
which media sources, e.g. news articles, broadcast commentary and online

55
news and gossip media. A fourth advantage is that a framing analysis allows for
an immediate understanding of the essential elements of a given mediated
message through the use of reasoning devices that are inherently linked to the
four functions of framing (i.e. problem, cause, moral evaluation and treatment/
solution recommendation) (Entman, 1993; Van Gorp, 2010). Subsequently, this
provides a holistic approach to both media and audience texts and more so
than simply counting the number of times a word appears, it allows for an
inductive research approach (i.e. reconstructing frames based on the sample
data) especially in qualitative framing analyses (Claessens, 2013).
A first, main disadvantage of an inductive framing analysis is that it is less
suitable for larger datasets. As a means to overcome this disadvantage, Van
Gorp (2010) suggests the validity of inductively generated results can be
increased significantly by applying a subsequent, deductive, analysis of the
same sample (Van Gorp, 2010). A second disadvantage associated with a
framing analysis more generally is that the quality of results is highly dependent
on the quality of the selected data (Claessens, 2013). To overcome this issue,
the sample data for the framing analyses in each of the Ph.D.’s case studies
have been selected according to a set of stringent rules. For example, for the
framing analysis of chapter three, the sample consisted of three television
broadcasts of Formula E whereby each broadcast constituted the first race of
Formula E’s first, second and third seasons and which all could be broken into
the macro-sections pre-race, race and post-race (Evans, 2013) (see below for a
more detailed overview of the framing analyses in chapters two to four). Third,
to some, framing oversimplifies media texts by assigning a single frame to a text
when there may, in effect, be many different frames (Matthes & Kohring,
2008). This Ph.D. has solved this by not taking a full (text) article or broadcast
as its unit of analysis. Rather it uses a set of sentences that created a meaningful
segment. When visual material was analysed (as part of the case study in
chapter one), the smallest unit of analysis was a single image. However, when
a webpage consisted of a large compilation of image-only material such as, for
example, webpages under the section ‘gallery’, images were analysed in
groups. Fourth, (qualitative) framing analyses of media texts, of course, cannot

56
say anything about the reception of these frames, i.e. the decoding thereof (cf.
Hall, 2013). To somewhat rectify this, the framing analysis in chapter three
incorporates not just a sample of online media articles but also audience
reactions to some of these articles. While the analysis of audience reactions
only covers a limited group in society (Van Zoonen, 2007), and is therefore not
representative of the wider population, I consider this as less of a problem
considering this Ph.D.’s focus on the production side of media messages and
the additional fact that generalization of results is not a primary objective.
For this Ph.D., a framing analysis is used in three chapters, namely
chapters four, five and six. Chapter four looks at the representation of ES and
Formula E in UK and Flemish newspaper coverage of Formula E and plays into
the advantage of applying framing analysis for comparative and longitudinal
research both within and between the UK and Flanders. For each country, the
two bestselling quality and popular newspapers based on national circulation
were chosen and accessed by means of online databases LexisNexis (UK) and
GoPress Academic (Flanders). In the case of the United Kingdom, newspaper
selection includes The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, and The Daily Mail.
For Flanders, this includes coverage from De Morgen, De Standaard, Het
Laatste Nieuws, and Het Nieuwsblad. Further, articles were selected by means
of a keyword search (search terms: ‘Formula E’ for UK coverage and ‘Formula
E’ and ‘Formule E’ for Flemish coverage) and during the period 12 January 2012
– the date the first article on Formula E appeared in the corpus - to 11
November 2016, the first date of the corpus compilation. The qualitative
analysis is also added to by means of quantitative results obtained through a
content analysis. This study effectively combines quantitative and qualitative
work, with an emphasis laying on the latter. The quantitative content analysis
comprised of seven variables and their subcategories, found in the literature
(Rowe, 2007; Tang, 2012; Gan et al., 2005; Horky & Nieland, 2013). The
subsequent categories include date of publication, dominant sport, article
topics, article type, sources, article valence, and title valence. These categories
were tested on a subsample of 60 of all 249 articles (24%) to evaluate not only
the usefulness of selected, but also the need for additional, (sub) categories.

57
For the qualitative framing analysis, all articles that made explicit mention of ES
are selected which renders a sample of 66 ES related articles (UK: 60 and
Flanders: 6). Inductive analysis of the data in each article is based on the
identification of framing devices (cf. Gamson & Modigliani, 1989) and reasoning
devices (Entman, 1993) and entered into a framing matrix to reveal similarities
and patterns so as to eventually provide an overview of the different frame
packages and their subsequent frames.
Chapter five exclusively uses a qualitative and inductive framing analysis
to gain further insight into the representation of ES by live television
broadcasting of Formula E. Considering a framing analysis allows for
comparative and longitudinal research to be conducted, three live-broadcasts
of Formula E are selected. Further selection criteria that rendered these
broadcasts for the sample are fourfold. First, broadcasts share a similarity in
terms of format (i.e. season opening races) yet allow for a more specific
longitudinal view than a random selection of races during the same period
would provide. Second, the sample includes races exclusively held in South-East
Asia (Beijing and Hong Kong) which still has the highest level of deaths due to
air pollution on the planet (World Health Organization, 2018) and consequently
might instigate ES commentary. Third, broadcasts are produced from a UK
perspective, grounded in the country’s world-leading motorsport industry
(House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skill Committee 2010). Lastly,
and despite stringent sampling rules such as the ones used here, the sample
still contains a level of pragmatism as other broadcasts not included in this
sample might indeed yield deviating results which, subsequently, affects
generalizability. With this in mind, a final sampling requirement was that only
Formula E season opening race broadcasts, which are most likely to include new
information regarding the racing series (i.e. technology, rules and regulations
and thus, possibly, ES), were included. The final sample thus consists of the
2014 ITV45 Beijing Formula ePrix, the 2015 ITV4 Beijing Formula EPrix and the

5
ITV4 is part of the ITV broadcasting company which is the main free-to-air company in the UK.

58
2016 Channel 56 Hong Kong Formula EPrix. Primary data were sampled from
both television and online platforms. In conformity with Gamson & Modigliani
(1989), D’Angelo & Kuypers (2010) and Van Gorp (2010), the sample was coded
inductively with the aim of extracting the reasoning and framing devices and
positioning them in a frame matrix with the aim of unearthing similarities and
patterns and rendering the frames themselves.
Chapter six provides insights into the (mutual) impact of Leonardo
DiCaprio association with Formula E through ES advocacy on online media
sources and subsequent audience comment sections. Much in the same way as
the previous chapter, this chapter is exclusively qualitative in character and
looks at both the media production of messages (encoding) and reception/
production of these messages by audiences (decoding) (Hall, 2013). The sample
of the fourth framing analysis was selected on the basis of three main
occurrences relating to Leonardo DiCaprio’s involvement with Formula E for
which each occurrence functioned as the initiator of a two-month sample
window, (09/12/2013 - 09/ 02/2014; 22/10/2015 - 22/01/2015; 14/07/2017 -
14/09/2017). In addition to these parameters, a subsequent Internet search
(using the search engine Google) also included the keywords ‘Leonardo
DiCaprio’ and ‘Formula E’ with the aim of generating results from as wide a
range of online media as possible (e.g. ranging from online news media and
gossip media to environmental media and automotive media). This results in
an preliminary total of 186 articles which is further reduced to 118 articles
because articles with a mere mention of DiCaprio’s name are removed. For the
remaining 118 articles, all accompanying comments, 632 in total, are retrieved.
Articles and reactions are then coded for type of source (celebrity gossip,
automotive, general news) and news event after which an inductive framing
analysis (Van Gorp, 2010) is then applied, first to all media articles, and
afterwards to all audience comments. The inductively reconstructed frames not

6
Channel 5 is a British commercial broadcaster which took over from ITV4 after it dropped
broadcasting Formula E for the third Formula E season (2016-2017).

59
only provide valuable insights in the representation of Leonardo DiCaprio, but
also in terms of the representations of both ES and Formula E.

Complementary Approaches: From A Political Economy to an Archival Approach

Where chapters four, five and six adopt a qualitative framing analysis, chapters
three and seven do not. Still adhering to the realm of qualitative research
traditions, the relevance of both chapters lies in providing further
contextualization of the varying framing analysis results from on the one hand
a socio-economic and political perspective and on the other hand from a
historical perspective. More importantly, both approaches are directly relevant
for the analysis of media representations.
Bearing in mind Boyle and Haynes’s (2009, p. 13) argument that any
attempt to understand fully the relationship between mediated sport and
forms of representations inherently requires insight into underlying economic
and political structures of a sporting organization, chapter one aims to provide
some preliminary results to benefit, i.e. contextualise, the initial starting
position of the framing analyses. While ES and CSR are in marketing terms
considered as potentially contributing positively to a company’s or
organization’s image (Dingle, 2009; Fairley et al., 2009) such as, in this case
Formula E, it is important to understand how these marketing strategies
relating to motorsport are positioned within a wider political economy of
communication, i.e. ‘the study of the social relations, particularly the power
relations, that mutually constitute the production, distribution and
consumption of resources, including communication resources’ (Mosco, 2009,
p. 2, 24). Mosco (2009) states that since the 1940s, a political economy
approach has grown into a major and globally adopted perspective in
communication research and has by now successfully transitioned from a focus
on older, traditional media to new (online) media, and most specifically the
internet. He goes on that an inherent characteristic of this approach is that
communication practices and technologies, not least new media, both
contribute to the commodification process by which goods and services with a
high use value are transformed into marketable products as commodities
60
(Mosco, 2009). Logically speaking then, a political economy of communication
approach can play an important part in the quest for online (self-
)representations of an organization’s image.
This is especially the case considering that commodification extends to
professional sport, i.e. the socio-economic process of transforming a sport into
a business (Sturm, 2011), and ES (Dorsey et al., 2004) whereby the promotion
of commodity consumption through factors of commodification (glamour,
celebrity aspect, advertising and gamification) as environmentally sustainable
is also commonly associated with the practice of greenwashing (Cox & Pezzullo,
2015). As a means of operationalization, chapter three uses a quantitative
content analysis to analyse Formula E’s website as means for self-
representational control. As such, and after a scraping of the website by means
of FireShot software which revealed a total of 201 webpages, the eventual
codebook is based on both relevant literature and a preliminary pass of a
sample of Formula E’s webpages and comprised of webpage identification
information, general information and factors of commodification (see
codebook for more details) and was applied to each webpage. In addition, and
considering this Ph.D.’s emphasis on qualitative research, this quantitative
content analysis was followed by a secondary qualitative thematic analysis. The
reasoning behind adopting this qualitative method is twofold. First, a thematic
analysis is considered to be one of the most common of qualitative approaches
and as such works well as an initial and exploratory method (Bryman, 2012).
Second, the identification of themes forms an important component to the
process of framing, i.e. frames encompass themes, alongside topics and issues
(cf. Reese, 2010). Drawing from Ryan and Bernard (2003) and Bryman (2012),
the practical operationalization of the thematic analysis involved analyzing
each webpage on the basis of theory-related material, metaphors and
analogies, transitions of topics, missing data and, most importantly, repetitions.
The inclusion of all of these criteria warrants a higher validity of the results as
repetitions in themselves are insufficient to warrant being labelled a theme
(Bryman, 2012). Indeed, the identification of themes on Formula E’s website
requires taking into consideration the continuities and linkages between all of

61
the initial codes assigned on the basis of the abovementioned criteria (Bryman,
2012). Subsequently, by providing both quantitative and qualitative results,
chapter three is able to, first, expose important socio-economic and political
links and foundations that underly the self-presentation of Formula E and ES in
Formula E and, second, provide a valuable starting ground for the media
framing analyses as well as for drawing following comparisons.
Where chapter three provides insights into the political economy of
Formula E, chapter seven examines the origins of early representations of
televised motorsport in the UK. In doing so, it answers Boyle and Haynes’s
(2009) claim that contemporary research into media-sport recognises the
importance and added value of a historical perspective as ‘it can offer a sense
of long- and short-term trends that are not always visible to present centered
disciplinary approaches (Polley, 1998 in Boyle & Haynes, 2009). As a means of
operationalization, chapter seven adopts an archival approach to achieve his.
Heng et al. (2018) provide four arguments for adopting such an approach. First,
archival studies allow for a diachronic examination of phenomena within
(mediated) society. Second, such an approach allows for the notion of ‘realism
which increases external validity by ensuring that predicated relationships hold
true in real-life circumstances’ (Heng et al., 2018, p. 18). Third, it tends to
analyse sample data that were stored for reasons other than purely academic.
Fourth, an archival analysis encourages the use of a variety of archival data
sources, for example data from professionals, books, television archives etc.,
and subsequent datasets constituting one larger sample which ‘increases
confidence in the generalizability of the research findings to the larger
population’ (Heng et al., 2018, p. 17). Therefore, this study opts to combine a
more general archival analysis with a more specific biographical analysis.
Although also a form of archival analysis, such a biographical, i.e. qualitative,
analysis’s emphasis lies specifically with the construction of stories describing
a human’s perceived social reality alongside historical and culturally grounded
components in social and other contexts (Fillis, 2015; Downing, 2005; Fisher,
1987). Such a biographical analysis thus often provides valuable insights in
terms of individual or organizational behaviour, motives, identity and

62
conditions (Jones, 1998). Further, it assists in interpreting data, both
longitudinal and historic in character, that is contextualised by literature
(theory) (Fillis, 2015). Based on these, this study makes use of two datasets, i.e.
one based on the BBC Genome – Radio Times online archive is selected (BBC
Genome, 2018) where six keywords derived from literature review (scrambling,
rallycross, hill climb, Formula One, grand prix and motor racing) and five five-
year time periods (1946-1950; 1951-1955; 1956-1960; 1961-1965; 1966-1970)
generate 632 results. For the second dataset, both primary and secondary data
is used to help reduce the risk of hagiography associated with just one dataset,
i.e. the possible introduction of bias by an interviewee or author presenting an
idealised version of the truth (Fillis, 2015). One comprises of a semi-structured
interview with retired BBC motorsport commentator Murray Walker and the
second comprises of both additional material to the semi-structured interview
such as relevant published autobiographies, newspaper articles and a collection
of opinion pieces by industry professionals.
In a first stage of coding, irrelevant material and sections are filtered out
(Boyatzis 1998). Then, the remaining material is coded deductively and
thematically (Bryman, 2012). Finally, findings are contextualised with relevant
theoretical constructs (Heng et al., 2018). Although the sheer size and diversity
of archival studies benefits generalizability of results (Heng et al., 2018), the
public accessibility of records (the BBC Genome – Radio Times dataset and the
books are readily available and a transcript of the semi-structured interview can
be obtained from the author on request) generates a high level of data
transparency and enhances validity of findings.

Contribution of The Ph.D.

In conclusion, I want to point out a number of gaps in existing knowledge

regarding (motor)sports media and ES studies that are addressed in this Ph.D.
First, considering the severity and frequency with which criticisms of
sustainability have been uttered in relation to motorsport (Hickson, 2014), it is
surprising how few studies have looked at ES in motorsport (e.g. Dingle, 2009).

63
With regards to motorsport, in her media analysis of Formula One as a live
spectacle, Evans (2013) limited her focus to the ITV television broadcasts.
Although such an approach allows for a profound understanding of the concept
from this media source, it does not provide insight in a wide range of media
sources. Considering the increasing importance of examining mediated
representations not only of the media-sport relationship (Boyle & Haynes,
2009) but also in relation to ES, this Ph.D. constructs a multi-media analysis to
ascertain which representations of ES in Formula E exist but also how Formula
E is represented in the process: one case study analyses newspaper coverage,
a further case study analyses sports television broadcasting and another case
study analyses a combination of online media sources including, for example,
news media, gossip media, automotive media, environmental media etc.
Second, and by conducting a media analysis, this Ph.D. contributes to a
growing body of social sciences literature on motorsport studies (e.g. Evans,
2013; Evans, 2014; Naess, 2014; Sturm, 2011; Sturm, 2014; Sturm, 2017;
Howard & Miller, 2014). The reason that this subfield is still in its infancy is the
fact that sport was long seen as ‘unworthy of serious or sustained investigation’
and, as such, was one of the last significant areas of human activity to be
subjected to academic examination by scholars of social sciences (Boyle &
Haynes, 2009, p. 3). Indeed, academic interest started from the 1980s onwards
yet only garnered a systematic approach during the 1990s (Boyle & Haynes,
2009). As such, studies of sport and the media are still relatively ‘new’. On top
of this, more traditional popular ball and track and field sports have since
received initial and sustained academic interest (Horky & Nieland, 2013).
Motorsport, on the other hand, has long been reduced to the sideline despite
its considerable global and societal popularity as well as economic successes
(Hassan, 2011).
Third, and continuing on from Boyle and Haynes (2009), too often studies
neglect to include an analysis of underlying economic and political structures
that have intertwined environmental, sporting and media forms to understand
the relationship between sport (and ES) and subsequent media representations
thereof. As such, a further case study adopts a political economy approach to

64
gain a deeper understanding of the workings of Formula E through their
website.
Fourth, a popular trend of the last decade has been to acknowledge and
complement sports-media analyses with a historical perspective to add further
depth to results (Boyle & Haynes, 2009). For example, Helland (2007) adds a
historical backdrop to the study of the commercialization of modern media
sport which helped contextualise the study’s findings. Staying true to this trend,
this Ph.D. incorporates a case study which investigates the historical
development of the broadcasting of motorsport during the post-war years, a
time in which ES was not considered a relevant narrative, in what is still
considered the world’s leading motorsport country, namely Great Britain. In
doing so, this Ph.D. not only addresses an existing gap in sports media history,
this also provides added contextualization for this Ph.D.’s findings.
Finally, and in doing so, this Ph.D. aims to contribute to, as well as
strengthen, the multidisciplinary character of both media and (motor) sport
studies by combining principles and concepts from cultural studies,
communication studies and marketing studies with methods and concepts
from framing research first and foremost, and additionally from political
economy and archival research.
In all, this Ph.D. addresses three areas of study:

Media

Formula
E

Sport Environment

65
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 CHAPTER 3
THE WEBSITE AS A DIGITAL STOREFRONT:
AN ANALYSIS OF (COMMODIFICATION IN) FORMULA E’S
SELF-ORGANIZATIONAL REPRESENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY

Published Article: Robeers, T., and H. Van den Bulck. 2018. Towards an
Understanding of Side-Lining Environmental Sustainability in Formula E:
Traditional Values and the Emergence of eSports, Athens Journal of Sports, 5
(4): 331-50.

Preface

Discussing the first of four empirical case studies in this Ph.D., this chapter
provides a systematic insight in Formula E’s organizational self-representation
in general and, more specifically, in relation to ES. It provides a starting position
and a base of reference and comparison for subsequent empirical media
analyses (in particular the case studies in chapters four, five and six) as it
illustrates how Formula E presents itself to the world in relationship to ES (as
compared to how the media frame this, the topic of subsequent chapters). It
achieves this mainly by adopting a political economy approach. This approach
is rooted in (political) communication (Mosco, 2009) and is considered
invaluable to any in-depth sports-media analysis (Boyle & Haynes, 2009) as it
reveals stakeholder information and factors of commodification (Mosco, 2009;
Cox, 2012). As such, this study focusses exclusively on the production of text by
Formula E on its 2015 website, applying a systematic, i.e. mixed method,
analysis. It applies a quantitative content analysis followed by a more
qualitative thematic analysis (Bryman, 2012). Important concepts for this study
are primarily ES, (factors of) commodification and representations as well as,
to a lesser extent, celebrity and gamification.

71
Abstract

The electric racing series of Formula E is the motorsport’s governing body’s

latest initiative to promote and generate more sustainable transport. The
question remains however if its attempt to go ‘green’ is simply a smokescreen
for yet another commodity spectacle. By means of a mixed method approach,
this study investigates the self-representation of Formula E in relation to
environmental sustainability and factors of commodification. Results suggest
that Formula E makes use of marketing and educational advantages that come
with adopting an environmentally sustainable approach to motorsport.
Although this means Formula E does not escape the grasp of commodification,
much like Formula One, it also implies that, probably for the first time ever,
motorsport has taken a significant initiative to become more environmentally
and socially sustainable.

Keywords

Formula E, Environmental Sustainability, Political Economy, Representation,

Commodification, Mixed Method Analysis

Formula E: Motorsport Meets Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability (hereafter: ES), described in the United Nations’

(1988) Brundtland report as developments that meet the needs of the present
whilst ensuring future generations meet theirs (United Nations, 1988), for
several decades has been high on the agenda of governments, international
and social-profit organizations and industries alike, including those related to
the motoring industry. As such, the Fédération International de l’Automobile
(FIA), which functions as motorsport’s governing body, puts great emphasis on
its efforts to monitor and improve the environmental, socio-economic and
safety aspects of motorsport and motoring in general (Dingle, 2009). Besides
actively participating in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Agenda
and in the ongoing global debate on climate change, where it cooperates with
the Global Fuel Economy Initiative, the FIA makes use of its connections with

72
motorsport to help promote its environmental campaigns. Examples include
the ‘FIA Action for Environment’ and the ‘Make Cars Green Campaign’ whereby
Formula One drivers endorsed the latter campaign generating worldwide
exposure (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, 2016). This can be
considered a significant development in the attitude of motorsport regarding
its relationship with the natural environment. It acknowledges motorsport’s
need to manage and market itself as sustainable, in line with the wider
acceptance of changed environmental circumstances globally (Dingle, 2009).
A key step in this regard is the FIA’s part in developing Formula E, a fully
electric racing series which is meant to serve as a platform for research and
development, education and promotion of more environmentally and socially
sustainable modes of transport (Formula E, 2015). Formula E is an annual, single
seater racing series taking place in various cities around the world, involving big
name drivers and teams. The electric nature of the cars means lower noise
levels and carbon dioxide emissions, allowing races to take place on temporary
city centre circuits and audiences of all ages to attend races and (potentially)
learn about the future and benefits of electric cars. However, as a new concept,
what Formula E brings in innovation, it also brings in uncertainty. Indeed, ES
has not been part of fan values traditionally associated with motor racing (Roy
et al., 2010). This creates considerable challenges for Formula E to establish
itself both as a relevant and (commercially and otherwise) successful
motorsport series and as an example of ES in motorsport. This paper aims to
understand how the organization of Formula E has chosen to represent itself in
relation to ES by means of an analysis of its self-representation on its official
website. To this end, it first establishes a theoretical framework, combining
insights from both a marketing and a political economy approach to corporate
social responsibility (hereafter: CSR) and ES in general and in motorsport in
particular. It further develops a framework to understand self-representation.
Next, it operationalises the main and sub-research questions by determining
the sample for which a mixed method approach is designed, after which the
findings are presented and discussed.

73
Environmental Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility

Environmental sustainability (ES) has become an integral part of corporate

social responsibility (hereafter: CSR), yet due to the significant academic
interest and the variety of theories, for example the triple bottom line approach
and stakeholder theory, on the topic, no exclusive definition exists. The
European Commission (2011) defines it as:
‘the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society […]
enterprises should […] have a process in place to integrate social,
environmental, ethical human rights and consumer concerns into their
business operations and core strategy in close cooperation with their
stakeholders’.
Another definition by Mohr et al. (2001) considers ES to be the initiative
to minimise or eliminate harmful effects on society with the aim to create long
term sustainability in businesses and communities (Mohr et al., 2001). In a
study on CSR practices by multinational corporations, research has revealed
that almost all companies provide an environmental policy and around 80%
provides environmental reporting (Karlsen, 2011). Particularly the latter entails
a relatively easily exercise and allows corporations to enhance their image
(Karlsen, 2011).
This growing emphasis on ES is driven both by the possibility of creating
new markets through ES and, institutionally, by government policies and
regulation (Trendafilova et al., 2013). The growing relevance of ES extends to
sport that, according to Smith and Westerbeek (2004), is becoming increasingly
‘green’ by adopting ES in CSR strategies. They identify two main reasons: first,
motor- and other types of sport are responsible for environmental damage and
are therefore unavoidably ‘being called to ransom by the community at large’
(Smith & Westerbeek, 2004, p. 138). Second, it is clear that ‘industries and
governments have come to understand the marketing and education potential
of green sport’ (Smith & Westerbeek, 2004, p. 138). Adopting ES in CSR provides
sport with certain advantages. Not only does it satisfy stakeholders, it can
generate brand and image enhancement, and (thus) bring in new fans. More

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so, it reduces the carbon footprint of the sport and its associated activities, and
helps raise environmental awareness with a broad audience. Such associations
that accompany the adoption of ES in CSR are representative of what is known
as ‘green marketing’ (Cox, 2012, p. 286).
Today, marketing motorsport involves considering how to make the sport
genuinely sustainable in terms of the environment and, in some cases, to make
ES the core ethos (Dingle, 2009). As such, ways in which motorsport
organizations embrace and enact environmental CSR range from rather limited
activities such as planting trees or encouraging public transportation to more
substantial initiatives such as engaging in long term partnerships with
environmentally minded businesses or opting for solar and/or wind power
(Trendafilova et al., 2013, p. 299). Yet, in the case of Formula One, research
(Karlsen, 2011) has shown that the brand has become so popular and well
established that it has no need to take CSR and ES very seriously. Another study
by Fairley et al. (2009) looked into ES as part of the 2008 Australian Formula
One Grand Prix’s triple bottom line, the latter referring to organizations and
their need to consider socio-economic and environmental impact of their
business practices. Yet, the study did not include to what extent the
organization of Formula One undertook (marketing) measures to improve
sustainability and enhance its image. Such a lack of academic focus on ES within
the sport as a whole exists, at least in part, because efforts to improve
sustainability in motorsport are rare. Yet, one other example of a motorsport
series worth mentioning is the WEC (World Endurance Championship) which
includes the 24 hours of Le Mans race and encourages the development and
use of hybrid technology for endurance racing. Regarding Formula E, however,
the relationship to ES in CSR seems more self-evident, given that it is presented
as a platform for understanding and promotion of electric motoring as a more
environmentally and socially sustainable mode of transport (cf. supra).
Consequently, this paper aims to provide an answer to the question how and
to what extent Formula E presents itself first and foremost as an example of ES
in motorsport.

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A More Critical View on Environmental Sustainability Marketing Strategies

ES and wider CSR are part of the marketing of motorsport, yet it has also
attracted interest from a political economy perspective that positions these
strategies and their relationship to motorsport within ‘power relations, that
mutually constitute the production, distribution and consumption of resources’
(Mosco, 2009, p. 25). An earlier study into motorsport and ES is Hassan and
O’Kane’s (2011) analysis of the Paris to Dakar Rally and its impact on the
development of ES as part of CSR within auto sport. They found that the Rally’s
environmental CSR project, aimed at supporting local African communities in
the countries the rally visited was depicted by some as a smokescreen and
meant to divert criticism of possible dangers or lack of ES away from the Rally.
This more critical approach suggests a certain practice of ‘greenwashing’, a
form of misleading information released by an organization with the aim of
presenting itself as having an environmentally sustainable public image (Cox,
2012, p. 286). Like the Paris Dakar Rally and Formula One, corporations invoke
ideals to describe themselves as morally legitimate, when mainly pursuing
economic self-interest. As such, greenwashing is not just a form of misleading
information released by an organization with the aim of presenting itself as
having an environmentally sustainable public image (Cox, 2012, p. 286). As
Miller (2016) reveals in his study on greenwashing practices in Formula One and
FIFA, greenwashing can be a sporting organization’s way of combining a set of
goals, namely a quest for profit unhampered by regulation, the aim to be
morally legitimate and an urge to meddle in everyday life. Based on this, this
paper aims to provide an answer to the question if and to what extent ES as
part of CSR of Formula E can be considered a form of greenwashing.
Such greenwashing has been shown in wider contexts to be related to
commercialization or the socio-economic process of transforming a sport into
a business (Sturm, 2011) as well as commodification or process by which goods
and services with high use value are transformed into marketable products as
commodities (Mosco, 2009). With respect to the latter, in motorsport this
ranges from clothes ware to larger paraphernalia and even drivers as consumer

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objects (Sturm, 2011). Indeed, commodification is also known to extend to the
environment, to environmental sustainability and derivatives such as
ecotourism and, indeed, professional sport (Dorsey et al., 2004). Furthermore,
the promotion of commodity consumption as environmentally sustainable is
known to be associated with greenwashing (Cox & Pezzullo, 2015). Another
question this paper aims to provide an answer to is how and to what extent
Formula E contributes to the commodification of ES.

Factors of Commodification in Motorsport

Professional sport has a long history of producing commodities such as live

events in order to generate revenue (Dart, 2014). As such, Formula One - as the
pinnacle of motor racing – has been shown to function as a well-oiled
homogenous global commodity spectacle (see e.g. Sturm, 2014). It does so,
according to Sturm (2014) by using commodified objects or factors such as
celebrities and glamourous lifestyles that are aimed specifically at mass
consumption and that can be easily reproduced. Cox (2012) suggests two more
factors of commodification, i.e. games and advertisements.
The newly established Formula E and its relationship to ES becomes of
particular interest as it begs the next question this paper will aim to answer,
namely how the commodified factors often associated with motorsport in
general relate to (i.e. shape and affect and/or are affected and shaped by) ES in
Formula E. We therefore address each of the factors, namely glamour,
celebrities, gamification and advertisements and their relation to ES in
motorsport.

Glamour

This commodified factor in motorsport has been traced back to key

components such as ‘fast cars, expensive kit, global jet-setting and beautiful
women with spray-on smiles’ that function as trophies and adornments
(Turner, 2004, p. 205; Sturm, 2014). Despite being firmly rooted in top end
motorsport series such as Formula One, commodification through glamour and

77
its subsequent components is not in itself associated with an ES approach, as
the latter has long been seen to restrict motorsport values such as speed of
racing and the reputation of the series (Roy et al., 2010). This begs the following
question this paper aims to provide an answer to which is if and how Formula
E bridges the seemingly opposing values of glamour in motorsport with those
of ES, and whether it thus contributes to the commodification of ES.

Celebrities

Celebrities are considered as hyper-commodities: at the same time vehicles for

the presentation of commodities and a tradable commodity themselves (Rojek,
2006). Yet, since the turn of the century, they increasingly perform functions as
endorsers of social and environmental causes, so much so that it has now
become part of a celebrity’s job description (Lester, 2010; Cox, 2012; Panis &
Van den Bulck, 2014). This celebrity engagement extends to issues regarding
the environment, from celebrities such as Keira Knightley driving ES cars to
celebrity activists such as Leonardo DiCaprio addressing politicians at
environmental world summits. Consequently companies have integrated
celebrities in their media strategy for the implementation of environmental CSR
as a means to strengthen and mobilise support (Lester, 2010). Consequently,
this paper aims to provide an answer to the question how and to what extent
Formula E employs celebrities in the promotion of its ES project.

Gamification

Gamification uses existing elements such as a website or other non-game

context, and introduces game design elements with an aim to motivate
participation and engagement, thus adding value to an organization (Deterding
et al., 2011). Robert Cox (2012) reveals that, although the technique was
initially used exclusively for commercial marketing purposes, gamification is
increasingly used in environmental interests with the concept being ideally
suited for people to join in environmental actions to the extent that it now even
carries value as a commodity. He further says that the internet and social media

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are the tools used most often in environmental gamifying, such as for example
Carbonrally.com, a challenge where users team up, compete and interact via
twitter to save the most energy and reduce the impact of climate change (Cox,
2012). In the case of Carbonrally.com, the commodification of ES consequently
brings with it an educational effect on users. This raises another question this
paper will aim to answer, namely if the gamification of ES in Formula E leads to
the commodification of ES or whether it also serves an educational purpose.

Advertising

A final factor often associated with the commodification of ES is advertising

(Van Couvering, 2004). Particularly advertisements featuring ES elements,
known as ‘green advertising’, have become part and parcel of the
communication strategy related to CSR and can be seen in advertising for a
wide range of consumer goods and services. Car manufacturer GM, for
example, advertised a new truck set against a forest with sunlight gleaming
through accompanied by the caption ‘our respect for nature goes beyond just
giving you an excellent view of it’ and mentioned that it had made a ‘sizeable
contribution to The Nature Conservancy’ (Switzer, 1997, p. 130; Cox, 2012, p.
287). Such green advertising has also permeated the world of sports, including
motorsport, and is often accompanied by so-called ‘eco’ or ‘green’ labels,
display advertisements, listings, corporate logos and partner/sponsorship
information denoting the ES characteristics, thus revealing the process of
commodification (Corbett, 2006; Cox, 2012, p. 287). As a result, this paper aims
to provide an answer to the question if and to what extent advertisements,
corporate logos, and sponsorship contribute to the commodification of ES in
Formula E.

(Self-)Representation

Mass media and new media play an important role in the process of
commodification throughout the economy because they represent ideal sites
of commodity production (Mosco, 2009). The Internet, in particular, as a

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channel for communication is a primary source of credible information on
sustainability in general (Russo et al., 2012). In relation to (self-) representation
and sporting organizations, Haase-Reed, et al. (2007) state that control over the
former by the latter occurs most often by means of a website as this presents
one of the easiest tools for an organization to choose its own organizational
identity and to market itself. Such a digital storefront further helps to
circumvent potential gatekeeping functions of the media (Haase-Reed et al.,
2007). What is more, websites contain both textual and visual information,
including advertisements, logos and labels, and this information is crucial to
understand the daily workings of an organization (Jakubowska, 2011). This is of
particular importance considering that representation, as a key component of
the process through which meaning is created, involves ‘the use of language,
of signs and images’ (Hall et al., 2013, p. 1). As such, websites provide an
excellent basis to study the self-representation of an organization and the role
of certain key factors such as ES in this self-representation. As such, this paper
aims to understand the self-representation of Formula E, the position of ES in
this and the potential commodification of ES as a result hereof, by means of a
(self-) representational analysis of the official website of Formula E.

Research Set-Up

To answer these research questions, we analysed the website of Formula E

(Formula E, 2015) during its inaugural season of 2014-15, in particular as it
appeared online on 10 May 2015, the day after the Monaco Eprix. This
particular moment was chosen because it is the only Formula E race that takes
place on a track also used by Formula One, increasing potential influences from
Formula One. It was assumed that in the inaugural season, the self-
representation by Formula E on its website would have been carefully
considered and implemented, while the inclusion of race results allowed for an
insight into the nature of ‘regular’ updates. We used NCapture to scrape all
pages of the website, which also allows for text to be accessible to perform
keyword searches. This sampling method resulted in a total of 201 webpages
and documents.

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Quantitative Content Analysis

To obtain a broad but systematic insight into the various aspects of the self-
representation and representation of ES offered through the website, the first
step of the empirical study involved a quantitative analysis. To this end, we
developed a set of categories and subcategories. Inspired by ethnographic-like
approaches (Gläser & Laudel, 2013; see also Altheide, 1996), we combined the
original development of categories based on insights from the literature with
an adjustment and elaboration of the instrument based on insights gained
during coding of a first set of research materials. As a result, we aimed for a
more systematic and analytic quantitative approach while avoiding the
rigidness of a codebook developed solely on categories derived from literature
(Bryman, 2012). Table 1 provides an overview of the main categories and
subcategories as used for the process of coding and indicates whether a (sub-)
category was based on literature theory or data.
The smallest unit of analysis for text was a set of sentences that created
a meaningful segment, which usually included a number of sentences but in
some instances just one or two. For visual material, the smallest unit of analysis
was a single image. However, when a webpage consisted of a large compilation
of image-only material such as the webpages under the section ‘gallery’, images
were analysed in group. Advertisements were analysed both for textual- and
visual elements.
After all webpages were coded, the data were entered in a matrix
database to look for emerging patterns (Gläser & Laudel, 2013). To ensure the
validity of the coding results, 5% of the data were coded by a second coder, a
random Ph.D. student unprejudiced because unfamiliar with the research
questions but briefed about and familiarised with the coding instructions and
schedule. Krippendorf’s alpha (α) came down to 0,811 suggesting good
intercoder reliability (Krippendorf, 2004).

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Table 1: Categories and subcategories

CATEGORIES FOR SUBCATEGORIES FOR ANALYSIS

ANALYSIS THEORY DATA
BASED BASED
Document ID Number X
Title X
Location on site X
Type (e.g. editorial) X
Banners Top (website navigation: home, news, X
etc) X
Middle -Vertical (FE partnerships)
Bottom – Horizontal (race teams) X
Advertisements Name/ description X
Obvious link with Formula E X
Notion of ES presence X
Audience engagement X
Celebrities Presence X
Identification X
Name X
Gender X
Nationality X
Industry X
Celebrity talk X
Gam(e)/ ification Name of game X
Intended audience X
Competitive character of game X
Medium used X
Sort of game X
Game Goals X
Game Feedback X
Corporate backing X
Formula E link X
ES link X
Goals and objectives ES goals X
Non-ES goals X
Specific Environmental concerns X
Specific Environmental objectives X
Images and body of text Presence of Video graphic images X
Presence of Editorial image as advert X
Main image theme X
Text main theme X
Similarity main image theme - text X
main theme
Similarity main image theme -webpage X
title
Other remarks /

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The Qualitative Connection: Thematic Analysis

To complement the quantitative content analysis, we applied a more

qualitative, critical thematic analysis of the data, following the idea of Hall et al.
(2013, p. 158) that groups of statements are combined to create a useable
language to talk about things. This allowed for a more in-depth analysis of
representations, thus contributing to a better understanding of power relations
(Hall et al., 2013). To this end, we returned to the primary material, i.e. the
webpages, noting themes as they emerged. We identified up to three main
themes for each webpage. Based on this detailed analysis, we were able to
combine themes ‘into wider thematic categories that would represent overall
segments’ on the website as well as make out inter-theme relations (Bryman,
2012, p. 581). After completing each of the two research steps, the results were
compared and contrasted to create a deeper understanding of the
representation of ES and the wider self-representation of Formula E on its
website.

Findings
In what follows, we first describe the general layout of the webpages on the
Formula E website, after which we address the result of the textual analysis and
its implications, followed by a more in-depth qualitative and thematic analysis.

Webpage Layout

Figure 2 provides a generic example of a webpage on the Formula E website.

The top of the webpage features a navigational banner (a) with buttons for
access to the different website sections (e.g. news, results, sustainability) with
the main webpage image (b) just below. Below the main image we find a text
box (c) which contains the main textual content on the webpage. In addition,
the section designated for textual content can also contain images and varies
between webpages. On the right side of this is a section for advertisements (d)
which are vertically positioned and function as links to the associated
companies. These precede another vertical listing of Formula E partnered

83
companies, (e) followed by a final, horizontal banner containing all Formula E
teams (f).

Figure 1: Formula E webpage example

Source: Formula E website, May 2015

Environmental Sustainability: Goals, Concerns and Objectives

We first looked at three elements that are often associated with environmental
advocacy, namely goals, objectives and concerns. Robert Cox (2012, p. 217)
describes goals as ‘long term visions or values’ and distinguishes them from
objectives which are more detailed, immediate actions. The relevance of concerns
then lies with the fact that private and individual concerns are usually translated
into more public matters on a wide range of forums and, as such, are key in shaping
the environmental public sphere (Cox, 2012).

As table 2 shows, 45 out of the 201 webpages contained a total of 90 hits,

covering 20 different environmental goals. The top three hereof consisted of
‘promoting clean energy and sustainability’ (14), ‘education into feasibility of
electric mobility’ (10), and ‘increase the use of sustainable mobility’ (9), with
fourth position being shared by three more goals, namely ‘initiate changing the

84
existing image of motorsport as a polluting sport’ (7), ‘improve image of electric
vehicles’ (7) and ‘reduce carbon footprint’ (7).

Table 2: (Non-) Environmental Goals, Concerns and Objectives

ES Goals Website ES Concerns Website
hits hits
Promoting clean energy and 14 Carbon footprint 9
sustainability
Education into feasibility of electric 10 Energy conservation 7
mobility
Increase the use of sustainable 9 Sustainable communities 4
mobility
Initiate changing the existing image 7 ES Objectives
of motorsport as a polluting sport
Improve image of electric vehicles 7 Electric propulsion 8
Reduce carbon footprint 7 Battery improvements 7
Awareness campaigns 4
Non-ES Goals Non-ES Subcategories
Maintaining traditional motorsport 171 Skilled drivers 44
values Motorsport heritage 38
Continuation of the Formula One 99 Exotic and global locations 40
jet-set lifestyle VIP guests 19
Provide information on the 93 / /
proceedings of the sport
Promote affiliated companies 50 Tire manufacturers 13
Car manufacturers 10

To fully grasp the scope to which ES is presented on the website, we also

looked at references of environmental concerns (35 hits) and suggested
solutions or objectives (35 hits). The major concerns were ‘carbon footprint’
(9), ‘energy conservation’ (7) and ‘sustainable communities’ (4), while the main
suggested solutions included ‘electric propulsion’ (8), ‘battery improvements’
(7) and ‘awareness campaigns’ (4).
In line with environmental reporting as part of CSR by multinationals in
(Karlsen, 2011), these data thus suggest a fairly elaborate spread of these
environmental parameters across the website. On the one hand, this could
indicate a more genuine and profound environmental and social concern on
behalf of the organization and the FIA than what has been the case in
motorsport up until now. Indeed, many of the items raised are very much in

85
line with larger contemporary efforts in sustainable development by
multinationals (UNCTAD, 2010) and assists in limiting criticisms of
greenwashing (Simon, 1995). Of course, a more critical interpretation of these
data could read such practices of significantly applying these parameters as a
means for image enhancement. Karlsen’s (2011) claim that the use of
environmental CSR by corporations is meant to be a win-win for business and
society but is mostly still profit driven applies here to a certain extent as well.
Indeed, as Formula E’s CEO revealed:
‘[…] it makes sense for everybody in their own space to do something
related to sustainability and to the environment. My space is motor-
racing, so that comes first and, as a consequence, I want to do motor-
racing in a cleaner way’ (Swithinbank, 2014).
Karlsen’s (2011) claim is given further credit by means of the two most common
non-ES goals, namely maintaining traditional motorsport values and
continuation of the Formula One jet set lifestyle.

From ES, Other Initiatives, the Future and Technical Developments to

Gamification

As part of Formula E’s sustainability effort, we found initiatives such as Solar

IMPULSE (flying a solar powered plane around the world to promote clean
technologies), Earth Day (an annual, global event emphasizing environmental
protection), R100 (companies that agree to strive using 100% renewable
energy), and eKarting (electric karting which expels no carbon dioxide or noise).
In opting for these themes, Formula E associates its own sustainability efforts
with those of others, thus legitimizing its efforts as part of a wider,
contemporary and global trend. According to Corporate Watch (2006), this is
often seen as corporate philanthropy because, as at least a part of this will be
stakeholder money, there needs to be a return on investment.
Notwithstanding, this legitimization on the website is further linked to the
theme of the future, suggesting Formula E is acting as a tool to positively add
to a greener future by means of pushing the development of relevant and

86
sustainable technologies as well as working with charities such as One Drop and
Greenpower. Based on Corporate Watch’s claims (2006), organizations such as,
in this case, Formula E can create links with charities and causes with the aim
of providing it with more market access as well as a more powerful message.
More so Formula E’s CSR aims strengthen its not yet full established brand
identity, i.e. awareness and loyalty by appealing to customer’s consciences and
desires (Corporate Watch, 2006, p. 12). For example, Formula E’s cooperation
with Greenpower involves stimulating future generations to get involved with
sustainable engineering by erecting the Formula E school series where students
build and race their electric race cars prior to Formula E races. This FE school
series was also identified in the game analysis as one of five games including
‘Fanboost’ (drivers selected by fans receive a power boost during the race),
‘Auction’ (bidding on items for charity), ‘Prize Competition’ (the best fan
photograph wins) and ‘Simulator competition’ (on site Formula E race game for
fans). Of these, only two games revealed to have corporate backing: ‘FE school
series’ was powered by Michelin tyres and Greenpower, a UK trust aiming to
advance education in sustainable education, and the ‘Simulator competition’
was backed by VISA. The remaining games were created and supported by
Formula E itself. Importantly, only ‘FE school series’ and ‘Auction’ made a clear
reference to ES, the former by promoting sustainable engineering and
Greenpower (and the kit it provided), the latter by making reference to
charitable institutions such as the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation which
is ‘dedicated to the protection of the environment and the promotion of
sustainable development’ (Formula E, 2015). The educational range of Formula
E is thus significantly aimed at children.
Further analysis revealed that social goals (e.g. promote sustainable
technology, support charities) and social rewards (e.g. recognition as best
school team) were by far the most common and also appeared in relation to
the webpage’s most prominent game, Fanboost. The latter could be used
exclusively online while all other games were designed for use in the real world.
Only the ‘Prize Competition’ could be ‘played’ trans-medially, i.e. combining
online usage with real world usage. The Fanboost section of the website

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revealed no relationship to ES and was characterised by a distinctive lack of
advertisements or partner logos. This indicates an exclusive emphasis on
promoting motor racing and on increasing fan involvement and, consequently,
hints at commodification of audiences and labour (Mosco, 2009). This is
because the use of voting results affects the actual race and fan data obtained
through the Fanboost login might be used for further marketing purposes. In
this sense, gamification in Formula E seems to primarily carry value as a
commodity, despite a (limited) educational effect in terms of ES.

Celebrities and Glamour

Celebrities are significantly represented across the website. We identified 35

(n=35) different celebrities featured on 25 webpages. Most prominently so
were US actor Leonardo DiCaprio (8), prince Albert II of Monaco (6), US actors
Adrian Brody (4) and Cuba Gooding Jr (4), Russian model Irina Shayk (4), UK
socialite Lady Victoria Hervey (4) and UK sport celebrity Louise Hazel (4). The
celebrities mainly originate from the domains of film, royalty, sport and
business and are predominantly American (12) and British (5). This apparent
Anglo-Saxon dominance corresponds to a wider tendency throughout celebrity
culture (Panis and Van den Bulck, 2014), yet can also be explained due to the
fact that the website was scraped at a time when it focused on the (then most
recent) races in the United States and Monaco. The latter also suggests the
connection with Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Celebrities talked primarily about Formula E and to a lesser extent about
supporting ES and their own achievements in that respect. Although each issue
was raised only once, celebrities specifically pointed to climate change, green
technologies and Formula E’s sustainability efforts. Celebrities such as
Leonardo DiCaprio and Sir Richard Branson, both stakeholders of Formula E
race teams, advocated the necessity to create more sustainable motorsport.
This suggests that Formula E attributes value to celebrities and uses them as a
platform to further exposure of ES in Formula E:

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 ‘Celebs love [electric vehicles]: George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Tom
Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio all own electric vehicles, just like famous
car fanatic Jay Leno. […]. The World health Organization estimates that
each year more than 70 million people die due to air pollution – electric
vehicles do not produce emissions’ (Formula E, 2015).
The characteristics of celebrities as commodities affect their subsequent
environmental activism and as such influences the notion of ES (Van den Bulck,
2018). The presence of celebrities further fits within the second most
prominent non-ES goal, namely the ‘Continuation of the Formula One jet-set
lifestyle’:
‘[…] the After-Party has delighted guests with sky bars, rooftop pools and
incredible seafront villas. Featuring renowned sponsors such as Mumm,
Diageo and Amura Capital together with celebrity guests such as
supermodel Valeria Mazza, superstar DJ Erick Morillo […]’ (Formula E,
2015).
Clearly, the emphasis on glamour goes hand in hand with the presence of
celebrities in Formula E’s self-organizational representation.

Promotion through Sport: Advertisements, Partners and Sponsors

A final factor in relation to commodification is that of advertising. In total we

found 910 display advertisements, made up of 12 different advertisements.
Table 3 presents an overview of the different advertisements and their links.
Each webpage featured up to five advertisements. Out of those 12
advertisements, eight advertisements were identified as originating from
commercial partners with varying degrees of affiliation with Formula E and only
one advertisement that referred to sustainability, i.e. DHL. The remaining four
advertisements were identified as editorial advertisements of which two
revealed an exclusive link to ES (Green Tips and Tip of the Day).
The category of editorial advertisements featured predominantly ‘Green
Tips’ and, to a lesser extent, ‘Tip of the Week’ and ‘Change your Light’, which
invited the public to consult Formula E’s designated sustainability webpage

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containing simple and everyday efficiency- and sustainability enhancing tips
and tricks. The remainder of this category involved a word cloud advertisement
with the purpose of enhancing navigating the website.
Table 3: Advertisements

Adverts Web- ES Partner Auto- Motor- Safety

pages link link motive sport/ Link
link FE
link
FIA 194 X X X
COMMERCIAL Golden
ADVERTISE- Rules
MENTS Michelin 191 X X X
(TOTAL: 825) Golden
Rule 4
TAG 86 X
Heuer
Renault 78 X X
ZE
Michelin 73 X X
R&D
BMWi 70 X X

Qual- 69 X X X
comm
DHL 64 X X X
Green 69 X
EDITORIAL Tips
ADVERTISE- Word 13 X X X X X
MENTS cloud
(85)
Tip of the 2 X
Week
Change 1 X
your
Light
TOTAL 12 910 5 9 7 3 3
MICHELIN 2 264 / X X / X
ADVERT
COMBINATION

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 Out of all 12 advertisements, two commercial (Qualcomm and DHL) and
one editorial (Word Cloud) advertisement showed an obvious link with Formula
E. Five advertisements make a link with ES but only one (DHL) of these is
commercial. The editorial advertisements ‘Green Tips’, ‘Tip of the Week’ and
‘Change your Light’ function as links to the sustainability webpages and
exclusively featured eco labels such as ‘Energy’, ‘Water’, ‘Lifestyle’ and ‘Waste’
which were not part of any other editorial or commercial advertisements.
Figure 3 shows some ‘Green Tips’ with accompanying eco-labels.

Figure 2: Partial view of the 'Green Tips' webpage with accompanying eco logos (Energy, Water,
Waste and Lifestyle). Source: FIA Formula E website.

Source: Formula E website, May 2015

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The editorial advertisements featured in the same location, though less
frequently, as the commercial advertisements. This dominance of commercial
advertising space over ES allocated advertising space is in accordance with a
main pattern of sport in general becoming an ‘adjunct of the advertisement
industry’ (Boyle & Haynes, 2009, p. 45). The omnipresence of display
advertisements, team logos and corporate/ partner logos on a vast majority of
webpages further exposes the commodification of Formula E.
‘Partners’ operated frequently in conjunction with the theme of ES.
Companies from the car industry (Renault, Dallara, BMW) to banking (Visa,
Julius Bär) and green technologies (SMEG, GreenPower) appear keen to be
associated with Formula E and its efforts in terms of ES, education and charity.
In this sense, Formula E provides a means to communicate an organization’s
environmental CSR aspirations and activities to website visitors as well as its
commitment to stakeholders (Trendafilova et al., 2013). Political support for
the actions and efforts of Formula E was mostly related to the presence of a
local politician or royalty such as, for example, Prince Albert II of Monaco, who
showed his support for Formula E by stating that Monaco was proud to
welcome the first Formula E race in Europe (Formula E, 2015).
Of particular interest were also the efforts by Julius Bär and TAG Heuer to
convince the Swiss government to soften the ban on racing following the 1958
tragedy at Le Mans by means of the advantages associated with Formula E
(‘Law change opens door’, 2015). This reflects a key element in power relations
as permission is given by governments on the basis of ES and safety which,
undoubtedly, holds significant promotional advantages for Switzerland as
much as for Formula E.

Discussion and Conclusion

Formula E seems, at least in part, to have succeeded in presenting itself as an

organization that has combined a relatively profound ES approach without
compromising on values and traditions commonly associated with motorsport.
It needs to be said that the emphasis does rest with the latter. This reveals that

92
Formula E has picked up on the need for motorsport to become more
sustainable whilst at the same time making use of the marketing and
educational advantages that come with it, as suggested by Smith and
Westerbeek (2004). In accordance with Lester’s (2010) claim that
environmental support from celebrities is commonly used by companies,
celebrity support for Formula E’s ES efforts form part of a larger marketing
strategy that aims to mobilise existing support (cf. Lester, 2010) as well as
attract new audiences. Further, Formula E uses celebrities to fulfill the more
traditional role associated with motorsport, namely contributing to the aspect
of glamour. Yet, although Formula E associates itself with glamour, it does not
manage to do so to the same extent as Formula One (Sturm, 2014), which could
be down to two reasons. First, as an emerging series, Formula E does not yet
enjoy the same level of stability, heritage or well-knownness as Formula One.
Second, this might be an intentional result by Formula E to avoid criticisms or
stigmas commonly associated with Formula One, such as for example ‘circus’
or ‘glamour spectacle’ (Evans, 2013; Sturm, 2014). In any case, and as shown,
the fact that Formula E links its own popularity to the sort of celebrities it
attracts, reveals that it values exclusivity greatly. Consequently, this association
with celebrities and glamour stimulates the commodification value of ES and is
further extended by means of commercial and ‘green’ advertising that
incorporates eco labels, display advertisements and corporate logos. As we
revealed, Formula E accommodated a substantial presence of commercial or
corporate advertising. The reason for this is that Formula E has sacrificed its
media rights revenue by making Formula E accessible free-of-charge to all
broadcasters with the aim of achieving the highest level of public exposure
possible (Chauhan, 2015). Much as is the case for other sports that do so, and
as can be witnessed from our analysis, this means that Formula E is largely
driven by corporate revenue through advertising (Boyle & Haynes, 2009). By
adding editorial (ES) advertisements, Formula E creates two advantages. First,
advertising companies are associated with ES, even if their advertisement does
not incorporate an ES reference. Second, Formula E is able to ‘advertise’ its own
ES beyond the designated ‘sustainability’ section on the website and, as such,

93
present itself as a motorsport series that substantially integrates ES as a core
ethos (Dingle, 2009).
On the basis of our analysis we can conclude that Formula E’s self-
representation in terms of ES, to a certain extent, can be considered to be a
form of greenwashing by not being able to realise fully what it sets out to do in
the first place (Platell, 2010; Miller, 2016). For one, the Formula E website does
not properly indicate whether the much reduced carbon footprint from race
cars outweighs the extra emissions from building temporary race tracks in cities
as opposed to using existing race tracks. As such, and similar to Miller’s (2016)
findings in relation to greenwashing in Formula One and FIFA, the total
ecological impact of Formula E was not fully considered. Where it is normally
easier for businesses to spin stories rather than to significantly change -
resulting in environmental CSR being nothing more than a PR exercise or even
a smokescreen (Karlsen, 2011) - it seems that Formula E aims to bring across its
case more profoundly and attempts to present an image of being a catalysator
for more environmentally sustainable vehicles. It does so by means of external
audits and action plans. In that respect, and from a macro perspective on
motorsport as a whole, Formula E can be seen as a first step in profound change
in motorsport governing behaviour.
Similarly, we need to acknowledge that ES in Formula E does not escape
the grasp of commodification, considering Formula E is first and foremost a
professional business aimed at making profit to which elements such as
celebrities, glamour and gamification contribute, be it in different ways and
measures. At the same time, we see efforts to raise awareness in terms of ES.
As our analysis revealed, the use of certain games on the website fit an
educational purpose. However, Formula E’s most significant contribution in this
respect remains that, possibly for the first time ever in motorsport history, it
embraces ES as a major topic in its organizational identity.
As the first of its kind, this study looked specifically at the notion of ES in
the self-representation of motorsport during a time in which ES has reached
unseen levels of global acknowledgement and action, both public and political

94
in nature. We acknowledge the limitations in terms of generalization and
exclusiveness of this particular case study, which was restricted to just a single
website at one specific moment in time. Yet, we do believe this study’s findings
raises relevant empirical insights that allow to further the understanding of
concepts such as the commodification of ES and greenwashing, especially so in
motorsport. The unicity of Formula E as a field where commercial motorsport
and ES crucially come together further contributes, if only for the highly
likelihood that more such seemingly ‘unusual’ collaborations might arise.

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 CHAPTER 4
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND THE FRAMING OF
FORMULA E MOTOR RACING IN UK AND FLEMISH NEWSPAPERS

Timothy Robeers
A version of this article has been submitted in the International Journal of
Communication Motorsports Management

Preface

As chapter three indicated, ES is significantly represented on Formula E’s

website and assists in furthering educational purposes. It is however affected
by commodification and criticisms of green marketing and greenwashing.
Chapter four contains the first of three case studies that focus specifically on
the media and how they produce representations of ES in Formula E. As such,
they bridge the domains of communication studies, environmental studies and
(motor)sport studies.
This chapter provides more in-depth insight in daily newspaper coverage
in various years and from two different regions, namely the UK and Flanders
(the Dutch speaking part of Belgium). As such, it not only aims to establish how
and to what extent ES in Formula E is represented at a singular moment and
place in time but rather bring to light existing tendencies and differences in the
media representations of (ES in) Formula E (Boyle & Monteiro; Gan et al., 2005).
To this end, all newspapers were subjected to a quantitative content analysis
and a qualitative framing-based analysis, two methods often used in sports-
media studies as they allow for generating, comparing and interpreting
complex and diachronic results (Cox, 2012). In doing so, this case study
demonstrates that newspapers frame Formula E largely positively. Although ES
does not constitute a dominant frame itself, it is part of some dominant and
counter frames. Furthermore, this study reveals regional differences between

100
UK media framing and Flemish media framing of (ES in) Formula E, amongst
other things.

Abstract

Developed in cooperation with motorsport’s governing body, the Fédération

Internationale d’Automobile (FIA), the fully electric racing series Formula E
represents itself as a driving force in making the motorsport and automotive
industries more environmentally sustainable (hereafter: ES). However, the
question remains whether such ES efforts are picked up on by the media and,
more specifically, by newspapers that are still considered a benchmark for in-
depth and reflective journalism, despite a dramatic rise of online and social
media coverage of sport. Combining a quantitative content analysis with a
qualitative framing analysis, this article identifies, compares and contrasts
frames, and the significance of ES herein, in a range of UK and Flemish quality
and popular newspaper articles. Results indicate that, although ES did not
constitute a frame in itself, it was significantly part of other frames that
represented Formula E both positively and negatively. Additionally, results
uncover distinct differences in reporting on (ES in) Formula E between UK and
Flemish newspapers. This article suggests such differences are related to
reasons of a historical and regional nature and subsequently affect the
representation of ES in Formula E.

Keywords

Environmental sustainability, UK and Flemish newspapers, mixed-method,

framing approach, Formula E

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Introduction

By means of a quantitative content and qualitative framing analysis, this

contribution studies how the notion of environmental sustainability (hereafter:
ES) is represented in the coverage of Formula E in UK and Flemish newspapers.
To this end, it combines insights from environmental communication, media
studies and motorsport studies.
ES implies the ability to steer developments in such a way that present
needs are met without compromising the needs of future generations (United
Nations, 1988). As such, ES is increasingly important to the public, governments
and businesses alike. Sport related organizations and businesses too have
started paying attention to ES, either on their own initiative or as a result of
external pressures (Dingle, 2009). In recent years, motorsport’s governing body
Fédération d’Automobile Internationale (hereafter: FIA) has stepped up its
efforts to monitor and improve the environmental and socio-economic aspects
of motorsport and the mobility sector in general, i.e. private cars, public
transportation, taxi industry and freight, as well as to promote environmental
campaigns (Fédération International d’Automobile, n.d.). This intention to
manage and market motorsport as sustainable has led the FIA to introduce
Formula E, a fully electric racing series that promotes itself as the future of
motorsport by aiming to attract urban audiences and by embracing ES (Formula
E, 2018). To achieve this, Formula E requires maximum exposure of its ES
efforts. One way to achieve this has been to promote and manage its ES identity
through its own website (see chapter three). However, it is first and foremost
legacy and social media that provide effective means for sporting organizations
to access audiences worldwide. For example, a majority of people that follow
motorsport do so primarily through media, i.e. TV, radio, newspapers,
magazines and/or social media coverage of the sports and its wider points of
interest (Boyle & Haynes, 2009). Aware of this, Formula E has provided media
organizations with information and access free of charge (Chauhan, 2015).
However, despite communicating its image and identity through its website
and information provided to the media, the latter control the amount and

102
nature of coverage and, thus, visibility of Formula E and, more importantly, of
its ES efforts. This is the main topic of this study that analyses the coverage of
Formula E by means of a quantitative content and qualitative framing analysis
of a sample of British and Flemish newspapers.
To this end, first, we set out how motorsport and ES are brought together
through Formula E and explore the media’s role in communicating this. Second,
in the methodological section, we elaborate on the corpus of source material,
on the instruments developed for the quantitative content analysis and for a
more in-depth qualitative framing analysis. Third, we compare and contrast the
results of both analyses to understand how ES in Formula E is presented in
media coverage. Finally, the wider implications of these findings are discussed.

Where Environmental Sustainability and Motorsport Meet

During the first decade of the 21st century awareness pertaining ES grew, as
did the pressure for businesses to adopt more environmentally sustainable
modi operandi. Subsequently, academic research has focused on the effects of
ES in a wide range of areas of business and society (Lester, 2010; Orlitzky et al.,
2011). ES in professional sport, too, has received considerable attention, due
to professional sport’s close relationship to consumerism that is seen to create
much of the environmental problems faced by contemporary society (Dingle,
2009). Research has focused mainly on football (e.g. Death, 2011) and the
Olympic Games (e.g. Paquette et al., 2011). Yet, despite the motorsport
industry having endured criticisms on account of its negative impact on, for
example, delicate eco-systems that arise as a result of staging major (motor)
sporting events, the issue of ES in motorsport has received little attention
(Hassan, 2011). Still, a few notable exceptions apply.
For one, a study by Hassan and O’Kane (2011), focusing on the Paris to
Dakar Rally and the impact of ES as part of Corporate Social Responsibility
(hereafter: CSR) within motorsport, noted that ES efforts of the Dakar Rally
organisers were seen by some media and environmental groups as
insufficiently offsetting the event’s environmental impact. This led to a

103
depiction of ES efforts as a smokescreen to divert criticism regarding the
(un)sustainability of the event (Hassan and O’Kane, 2011). Earlier, Dingle (2009)
found that there has been doubt about whether motorsport credibly manages
and markets itself as sustainable. For one, in professional sport, such
sustainability efforts often clash with the goal to sell an authentic or nostalgic
experience to fans, hence organizations’ measures can only be implemented
up to a certain level before it affects fan experiences (Crabbe and Brown, 2004).
This is exacerbated, still according to Dingle (2009), by motorsport’s
dependence on natural resources and indicative of motorsport’s relationship
with unsustainable patterns of consumption that are linked to global
environmental change. Therefore, for motorsport to maintain relevance, it
should be directed and managed ‘in such a way as to drive technology for the
betterment of mankind’ (Turner & Pearson, 2008). The motorsport industry, in
response, has started implementing environmental and social sustainability
measures. For example, the FIA is now an active participant in the United
Nation’s Sustainable Development Agenda where it participates in the global
debate on climate change. In addition it uses motorsport to help promote its
environmental campaigns such as the ‘Make Cars Green Campaign’ whereby
Formula One drivers endorsed the latter campaign, generating worldwide
exposure (Fédération International d’Automobile, 2007).
The FIA’s most recent effort in this regard is Formula E, an annual racing
formula that builds on a global tradition of professional motorsport series such
as Formula One and IndyCar aiming to establish itself as a global entertainment
brand. It is distinct in that it features fully electric race cars powered by green
electricity which results in significantly reduced noise and carbon dioxides
emissions (Formula E, 2018). This ‘green selling card’ allows Formula E to target
city audiences, enabling them to experience motorsport within city limits and
(potentially) to learn about electric mobility (Chauhan, 2015). As a result,
environmental groups such as Greenpeace have commented positively on
Formula E’s ES efforts (Jarvie, 2018).

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 Analysis of the self-representation of Formula E in relationship to ES on
its website (see chapter three) reveals that the series identifies with ES in a
number of ways, while maintaining pre-existing motorsport values and
associations with glamour and celebrities, resulting in a level of
commodification. However, so far, no study has looked into the extent and
ways in which the identification of Formula E as a motorsport committed to ES
is picked up by the media. Therefore this study aims to analyse if and how
Formula E’s ES efforts are represented in mainstream media’s coverage of the
sport.

The Role of the Media

Setting the Agenda on Formula E

A key reason for ES becoming a topic of global and public debate is its omni-
present, if rather subdued, position in people’s everyday life through continued
media attention. Lester (2010) claims that news coverage of ES-related issues
is rarely granted priority as a dominant topic. Cox (2012) relates this to ES’s
limited newsworthiness, i.e. its limited ability to attract readers. ES-related
news is primarily event or novelty driven, at which point it obtains considerable
coverage, yet this tends to be followed by a dying down of media attention as
the novelty wanes (Lester, 2010). As a product of their own environment, media
pick up on novel items that evoke general interest such as the emergence of an
environmental issue or of a new sport and can contribute to a further growth
in popularity. Furthermore, media monitoring and scrutiny can pressure
organizations to speed up or reinforce adoption and development of
environmental practices (Trendafilova et al., 2013). In the case of (motor) sport,
media engage in an ethical necessity to ‘expose the reluctance which some
sports governing bodies appear to display in either acknowledging or dealing
with any problem they may have’ (Boyle and Haynes, 2009, p. 120).
These examples refer to the wider studied agenda setting power of
media, a process of news selection through which media can influence public
opinion and public policy priorities by telling people what to think about

105
(Jensen, 2012). There are a considerable amount of studies dealing with media
agenda-setting of environmental issues (e.g. Carroll, 2010; Liu et al., 2009) and
of sport (e.g. Frederick et al., 2015; Scheerder and Snoeck, 2009), yet studies of
the way in which media help set the agenda with regards to sport and
environment are rare. Therefore, this study analyses if media pick up on
Formula E’s images efforts, in other words if ES in motorsport make news
reporting on Formula E more newsworthy?

Framing Formula E

Scheufele (1999) and Lester (2010) point out that it is not enough to understand
that media push what people think about, but also how they should think about
it, i.e. how an issue that is selected to become news is presented to audiences.
One way of looking at this is through the lens of framing: how do media frame
a particular news item? The notion of frames refers to ‘persistent patterns of
cognition, interpretation, and presentation, of selection, emphasis, and
exclusion, by which symbol-handlers routinely organise discourse, whether
verbal or visual’ (Gitlin, 1980, p. 7). Framing, then, is the process of attributing
meaning to events or occurrences and in doing so ‘function to organise,
experience and guide action’ for audiences through selection, emphasis,
exclusion or modification (Benford & Snow, 2000, p. 614). Van Gorp (2010)
distinguishes between dominant frames (occurs most frequent), counter
frames (opposing the dominant one) and neglected or marginal frames.
Framing has not only proven a popular approach to analyse media
coverage of the environment and of sport but also a productive approach for
comparative research, which consequently, provides fertile ground to use a
framing approach in the analysis of the representation of ES in Formula E
coverage, the focus of this study. For example, Good (2008) analysed how
American, Canadian and other international newspapers framed the notion of
climate change and Dirickx and Gelders (2009) used framing in relationship to
global warming in Dutch and French newspapers. Similarly, in sports media
research, Daigle et al. (2014) used framing to analyse street racing coverage in
Canadian newspapers. While Formule E is a sport with a global outreach, such

106
global sports and sporting events are made sense of through a local (i.e.
national) media lens (Boyle & Monteiro, 2005), making international
comparison highly relevant to a better understanding of how Formula E and ES
is covered. While the choice of cases for international comparison often is
(semi-)pragmatic, a predetermined set of similarities and/or differences
between national media regarding a certain research topic can contribute to an
interesting data set. For example, the United Kingdom prides itself at featuring
a world leading motorsport and aeronautic industry (House of Commons
Business, Innovation and Skill Committee, 2010). In their study on the
development of motorsport during the ‘Belle Epoque', Ameye et al. (2011)
attribute this to longstanding tradition of motorsport, aviation and engineering
that developed in a post-colonial and industrializing world nation. Belgium
found itself in a similar position during the first years of the 20th century but,
unlike the UK, was unable to maintain or further develop this pioneering role
(Ameye et al., 2011). Thus, the UK and Belgium share a similar motorsport
heritage but have evolved in different directions, both as an industry and as a
culture, which, in our case, means it is likely to generate different frames
regarding ES in Formula E. Finally, the framing studies confirm the continued
relevance of studying newspaper coverage. Indeed, despite the ongoing crisis
in (the business model) of press, sports reporting in newspapers remains strong
as newspapers use sport coverage to generate new audiences (Boyle & Haynes,
2009). Therefore, this study analyses how UK and Belgian newspapers from the
UK frame ES in Formula E.

Methodology

Constructing the Sample

Analysis focuses on two regions, i.e. the UK and Flanders (the northern, Dutch
speaking part of Belgium). For each case, we constructed a corpus of articles
from the two bestselling quality and popular newspapers based on national
circulation (Turvill, 2015; Ponsford, 2016; Snoeys, 2016; ‘De Standaard Versus
de Morgen’, n.d.). For Flanders, this includes coverage from De Morgen,

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De Standaard, Het Laatste Nieuws, and Het Nieuwsblad. In the case of the
United Kingdom, newspaper selection includes The Times, The Daily Telegraph,
The Sun, and The Daily Mail. Newspaper articles were accessed by means of
GoPress Academic, the online database containing all Flemish newspapers and
magazines, and LexisNexis, a similar database containing UK newspaper
articles. Articles were selected by means of a search of keyword ‘Formula E’ for
UK coverage and of keywords ‘Formula E’ and ‘Formule E’ (Dutch language) for
Flanders for the period 12 January 2012 – the date the first article on Formula
E appeared in the corpus – until 11 November 2016. All editorial content
including hard news, features, editorials and opinion pieces - included on the
basis that the editor’s decision to include them in the newspaper reflects the
editorial line of the newspaper ideology - that contained the key words were
selected (Gan et al., 2005). The eventual sample therefore consisted of 259
articles, i.e. 106 Flemish and 153 UK newspaper articles.

The Coding Process: From a Quantitative Analysis …

To analyse the data, we opt for a mixed approach combining a quantitative
content analysis – allowing for a general overview of occurrences - with a more
in-depth, qualitative framing analysis. Although qualitative and quantitative
data are known to vary in character they do share a common area of meaning
in terms of the object (Van den Bulck et al., 2008), in this case: of how Formula
E and ES are portrayed in the selected newspaper content.
For the quantitative content analysis, we started with a list of seven
variables and their subcategories, found in the literature (e.g. Rowe, 2007;
Tang, 2012; Gan et al., 2005, Horky & Nieland, 2013). The categories include
date of publication, dominant sport, article topics (with a maximum of 5 per
article), article type, sources, article valence, and title valence. These categories
were tested on a subsample of 60 of all 249 articles (24%) to evaluate the
usefulness of selected, and the need for additional, (sub) categories.
The unit of analysis was a paragraph, which usually included a number of
sentences but in some instances just one or two sentences. When a paragraph

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was found to be too lengthy, containing various ideas, it was carved up into
smaller, meaningful segments.
Reliability of results was controlled by means of a second coder who, after
being briefed and familiarised with the coding instructions, coded 5% of the
material. Using Cohen’s Ƙ we calculated the intercoder reliability which is high
with an average of 0.81.

… to a Qualitative Method: Framing Analysis

To obtain a more detailed, in-depth understanding of how ES is being dealt with

in relationship to Formula E in the Flemish and British newspaper coverage, we
selected all articles that made explicit mention of ES. This resulted in a sample
of 66 ES related articles (UK: 60 and Flanders: 6) that were subjected to a
qualitative framing analysis. Analysis is based on the identification in each
article of framing devices and reasoning devices as developed by Gamson &
Modigliani (1989) and Entman (1993). The latter refers to the definition of the
issue, the causal interpretation, the consequence, the moral evaluation and the
treatment recommendation. The former involves analysis of word choice,
stereotypes/metaphors, catchphrases and depictions.
Findings were translated into frame packages in a signature matrix
(Gamson & Modigliani, 1989) which can be obtained on request. As a means of
validation, first, each frame had to provide a clear definition of what is meant
by the integration of ES as well as what the causal and treatment
recommendations were. Second, frames had to be mutually exclusive and
provide a clear insight of the roles attributed to Formula E and ES.

Formula E and ES in the UK and Flemish press

In what follows, we will first set out results based on the quantitative data.
Following this, results of the qualitative framing analysis are presented.

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Quantitative Analysis: the Prominence of Formula E in the UK and Flemish
Press

Of all articles analysed (n = 259), 48,05% features Formula E as the dominant

sport, with 58% of all UK articles (n = 153) and 33,96% of all Flemish articles (n
= 106) focusing foremost on Formula E, a first indication of the difference in
attention to the sport in Flanders and the UK. In 10,55% of all 259 cases,
Formula E was mentioned in articles dominated by Formula One and this was
significantly more the case in the UK coverage (16,67%) than in the Flemish
coverage (just 1,89%). Interestingly, 33,20% of all articles dealt with a mixture
of sports (i.e. a single dominant sport could not be determined). Yet, here too,
a considerable difference between Flanders and the UK could be observed, as
60,38 % of all Flemish articles fitted the subcategory of mixed sports compared
to only 14% in UK articles. These results suggest a more dominant interest in
Formula racing in the UK press compared to its Flemish counterpart where it
mostly appears as part of mixed sports coverage.
The results regarding article topics provide further elaboration on the
situation. Flemish articles focus predominantly on results/match reports
(27,30%) and other sport-related content such as motorsport news (31,58%),
preview of competition (9,54%) and sporting/performance aspects (8,55%).
Similarly, UK articles focus on motorsport news (26,94%) and
performance/sporting aspects (10,68%). Yet, unlike in Flanders, UK articles also
focus on technology and development (12,62%), environmental sustainability
(10,44%) and marketing (7,28%). This indicates UK reporting on Formula E
combines a more engineering-based and business-like angle with actual sports
topics whereas Flemish articles tend to focus more on what the sport generates
in terms of entertainment.
This tendency is confirmed by analysis of sources mentioned in the
articles. 328 sources (n = 328; either mentioned or quoted) were found in 132
Flemish and UK articles. Sources in Flemish articles (n = 30) are made up almost
exclusively by athletes (60%), predominantly Jerome D’Ambrosio, Belgium’s
only Formula E driver at that time. This confirms that notions of banal

110
nationalism and ‘bringing it home’ in sports reporting (Billig, 2002) extend to
(the in Flanders relatively unknown sport of) Formula E. Similarly, sources in UK
articles (UK: n = 298) focus on British athletes (5,70%, ex: Sam Bird). Yet,
emphasis was put on other sources such as a corporate executive (26,17%, ex:
Sir Richard Branson), a representative of a sporting organization (12,08%, e.g.
Jean Todt), a politician (9,06%, e.g. David Cameron), thus emphasizing the
business and political side of the sporting world.
Some interesting observations arose from an analysis of the date of
publication. Figure 4a shows a number of significant peaks in articles on
Formula E in the sample of the UK press. The first peak in the period of March
2013 coincides with the notification of the press by the FIA that the Formula E
championship would start in the autumn of 2014. The peak periods November
2013-January 2014, and the same period in 2014-15 and 2015-16 are related to
the organisers and teams releasing information on their cars and drivers. The
growing number of peaks in press coverage suggests an increase in attention
for Formula E over time, probably as it became better known. This media
attention was further helped by the deliberate decision to schedule the
Formula E championship during a period (winter) when most professional
racing series do not run, encouraging media exposure. What then explains the
peaks in interest in the spring and summer months? The period of July 2014
coincided with the lead-up to the start of the (then new) Formula E series in
September 2014, while the peak in May – July 2015 represents (the lead-up to)
the season’s finale in London. The limited attention in the same period in 2016
may be related to the fact that criticism after the first London finale meant that
2016 would be the last year that Formula E would visit that location in London.
Some interesting differences with the Flemish coverage, shown in Figure
4b, can be noted. Not only does the first Flemish article appear one year later
than its British counterpart, Flemish coverage overall is less frequent and less
substantial than UK articles, showing a lack of interest in the introduction of the
sport. Yet, the most significant periods roughly appear for the same reason as
and correspond to the situation in the UK: September 2014 - January 2015 and

111
May – July 2015. Only the period of March – May 2016 sees a larger volume of
publication than the UK at that time.
Looking especially at the mention of ES, figure 4b shows that it generates
an original focus of attention (January 2014 – March 2014) in the Flemish press,
when the highest peak can be noted, after which attention for ES dwindles. This
seems to confirm Cox’s (2012) observation that focus on ES wanes as the
novelty wears off (Cox, 2012). However, as figure 4a shows, this does not apply
to UK articles where a level of attention to ES is maintained over time. More so,
a tendency was noted for ES-related articles to proportionally follow article
publications on Formula E in general, indicating a level of reflection on the
theme.

Figure 4a: Number of Formula E articles (on ES) published based on date of publication in the
UK.

UK ALL FE ARTICLES AND ES RELATED ARTICLES

20

15

10

0
jul/12
okt/12

jul/13
okt/13

jul/14
okt/14

jul/15
okt/15

jul/16
okt/16
apr/12

apr/13

apr/14

apr/15

apr/16
jan/12

jan/13

jan/14

jan/15

jan/16

UK FREQUENCY UK ES FREQUENCY

112
Figure 4b: Number of Formula E articles (on ES) published based on date of publication in
Flanders.

FLANDERS ALL FE ARTICLES AND ES RELATED

ARTICLES
15
10
5
0
apr/12

apr/13

apr/14

apr/15

apr/16
jan/12

jul/12
okt/12
jan/13

jul/13
okt/13
jan/14

jul/14
okt/14
jan/15

jul/15
okt/15
jan/16

jul/16
okt/16
FLANDERS FREQUENCY FLANDERS ES FREQUENCY

Qualitative Analysis: ES in Formula E Coverage in UK and Flemish Press

Of all coded articles (n = 259), 25,48% (n = 66 articles) revealed a textual

reference to ES, a majority of which 60 articles were from the UK and just 6
articles from the Flemish press. Further analysis showed, furthermore, that
mostly the coverage of ES is limited to a mention of just a few lines, particularly
so in Flemish articles (5 out of 6 as opposed to 33 out of 60 in UK articles). More
extensive emphasis on ES appeared only in UK articles (23 out of 60).
Particularly in UK articles, the focus on ES often includes the dominant topic of
efficiency and/or technology (28 out of 60 articles):
‘No motor racing could ever be described as environmental […] but
Formula E racers use a lot less fossil fuel than their petrol powered
counterparts’ (Bennett, 2015)
Looking at the occurrence and nature of sources in ES related articles, Flemish
articles featured very few sources and focused almost exclusively on athletes,
which corresponds with the source results for all Formula E articles in the
Flemish press. Similarly, sources in UK articles on ES come mostly from the
business side of sport as well as from politics, although researchers from the
natural sciences and social sciences appear to a lesser extent as well. At closer
inspection, these scientists mostly are brought in to create a narrative of

113
scrutiny against ES. As a result, these sources appear mostly in articles with a
less positive valence. In the latter regard, we found that ‘article valence’ in
Flemish articles on ES was predominantly positive (4 out of 6 articles). Similarly,
UK articles on ES were predominantly positive (37 out of 60 articles) or neutral
(15 out of 60 articles).

Framing (ES) in Formula E

Complementary to this, a qualitative frame analysis resulted in two dominant
frames, i.e. Formula E as a ‘Potential Threat to Formula One’ and ‘(Promoting
the) EV Revolution’, two counter-frames, i.e. ‘Child’s Play’ and ‘Green Farce’ as
well as one secondary frame, i.e. ‘EV Image Problems’. Importantly, before
analyzing each frame in greater detail, we need to point out that, ES does not
constitute a frame in itself, neither in the UK nor in the Flemish coverage.
However, ES is of significant importance in some of the frames we found, as the
analysis below shows.

The Dominant Frame of Formula E as ‘A Potential Threat to Formula One’

This frame features predominantly in UK articles and revolves around the issue
of Formula E as having found a green gap in motorsport, even though it needs
to develop further in order to pass by Formula One, ‘They [Formula E cars]
should look more like the communications of tomorrow […] and less like those
of the Seventies.’ (Bennett, 2015). The rise of Formula E is attributed not just
to its own strengths but to the fact that Formula One has been faltering as a
sport for some time: ‘Formula One is dysfunctional, conservative and
traditionally averse to major changes in sustainable technology’ (Briggs, 2014).
In presenting Formula One in this way, the frame puts Formula One and
Formula E in antagonistic positions: ‘stuttered on a querulous path’ (Eason,
2014a) versus ‘powering ahead’ (Johnson, 2014) or ‘mired in gloom and
uncertainty’ (Johnson, 2015) versus ‘exudes quiet confidence’ (Eason, 2015a).
This reverberates the imminence of the threat posed by Formula E, depicting
Formula E as a ‘rebel without a decibel’ (Plets, 2014) and as ‘Formula One’s
Waterloo, and not the train station’ (Eason, 2013). Consequently, Formula E is

114
positioned as a serious contender in motorsport, combining well-known
engineers, manufacturers, drivers, celebrities and politicians: ‘People,
celebrities, sponsors and city councils are flocking to the idea’ (Eason, 2012).
Mention of ES was found to contribute to the frame only in relationship to
Formula One’s lack of embracing ES compared to Formula E.

The Counter-frame of Formula E as ‘Child’s Play’

A counter-frame to the previous frame and a sub frame to the secondary ‘EV
Image Problems’, this frame presents Formula E as no match for traditional
racing series and is present in Flemish and UK articles. It starts from the idea
that Formula E is difficult to be taken serious as ‘it is simply too slow’ (Johnson,
2014) to watch. This is attributed to the fact that it is doubtful whether the
series will manage to bring the same sporting factor for (young) adult fans
associated with other autosport series: ‘[…] don’t think of it as autosport.
Rather as a show in which the audience participates’ (Bossuyt, 2014). This
notion of not being a serious sport, is reinforced by means of framing devices
that compare Formula E to forms of ‘silly’ pseudo-sport entertainment such as
‘lawnmower racing’ (Eason, 2015b) or a ‘scalextric’ toy race track (Burrows,
2014). To the extent that a solution for Formula E out of this bad situation and
image is presented, reference is made to – particularly battery-related -
technological advancements that provide greater speeds and autonomy: ‘the
cars don't even last the whole of a race yet, which is where research and
development should be concentrated (Bennett, 2015). The notion of ES, finally,
is entirely absent from this frame.

The Dominant Frame of Formula E as ‘(Promoting the) EV Revolution’

This second dominant frame was found in UK articles and presents Formula E
as an inherent part of an electric revolution. The issue at hand is that a necessity
to legislation is pushing manufacturers to correspond to low emission norms
subsequently making them ‘enter the electric arena’. An implied cause is that
(an increased acknowledgement of) ES has provided politics and mass

115
audiences with a significant incentive and made ‘screaming, petrol fueled cars
seem at odds with the aspirations of both carmakers and buyers’ (Eason, 2012).
As a result of this, development of alternative, i.e. zero-emission, energy
sources and EV technology is improving, yet is still suffering from a negative
aura. In other words, a racing series such as Formula E is presented as a solution
that can help mainstream and boost the image of EV’s by showing urban
audiences it does not need to be boring, slow, ugly costly and impractical.:
‘[Formula E can] jump-start the stalling electric car revolution’ (Robert, 2013).
In doing so, the series is presented as legitimizing itself further by providing a
cause to the spectacle in motor racing: ‘ [Boris] Johnson and his ilk, who want
the spectacle but need a cause (Eason, 2013) and the frame acknowledges the
need for motorsport to adjust to the trend for communities and businesses to
become more sustainable: ‘recognition that the world is changing fast and that
motorsport has to change with it’ (Eason, 2014b). What is more, Formula E is
presented as playing into this necessity for motorsport to become more
relevant to ensure its survival for the future: i.e. ‘a motor-racing revolution’
(Eason, 2014a). Underlining the potential of Formula E by not just promoting
ES but also in the survival of motorsport, Formula E is presented as combining
the ES notions of a lack of carbon emissions and significantly reduced noise level
with the entertainment and speed factor of traditional motor racing series:
‘have fun and go fast, but without the penalty of exhaust fumes or noise that
would keep babies awake in a 50-mile radius’ (Eason, 2013). A further
observation is that promotion and marketing, i.e. capitalist tools, are implicitly
presented as inherent necessities for the EV revolution and are as such free of
criticism in articles.

The Counter-frame of Formula E as a ‘Green Farce’

Both a sub frame of ‘EV Image Problems’ and counter frame to ‘(Promoting the)
EV Revolution’ in Flemish and UK articles, this frame presents the series as
falling short of its own goals due to significant negative consequences: ‘Formula
E cannot live up to its eco credentials and the positive consequences do not
compensate for the negative consequences’ (Ekins, 2015). As such, ES efforts

116
are depicted as cancelled out. The cause of this issue is placed with the
‘unrelenting noise [and the] damage and disruption to natural areas and traffic’
(Fernandez & Strick, 2016). In this sense, Formula E’s goal of using its ‘green
card’ is presented as similar to what Hassan and O’Kane (2011) referred to as a
smokescreen in relation to the Paris Dakar rally. For example, Formula E is
presented as an example of ‘how marketing and hype can create delusion’
(Bossuyt, 2014) and how ‘everything is about attracting big business and
commercial sponsorship at the expense of quiet enjoyment’ (Fernandez &
Strick, 2016). Further, this frame is strengthened by the use of a negative
vocabulary that functions as a framing device: ‘destructive forces […] ruin’
(Ekins, 2015), and ‘terrible idea’ (Elliot & Eason, 2014). The suggested solution
to this problem is that no form of motor racing should be allowed in urban
spaces and that, in order to truly make an impact in reduction of carbon
emissions, motorsport ‘should stick to the dedicated race tracks and leave our
streets for ordinary Londoners to enjoy’ (Elliot and Eason, 2014). In this sense,
the intrusive essence of Formula E is presented as no different from other
motor racing series.

The Secondary Frame of ‘EV Image Problems’

This frame is present in both Flemish and UK articles and contains the sub frame
‘Child’s Play’. In this secondary frame, the issue presented is that EV’s suffer
from skepticism arising from an aura of negativity caused by what are
considered to be significant downsides: ‘geen betere manier om aan te geven
dat de beperkte autonomie het grote probleem van elektrische auto’s blijft [no
better way to indicate that limited autonomy remains EV’s most significant
problem]’ (Bossuyt, 2014), ‘electric cars are expensive […] but by the biggest
barrier is the range of electric cars’ (Stansfield, 2015) and consequently, mass
adoption of EV’s remains difficult: ‘Sales in the UK of pure electric vehicles […]
still a pitifully small number in an overall market that has grown’ (Stansfield,
2015). The solution here is that EV’s will need to equal or better characteristics
of fossil fueled cars to become practically viable ‘cutting battery costs and
increasing their range will give electric vehicles a new spark of life’ (Stansfield,

117
2015). The moral evaluation remains carefully critical to avoid making
evaluations that can be proved false in the near future: ‘[…] it’ll take some
seriously bright sparks to convince Irish motorists to ditch their oil-burners’
(Lennox, 2016).

Discussion and Conclusion

The aim of this study was to add to existing work on the representation of ES in
motorsport by gaining a deeper insight into the media’s appraisal of Formula
E’s ES efforts. By combining results from a quantitative content analysis and a
qualitative framing analysis we were able to provide a clearer picture of the
function as well as the importance that ES holds in newspaper reporting on
Formula E, showing that both Formula E and its relationship to ES have received
attention in the British and Flemish press, be it in different ways.
The results suggest a number of meaningful implications. First, ES does
not take up a leading position in news reporting on Formula E. This confirms
wider observations by Lester (2010) and Cox (2012) regarding the limited
newsworthiness ES usually generates. However, attention for ES was
maintained over time and was proportionally associated with the amount of
Formula E articles in general, particularly in the UK press coverage. It seems
that attention to ES in Formula E remains significant over a longer period of
time while usually it diminishes as the novelty factor wears off. Even in Flemish
articles, and despite less interest in ES in Formula E, the topic does not wane
completely. This indicates, to a certain extent, that ES has, at least in
newspapers, become associated with Formula E and that their symbiotic
relationship has positively affected the newsworthiness of each other.
Second, it seems that the ‘Potential Threat to Formula One’ and the
‘(Promoting the) EV Revolution’ frame hail the adoption of ES as part of motor
racing. The frames assist in reinforcing Formula E’s efforts to adopt ES rather
than scrutinizing the series for the lack of it (Cox, 2012). The revolution frame
in particular hints at the advantages that Formula E represents and functions as
an acknowledgement that Formula E is driving technology to benefit future

118
societies. As Turner and Pearson (2008) have indicated, this is a necessary
requirement for motorsport to be at the cutting edge of automotive
engineering. In a sense, this also applies to the ‘Potential Threat to Formula
One’ frame. This presents Formula One, for a long time considered as the
pinnacle of motor racing (Sturm, 2014), as at risk of being overtaken by Formula
E which has exploited Formula One’s recent neglect at being technologically
relevant.
At the other side of the spectrum, it has become clear that ES and
Formula E are subject to criticism. As part of its marketing strategy, ES is
considered to help Formula E aim for and enable city audiences to learn about
developments and benefits of electric cars and about wider electric mobility
through motorsport (Chauhan, 2015). However, the ‘Green Farce’ frame gives
voice to a smaller, alternative view on the negative environmental impact of
motor racing in delicate eco-systems, or, in this instance, delicate urban
societies (Hassan, 2011). Similar to what Hassan and O’Kane (2011) noted in
their study on the Paris Dakar Rally, this counterframe implied ES in Formula E
to be little more than a smokescreen. This dismisses Formula E’s technological
and ES efforts, rendering them inadequate to offset the series’ impact on its
surroundings following the racing in city centres.
Third, the promotion and marketing of EV’s and EV racing in itself, both
indicative of capitalism (Carvalho, 2005), did not constitute a negative reaction
in articles. This could imply articles either do not pick up on this, or rather,
implicitly, deem such commercialization a prerequisite to EV’s success. In the
case of the latter, in effect, promoting EV’s as consumer products commodifies
ES.
Fourth, it is worth considering the differences in news reporting on
Formula E between the UK and Flemish press. While Flemish articles focused
rather exclusively on the sport itself, i.e. results and race reports, UK articles
combined this with more technological and businesslike angles. Moreover, ES
features much more in the UK than the Flemish press coverage. These findings
can be explained looking at wider regional differences. First, the UK has a

119
cultural and historical association with motorsport dating back to the early
1900’s (Ameye et al., 2011). Second, at the time of writing, the UK is considered
to have the largest motorsport industry in the world (House of Commons
Business, Innovation and Skill Committee, 2010). Flanders, and Belgium for that
matter, shares a similar historical interest during the first half of the 20th
century (Ameye et al., 2011). Yet, this trend did not extend into the 21st century
the way it did in the UK. In addition to this, Flanders does not house a
technological/engineering industry the way the UK does. Of course, these
reasons may just be part of why Flemish press pays less attention to Formula E
and even less so to it in relation to ES. Yet, these differences seem to result
from each region making sense of Formula E and ES through a national (i.e.
regional) media lens (Boyle & Monteiro, 2005).

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 CHAPTER 5
‘WE GO GREEN IN BEIJING’: SITUATING LIVE TELEVISION,
URBAN MOTORSPORT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY BY MEANS OF
A FRAMING ANALYSIS OF TV BROADCASTS OF FORMULA E

Timothy Robeers and Hilde Van den Bulck

This article has been accepted for publication in the academic journal: Sport
and Society

Preface

The third case study of this Ph.D. continues the media content scope of the
previous chapter and provides insight into a second, ‘traditional’, form of
media, namely television. In particular, it looks at live television broadcasting
of Formula E. This is motivated by the fact that television coverage is inherent
to the sports experience as it allows for sport, and in this case motorsport, to
be used as a platform for showcasing new products and initiatives (Evans 2014;
Noble and Hughes 2004), including ES. Therefore, and considering the novelty
character of Formula E, this fifth chapter considers the season’s opening
television broadcasts of the first three seasons of Formula E to which it applies
a qualitative framing-based analysis.
This case study demonstrates that, during the initial part of the first
broadcast, ES was represented to a certain extent, yet functioned very much as
a neglected frame during the latter parts and the following broadcasts. This
chapter further suggests this absence of ES is due to broadcasters prioritizing
stakeholder commitments and audience’s motorsport expectations. As such, it
seems that ES serves more as part of a marketing strategy for broadcasters than
an opportunity to scrutinise, monitor or commend Formula E for its ES efforts.

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Abstract

In 2014, the fully electric racing series Formula E, aimed at promoting clean
energy and sustainability, was launched in Beijing (China), at that time the
world’s most polluted city. Despite Formula E’s sustainability credentials, the
question remains whether one of its core values, i.e. environmental
sustainability (hereafter: ES), is picked up on by sports television broadcasters.
Using a qualitative framing analysis, this contribution identified, compared and
contrasted frames, and the significance of ES herein, in three UK broadcasts of
Formula E’s first three season opening races. Results indicate that, although the
narrative of ES was introduced minimally during the inaugural broadcast, ES
was neglected as a frame during consecutive broadcasts. Results suggest that
this is because sports broadcasters prefer audiences to align Formula E
according to more traditional values and ideas associated with broadcasting of
motorsport, and, as such, to avoid affecting, i.e. reducing, audience confidence
and ratings.

Keywords: Formula E, Live-TV broadcasting, Environmental Sustainability,

framing approach, agenda-setting

Introduction

Race commentator Jack Nichols’s ‘We go green in Beijing’ signified the start of
the FIA Formula E championship race in Beijing in 2014. Formula E, fully electric
and visually similar to Formula One, is the Fédération Internationale de
l’Automobile’s (hereafter: FIA) latest sustainability incentive to accommodate
a changing environmental and political climate by ‘provid[e]ing a framework
for research and development centered around the electric vehicle to promote
clean energy and [environmental] sustainability’ (hereafter: ES) (Formula E,
2015). In that light, Nichols’ ‘going green’ statement reveals a potential
ambiguity. It denotes both the starting grid lights turning green and, bearing in
mind Formula E’s much (self-)proclaimed eco- credentials (see chapter three),
or an increase in ES. Indeed, motorsport has long suffered from negative

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criticisms because of its unsustainable patterns of consumption contributing to
global environmental change which, more recently, emission scandals like
Dieselgate have highlighted (Dingle 2009). This has increased scrutiny of the
industry and has left a profound mark on the motor racing landscape with
manufacturers such as Volkswagen and subsidiary brands Audi and Porsche
having pulled out of major motorsport commitments such as, for example, their
exit from the World Endurance Championship series-leading LMP1-class (Le
Mans Prototype 1). Instead, they enter Formula E as a means to redirect
operations (and legitimacy) as a function of electric vehicle (hereafter: EV)
development. Thus, for motorsport to survive as a competitive platform for
automotive design and innovation, it has had to increase efforts to resolve its
environmental problems. Consequently, the motorsport governing body FIA’s
Institute for Motorsport Safety (hereafter: FIAIMSS) expanded its activity
continuously from 2007 onwards to include ES and stimulate
‘research into sustainability, disseminate[ing] the results of that research
and provide[ing] information on the best environmental procedures,
practices and technologies that can be applied to motorsport. […] cover
areas such as vehicle design and technology […] emissions monitoring and
control […] energy optimization and storage […]’ (Fédération
International de l’Automobile Institute for Motorsport Safety 2009).
ES has gained in popularity on a global scale due to its symbiotic relationship
with the media, i.e. the media sustain themselves by picking novel issues which
in turn provides those issues (e.g. ES-related topics such as deforestation,
climate change, etc.) with exposure (Cox 2012). For a novel sport such as
Formula E, media exposure is key for generating awareness through the media,
as a majority of people that watch sports do so first and foremost through (a
combination of) media, i.e. radio, newspapers, magazines, social media and
television coverage of the sports and its wider points of interest (Boyle and
Haynes 2009). Television coverage in particular is very much part of the sports
experience as it allows for top motorsport series to be used as platforms for
sponsors to showcase their brands and products (Evans 2014; Noble and
Hughes 2004). Well aware of the fact that ‘sports rights in themselves influence

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sports news coverage’ (Helland 2007, 106), Formula E has provided
broadcasters with free access to broadcasting rights, hoping this will expose the
series to global audiences (Chauhan 2015). In trying to communicate this
message, some level of control over what is being shown during the main race
broadcast is effectively taken away from broadcasters as the visual feed and
any replay are provided by the series’ own broadcasting director (Evans 2014),
in this case from Formula E. However, ultimately, it is the media that control
the amount and kind of coverage and, thus, the visibility of Formula E and its
ES-related efforts, by providing live race commentating and supplemental pre-
and post-race footage (either studio based or on-track based). Therefore, and
by means of a case study and framing approach, this paper wants to, (1)
ascertain if ES features in the live broadcast of Formula E, (2) study how the
motor racing series Formula E and ES are represented (i.e. framed) in the
coverage of 3 live television broadcasts in the UK as well as (3) provide a
conceptually and theoretically based interpretation of why the resulting frames
have emerged as they have. In doing so, it draws and combines insights from
environmental communication, media studies and (motor) sport studies.

Literature Review

In what follows, we will first discuss the current position ES holds in British
society, followed by an elaboration on motorsport and ES in the sports-media
complex.

Public Consciousness of ES in the UK

The United Nations Brundtland report (1988, 3) defines ES as ’development

that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs’. In 1998, the Kyoto Protocol indicated a
turnaround moment as’ in order to take appropriate adaptive measures, […]
one must [first] recognise that one is at risk’ (Taylor, Dessai, and Bruine de
Bruine 2014, 3). Following this global acknowledgement of ES, the UK
government was the first to adopt appropriate legislation and are expected by

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the UK public to deal with environmental issues on their behalf (Taylor, Dessai,
and Bruine de Bruine 2014; Lorenzoni, Nicholson-Cole, and Whitmarsh 2007).
According to Taylor, Dessai, and Bruine de Bruin (2014), this is due to the UK
public showing greater psychological distance to these issues due to limited
immediate implications. Indeed, most UK ‘laypeople’ consider environmental
implications applicable to the more ‘vulnerable’ in the world and future
generations (Lorenzoni and Pidgeon 2006, 87). Another study by Parkhill et al.
(2013, 33) for the UKERC (UK Energy Research Centre) confirms both the
awareness of ES as well as the lack of general individual engagement by the UK
public but, additionally, reveals a core aspiration to move away from a total
reliance on fossil fuels to more sustainable alternatives. As such, Parkhill et al.
(2013, 15) found the UK public to closely associate EV’s with being green and
environmentally ‘good’ with 54% of respondents willing to switch to EV’s and
75% should EV performance equal or better current models. Subsequently, this
indicates that environmental concerns ‘are not key determinants in the public’s
choice of transport technologies’ (O’Garra, Mourato, and Pearson 2004, 651)
and that despite a widespread awareness of ES, relevant UK public engagement
remains scarce.

ES Media Coverage in the UK

Cox (2012) states that due to the limited experiences of the UK public and the
‘invisibility’ of environmental issues and sustainability, the public is largely
dependent on stories about the climate and sustainability by media sources, which
have been shown to be neither innocent nor neutral in their representations. The
‘visualization’ of this invisibility of issues requires much communicative work as,
inherently, news (i.e. including ES) ‘is largely event focused and event driven’
which impacts ‘which environmental issues get coverage and which don’t’ (Hansen
2010, 95-6). Indeed, Boykoff (2011) identified a fivefold quantitative increase in
(UK broadsheet newspaper) coverage of event-based environmental issues (e.g.
climate change) occurring across four periods between 2000 and 2010, despite a
decline in circulation (Cox, 2012). These were initiated by, among others, (1) the
COP6 in The Hague in November 2000, (2) the G8 Gleneagles (Scotland) summit in

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July 2005, (3) the release of An Inconvenient truth (Al Gore) in September 2006,
the COP12 in November 2006 and (4) the COP15 in Copenhagen (Denmark) as
well as the UAE CRU email scandal (Climate Gate) both at the end of 2009. This is
of significant importance for ES as Boykoff (2011, 20) directly links these events to
‘ongoing stories of […] sustainability […] and the like’. He further identifies two
associated problems, namely (1) a lack of story context creating ‘missed critical
opportunities to advance the climate story’ (Boykoff, 2011, 96) and (2) a framing
in terms of socio-political and economic concerns regarding the implementation
of environmental policies. The latter also corresponds to Carvalho’s (2005, 21)
implications that UK quality newspaper coverage ‘remains within the broad
ideological parameters of free-market capitalism and neo-liberalism, avoiding a
sustained critique of the possibility of constant economic growth and increasing
consumption […]’.
Despite a significant number of studies have looked at UK media coverage
of a range of environmental issues, the focus has so far bypassed (sports)
television coverage and ES, a gap this study aims to address.

The (Motor) Sports-Media Complex

Knut Helland (2007, 105-6) claims that the relationship between sports and the
media has led to the development of the ‘sports/media complex’, a term
conceived by Jhally (1989), and is the result of a commercialization of television
through new technologies and enhanced social developments. As such,
‘television has generated the proverbial pot of gold’ (Kidd 2013, 443) for
sporting events such as Formula One and the Olympics. The sports/media
complex, furthermore, is symbiotic: media coverage of sporting events are first
and foremost important from a self-promotion point of view in the sense that
broadcasters apply strategic measures to draw in audiences for their
advertisers - thus safeguarding time, pecuniary and resource investments. This,
in turn, helps to raise the sport’s appeal and value (Helland 2007; Kidd 2013).
Crabbe and Brown (2004) confirm that it is of vital importance to maintain the
ability to sell sports as an authentic or nostalgic (viewing) experience for

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audiences. In their research on stock car racing, Roy, Goss, and Jubenville
(2010) found that motor racing values such as action (drama on the track), the
speed of the race and the reputation of a series are crucial for audiences’
interest. For this symbiotic relationship to be successful, it must be balanced.
However, Helland (2007) posits a paradox: the media constitute great potential
for exposure but are also weak at safeguarding journalistic ideals, e.g. variety
of topics, because broadcasting rights (and accompanying sponsorship
requirements) still serve to frame what ought to be covered. In Formula E’s
case, free access to its broadcasting rights will most likely (cf. Chauhan 2015)
generate increased exposure, but considering broadcasters’ predefined time
and content restraints which limit the selection of relevant stories (Lewis and
Weaver 2013), it remains to be seen if this will indeed positively impact
exposure of Formula E’s ES efforts. Therefore, this article will look at where the
focus of the live broadcast of Formula E lies.

Environmental Sustainability in the (Motor) Sports-Media Complex

A considerable amount of academic literature focuses on citizens’ growing

awareness of ES as a means to reduce harmful practices on society and its
implementation in the world of sport (Sheth and Babiak 2010). In the case of
motorsport, Haase-Reed, Kushin, and Koeppel (2007) found that, as a result of
a socially responsible sport starting to acknowledge its own ecological footprint
and developing appropriate policies, media increasingly focus on ES in sports
despite it suffering from a limited newsworthiness, i.e. a limited ability to
attract readers (Cox 2012). In general, ES can make it into the media as a novelty
and event-driven entity but loses significance as exposure decreases (Lester
2010; Cox 2012). Still, by focusing more on ES in sport, the media can pressure
sporting businesses and organizations (e.g. FIA and Formula E) by monitoring
and scrutinizing their (ES) efforts, or by means of positively communicating
corporations’ ES efforts along with commitments to stakeholders (Trendafilova,
Babiak, and Heinze 2013). Hassan and O’Kane (2011) looked into (the media
coverage of) the Dakar Rally and its impact on the development of
environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (hereafter: CSR) within

135
motorsports. They show that the organisers of the Dakar Rally implemented
CSR by means of the ‘Actions Dakar Project’ which was scrutinised by the media
and environmental organizations as a smokescreen to reduce criticism. This
paper aims to examine to what extent live television broadcasting picks up on
and monitors Formula E’s ES efforts, i.e. to what extent television broadcasting
of Formula E considers ES as newsworthy, and to what extent it monitors the
sports’ ES efforts?

Theoretical Framework: Sports-Media Framing

An important factor of sports-media research is analysing how audiences are

encouraged to think about what the media suggest or, in other words, how a
topic which is selected by the media to become news is presented to audiences
(Scheufele 1999; Lester 2010). As such, a framing paradigm provides an ideal
option for two reasons. First, framing theory has a deep-rooted tradition in
mediated sports research and has been used by many researchers analysing
sports (media) companies on the basis of rendered frames (Turner 2014).
Second, it provides a productive approach for comparative and longitudinal
research. Framing, then, can be understood as ‘selecting certain aspects of a
perceived reality in order to make them more salient and, in doing so, promote
a problem definition, a causal interpretation, a moral evaluation and a
treatment recommendation’ (Entman 1993, 52), whereby the latter four
function as reasoning devices (Entman 1993; Van Gorp 2010) alongside framing
devices (lexicon, catchphrases, depictions and stereotypes) (Gamson and
Modigliani 1989; Van Gorp 2010) to make up frames. As an inherent part of
framing, frames refer to ‘persistent patterns of cognition, interpretation, and
presentation, of selection, emphasis, and exclusion, by which symbol-handlers
routinely organise discourse, whether verbal or visual’ (Gitlin 1980, 7).
Furthermore, by selecting what to emphasise and what to exclude, the media
can influence the messages the audience receives by providing them with a
suggested meaning which is the consequence of the effect of power relations
(Cheek 2004; Van Gorp 2004).

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 Recently, sports journalism has been evolving into a hybrid model that
combines traditional reporting styles with social media which, subsequently,
allows for (1) more opportunities for journalists to draft stories in a way that
uses different frames as information about athletes, teams and the sport itself
become more readily available and (2) an increasingly dominant overlap of
sports coverage, entertainment and celebrity (Shultz and Scheffer 2010; Lewis
and Weaver 2013). Indeed, a study by Lewis and Weaver (2013) states that
sports media stories are traditionally grounded in an overarching performance
frame. Despite this move to a hybrid model, and although media producers
most often do not intentionally choose certain frames over others (Van Gorp
2010), they are still limited by time and/or content restraints and can only
select a limited number of relevant stories (cf. Lewis and Weaver 2013).
Another study (see chapter four) analysed the representation of Formula E’s ES
efforts in British and Flemish newspapers and reveals that ES did not constitute
a dominant frame but appeared as part of other frames of Formula E. Yet it did
constitute one counter-frame, namely Formula E as ‘a green farce’ whereby, as
a solution, ES rather necessitates a celebratory and critical approach. This bears
some implications for the representation of ES during broadcasts of Formula E
as, on the one hand, the increased potential for new frames as a result of the
hybrid model could allow for the inclusion of ES. Yet, on the other hand, the
time (i.e. allocated timeslot) and content restraints (cf. traditional motor racing
values) set out by the producers could still hamper inclusion. Based on these
notions, this study analyses if and how and to what extent journalists
incorporate ES frames in reporting and or continue to use more traditional
frames.

Methodology

Although sometimes criticised for its ‘wider academic relevance which is

hampered by its own idiosyncrasies’ (Flyvbjerg 2006), there exists some
compelling reasoning to adopt a case study approach. First, and as defined by
Yin (2014), the distinctive need for utilizing a case study approach emerges
from a desire to comprehend one or more complex, social and contemporary

137
phenomenon, e.g. it enables a more in-depth analysis of relationships between
the media and sport with respect to the debate on the environment (Flyvbjerg
2006). As such, it is perfectly suited to answer questions that deal with
operational links needing to be viewed diachronically (Yin, 2017) and,
additionally, allows for an exhaustive overview of frames present in a sample
of media texts (Van den Bulck and Claessens, 2013). As such, a longitudinal and
single-case study design was selected that allowed for the same single case, i.e.
the Formula E season opening race broadcast7, to be examined at three one-
year intervals (Yin 2014; Yin 2017). The selection criteria are fourfold. (1) All
broadcasts are identical in format (i.e. season opening races) and allow for a
more specific longitudinal view than a random selection of races during the
same period would provide, (2) the first race of each new season is most likely
to carry the most magnitude as it includes new information regarding the racing
series (technology, rules and regulations and possibly ES), (3) the sample
includes races in South-East Asia (Beijing and Hong Kong) which still has the
highest level of deaths due to air pollution on the planet (World health
Organisation, 2018) and might instigate ES commentary, and (4) all broadcasts
are produced from a UK perspective, grounded in the country’s world-leading
motorsport industry (House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skill
Committee 2010). An important consideration is that, despite the
abovementioned motivations, the sample still maintains some level of
pragmatism and other broadcasts not included here might indeed yield
deviating results.
The sample consists of the 2014 ITV48 Beijing Formula ePrix, the 2015
ITV4 Beijing Formula EPrix and the 2016 Channel 59 Hong Kong Formula EPrix.
Primary data were sampled from both television and online platforms. The first
ITV4 as well the Channel 5 broadcasts were accessed by means of a live

7
A broadcast can be considered to be a system of signs made up of qualifying- and/or race/
studio commentary and pre-recorded verbal material such as interviews (Smith 2014).
8
ITV4 is part of the ITV broadcasting company which is the main free-to-air company in the
UK.
9
Channel 5 is a British commercial broadcaster which took over from ITV4 after it dropped
broadcasting Formula E for the third Formula E season (2016-2017).

138
recording on 13 September 2014 and 09 October 2016, respectively. The
second ITV4 broadcast was accessed through Youtube on 24 October 2016.
During a first part, the sample was coded inductively and comprised of all three
stages of coding as set out by Van Gorp (2010). During open coding, all data
were assigned codes with the smallest unit of analysis for coding being a set of
sentences that created a meaningful segment, which usually included a number
of sentences but were, in some instances, just one or two. Next, axial coding
required data comparison and contrasting with the aim of unearthing
similarities and patterns. During the stage of selective coding, overall
consistencies were combined into frame packages and assigned a frame name
(Gamson and Modigliani 1989).
Frame salience was operationalised in frequency of occurrence and frame
relationships, i.e. dominant, secondary, counter (Zhou and Moy 2007). As a
means of reflection (Shenton 2004), the second, i.e. deductive, part of the
analysis featured revisiting the sampled data with the frames generated to
ensure a high level of applicability (Van Gorp 2010).
Finally, a note on the author’s position indicates previous involvement in
motorsport, both as a fan and driver. Although not a British national, the author
has spent a considerable amount of time in the UK, participating in and studying
British automotive and (motor) sport culture. Such practical understanding
undoubtedly helps provide additional context against which to generate and
interpret this study’s findings.

Formatting the Race Broadcasts

A preliminary analysis of the live broadcasts gave a clear insight into the
returning structure of the broadcasts. Each consisted of three macro-sections
often associated with live broadcasting of motorsport (Evans 2013), i.e. a pre-
race section that included free practice, qualifying and pre-race pit walk and
grid walk; a race section featuring commentary accompanied by the actual race
footage; and a post-race section in which the race is analysed. Each macro-

139
section constituted a sub-unit of analysis for the identification of frames which
allowed for a more thorough comparison of the broadcasts.

Findings and Discussion

The qualitative framing analysis resulted in eight frames, which functioned as

dominant, secondary, counter-frames or sub-frames or a combination of these
depending on the individual broadcast. It also generated some quantitative
results.

Table 4: Overview of frame occurrence found per macro-section of each broadcast

2014 ITV4 2015 ITV4 2016 Channel 5

Pre- Race Post- Pre- Race Post- Pre- Race Post-

Challenge ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Facing the ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Unknown

Novelty ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Audience ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Involvement

Generating ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Conflict

Generating Safety ✓ ✓ ✓

Proper ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Motorsport

Strong ecological ✓
message

Total Number of 7 4 3 5 4 3 7 7 2
Frames

Table 4 shows that the pre-race sections of all three broadcasts contain the
largest variety of frames. Similarly, the race sections of the first two broadcasts
featured an identical set and number of frames (four in both 2014 and 2015)

140
with the 2016 race section featuring additional frames (seven in 2016). The
post-race section shows a more equal spread of frames across all broadcasts
(three frames in 2014, 2015 and 2016). Last, two frames (i.e. ‘Generating
Safety’ and ‘A Strong Ecological Message’) are not present in every broadcast,
while three other frames (i.e. ‘Audience Involvement’, ‘Generating Conflict’ and
‘Proper Motorsport’) feature in the same macro-sections of each broadcast
with the latter two being present in all broadcasts.
On the basis of the overall group of frames reconstructed from the data
(see Table 4), three important divisions can be made. A first division relates to
the single ES frame ‘Strong Ecological Message’ present in the pre-race section
of the 2014 ITV broadcast and functions as a secondary frame and as a sub-
frame to the ‘Novelty’ frame, which will be discussed later. Considering the
unique status of the ‘Strong Ecological Message’ frame within the larger set of
frames, a closer look at this frame seems necessary. The dominant issue
presented in this frame is that Formula E carries a message of ES for the future
which is attributed to a greater relevance for people as awareness of ES is
increasingly part of people’s lives (Lester 2010): ‘Everyone’s looking at hybrid
technologies and sustainability for the future and this is a series which brings it
to the forefront of everyone’s mind’ and ‘We bring a strong ecological message’
(ITV 2014). The suggested consequence of this is that Formula E has gained
traction globally, regardless of standing and as confirmation that ES is relevant
to Formula E, motorsport as a whole as well as to mankind’s future. It ‘has
invited a lot of big players with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio saying he wanted
to be involved’ (ITV 2014). ES achieves this because it can successfully attract
and deploy celebrities which, as commodities, strengthen and mobilise new
and existing support and, as such, facilitate environmental profiling for Formula
E (Lester 2010). The moral evaluation is significantly positive, both in terms of
commentator discourse as in interviewee discourses, which becomes apparent
through word choice, for example: ‘[ES] is massively important’, ‘it’s good that
motorsport is leading the way’ (ITV 2014). Important to note is that the level of
detail in terms of context surrounding this suggested importance of ES is limited

141
and as such corresponds to Boykoff’s (2011) first problem, i.e. a missed
opportunity to significantly advance the climate story.
In addition, and despite this rather positive framing of Formula E in terms
of a ‘Strong Ecological Message’, this frame appears only in the pre-race section
of the 2014 ITV broadcast, effectively drawing emphasis away from ES
throughout all other macro-sections of all three broadcasts (Entman 1993;
Misener 2012). As such the frame functions as a neglected frame whereby the
already significant invisibility of ES in general is continued here too (Cox 2012;
Hansen 2010). This subsequently suggests ES’s use during the pre-race section
of the 2014 ITV broadcast as a green selling card, primarily intended to be
attractive and interesting (McComas and Shanahan 1999) for previously
uninitiated motorsport audiences during Formula E’s first televised exposure
and implies that broadcasters do not engage much in terms of environmental
surveillance of Formula E.

Table 5: Signature matrix with frames, and the related framing and reasoning devices

Reasoning devices A
Frame Issue/ problem Cause Solution Moral
- evaluation
Cultural Theme
Challenge It is difficult to Time The need to Positive –
- set up and constraints persevere Everyone
Hardship brings participate in a and outsider involved has
out the best new series cynicism done their best
Facing the Organisers/ Formula E is Practical Positive – time
unknown participants untried and experience will tell
- have no frame untested diminishes the
Uncertainty of reference unknown
makes people
uneasy
Novelty Stimulating The need to Pushing Positive –the
- change in look at new technology perfect way to
Change technology technology for through develop these
through sport the future’ competition technologies
Audience Help TV TV audiences Audiences Positive – the
involvement – audiences get lacked the should use great process of
Anyone can help involved with means to online and FanBoost
motorsport engage with social media
motorsport platforms

142
 Framing devices A
Frame Words Stereotypes/ Catchphrases Depictions …
- metaphors
Cultural Theme
Challenge Tough, Hurdles to / Managing the
- challenging, overcome strategy as the
Hardship brings pressure to race goes on
out the best perform must be
challenging
Facing the the start of the [drivers need expect the … the land of
unknown season, a real to] read the unexpected the unknown
- unknown waves
Uncertainty
makes people
uneasy
Novelty New, the race car a new and … a framework
- future of today is the different way for R&D around
Change street car of of going about the electric
tomorrow motorsport vehicle
Audience join, / Get involved … sometimes
involvement – involvement, fans make the
Anyone can help #FanBoost’ difference
Reasoning devices B
Frame Issue/ problem Cause Solution Moral
- evaluation
Cultural Theme
Generating People will get Sport is a Deal with it - Positive – no
conflict upset symbolic winning/ feeling sorry
- arena where losing as
Drama drama unfolds inherent to
sport
Generating Accidents on The inherent Quick/ correct Largely positive
safety track (will) dangers of decision - based on the
- happen motorsport making saves handling of
The well-being lives each incident
of athletes
Proper Motorsport Formula E Formula E will Confirming the
motorsport audiences bring aims to be at need to quality of the
- high the pinnacle deliver on series
Motor racing expectations to of its field these
values/ Formula E expectations
entertainment
Strong Development of Audiences Formula E Very positive –
ecological sustainable increasingly must continue approving of
message technologies care about ES raising ES Formula E’s ES
Protecting the creates in society technology efforts
environment relevance awareness

143
 Framing devices B
Frame Words Stereotypes/ Catchphrases Depictions …
- metaphors
Cultural Theme
Generating Battling, The track as a highs and lows … friends now,
conflict pulled the battlefield of motor but […] for how
- trigger, racing much longer?
Drama pole position
shootout
Generating Dangerous, motorsport is / … now we just
safety serious safety dangerous it’s see how safe
- issue at every ticket the cars are
The well-being
of athletes
Proper very close[ness] one of the … how
motorsport professional, great for toughest grids breathless
- cracking move racing in the world Formula E
Motor racing racing is,
values/ sportsmanship
entertainment is a part of this
series
Strong ecological, Formula E motorsport is … Formula E as
ecological environment, brings it [ES] leading the a platform for
message sustainability to the way environmentally
- forefront of sustainable
Protecting the everyone’s messages
environment mind

In addition to the frame itself, commentator discourse just prior to the

beginning of the race section (i.e. after the studio part) provides an alternative
insight, even though it does not consist of enough data to provide a true
counter-frame:
[Race commentator]: ‘the great thing about this is that the people
that brought this together are motorsport people. […] It’s really
people with a love of motorsport that have put this together rather
than necessarily from the environmental side’ (ITV 2014).
[Co-commentator]: Absolutely. Jean Todt [President of the FIA] has
given a lot of backing from day one and there’s not many people
with a motorsport history as his from being a co-driver to being
Ferrari F1 team boss’ (ITV 2014)’

144
These comments do not reject ES but do imply that ‘people from the
environmental side’ may not succeed where ‘motorsport people’, i.e. industry
professionals that understand the requirements inherent to quality motorsport
(entertainment), would in establishing Formula E as an authentic motor racing
product. Here, Boykoff’s (2011) second problem applies as the framing of ES
occurs in terms of socio-political and potential economic concerns regarding ES
in Formula E, i.e. remaining firm within the boundaries of neo-liberalism and
free-market capitalism (Carvalho 2005). More so, broadcasters reporting on
Formula E’s embracing of ES may lead viewers to fear that Formula E’s
entertainment value as authentic motorsport will be affected by it (Crabbe and
Brown, 2004). Indeed, this focus on maintaining traditional values associated
with motorsport by audiences becomes apparent when looking at some of the
remaining and more dominant frames that broadcasters use to help raise the
sport’s profile (Helland 2007; Kidd 2003).
A first frame in that respect is that of Formula E as a ‘Challenge’ which
represents the issue of significant difficulty associated with conceptualizing and
competing in Formula E and was complemented by criticism from within the
motorsport industry itself: ‘They had a lot of hurdles to overcome. A lot of
scepticism of motorsport fans […]’ (ITV4 2014). This second frame was
complemented by its sub-frame ‘Facing the Unknown’ which functioned as a
dominant frame in the 2015 ITV4 and the 2016 Channel 5 broadcasts, but as a
secondary frame in the 2014 ITV4 broadcast. This issue of the unknown implies
a level of uncertainty, i.e. not knowing what to expect due to Formula E’s
untried and untested character, on behalf of the organisers and participants.
Interestingly, these frames were complemented by a third, i.e. ‘Proper
Motorsport’, frame which functions as a secondary frame throughout all three
broadcasts and suggests that Formula E constitutes solid (motor)
sport/entertainment values and credentials and, subsequently, validates
audiences’ time. This frame also functions as a counter-frame to the ‘Novelty’
frame which will be discussed later. A fourth frame, i.e. ‘Generating Conflict’,
functions as a secondary frame and embodies the common ‘Conflict’ frame in
sports reporting. As such, it depicts Formula E as a symbolic arena where drama

145
unfolds (Kennedy and Hills 2009). This frame is closely related to its sub-frame
‘Generating Safety’ as the latter often arises as a result of the former. As such,
this secondary frame only appeared when incidents unfolded during on-track
activity whereby the issue is that motorsport is inherently dangerous: ‘We
always hear motorsport is dangerous, it’s at every ticket’ (ITV4 2014). All five
frames described above can be grouped together as a sub-division on the basis
of (1) constructing a motorsport series with recognizable elements which stays
faithful to values associated with attracting motorsport (broadcasting)
audiences (Roy, Goss, and Jubenville 2010) and (2) the overarching
performance frame (Lewis and Weaver 2013). In doing so, this new TV sport
effectively frames its own representation in the context of values that generate
‘good television’ by providing the pleasure points on offer as well as points of
identification for audiences (Whannel 1992, 112). Indeed with respect to the
latter, and as Crabbe and Brown (2004) indicate, it is very important for
broadcasters and organisers to provide a nostalgic experience for motorsport
fans. More so, ES is considered by the UK public to not constitute key
determinants in the daily decision-making process even though EV’s are
generally being seen as green and environmentally legitimate (Parkhill et al.
2013; O’Garra, Mourato, and Pearson 2004). As such, this group falls under the
denominator ‘traditional motorsport’.
Interestingly, the two remaining frames cannot be categorised under the
aforementioned group. The first is the ‘Novelty’ frame which depicts Formula E
as a new and different way of going about motorsport and is, as such,
constructed around stimulating change in technology, and subsequently
relevance, through sport. The presence of this frame is perhaps unsurprising as
it has been used often in sport broadcasting to introduce British audiences to
unfamiliar sports and has led to broadcasters being able to generate
sustainable audience numbers (Whannel 1992). In particular, Formula E is
presented as ‘a framework for R&D around the electric vehicle’ (ITV4 2014)
which ‘takes technology to the edge’ (Channel 5 2016) and results in
development of ‘the race car of today [which] is the street car of tomorrow’
(Channel 5 2016). This frame is especially prevalent from the second season

146
onwards (see Table 4), when Formula E first introduced ‘new powertrains in the
back of the cars’ (ITV4 2015). In a number of instances, the notion of driving
(hybrid) technologies is linked to driving, i.e. promoting sustainability: ‘Looking
at hybrid technologies and [environmental] sustainability for the future’ (ITV4
2014). Last, the ‘audience involvement’ frame is constructed around the idea
that whilst TV audiences have long lacked the means to engage with top-level
motorsport ‘you can [now] help’ (ITV4 2014) and functions first and foremost
as a counter-frame to the ‘challenge’ as well as a sub-frame to the ‘Novelty’
frame. The fact that both ‘Novelty’ and ‘Audience Involvement’ appear in all
three broadcasts, and predominantly during the pre-race broadcasts (see Table
4), suggests that broadcasters believe Formula E can be brought to audiences
additionally by introducing something non-traditional like novelty EV
technology and enhanced audience engagement and interaction through social
media. This is in accordance with the strategy to generate a global audience
(Menzies and Nguyen 2012) for Formula E and to draw in fans from other
motorsport series and people previously uninterested in motorsport (Chauhan,
2015).

The Way Forward

Clearly, there are some significant barriers for media broadcasters to include
the ES frame diachronically in Formula E broadcasting. However, as the long-
term health of the sports-media culture has always depended on its ability to
engage and tailor to different and emerging communities (Boyle 2010), the
question regarding what it would take for such an ES perspective to be
'naturalised' into broadcasts of Formula E emerges? Although the aim of
television broadcasting representation is largely to articulate ‘various elements
into a coherent, yet complex, unity’ (Whannel 1992, 115), the ‘complex political
and social problems are usually unresponsive to simplistic solutions’ (Sugden
2006, 238). Bearing this in mind and although perhaps speculative in nature,
some final considerations could prove useful. A first consideration entails the
integration of a (short) dedicated section as part of each broadcast that covers
both recent and relevant sustainability content, i.e. not only ES but also

147
economic and social sustainability, of Formula E in relation to each venue
visited. This content would then be gradually integrated in the (motorsport)
broadcast structure and disseminated to audiences. Not only would such a
dedicated section not compromise traditional motorsport fans’ expectations in
terms of the race coverage itself, it would also accommodate new audiences
that would appreciate this initial, yet consistent, alignment of motorsport and
sustainability. This could have considerable potential considering Formula E
aims to attract younger audiences that are growing up amidst the societal
importance of sustainability as well as digital technologies (Chauhan, 2015).
Further, such a dedicated section could incorporate audience involvement/
input through online and social media with content (e.g. questions, advice,
debates) to which drivers and staff can also contribute.
Of course, it would be narrow-minded to consider any successful effort to
‘naturalise’ ES, or sustainability in general, in TV broadcasts of Formula E to be
achieved only by broadcasters themselves. Formula E could develop beyond
#FanBoost to include a platform that encourages and invites audiences to
engage with sustainability related efforts, technologies and other content. Also,
from a rules and regulations perspective, additional sustainability challenges
could be incorporated for teams and drivers, e.g. the driver that finishes the
race with the most energy left in the batteries is rewarded. As such, these final
considerations would find further validation in the fact that ‘the sports-media
relationship has always been characterised by change, shot through with strong
patterns of continuity’ (Boyle 2010, 1311).

Conclusion

The primary aim of this study was to build on and contribute to the body of
existing research on the representation of ES in motorsport by looking at how
different broadcasts deal with Formula E diachronically. Drawing on a framing
approach as developed by Gamson and Modigliani (1989) and Entman (1993),
we performed a qualitative analysis to obtain a better understanding of the
function and importance of ES in live television broadcasts of Formula E.

148
 We found that the frames used to represent Formula E revealed a
predominantly traditional focus in favour of maintaining at least some beliefs
and values associated with motorsport. Broadcasters picked up on ES
exclusively during the earlier stages of the first live broadcast with the premise
of Formula E sending a strong ecological message. Afterwards, this focus faded,
suggesting that ES worked as an initial novelty and selling card. More so, and
much like ES does not constitute a highly salient concept to the average British
citizen, coverage of ES in Formula E constitutes a limited level of
newsworthiness and is not considered as valuable as to other, non-traditional
to reach the strategic objective of generating an audience for the new
motorsport series. Although broadcasters help raise the sport’s profile from a
sporting character, it seems that a more societally aware sports coverage in
which ES is monitored longitudinally still remains absent. As such, this article
has presented a couple of considerations that might prove valuable for
‘naturalizing’ ES in broadcasting of Formula E. While Formula E’s aim to achieve
long-term and global public awareness and recognition as an ES motorsport
series continues, future studies will need to follow up on when, how and to
what extent broadcasters will eventually carry through this ‘naturalisation of
ES’.
This study suggests some key emerging issues in what will continue to be
a growing area of interest and research as motorsport studies and ES become
increasingly relevant in a world aiming at improving sustainability in sports and
beyond. For now though, at least as far as the commentator is concerned,
‘going green’ in Formula E broadcasting still only denotes the colour of the
lights.

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Zhou, Yuqiong, and Patricia Moy. 2007. “Parsing Framing Processes: The
Interplay Between Online Public Opinion and Media Coverage.” Journal of
Communication 57 (1): 79-98.

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 CHAPTER 6
‘HYPOCRITICAL INVESTOR’ OR HOLLYWOOD ‘DO-GOODER’?
A FRAMING ANALYSIS OF MEDIA AND AUDIENCES NEGOTIATING
LEONARDO DICAPRIO’S ‘GREEN’ PERSONA THROUGH HIS
INVOLVEMENT IN FORMULA E

Timothy Robeers and Hilde Van den Bulck

A shorter version of this article has been accepted for publication in the
academic journal of: Celebrity Studies

Preface

The fourth case study in this Ph.D. combines the elements of textual production
and reception in the context of celebrity activism and motorsport and focusses
specifically on mediatising a celebrity’s endorsement of (ES in) Formula E. This
is due to two main reasons. First, the A-list celebrity actor Leonardo DiCaprio
(re)appeared in results from all previous empirical analyses in this Ph.D.
Second, celebrities as (hyper-)commodities and endorsers can play an
important part in affecting media representations (Van den Bulck, 2018) of the
environment and related issues (Brockington, 2009).
As such, this chapter provides more in-depth insight in the everyday
online media coverage from three periods in time across a four year period
whilst taking into consideration accompanying audience reactions. The online
media coverage and audience reactions to DiCaprio’s involvement in Formula E
are subjected to a qualitative framing-based analysis, an approach often
adopted for media analyses of celebrity (Van den Bulck and Claessens, 2013).
This fourth chapter thus bridges the domains of communication, celebrity
and motorsport studies. In doing so, this case study demonstrates that
DiCaprio’s celebrity involvement indeed helps to attract wider media reporting
on current affairs focusing either on the issue of environment, electric vehicles,

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motorsport and on the celebrity’s political and private personae. From a
reception point of view, audience readings of the media produced frames goes
in varying directions by rendering DiCaprio, for example, as both a hero and a
hypocrite to be involved with Formula E. As such, this chapter finds
commenters’ arguments and views are affected by personal experiences and
their parasocial relationship with DiCaprio.

Abstract

Leonardo DiCaprio has a considerable track-record as a fervent campaigner to

save the environment and combat climate change. Drawing from his more
recent activist engagements to endorse Formula E, the world’s first fully electric
racing series, this contribution aims to analyse how and in what ways this
generates additional exposure and appreciation for the series, the environment
and DiCaprio. To this end, a qualitative and inductive framing approach is used
to examine a sample of online media articles and accompanying audience
comments from 2013, 2015 and 2017, resulting in a range of frames found in
media coverage and audience reactions. It shows how framing of Leonardo
DiCaprio is influenced by both his life story as an actor, activist and party boy,
the appreciation he receives from audiences as well as by audiences’ own
personal experiences with health related issues and their conversations with
peers. Finally, this contribution discusses varying tendencies by media articles
and audiences to frame Leonardo DiCaprio as both hero and hypocrite as well
as its wider implications.

Key words

Celebrity activism, Formula E, environmental sustainability, framing analysis,

online media content, reception, parasocial relationships, Leonardo DiCaprio

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Celebrity Activism: Green Is the New Black

In an era when endorsement of social and political issues and good causes has
become an intrinsic part of a celebrity persona (Van den Bulck 2018), ever more
stars can be seen (and are covered in celebrity media) as devoting themselves
to environmental issues (Brockington 2009; Lester 2010). Unsurprisingly, this
coincides with a growing (if debated) concern for the health of the planet,
expressed by media, citizens and politicians (Cox 2012). This has accelerated
public and political acknowledgement that fighting climate change and global
warming requires a focus on environmental sustainability (hereafter: ES), i.e.
the ability to steer developments in such a way that present needs are met
without compromising the needs of future generations (United Nations 1988).
Celebrity environmental activists help to advocate and to create awareness for
ES by using their visibility through media presence and their accessibility to
widespread audiences (Boykoff and Goodman 2009). One of the most famous
environmental figure heads is Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Much
covered aspects of his activist strategy include speaking out at climate summits
such as Cop21 and Paris 2015, committing himself to environmental
organizations, commissioning pro-environmental movies and making personal
investments in organisations and businesses that further the cause (Furgang
and Furgang 2009).
Acknowledging the fact that the automotive industry plays a significant
role in the production of greenhouse gasses, DiCaprio directed his green
activism towards the support of Formula E, a fully electric motor racing series
that promotes itself as the future of motorsport by aiming to drive forward and
promote new technological advancements (Formula E, 2018). Supposedly, the
novelty of Formula E lies in combining the core notions of motorsport and ES,
resulting in, for example, the use of green energy to charge cars, much reduced
noise levels and no carbon dioxide emitted by race cars during (city-centre)
racing (Formula E, 2018). By means of a qualitative framing analysis, this
contribution studies online media coverage and audience reactions to
Leonardo DiCaprio’s endorsement of Formula E as an inroad to unravel the

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complex relationship between a celebrity’s activism, his persona, and the
mediated communication about this: to what extent and how do media and
audiences pick up on DiCaprio’s endorsement of Formula E and its ES message
as part of his environmental agenda? How are discussions about Formula E and
ES affected by DiCaprio’s persona, the type of media involved and the audience
views of both the actor and the issue?
This introduction is followed by a theoretical framework that deals with
key concepts and ideas from the literature on celebrity activism as it relates to
the characteristics of the celebrity construct and apparatus, and on ES as it
relates to automotive and motorsport initiatives, subsequently focusing on
Leonardo DiCaprio, his persona, ES activism and relationship to Formula E.
Next, we discuss the set-up of the empirical case, including sampling and the
application of framing analysis. This is followed by a discussion of the frames
found, comparing and contrasting media and audience in their framing of
DiCaprio’s involvement in Formula E and ES. We end with a discussion of the
wider implications of this case study. Indeed, wider relevance to our
understanding of celebrity activism by means of a single case (DiCaprio’s
endorsement of Formula E) may be limited due to its idiosyncrasies. However,
we argue that it is precisely this limitation that gives meaning to a case study,
as it allows us to understand very specific processes and functions through
detailed de- and re-construction (Flyvbjerg 2006; Van den Bulck and Claessens
2012). As such, our findings can have relevance beyond understanding the
particulars of media and audience responses to DiCaprio’s involvement in
Formula E. Our study’s relevance is twofold. First, it draws attention to the fact
that many cases of social-profit endorsement, even by iconic celebrity activists
as DiCaprio, do not generate the desired amount and type of media and
audience attention that it generally anticipated. Second, it provides a more in-
depth understanding of the interplay between various aspects of a celebrity
persona and their impact on the way in which the activism is perceived, thus
furthering both empirical and conceptual insights in the sub-field of celebrity
activism studies.

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Celebrity Activism, Environmental Sustainability and Formula E

Celebrity Activism and the Celebrity Construct

Celebrity activism refers to various efforts by celebrities to affect social,

political, economic or environmental change through fundraising, advocacy
and/or awareness creation (Van den Bulck 2018; Huddart 2005). We follow
Panis (2012) in his definition of celebrity activists as (1) individuals who enjoy
public recognition, (2) known primarily from areas other than that of their
societal engagement, (3) who use their fame (4) to volunteer, advocate or
lobby, create awareness of, and/or help raise funds (5) for a socio-political
cause or non-profit organisation, (6) targeted media, (members of) non-profit
organisations, entrepreneurs, policy makers and/or the general public (see Van
den Bulck 2018). Efforts can range from one-off (joining a rally, putting
something up for auction, preforming at an event), over longer term (as
spokesperson or figure head), to life-long engagement.
With the celebrity-without-a-cause a thing of the past, celebrity’s social-
political engagement has become part and parcel of the celebrity construct, an
interplay between the person be(com)ing famous, media and audiences, that
critically revolves around various aspects of the celebrity persona (Evans and
Hesmondalgh 2005; Van den Bulck 2018). Traditionally, the celebrity persona is
seen to consist of the public image generated by professional activities and
commodity endorsements; the private images as constructed around family,
friends, love and loss; and notions of the real person behind the image as
provided by paparazzi (Rojek 2001; Holmes 2005). A celebrity’s activism helps
to create a, fourth, socio-political persona: an image of the celebrity as
someone moving beyond his/her fame and existence as a hyper-commodity to
take on important societal problems. At some level, this can be considered as
part of the public persona as it is open and demonstrable. However, following
Huddart (2005, p. 40), we consider it a persona in its own right that interacts
with the public and private image of a celebrity, connecting private views and
emotions with the celebrity’s public performances. For some celebrities, like
protest singer Neil Young, their socio-political and public persona almost

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completely overlap, as their public performances make out their societal
engagement. Others may incorporate it entirely into their private lives, as the
case of celebrity transnational adoptions by celebrity activists such as
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie and pop icon Madonna illustrate (Van den
Bulck 2009). At the other end of the spectre are glamourous models,
blockbuster actors or seemingly superficial reality stars for whom a societal
engagement suggests a caring person behind the wealth or ‘pretty face’ (Van
den Bulck 2018).
Celebrity endorsement of an issue or cause can help to raise the visibility,
credibility and legitimacy of a cause (Cashmore 2006). With regards to ES,
Brockington (2009, p. 24) contends that celebrity endorsement functions as ‘a
means by which environmental narratives appear as more truthful’ to
audiences, indicating ES efforts can become more effective when endorsed by
celebrities. In turn, a celebrity’s activism affects his/her visibility and overall
image. Samman et al. (2009) found that long-term celebrity commitment to a
cause, results in audiences considering the celebrity as more authentic,
especially when (s)he appears knowledgeable about the cause and keeps a low
profile about the engagement. Crucially, the strength of a celebrity’s societal
engagement is determined by the extent to which (s)he manages to obtain a
legitimate standing (Meyer and Gamson 1995, p. 189). When media and/or
audiences pick up on a celebrity not behaving in accordance with an issue or an
organisation’s ethos or on showing secondary motives for his support, e.g.
financial gain, such endorsement can be counterproductive to both the cause
and the celebrity’s image (McCracken 1989; Van den Bulck 2018). Earlier work
(e.g. Van den Bulck et al. 2016; Panis and Van den Bulck 2014) suggests that
media attention to and interpretation of celebrity activism varies according to
the type of media outlet, while other research (Van den Bulck 2017; Van den
Bulck and Claessens 2013) suggests that audience’s reactions to media
coverage of celebrity activism is mediated by personal experiences, discussion
with peers and para-social relationships with the celebrity. The latter refers to
‘the illusion of a long-term friendship encompassing an emotional connection

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like social relationships, yet mediated and one-sided’ (Giles 2002, see also
Claessens and Van den Bulck 2015).

Anatomy of a Celebrity Activist: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Green Persona

Leonardo DiCaprio’s (°1974) acting career spans several decades. He started

out in television series (most famously in ‘Growing Pains’ (1985-89)), before
embarking on a Hollywood career, in the 1990s as a heart throb in movies such
as ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (1996) and ‘Titanic’ (1997) that established him as a
Hollywood blockbuster star, allowing him to work with top directors. He shows
great talent and versatility, playing a diverse range of characters, both historical
and contemporary, mostly typified by a refusal to conform or by skirting the
law as in ‘Catch Me if You Can’ (2002), ‘Gangs of New York’ (2002), ‘Django
Unchained’ (2012), ‘The Great Gatsby’ (2013) and ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ (2013).
This is alternated with roles in thrillers like ‘Inception’ (2010) and political
movies like ‘Blood Diamonds’ (2006). In 2016 he won the Oscar for best actor
for his performance in ‘The Revenant’ (2015). In this regard, his public persona
resembles that of Hollywood star George Clooney (Van den Bulck 2018), playing
both heartthrob, cheeky criminal and serious, political inspired issue roles.
DiCaprio, like Clooney, complements this, on the one hand, with a private
persona of a ‘man’s man’ (Van den Bulck 2018, p. 120). Media and fans consider
DiCaprio as quite the ‘player’ and ‘party boy’, regularly changing girlfriends and
partying on yachts and in nightclubs across the globe with his self-proclaimed
‘Pussy Posse’ companions (Ovenden 2017). On the other hand, he has
developed a political persona as an environmentalist. From the beginning, this
green activism has been permeated with political underpinnings through public
associations with politicians like Al Gore, Ban-Ki Moon and Barack Obama,
appearances at rallies and protests (e.g. Climate Change 29 April 2017) and
addressing the world’s economic and political elites at major conferences
including at the United Nations (e.g. Cop21, Paris, 2015) which appointed him
as United Nations Messenger of Peace. Bridging the public and the political,
DiCaprio has produced and featured in environmental documentaries like ‘The
11th Hour’ (2007) and ‘Before the Flood’ (2016). These suggest that DiCaprio

161
has developed a legitimate standing in green issues. However, while a similar
trajectory helped Clooney to transition from ‘a heartthrob to a heavyweight’
(Gulam 2014, p. 231, see Van den Bulck 2018), DiCaprio’s case appears more
complicated. On the one hand, the relationship between his green activism and
some of his filmic work has given his image a sense of authenticity with certain
media and audiences considering him an ‘environmental champion’ (Furgang
and Furgang 2009). On the other hand, DiCaprio’s private ‘party boy’ persona
has led to criticism from media and audiences, suggesting a level of hypocrisy
(e.g. ‘Leonardo DiCaprio’s Carbon Footprint is much higher than he thinks’
(Rapier 2016)) and, in one instance, instigating a call to resign from his climate
role for the United Nations (e.g. ‘Leonardo DiCaprio urged to resign from UN
climate change role’ (The Independent 2016)), compromising DiCaprio’s
authenticity as an activist. This results in the research question if and how the
success of DiCaprio’s green efforts depends on media and audience perceptions
of the relationship between DiCaprio’s political persona and other aspects of his
public and private image.

Leonardo DiCaprio, the Environment and Motorsport

Recently, DiCaprio has pointed his green activism towards endorsing the fully
electric racing series Formula E, an annual, single seater racing series taking
place in various cities around the world, involving big name drivers, teams and
celebrities. Set up in 2013, Formula E initially promoted itself by claiming to
‘provide a framework for research and development centered around the
electric vehicle [hereafter: EV] to promote clean energy and [environmental]
sustainability’ (Formula E, 2015). Electric race cars generate lower noise levels
and carbon dioxide emissions, allowing races to take place on temporary city
centre circuits and for audiences of all ages to attend races and (potentially)
learn about the future and benefits of EV’s. The link between
automotive/motorsport and environment may appear controversial, yet it is
not DiCaprio’s first endorsement of environmentally sustainable automotive
products. For example, in 2012, he endorsed Fisker Automotive, a company
producing luxury hybrid cars from recycled materials. This endorsement was

162
criticised in 2014 when the company went out of business (however,
relaunched in 2016 as Fisker Inc.). DiCaprio’s association with Formula E is his
most significant automotive endorsement yet. Indeed, while celebrities like US
actors Matt Damon, George Clooney and Josh Hartnett, amongst others, have
promoted energy saving cars. DiCaprio’s involvement in Formula E is more far-
reaching. First, as a founder in 2013 and owner, he endorses the Venturi racing
team because, in his words: ‘the future of our planet depends on fuel efficient
vehicles. Venturi has shown tremendous insight in their decision to create an
environmentally friendly racing team, and I am happy to be a part of this effort’
(Jalopnik, 2013). Second, in 2015, DiCaprio became Chairman of the
Sustainability Committee of Formula E, increasing his potential influence on the
management of the series. DiCaprio’s choice of connecting environmental
issues with motorsport is an unusual one, given motorsports overall negative
image with regards to ES (Lowes 2004; Miller 2016) and given that celebrities
tend to prefer supporting an already established cause to avoid damaging their
image (Van den Bulck 2018). This results in the research question how does
Leonardo DiCaprio endorsement of Formula E as ES-friendly affects his political
image with media and audiences and how this relates to the other aspects of
his celebrity persona.
As with all celebrity endorsement, DiCaprio’s involvement can help raise
much needed visibility and goodwill with media and audiences (Tsaliki et al.
2011) for a new organisation’s brand (Formula E) that is working towards an
image (ES) that is different from that of its wider context (motorsport). Indeed,
as a new concept, what Formula E brings in innovation, it also brings in
uncertainty as ES has not been part of the values that fans traditionally
associate with motor racing with its long tradition of focusing on speed, danger
and glamour (Roy et al. 2010), while being criticised for its disregard for the
environment (Miller 2016). As indicated in chapter four, the representation of
ES in Formula E race coverage on British television suggests that, after an
original attention to the ecological message of the series, interest in ES faded
in subsequent voice-over commentary. This reflects the limited interest and
total disinterest in ES in print coverage of Formula E in UK and Flemish

163
newspapers respectively. However, strong endorsement by a celebrity known
for his green activism may affect attention in this regard. This leads to the
research question: how and to what extent does media reporting on Leonardo
DiCaprio and Formula E feature ES?

Analysing DiCaprio and Formula E

A Framing Approach
To understand the (mutual) impact of Leonardo DiCaprio association with
Formula E through ES advocacy, we subject a sample of online media coverage
and audiences’ reactions hereof to a framing analysis. Framing is the process of
‘selecting certain aspects of a perceived reality in order to make them more
salient’ (Entman 1993, p. 52). Frames constitute meta-communicative
messages, i.e. ‘persistent patterns of cognition, interpretation, and
presentation, of selection, emphasis, and exclusion, by which symbol-handlers
routinely organise discourse, whether verbal or visual’ (Gitlin 1980, p. 7).
Frames display themselves in texts through reasoning devices that relate to a
frame’s four functions: problem definition, causal interpretation, moral
evaluation, and treatment recommendation (Entman 1993, p. 52). To this end,
frames employ framing devices like word choice, catchphrases, depictions and
stereotypes (Gamson and Modigliani 1989; Van Gorp 2010) while frame
sponsors are used to endorse the frame (Van Gorp 2006).
Framing analysis allows to apply the same framework to the analysis of
media coverage and of audience reactions (see, e.g. Van den Bulck and
Claessens 2013; Van den Bulck 2017). Inspired by Hall et al (2013), we analyse
to what extent audiences take over the frame provided in the coverage or to
what extent they reject it, providing counter frames, or negotiate it, bringing in
personal experiences, discussion with other online commentators (peers) and
their parasocial relationship with the celebrity.

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Steps in the Analysis

Sampling

To analyse media coverage of and audience reactions to DiCaprio’s involvement

with Formula E, we opted for an analysis of a wide range of online news sources,
first, because they have been recognised as constituting rich resources for the
study of environmental (and celebrity) activism (Lester and Hutchins 2009;
Sima 2011) and, second, their comments section allows for an analysis of
audience reactions. An initial Internet search revealed a number of instances
when DiCaprio’s involvement in Formula E was reported on. We selected the
three main occurrences, spread across the time period (09/12/2013 - 09/
02/2014; 22/10/2015 - 22/12/2015; 14/07/2017 - 14/09/2017): DiCaprio’s
announcement of co-founding the Venturi Racing Formula E team in December
2013; his appointment as Chairman of the Sustainability Committee for
Formula E in October 2015; and his appearance at the inaugural New York
Formula E race weekend in July 2017. A subsequent Internet search for each
occurrence covered a two-month period from the day the news was released.
The keywords ‘Leonardo DiCaprio’ and ‘Formula E’ were entered into search
engine Google, resulting in a total of 186 articles. After removing articles with
a mere mention of DiCaprio’s name, the final sample contained 118 articles. For
these, all accompanying comments were retrieved. Unfortunately, only 6
articles featured audience reactions, and these were limited to online articles
from 2013 and 2017 only while no audience reactions for news regarding
DiCaprio’s chairman appointment were found. Still, a sample of 632 audience
reactions was collected.

Coding the Sample

Articles and reactions were coded for type of source (celebrity gossip,
automotive, general news) and news event, before being submitted to an
inductive framing analysis. Following Van Gorp (2010), we performed a three
step coding, i.e. open, axial and selective coding, whereby data were compared
and contrasted, looking for similarities and patterns, after which overall

165
consistencies were combined into frame packages (Gamson and Modigliani
1989). Frame salience was operationalised in frequency of occurrence and
relationships between frames (dominant, secondary, counter and neglected)
(Zhou and Moy 2007). The frame matrix can be obtained from the authors on
request.

Framing Leonardo DiCaprio’s Formula E Involvement

To discuss our findings, first, table 6 lists all nine frames found across all online
articles and subsequent audience reactions for the periods 2013, 2015 and
2017, with media articles featuring six out of nine frames and audience
reactions featuring all frames. Second, all frames can be subdivided into two
categories, namely non-celebrity related frames and celebrity related frames.
Frames adhering to the former category dealt predominantly with EV’s and
(Formula E) motor racing rather than elaborate specifics concerning DiCaprio’s
role. Interestingly, their occurrence in articles from non-automotive and non-
motorsport media (n=69) indicates that DiCaprio’s presence positively affects
attention to Formula E and EV’s. As DiCaprio did not feature elaborately in
these frames, the following section focuses on the celebrity-related frames that
were identified.

Table 6: Frames as found in Online Articles and Audience Reactions

FRAME FRAME NAME ONLINE ARTICLES AUDIENCE

CATEGORY REACTIONS
2013 2015 2017 2013 2015 2017
Motorsport Electric Vehicles Are ✓ ✓ - ✓ - -
related the Future
Electric Vehicles Are ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ - ✓
Problematic
Motorsport Improves ✓ ✓ - ✓ - -
Electric Vehicles
Formula E Hypocrisy - - - ✓ - ✓
Ruins Motorsport
Celebrity Saving the ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ - -
related Environment
Hollywood Hero ✓ ✓ - ✓ - ✓
Celebrity Hypocrisy - - - ✓ - ✓
Celebrity Health - - ✓ - - ✓

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Motorsport Related Frames

Frame: ‘Electric Vehicles Are the Future’

This frame acts as a secondary frame in online articles from 2013, 2015 and
2017 and a dominant frame in audience reactions from 2013. The issue at hand
is that EV’s provide increasing future prowess: ‘With motor companies getting
behind the new models and improving technology, the EV is back and better
than ever.’ (Kootenaybiz 2013). The reasons ascribed are the lack of
detrimental effects ICE’s have on the environment and the higher efficiency
rate: ‘An EV […] will be 3x more efficient.’ (Itsallicanafford) (PistonHeads 2013).
The suggested solution is that breakthrough roadgoing EV development (ESPN
2013) and promotion needs to continue to increase: ‘[…] promoting mass use
of EV’s, focusing particularly on urban mobility’ (Motorsport 2015) and ‘targets
laid out for future improvements’ (FIAIMSSS 2015). The moral evaluation is
positive and sometimes suggestive: ‘[…] study the implications of EV's and it's
clear that the future IS electric’ (Galileo) (PistonHeads 2013) and ‘I'm not
convinced they are the future, but like you said they are part of the future.’
(binnerboy) (PistonHeads 2013).

Frame ‘Electric Vehicles Are Problematic’

Both a dominant and counter frame to ‘Electric Vehicles Are The Future’ in both
online articles and audiences reactions across all periods, this frame points
towards a serious image problem: ‘Electric cars are hardly cutting edge science
and technology, but they have an image problem.’ (Noetic-sciences, 2013). The
causes suggested are numerous and imply a profound concern. For example,
EV’s are uncool: ‘DiCaprio takes up titanic challenge to make electric car racing
cool’ (The Times 2013), and ‘EV sales are well below expectations, the
technology is expensive, immature and inflexible […]’ (RemarkLima)
(PistonHeads 2013). The suggested solution is that resources and focus should
be directed elsewhere: ‘The sooner people realise there will be no significant

167
advances in battery development (Li-ion) in the next 10+ years, the more the
EV debate will move […] to a much more pragmatic viewpoint.’ (TheInternet)
(PistonHeads 2013). As such, the moral evaluation is rather negative.

Frame ‘Motorsport Improves Electric Vehicles’

This frame functions as a counter frame to the ‘Formula E Hypocrisy Ruins

Motorsport’ and appears in media articles from 2015 and audience reactions
of 2013. The issue at hand is that Formula E can benefit the development of
EV’s: ‘As the tech designed for F1 make it into normal cars FE will help advance
electric car innovation.’ (PlainNiceOne) (The Verge 2013) and provide a new
and exciting form of motorsport: ‘Certainly looking forward to them racing […]
scope to make the racing interesting […]’ (GranCab) (PistonHeads 2013). The
cause attributed to this is a historical one, namely history has shown that
motorsport has been an instigator for technological development: for example
‘racing has been a tremendous driver of technology in the internal combustion
world, and there is no reason it shouldn't do the same for electric vehicles’
(dc2rr07) (PistonHeads 2013). The suggested improvement to better the issue
is that Formula E needs the freedom to develop itself and allow for the trickle-
down effect of EV technology to take effect: ‘The trickling down of
technological developments to consumer level and mass adoption will make a
huge difference.’ (Electricautosport 2015) and ‘Race series like this are often a
good platform for technological development and innovation which can only
be a good thing.’ (Andy ap) (PistonHeads 2013). Similarly, the moral evaluation
is that Formula E (and other EV motorsport series) needs to be given the
opportunity to prove its worth over time, for example ‘I for one am looking
forward to it, and will give it a chance before making an informed opinion.’
(GranCab) (PistonHeads 2013). Additionaly, it should be kept in mind that
Formula E is not meant for everyone: ‘It [Formula E] is for the masses, those
that enjoyed the Olympics but will never go and watch a regional diving
competition.’ (BoRED S2upid) (PistonHeads 2013).

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Frame: ‘Formula E Hypocrisy Ruins Motorsport’

This frame functions both as a sub frame to EV issues and a dominant frame in
audience reactions of 2013 and a secondary frame in 2017. The problem
posited here is that Formula E only highlights EV’s negative aspects which
compromise Formula E’s ability to provide exciting motorsport: ‘EV engineering
is bland and uninteresting. Everything that makes it great for domestic day to
day driving, makes it uninteresting in a race. Race cars should be living, fire
breathing, smelly, oily machines....not washing machines.’ (SteveSteveson)
(PistonHeads 2013). The cause attributed for this is twofold. On the one hand,
it is suggested that Formula E markets EV’s in the wrong way as it claims to be
sustainable, yet wastes valuable resources: ‘I'm sure the electric cars all get to
the track on an electric semi-truck, with the crew all being flown there on
electric planes... you get the idea, it's farcical, this is lala land.’ (Bravo0351)
(DailyMailOnline 2017). On the other hand, EV shortcomings are extrapolated
in a stereotypical racing environment where speed and noise contribute to the
excitement of motorsport: ‘Open wheel cars don’t really do that [make contact]
and coupled with the relatively slow straight-line speed and high weight, I think
a lot of the spectacle will be lost’ (azxdc) (The Verge 2013). As a solution, then,
it is suggested that Formula E should stop promoting itself as sustainable and
address it’s EV racing shortcomings. Indeed, as Formula E stands now, the moral
evaluation confirms this as ‘[I] can't see many motorsport fans watching this’
(BoRED S2upid) (PistonHeads 2013).

Celebrity Related Frames

Frame: ‘Saving the Environment’

A first, dominant, frame was identified as ‘Saving the Environment’ and

features in online articles (news media, environmental media, business media,
automotive media and sport media) from 2013, 2015 and 2017 and in audience
reactions from 2013. The frame is based in the suggestion of a global concern
for sustainability as definition of the problem, i.e. that climate change is posing
one of the biggest challenges for current generations. This is attributed to a

169
global trend and industry of emitting carbon dioxides whereby cities and larger
urban areas are presented as ‘environmental time bombs’ (Roadandtrack.com
2015) that are covered by ‘blankets of smog’ (Cleantechnica 2013). Mostly,
DiCaprio is used by journalists as a framing sponsor to introduce this issue and
its cause(s) by proxy and to legitimise his involvement with Formula E. In both
online articles and audience reactions, DiCaprio is presented as one of the good
guys who is out to save the environment and whose credibility or legitimate
standing rest upon the longevity of his campaign. DiCaprio is also used in online
articles to express the solution. For instance, DiCaprio is quoted as saying that
‘the future of the planet depends on embracing fuel efficient clean vehicles’
(BBC 2015). Mostly, the solution is further made explicit by DiCaprio stating that
sustainable measures, i.e. clean urban mobility including EV’s, need to be
promoted: ‘to promote the mass take-up of electric vehicles [and] discuss how
to promote the mass use of electric vehicles, particularly in urban
environments’ (Businessgreen 2013), as ‘the future of our planet depends on
[it]’ (BBC 2015). DiCaprio’s involvement is mostly given a positive evaluation as
he is considered a trusted ambassador: ‘what better way to promote […] than
involving […] an environmental campaigner and one of the world’s most
famous celebrities?’ (Bleacherreport 2013) and ‘DiCaprio has more than
delivered [on his environmental promise]’ (Mother Nature Network 2013).
Overall, the articles that introduce this frame by means of DiCaprio’s
endorsement of EV’s through Formula E implicitly acknowledge the need for
capitalist economies to achieve smog-free cities and a sustainable future.
DiCaprio, again, is used as a framing sponsor to endorse this idea, for instance,
when he is quoted in a 2015 online article saying that EV’s ‘are a moral and
business imperative’ (Businessgreen 2013).

Frame: ‘Hollywood Hero’

Analysis revealed a sub frame to ‘Saving the Environment’ that sends out the
same broad message regarding Formula E and ES, but that focuses primarily on
the role of DiCaprio and that is overtly positive in tone: the ‘Hollywood Hero’
frame. It is present in both online articles from 2013 and 2015 and audience

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reactions from 2013 and 2017. The focus is on how DiCaprio brings Hollywood
flair to identifying what needs to be done to protect the environment: ‘DiCaprio
isn’t just an AH-mazing actor, he is also a huge champion for mother nature.
He’s always doing some sort of venture to try and make the world a better place
[…] (Perezhilton 2013). As such he is also depicted as an ‘award-winning actor
and environmental activist’ (The Green Living Guy 2013) and generally ‘one of
hollywood's good guys’ (Technomatt) (PistonHeads 2013) but often reference
is made to movies he acted in: ‘Ever since the titanic split in two and sank in the
freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean, DiCaprio started getting involved in
climate change […]’ (Autoevolution 2015). This entails the cause, namely that
DiCaprio is a highly successful A-list Hollywood actor who has been actively
campaigning for changes that benefit the environment for over two decades:
‘He has walked this line for over a decade. He is a good boy as you put it. Raises
100's of millions for worthy causes’ (The Jimi) (PistonHeads 2013). The implicit
solution is that initiatives such as Formula E and its sustainability committee
provide DiCaprio with the option to further his campaign for greener cities:
‘[DiCaprio took] another step to help promote sustainable cars and green
driving.’ (The News Wheel 2015) The moral evaluation is supportive regarding
his influencing the environment and motorsport: ‘How a celebrity can choose
to finance a racing team with his own cash and be derided for it is somewhat
baffling.’ (Max Torque) (PistonHeads 2013).

Frame: ‘Celebrity Hypocrisy’

A frame that was absent from the articles but featured regularly in audience
reactions from 2013 and 2017 was that of ’Celebrity Hypocrisy’. This frame has
a dual function: as a counter frame to the ‘Hollywood Hero’ frame and as a sub-
frame of the larger ‘Formula E Hypocrisy Ruins the Breed’ frame. The issue at
hand is that ‘the likes of DiCaprio […] advocating this cause [the environment]
does more harm than good’ (Haz0687) (DailyMailOnline 2017). As such, it
depicts DiCaprio and other celebrities such as Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson
as hypocrites: ‘Dicaprio [sic] travels everywhere by private jet and Branson
owns an airline, talk about a couple of hypocrites’ (Salubrious1)

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(DailyMailOnline 2017) and ‘Both of these guys have the carbon footprint of a
city, yet lecture us on climate change? Hypocrites’ (John Galt) (DailyMailOnline
2017). Audiences do not consider these celebrities to have the correct
credibility and legitimacy to inform and activate people to become more
sustainable through Formula E and EV’s. In addition, DiCaprio’s hypocrisy
extends, in some cases, to his ulterior marketing motives: ‘So, given that
DiCaprio is probably onboard for free or for payment to help promote the race
series do we think it will help put bums in seats to watch it?’ (TransverseTight)
(PistonHeads 2013). As such, some audiences recognise DiCaprio’s involvement
as a profit-generating incentive/ bonus rather than an exclusively genuine
effort to increase sustainability: ‘[…] INVESTING in "green" start ups and taking
advantage of huge tax write offs while their (sic) at it’ (Ruby77) (DailyMailOnline
2017) and ‘One makes his fortune polluting the air and one makes his fortune
polluting young minds’ (KennyB2708) (DailyMailOnline 2017). The former is
ascribed to the fact that both celebrities’ personal lifestyle and, more
importantly, the carbon footprint these generate, contradict their activist
messages. The suggested solution by audiences is straightforward and implies
giving up on carbon emitting transport: ‘yes lets (sic) fight climate change, leo.
but first will you give up flying in your dirty jets’ (hoopy) (DailyMailOnline 2017)
and ‘Practice what you cry!’ (SUMSITUP) (DailyMailOnline 2017).

Frame: ‘Celebrity Health’

This frame appears as a secondary frame in online articles from 2017 and as
both a dominant and a secondary frame in audience reactions from 2017. The
frame is built around DiCaprio’s private image and perceived lifestyle,
suggesting as a main problem that DiCaprio could be suffering from health
problems. This is related, first and more generally, to DiCaprio’s lifelong
partying lifestyle, taking up health defining habits: ‘Leo being smoking, drinking
and partying for over twenty years.’ (Guess) (JustJared 2017). Second, during
the 2017 New York Formula E Prix, DiCaprio was spotted with a ‘device’ (Zzzzz)
(JustJared 2017) holstered around his chest whilst walking the streets of New
York. This raised concerns with audiences and speculation as to what the device

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and any underlying problems could be: ‘What's with people talking about a
pacemaker? […] Could there be a less serious explanation? It's got me a bit
worried (Fancypants) (JustJared 2017). The suggested, though embedded,
solution is that DiCaprio should start to take better care of his body. As such,
Formula E is used mainly as an inroad to discuss DiCaprio’s personal life. The
overall tone is one of concern yet careful optimism, indicating that DiCaprio is
someone these audiences care about: ‘I hope that's what it is, and if so good
for him. Quitting smoking is hard!’ (Fancypants) (JustJared 2017).

Do Different Media and Audiences Produce Different Frames?

Frame occurrences differ between different types of media and between media
and audience reactions. Motorsport related frames such as the ‘Electric
Vehicles Are The Future’ frame, the ‘Electric Vehicles Are Problematic’ frame,
and the ‘Saving The Environment’ frame consistently appeared throughout the
online media categories automotive, technology, general news, environment,
sport and business. Similarly, this indicates that the latter frame is indeed used
beyond its logical category (i.e. environment) and proves to be an important
frame for contextualizing DiCaprio’s involvement with Formula E. Further, the
‘Motorsport Improves Electric Vehicles’ frame appeared only in the automotive
category, whereas the ‘Celebrity Health’ frame appeared exclusively in the
celebrity/ lifestyle category.
Focusing on the celebrity related frames, it becomes clear that media
articles are positive towards DiCaprio, as the frames ‘Hollywood Hero’ and
‘Saving the Environment’ dominated the coverage throughout. Importantly,
the frames occurred not just in celebrity gossip media but in automotive,
technology, general news, environment, sport and business media. This
suggests the success of the celebrity in helping to raise awareness for Formula
E and ES. The ‘Celebrity Health’ frame appeared exclusively in the celebrity/
lifestyle media, suggesting that the context of Formula E served simply as a
means to spot a celebrity and gossip about their private issues. The tone of
media coverage of DiCaprio overall remains positive, though, illustrated by the
fact that the ‘Celebrity Hypocrisy’ frame does not occur.

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 Audience reactions, on the other hand, paint a more diverse picture. They
take over all media article frames to some extent, As such, the ‘Electric Vehicles
Are Problematic’ frame and the’ Hollywood Hero’ frame appear most
significantly (2013 and 2017) with the former appearing mostly in automotive
e.g. PistonHeads (2013), Jalopnik (2013)) and technology (e.g. the Verge (2013))
related media sources. The ‘Saving the Environment frame’ although only
features in audience comments from 2013. Instead, audience reactions focus
more on the ‘Hollywood Hero’ frame, indicating that, while audiences do not
ignore the ES topic, they focus more heavily on the celebrity aspect of
DiCaprio’s endorsement. The frame, more-over, appears most significantly
(2013 and 2017) in comments to celebrity gossip (e.g. JustJared (2017)) and to
a lesser extent on technology (e.g. the Verge) related media content. The
‘Celebrity Health’ frame appeared was a dominant frame in audience reactions
but exclusively in relation to the media coverage on celebrity gossip site
JustJared that introduced the frame. Beyond this, audience reactions generated
some additional and alternative frames (see table 6). The most dominant
frames were the ‘Celebrity Hypocrisy’ frame as well as its overarching ‘Formula
E Hypocrisy Ruins Motorsport’ frame. Both frames occur in comments from
2013 and 2017 and across various types of media, including automotive,
technology, celebrity news and general news. This suggests audiences more
than journalist verge towards an oppositional reading of DiCaprio’s activism
and involvement with Formula E.

Audience Reaction Moderators: Personal Experiences, Peers and Parasocial

Relationships

To get a better understanding of audience reactions to (the framing of) the

online news, we analysed if and how comments were moderated by personal
experiences, communication with peers and parasocial relationships with
DiCaprio (see above). In the 2013 comments, audience commenters
predominantly put forward personal experiences to counter or further a
number of frames. A first frame concerns ‘Formula E Hypocrisy Ruins
Motorsport’:

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 ‘We all know that oil burning cars are on the way out: I know it, and
everybody here knows it. I am racing a petrol burner because I can. So
what? It does not make me a hypocrite because I support new ways of
trying to preserve the planet’ (MX7) (PistonHeads 2013).
Another frame is the ‘Electric Vehicles Are The Future’ frame where
commenters help validate the potential of EV’s based on relevant work
experience: ‘I've been in engineering for most of my adult life, and I can see no
downsides to an electric drive train.’ (98elise) (PistonHeads 2013). The
importance of personal experience becomes even more profound when
commenters, in validating this frame, pressure other commenters defending a
counter frame such as the ‘Electric Vehicles Are Problematic’ frame in providing
evidence of personal experience: ‘If you make statements like "EV's are a
complete failure and will never be practical mass transport" then it helps to
have a position of authority from which to say such a thing if you want people
to listen (MaxTorque) (PistonHeads 2013).
Personal experiences featured to some extent in discussions of ES (in
Formula E), serving as a frame sponsor, but, with regard to DiCaprio, personal
experiences were mentioned only in 2017 comments, all confirming the
article’s health frame. Commenters said ‘My grandma had one [quit smoking
device] and this one definitely looks bigger imo [in my opinion] and I would
hope that he would stay home and rest […]’ (Fancypants) (JustJared 2017) and
‘I talked to my mother and she had one after surgery for medicine.’ (Guess)
(JustJared 2017). This suggest that issues pertaining to the private life of a
celebrity trigger audiences’ personal experiences more than their public
appearance or actual activism, confirming earlier research (e.g. Van den Bulck
2017). The private life of DiCaprio also triggered most debate amongst the
online community (peers). While the 2013 commenters engaged in elaborate
discussions concerning EV’s and Formula E, they did not do so regarding
DiCaprio’s involvement. However, commenters on the 2017 ‘Celebrity Heath’
framed coverage, engaged elaborately in debate regarding DiCaprio’s health,
further suggesting that the celebrity presence serves as a distraction rather
than create attention to the environmental issue:

175
 ‘It's definitely to [sic] big to be a patch. I'm sure it's nothing serious but
it's got me worried’ (Fancypants)
‘Yes, probably nothing serious. I just googled "stop smoking devices," and
saw one that is round in shape and bigger than a typical smoking patch.
Looks like it can be attached to any part of the upper body. Maybe this is
what he has’ (leoandtheblondes)
‘Hmm just posted a new picture and there you can see it again. I don't
think it's anything serious if it were he would make sure no one sees it
since he values his privacy’ (JanaHelen) (JustJared 2017)

An important mediator of audience reactions proved the parasocial

relationship they maintain with DiCaprio. As a result, while media coverage
frames are all positive towards DiCaprio, commenters have differing opinions
regarding DiCaprio’s involvement in Formula E as the ‘Hollywood Hero’ and the
‘Celebrity Hypocrisy’ frames suggest. Some commenters showed support for
DiCaprio’s efforts ‘Good for Leonardo!..... #ParisAccord’ (Millenial Caseyyy)
(DailyMailOnline 2017) as well as respect: ‘Good on him I say, he strikes me as
one of Hollywood’s good guys’ (Technomatt) (PistonHeads 2013) and affection:
‘What's with people talking about a pacemaker? […] It's got me a bit worried.’
(Fancypants) (DailyMailOnline 2017). Some also emphasised DiCaprio’s
legitimate standing: ‘Agenda? He has walked this line for over a decade. He is a
good boy as you put it. Raises 100's of millions for worthy causes.’
(burwoodman) (PistonHeads 2013). This positive attitude towards DiCaprio’s
involvement, interestingly, extended beyond celebrity gossip commenters (‘I'm
not afraid to admit that Leo's one of my most favorite actors of all time so...I
support this.’ (Travis Okulski) (Jalopnik 2013)) to motorsport fans: ‘I’m not
shocked that DiCaprio is the Hollywood A-lister involved with one of the teams.
As an F1 fan, I think this could be interesting’ (Post Modern Human) (The Verge
2013). Conversely, sometimes, commentators explicitly dismissed Formula E:
‘Don’t care about this [Formula E]. What I want to know is, where in the fuck
are this guys [sic] Oscars?!?! He deserves so much more praise than he gets.
Great actor.’ (SlimShadyMJDroid) (The Verge 2013) and ‘Will reserve

176
judgement on Formula E until I see the racing. Fair play to Leonardo putting his
money into motorsport though.’ (A Scotsman) (PistonHeads 2013). Then there
were those who approved of Formula E but not of DiCaprio: ‘Would have been
better to stick Patrick Dempsey in there, at least the guy can peddle and is
infinitely more likeable that [sic] DiCaprisun! Its [sic] worth taking 10 minutes
of a lunch break to read about the Formula E format, i [sic] think it has potential’
(SteveSteveson) (PistonHeads 2013). Some explicitly criticised DiCaprio’s
persona: ‘Leo thinks his Gulfstream 5 is solar powered. He is not too bright’
(Snake Plissken) (DailyMailOnline), ‘bloated alcoholic. Sad.’ (jan smiths)
(Hollywoodreporter 2013), ‘Oh Leo, just join [Patrick] Dempsey and maybe you
two can pool enough money (aka you pay for everything, Leo, you fility [sic] rich
SOB) for an all-electric Drayson Lola’ (daenderTravis Okulski) (Jalopnik 2013)
and blatant hypocrisy: ‘Boo, this stinks of hidden agenda's [sic] and look at me
goody two shoe's i'd [sic] almost hazard a guess that in the wake of Paul walker
[sic] Di craprio [sic] is trying to garnish some look at me i'm [sic] a good boy’
(Andy) (PistonHeads 2013). Others, extended the criticism to all celebrity
endorsers: ‘I can't take crap like this seriously when hypocrites like DiCaprio are
involved. The likes of DiCaprio and Al Gore advocating this cause does more
harm than good’ (Haz0687) (DailyMailOnline 2017). Finally, in a number of
cases, different feelings towards DiCaprio resulted in a discussion amongst
peers. For instance, some commenters on automotive/motorsport websites
countered the criticism of DiCaprio: ‘Wow. Some butthurt people. Celebrity
invests into motorsports but it's somehow almost criminal. Not true petrolhead
[sic]. Get over yourselves. He isn't taking anything from you’ (Max torque)
(PistonHeads 2013). Most importantly, and what the above reveals, is that
parasocial relationships influenced some audience members’ take on media
frames.

Discussion and Conclusion

Trying to understand how the involvement of Hollywood actor and green

activist Leonardo DiCaprio affected the coverage and audience reactions to
Formula E across a range of online media, provides some interesting insights

177
into the impact of mediated communication about a celebrity’s endorsement
on the issue at hand.
First, media articles tend to report on the topics of DiCaprio’s
involvement in Formula E in different ways. On the one hand, our analysis
confirms that celebrity involvement indeed helps to attract media attention, in
this case for Formula E. DiCaprio’s affiliation with the sport incites wider
reporting on current affairs focusing either on the issue of environment (e.g.
‘Saving the Environment frame), EV’s (e.g. ‘Electric Vehicles are the Future’ and
‘Electric Vehicles Are Problematic’ ), motorsport (e.g. ‘Motorsport Improves
Electric Vehicles’) or on the celebrity’s involvement in the issue (e.g. ‘Hollywood
Hero’ frame). Not surprisingly, the focus of a website’s content (sports,
automotive, celebrity, general news, …) is often indicative of the frame and
focus of the articles with the ‘Hollywood Hero’ and ‘Celebrity Health’ frames
dominating celebrity and lifestyle-oriented media content, automotive
oriented websites framing DiCaprio’s involvement in Formula E more in terms
of EV’s and motorsport, and environmentally oriented websites in terms of EV’s
in relationship to the environment.
Second, the results confirm that audiences’ reading of the media
produced frame can go in various directions, with the adoption by audiences of
the media frames ‘Hollywood Hero’ and ‘Celebrity Health’ indicating audiences
in some instances follow preferred readings but the audience frame ‘Celebrity
Hypocrisy’ (and the ‘Formula E Hypocrisy Ruins Motorsport’ frame) indicating
that, at other times, audiences negotiate, i.e. bypass and/or oppose, media
frames by devising new ones. Commenters’ views, unsurprisingly, are affected
by their parasocial relationship with DiCaprio and they draw from personal
experiences to further their arguments as part of discussions with fellow
commenters. Importantly, when negotiating the media frames, audiences
search for input from both the public and private characteristics and images of
the celebrity, as in the case of the ‘Celebrity Health’ frame. The discrepancy
between the ‘Hollywood Hero’ and the Celebrity Hypocrisy frame further
illustrates this intricate relationship between aspects of a celebrity persona and
the players in the celebrity construct (Van den Bulck 2017). Both journalists and

178
audiences draw from the range of characteristics that make up a celebrity’s
public, private and political persona to emphasise certain aspects of others in
various framing packages (Van den Bulck 2017).
Third, looking at the data from a diachronic perspective reveals some
interesting evolutions. Audiences reactions occurred only in 2013 and 2017,
indicating that news about DiCaprio’s involvement with Formula E as a co-team
owner in 2013 and his visit to the NY race in 2017 sparked interest with
audiences, while his 2015 appointment as a chairman of the sustainability
committee did not. One plausible explanation is that after the initial ‘breaking
news’ in 2013, the limited newsworthiness comes into play as the novelty effect
– certainly of Formula E and, to some extent, of DiCaprio’s involvement - wears
off over time (Lester 2010; Cox 2012, Panis and Van den Bulck 2014). This is
most often the case for ES-related frames and, as such, the ‘Saving the
Environment’ frame does no longer occur in 2017 audience comments. The
‘Hollywood Hero’ frame occurs throughout the period, showing that celebrities
do help to maintain the attention to some extent. However, the ‘Celebrity
Health’ frame that dominates the 2017 coverage and reactions, suggest that
the private life of the celebrity has stronger attention pulling power than his
political persona. According to Boykoff (2011), this is a frequent occurrence
which prevents sufficient context to further the debate on the environment.
So, the emergence of the celebrity health frame in media articles and audience
comments in 2017 confirms that when newsworthiness of ES wanes, other
novelty items fill its place to continue the story (Lester 2010). That said, the
presence of non-celebrity related frames in online articles from 2013, 2015 and
2017 and audience comments in 2013 and 2017 suggest that DiCaprio’s
succeeded, at least to some extent, in his self-proclaimed incentive of raising
the debate on EV’s.
The study suffers from a number of shortcomings. First, the compiled
corpus is not exhaustive and, as such, does not allow for strong generalisations.
Second, while a high number of audience comments were found, these all came
from just 9 articles. This limits the extent to which we can generalise findings
with regards to what comes into play when audiences deal with media frames.

179
If nothing else, though, it shows that not all celebrity coverage seem to create
enough buzz for audiences to want to respond to it. Despite these limitations,
we believe that this study reveals the usefulness of an inductive framing
analysis to obtain an understanding of the complexities of the relationship
between celebrity activism, the issue involved and the product or organisation
endorsed. As such, this study provides valuable insights for celebrity studies,
sports-media studies and environmental studies.

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 CHAPTER 7
THE NEED FOR SPEED?
A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BBC’S POST-WAR
BROADCASTING OF MOTORSPORT

Richard Haynes and Timothy Robeers

This article has been accepted for publication in the Historical Journal of Film,
Radio and Television

Preface

Although still with a view to media representations of motorsport, this fifth and
final case study within this Ph.D. distinguishes from the previous four studies in
that it does not take Formula E and ES as its main scope of reference. Instead,
it focusses on motorsport more broadly and follows Boyle and Haynes’ (2009)
suggestion to consider a historical perspective when analysing the sports-
media representations. As such, it sets out to determine to what extent mid-
20th century television made then contemporary motorsport televisual, i.e.
showing motorsport as the real thing as it is being played (Briggs, 1979). Still
within the realm of qualitative research traditions, this study analyses a
diachronical sample of biographical and historical media texts by means of an
archival and biographical approach, an approach often associated with
historical studies of sport and the media (Haynes, 2016).
This seventh chapter thus draws from the domains of history,
communication and motorsport studies. In doing so, this case study
demonstrates that due to a sharp rise in grassroots popularity of motorsport
and due to the significant technical and logistical difficulties associated with
televising motorsport, the post-war British television experimented with a
number of motorsport formats to (bene)fit television’s possibilities and
requirements more appropriately. This resulted in (1) some adjusted
motorsport series and (2) eventually the development of a completely new

188
motorsport series that was able to represent motorsport as competitive and
dramatic.

Abstract
Although many media and cultural histories have looked at the emergence of
particular popular sports, few have done so from a detailed perspective with
respect to motorsport. Indeed, ever since its conceptualisation, motorsport has
shared an intricate relationship with the media. However, despite
advancements in camera and broadcasting equipment, significant technical
and logistical difficulties to represent early (motor) sport as televisual, i.e.
realistic, persevered. This article explores the emergence of motorsport on BBC
television during the post-war period to determine if, and to what extent, early
motorsport on television was (not) televised. To this end, a qualitative archival
approach is used to examine a sample of archival and biographical media texts
from the post-war period. Findings suggest the BBC experimented with the
format of the hill climb, a motorsport series, by shaping it to fit the possibilities
and requirements of television more appropriately. This resulted in the creation
of the Television Trophy Trial, the adoption of scrambling and the rise of
Rallycross. This means that the BBC was, in effect, not only using motorsport to
its own benefit from the early 1950s onwards, but actively developing and
representing motorsport as competitive and dramatic.

Introduction

This article traces the formative history of British television’s coverage of

motorsport from 1946 to 1970. In doing so, it aims to fill a gap in academic
media and sport histories of motorsport, which have largely focused on
Formula 1 grand prix racing from the mid-1970’s onward. Based on archival
research in the BBC Written Archives, interviews with broadcasters and
biographical research, the article opens up a discussion on the early
organizational, technical, spatial and temporal challenges faced by television in
its attempt to bring coverage of motorsport on to the small screen.

189
 As Britain’s first public service broadcaster, the BBC experimented with,
and effectively pioneered, broadcasting sport on television from 1936
onwards.10 In the first two decades of the BBC’s Television Service, from 1936-
to 1939, and 1946 in to the mid-1950’s television grew in the shadow of its
sister services in radio, often viewed as the ‘peep show boys at Alexandra
Palace’.11 In spite of the fact BBC radio had built strong relationships with sport
through the 1920’s and 30’s, television frequently faced stiffer opposition from
sport administrators due to the fear that live moving images from sport would
impact on attendances at spectator sports.12 However, when televised sport
first began in the 1930’s, the medium had a much more benign influence on
sport.13 Sport governing bodies ruled, and certain sport administrators held the
power in the relationship with the BBC.14 Many administrators were convinced
by the argument put forward by the Association for the Protection of Copyright
in Sport, that sport had a copyright in their performance much like musicians,
which led to dispute and boycott from transmissions by some major sports.15
Television was also constrained by its technology. Pre-war outside
broadcasts were initially constrained by the length of the cabling from
Alexandra Palace to the cameras. Microwave links enabled the BBC to cover the
(Oxford/ Cambridge) Boat Race for the first time in 1937, but the logistics of
doing so were expensive for a new medium working on limited resources.16 As
Whannel has argued, televising sport, i.e. showing a sport as ‘the real thing’ or
as it is being played, historically correlates to the level of technological
capabilities of television broadcasting of each period, and as such, is dependent
on the level of control that television exerts on both sport and the sporting

10
Richard Haynes, BBC Sport in Black and White (London: Palgrave McMillan, 2016).
11
John Corner, Television Form and Public Address (London: Edward Arnold, 1995); Haynes, BBC
Sport in Black and White, 56.
12
Asa Briggs, The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom, vol. 4 of Sound and Vision.
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979);Steven Barnett, Games and Sets: The Changing Face of
Sport and Television (United Kingdom: British Film Inst, 1990); Gary Whannel, Fields in Vision:
Television Sport and Cultural Transformation (London: Routledge, 1992).
13
Haynes, BBC Sport in Black and White.
14
Ibid.
15
Barnett, Games and Sets.
16
Haynes, BBC Sport in Black and White.

190
environment.17 These processes echo the idea from critical television studies
that suggest the medium both ingests from, and projects into, culture and
society.18 Firstly, the BBC’s approach to sport from early on was characterized
by a desire for the ‘cultural ingestion’ of sport - drawing the ‘world of sport’
towards itself to incorporate and transform sport for its own needs and ends.
What is ‘on’ television, therefore, can be recognized as part of institutional
structures, practices and relationships television develops with sport, which in
time have changed and become increasingly intertwined and interdependent
as sport has adapted itself to the needs of being televised. Secondly, the BBC
also projected its images and commentaries into the culture of sport and
beyond, permeating popular culture with its iconic moments and distinctive
voices in order, consciously or not, to produce collective memories of sport
which first and foremost are moments of television culture. For example, the
BBC motor racing commentator Murray Walker became synonymous with
Formula 1 from the 1970’s onwards, in particular for what became known as
his Murrayisms.19 Through this ingestion and projection processes television
has shaped its relationship with sport, influencing its social and cultural
resonance.
A range of media and cultural histories have looked at the emergence of
particular popular sports such as football, cricket, boxing and snooker on post-
war television, but interestingly none have focused on motorsport.20 More
general histories certainly include some information about early coverage of
motorsport, but not in any extensive detail.21 This is perhaps surprising

17
Whannel, Fields in Vision; Briggs, Sound and Vision, 855.
18
Corner, Television Form and Public Address.
19
Murray Walker, Unless I'm Very Much Mistaken, (London: HarperCollins, 2002).
20
Richard Haynes, ‘A Pageant of Sound and Vision: Football's Relationship with Television,
1936–60’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 15, no 1, (1998): 211-26; Williams,
Jack Cricket and Broadcasting (United Kingdom: Manchester University Press, 2011); Kasia
Boddy, The Culture of Boxing (London: Reaktion Books, 2009); Clive Everton, Black Farce and
Cue Ball Wizards: The inside Story of the Snooker World (Edinburgh: Random House, 2011).
21
Martin Kelner, Sit Down and Cheer: A History of Sport on TV (London: Bloomsbury publishing,
2012); Haynes, BBC Sport in Black and White.

191
considering both the economic scale and cultural importance of motorsport,
which in the case of Formula 1 is a global, high profile, media sport.
Henry et al define motorsport as ‘competitive racing by equivalent
machines on an equivalent basis’.22 Although diverse in terms of both machines
and competitive events, in the post-war period, the popularity of motorsport
has largely been synonymous with Formula 1 grand prix racing. Such narrow
popular perceptions of Formula 1 as the ‘jewel’ or ‘pinnacle of motorsport’,
elides Henry et al’s broader definition indicating the generic nature of
motorsport comprising both ‘disciplines’ (for example, open-wheel, sportscar,
rally and others) and ‘series’ (for example, Formula 1, Formula 2, Formula 3,
Formula E).23 Considering Formula 1 only gained consistent significance on
British television from 1974 onwards with the symbiotic relationship between
superstar names (James Hunt) and commercial sponsorship of cars, particularly
by the tobacco companies (Marlboro) gaining regular television coverage on
the BBC.24 Because of the lack of historic visibility on television before the mid-
1970’s, the period prior to this has largely been left aside by academic
historians. On the other hand, and until recently, academic research on
motorsport in general has long remained scarce and fragmented at best.25 This
is surprising considering motorsport provides many mediatized global events
which sustains a combined audience of over 1 billion people and generates a
£50 billion plus annual industry turnover.26

22
Nick Henry, Tim Angus, Mark Jenkins and Chris Aylett, Motorsport Going Global: The
Challenges Facing the World's Motorsport Industry (London: Palgrave McMillan, 2013), 1-2.
23
David Hassan, ‘Epilogue: The Evolution of Motorsport Research’, The International Journal of
the History of Sport 28, no. 2 (2011), 322; Damion Sturm, ‘A Glamorous and High-tech Global
Spectacle of Speed: Formula One Motor Racing as Mediated, Global and Corporate Spectacle’,
in Sports Events, Society and Culture, eds. Katherine Dashper, Thomas Fletcher and Nicola
McCullough (London: Routledge, 2014), 68; Henry et al., Motorsport Going Global, 1-2.
24
Bruce Grant-Braham, ’Formula One, Sponsorship and Television: An Historical Perspective’,
in Explorations in Motoring History, ed. Bryan J. H. Brown (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 1997), 81-
108.
25
Ehren Pflugfelder, ‘Something Less than a Driver: Toward an Understanding of Gendered
Bodies in Motorsport’, Journal of Sport and Social Issues 33, no. 4 (2009).
26
David Hassan, ‘Prologue: The Cultural Significance and Global Importance of Motorsport’,
The International Journal of the History of Sport 28, no. 2 (2011), 187.

192
 Adopting an archival approach, this article explores the emergence of
motorsport series on BBC television during the immediate post-war period in
order to determine the extent to which motorsport was televised between the
late-1940’s and 1970. In doing so, it will first provide a historical backdrop of
the motorsport scene during this period and set out a number of theoretical
concepts that are key to understanding the representation of (motor) sport on
television and wider implications for society. The article elaborates on the use
of archives to inform the history of televised motorsport, exploring the
empirical and theoretical challenges of writing such a history. We then analyse
the evidence to suggest that in the formative history of motorsport on
television there were early attempts to create competitive events which suited
the needs of their television service. The motivation for doing so largely came
from constraints in technology and a desire to broaden the range of sports
being broadcast.

From WWII onwards: the Emergence of Motorsport in Britain

Few studies have adopted a historical approach to analyze the motorsport –

television relationship. According to Eastoe, television acted as a major force
behind the development of a global motorsport industry.27 From the end of the
1960s and beginning of the 1970s television increasingly brought the
excitement and danger of racing into people’s living rooms. Grant-Braham has
focused on how broadcasting furthered, though not created, sponsorship in
motorsport during the period of 1979 to 1996 and revealed the importance of
commercialization for the survival and growth of Formula 1.28 Originating in the
BBC’s commitment to broadcasting rights for Formula 1, and popularized by
Murray Walker’s commentary alongside former racing driver James Hunt, the
evolution of television’s high-scale investment in live coverage began in this
period, making household names of drivers like Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton
Senna. and Damon Hill. The international glamour evoked by Formula 1 and
brought to the screen by the BBC made the sport attractive to a particular male

27
Bill Eastoe, (1994). ‘Still in With a Sporting Chance’, Accountancy 1215 (1994): 34-37.
28
Grant-Braham, ‘Formula One, Sponsorship and Television’.

193
middle-class audience, which became a key motivation for the BBC’s rival ITV
to poach the broadcasting rights from 1996.29 The spectacle of Formula 1,
produced a heady mix of star drivers, leading car manufacturers, global brand
sponsors and television advertisers all neatly packaged for a three-hour
programme format on live television.30 A further study by Sturm also
determined Formula 1 as a modern glamour spectacle on the basis of certain
characteristics including the importance of mass communications and social
media.31 Consequently, what exists of academic research in terms of
motorsport is limited and tends to focus largely on the period of when Formula
1 developed itself into its contemporary global mega-sport form (e.g. studies
by Grant-Braham, Henry et al, Sturm and Evans).32
Bearing this in mind, the emergence of motorsport in BBC programming
needs to be understood in relation to a number of developments regarding
both the increased popularity of motorsport in Britain and the emergence of
early television broadcasting technologies. The rise in popularity of motorsport
during the immediate post-war years and which extended throughout the
1950’s is correlated to both a high demand for cheap personal mobility and a
low-barrier accessibility for the general public.33 In spite of nationwide
shortages of basic raw materials and rationing, British motorsport flourished on
the back of the many surplus WWII airfields that scattered the British
countryside. Motorsports such as the 500cc Club (1947-1953) and the 750
Motor Club (1939 – present), were founded on the grass-roots popularity of

29
Steve Rider, My Chequered Career: Thirty-five Years of Televising Motorsport (United
Kingdom: J H Haynes & Company Limited, 2012).
30
Claire Evans, ‘The Discursive Representation of Host Locations in a Sports Media Event:
Locating the ‘Real Site’ of Formula One’, Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture 5,
no. 2, (2014): 231-245.
31
Sturm, ‘A Glamourous High-tech Spectacle of Speed’.
32
Hassan, ‘Prologue’, 187; Grant-Braham, ‘Formula One, Sponsorship and Television’; Henry
et al., Motorsport Going Global; Sturm, ‘A Glamourous High-tech Spectacle of Speed’; Claire
Evans, (2013). ‘The Media Representation of Formula One as ‘Spectacle’: Constructing Sport
as a Live Mediatised Event’ (PhD diss., Cardiff University, 1991).
33
Beverly Aston and Mark Williams, Playing to Win: The Success of UK Motorsport
Engineering (London: Emphasis, 1996), 9.

194
racing as do-it-yourself and self-help networks.34 This easy-access club
environment gave rise to increased cheap public personal mobility as well as
competition and commercial opportunities that saw the erection of the Cooper
Car Company, Lola, Cosworth and Colin Chapman’s Lotus. Additionally, a
number of catastrophic accidents that occurred on the continent during the
second half of the 1950s (Le Mans 1955, 83 dead; Monza 1955, lead Lancia
driver Alberto Ascari dies; Mille Miglia 1957, 11 dead) led to many of the
dominant manufacturers, such as Mercedes, Lancia and Maserati, which had so
long outperformed their British competitors, pulling out of racing and
effectively opening up the way for British high-profile racing teams such as
Jaguar, Aston Martin, Cooper and Lotus to become successful.35 Further, this
specific post-war era in Britain allowed for British drivers such as Stirling Moss,
Mike Hawthorn and Jim Clark to emerge into sporting heroes supported by the
sporting press and cinema newsreel, which not only sparked a sense of national
identity, but also increasingly drew in more audiences to British motorsport.36

Representing (Motor) Sport through Television

The relationship between sport and the mass media has a long history, with
cricket being reported in London newspapers as early as the first half of the 18th
century.37 Broadcasting, first with radio and subsequently with television, has
transformed both the economics and cultural significance of sport contributing
to a global media-sport nexus which for many people is their main point of
contact with the world of sport.38 As Crawford points out, television has
become a major and global part of the way in which different sports represent
themselves and continues to contribute to the popularity and growth of

34
Ibid., 11.
35
Ibid., 14; Jörg Walz, The History of Motorsport (Germany: Delius Klasing Verlag, 2017), 97.
36
Raymond Flower, Motorsports : A Pictorial History (Glasgow and London: William Collins
Sons & Co. Ltd, 1975), 144, 150; Walker, Unless I’m Very Much Mistaken.
37
David Rowe, Sport, Culture and Media: The Unruly Trinity (United Kingdom: McGraw-Hill
Education, 2003).
38
Raymond Boyle and Richard Haynes, Power Play: Sport, the Media and Popular Culture:
Sport, the Media and Popular Culture (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009).

195
modern sports to the extent that, for a while now, ‘sport is television sport’.39
With regards to Formula 1, former Renault team principle Flavio Briatore
famously said that ‘if Formula 1 has no television, it is not Formula 1, or it is at
a much lower level’.40 Whannel suggests that television sport is very much
identifiable as ‘infotainment’, which emerges as the result of a combination of
two contrasting and perhaps at first glance seemingly irreconcilable elements:
the production ideologies of realism and entertainment.41 The realism of sports
coverage on television is firmly rooted within conventions of journalistic
reporting.42 As such, and drawing from Nichols’s categorization system,43 this
non-fictional (documentary) material that contributes to making up television
sport is organized largely from combining an expository approach, i.e.
addressing viewers directly through running commentary narration effectively
making claims and assertions which frame the action, for example safety or
competition in motorsport (see chapter four), to help audiences make sense of
what is being shown on screen. This function of the commentator is to place
the audience at the event, a participatory and explanatory approach, which
maintains the non-fictional character of the production.44 However, televising
sport is also shaped by conventions inherent to entertainment, for example
regarding the structure of programmes, scheduling, modes of representation
and of addressing, winning over and maintaining certain types of audiences.45
Throughout television sport, both principles can be found but the specific
relation is more often than not dependent on which exact sport is covered.46
For example, in 2018, Formula 1’s new owners Liberty Media have set out their
goals to make the sport even more ‘realistic’ or ‘televisual’, bringing audiences

39
Gary Crawford, ‘Consuming sport: Fans, Sport and Culture.’ International Journal of Sports
Marketing and Sponsorship 6, no. 2 (2004): 47-62; Gary Whannel, Fields in Vision: Television
Sport and Cultural Transformation (London: Routledge, 1992), 1-3.
40
Andrew Benson, ‘Man with the Midas Touch’, Autosport, February 1996, 30-33.
41
Whannel, Fields in Vision, 92.
42
Ibid.
43
Bill Nichols, Introduction to Documentary (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001).
44
Stuart Hall, Jessica Evans and Sean Nixon, eds., Representation (London: Sage Publications,
2013).
45
Whannel, Fields in Vision.
46
Ibid.

196
closer to the action through an increased number of on-board cameras,
including 360 degrees, and virtual reality technology.47 At the same time, the
preamble to races and analysis focus on the cast of characters and ongoing
storylines of competition, building tension and suspense to intensify the
narrative pleasures of the event, which is partly staged for the television
cameras. Such contemporary mediatization in contemporary culture can be
better understood in relation to its position within a double movement of
ingestion and projection.48 According to Corner, centripetal interplay can be
understood as a metaphor for television as the little finger that changes things
to its own benefit (commentary, edited highlights, action replays, slow motion
etc.), i.e. television ‘has a powerful capacity to draw towards itself and
incorporate wider elements of society and culture’.49 A complimentary action,
according to Corner, is the centrifugal interplay typology which is inherent to
the process of outside broadcasting.50 As such, it refers to the idea of television
bringing the world into people’s homes and wider culture whereby television
projects onto the existing world its captured characters, images and latest
creations and is very much reflective of the time of early sports broadcasting.51
Still, the realism – entertainment principle is but a first of five principles
of transformation that Whannel suggests in relation to negotiating the
representation of television sport.52 A second principle is that the process of
constructing television sport does not remain unaffected by the ‘real’, implying
not so much that a sport determines the exact form of its representation on
television but rather that it puts forward significant constraints in terms of

47
Kunal Talgeri, ‘How Liberty Media is Making Formula One Relevant to Digital Audiences’,
The Economic Times, November 26, 2017,
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/how-liberty-
media-is-making-formula-one-relevant-to-digital-audiences/articleshow/61798892.cms
(accessed 20 August 2018).
48
Corner, Popular Television in Britain.
49
Corner, Popular Television in Britain; Boyle and Haynes, Power Play: Sport, The Media and
Popular Culture, 77.
50
Corner, Popular Television in Britain.
51
Whannel, Fields in Vision.
52
Ibid., 94.

197
different representations.53 Third, television sport is a matter of selecting what
to show audiences and inherently implies an exclusion that can range from a
social, political, historical or environmental context. For example, when
Greenpeace activists boycotted the live podium ceremony of the 2013 Shell
Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix in condemnation of Shell’s Arctic drilling activities,
broadcasting directors attempted to exclude such scenes from the broadcast.54
A fourth principle concerns the transformation of time as a result of the
processes of constructing edited highlights, adding action replays and (super)
slow motion and freeze framing. In the case of motorsport, it also applies as
early broadcasting on the BBC often only allowed for coverage accounts of a
few minutes and thus requiring the task of condensing a ‘highly complex and
protracted struggle’ that could last for hours for presentation on television.55
The fifth and final principle is of particular importance to the case of this article.
The principle of maximum action in minimum space indicates a transformation
of space in television sport by suggesting that some sports require more visual
and verbal work by television than others.56 Applying this to motorsport in
particular, ‘spatial fragmentation’ affects a race much more so than it does, for
example, a boxing match where one or two ideal camera positions suffice.57 In
order to cover the motorsport however, and considering races take place on
long race tracks which most often feature a range of bends, undulations and
other visual obstructions, this requires a far greater number of cameras and a
great deal more editing to create both spatial and temporal overview and
match-on-action continuity. In addition, and as Raymond Baxter as the BBC’s
principal motor racing commentator during the post-war period suggested,
constraints such as a maximum cable length of 300 yards from control van to
each camera and the scale effect of telescopic lenses which ‘reduce the
apparent speed of a race car from 160 mph to a sedate crawl’ further

53
Ibid., 94-6.
54
Formula 1: The Belgian Grand Prix. TV broadcast. BBC 2: BBC, August 25 2013.
55
Raymond Baxter, ‘Motor Racing’, in Sports in View, ed. Peter Dimmock (London, Faber and
Faber, 1963), 123.
56
Whannel, Fields in Vision.
57
Ibid., 97.

198
contributed to the ‘major problem for those [of us] concerned with its
[motorsport] presentation on the television screen’.58
Considering the need for the manipulation of sport to make sport more
televisual, Klatell and Marcus as well as Whannel conclude that the many
changes that have been made to sport were caused by television in the quest
for televisual representation and that sport over time had adapted well to
this.59 Further, Whannel suggest that earlier post-war sports broadcasting was
significantly less televisual than later sports broadcasting.60 Drawing from the
above, this contribution will look at how the many technical difficulties of
broadcasting from motorsport provide evidence of early movements in the
1950’s towards the televisual, whereby events were organized to suit the needs
of the BBC cameras and its transmission.

Framework and Methodology

As a means of operationalization, this article will adopt an archival approach to

answer the research question. Drawing from Heng et al, the advantage of
adopting such an approach is fivefold.61 First, archival studies tend to analyse
sample data that were stored for reasons other than purely academic. Second,
they also allow for longitudinal examination of phenomena in (mediated)
society. A third advantage associated with an archival analysis is the notion of
‘realism which increases external validity by ensuring that predicated
relationships hold true in real-life circumstances’.62 Fourth, an archival analysis
encourages the use of a variety of archival data sources, for example data from
professionals, books, television archives etc., and subsequent datasets
constituting one larger sample which ‘increases confidence in the

58
Baxter, ‘Motor Racing’, 123.
59
David Klatell, David and Norman Marcus, Sports for Sale: Television, Money, and the Fans.
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988); Whannel, Fields in Vision.
60
Gary Whannel, ‘The Unholy Alliance: Notes on Television and the Remaking of British Sport
1965–85’, Leisure Studies 5, no 2, (1986), 129-145.
61
Yu Tse Heng, David T. Wagner, Christopher M. Barnes and Cristiano L. Guarana, ‘Archival
Research: Expanding the Methodological Toolkit in Social Psychology’, Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology 78 (2018): 14-22.
62
Ibid., 18.

199
generalizability of the research findings to the larger population’.63 As a result,
this study complements a more general archival analysis with a biographical
analysis. Although a form of archival analysis, such a biographical, i.e.
qualitative, analysis’s main focus lies specifically with the construction of stories
describing a human’s perceived social reality alongside historical and culturally
grounded components in social and other contexts.64 As such, a biographical
analysis often provides both valuable insights in terms of individual or
organizational behaviour, motives, identity and conditions as well as assists in
interpreting longitudinal and historic data, especially so when contextualized
by academic literature.65 Lastly, opting for an archival analysis approach adds
to more ‘traditional’ research methods adopted by both authors in their work
on the BBC’s history of sport and media representations of motorsport.66
Bearing these advantages in mind, the sample for this study was compiled
of two separate datasets. First, and with respect to a more traditional archival
analysis, the BBC Written Archives (hereafter: WAC) in Caversham (UK) were
accessed to come up with a sample of BBC (television) production notes from
the post-war years. Containing a huge collection of information on the BBC, the
BBC WAC has significant value for historical research, not only regarding BBC
production practices and the organizing and structuring of the BBC but also in
terms of the relationship with (motor) sporting organizations.67

63
Ibid., 17.
64
Ian Fillis, ‘Biographical Research as a Methodology for Understanding Entrepreneurial
Marketing’, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research 21, no 3, (2015):
429-447; Stephen Downing, ‘The Social Construction of Entrepreneurship: Narrative and
Dramatic Processes in the Coproduction of Organizations and Identities’, Entrepreneurship:
Theory & Practice 29, no. 2 (2005): 185-204; Walter R. Fisher, (1987). Human Communication
as Narration: Toward a Philosophy of Reason, Value, and Action (Columbia: University of
South Carolina, 1987).
65
Fillis, ‘Biographical Research as a Methodology for Understanding Entrepreneurial
Marketing’; Richard Haynes, ‘Voices behind the Mic: Sports Broadcasters, Autobiography and
Competing Narratives of the Past’, in Tapestry of Memory: Evidence and Testimony in Life
Story Narratives, eds. Nacy Adler and Selma Leydesdorff (New York: Transaction, 2013).
66
Haynes, BBC Sport in Black and White.
67
Haynes, BBC Sport in Black and White, 10.

200
 Second, the BBC Genome – Radio Times online archive was selected. The
website’s advanced keyword search tool was used and six keywords derived
through a previous literature review were entered (scrambling, rallycross, hill
climb, Formula 1, grand prix and motor racing) for five five-year time periods
(1946-1950; 1951-1955; 1956-1960; 1961-1965; 1966-1970) spanning a total of
25 years and covering the immediate and end of the post-war period.68
Additionally, and in view of this study’s focus, the search was limited to
television related documents only. Regarding the second dataset, both primary
and secondary data were used. The use of both sorts of data aids in reducing
the risk of hagiography associated with just one dataset, i.e. the possible
introduction of bias by an interviewee or author presenting an idealized version
of the truth.69 The former comprised of a semi-structured interview with retired
BBC motorsport commentator Murray Walker. The latter comprised both of
additional material to the semi-structured interview such as published
autobiographies, i.e. an autobiography by motorsport commentator Murray
Walker and an autobiography by the late BBC motorsport commentator
Raymond Baxter, newspaper articles and a collection of opinion pieces by the
late Peter Dimmock, former BBC head of production as well as BBC production
notes.70
During a first stage of coding, irrelevant material and sections were
filtered out after which the remaining material was coded deductively and
thematically.71 Finally, findings were contextualized with relevant theoretical
constructs.72

68
BBC Genome, ‘Genome Beta Radio Times’ https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ (accessed August
2, 2018).
69
Fillis, ‘Biographical Research as a Methodology for Understanding Entrepreneurial
Marketing’.
70
Walker, Unless I’m Very Much Mistaken; Raymond Baxter and Tony Dron, Tales of My Time
(London: Grub Street, 2007).
71
Richard E. Boyatzis, Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code
Development (London: Sage Publications, 1998); Alan Bryman, Social Research Methods
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).
72
Heng et al., ‘Archival Research: Expanding the Methodological Toolkit in Social Psychology’.

201
 Although the sheer size and diversity of archival studies benefits
generalizability of both qualitative and quantitative results, a means to enhance
validity of the datasets and their subsequent findings, the public accessibility of
these records (the BBC Genome – Radio Times dataset and the books are
readily available whereas a partial transcript of the semi-structured interview
can be obtained from the authors on request) subsequently also generates a
high level of data transparency.73
One limitation to note is that the programming schedules published did
not always correspond to what was broadcast by the BBC in reality. As such,
the authors acknowledge the possibility for an eventual variation in the
keyword entries found.

Results and Discussion

One benefit of conducting an archival keyword search for qualitative
purposes is the emergence of some quantitative data. As such, and in total, the
six keywords across the five time periods rendered n=908 entries which, after
preliminary coding, was reduced to n=653 entries as some entries did not apply.
For example, the keyword search for grand prix constituted a significant
amount of entries relating exclusively to horse racing or the Eurovision song
contest. In other instances, entries were limited to a simple title name with no
further description, for example Grandstand for motor racing. As table 7
substantiates (specifically for the keyword entries Formula 1, Grand Prix and
motor racing), the 1950s was a period in which television coverage of
motorsport rose significantly for two reasons. First, the Coronation of Queen
Elizabeth II in June 1953 induced a massive demand for television sets across
Britain with an estimated 8 million sold and which subsequently created a large
television audience platform for sport as well.74 Indeed, soon after in July 1953,
the BBC broadcasted its first British Grand Prix: ‘Motor racing at Silverstone:
the 500 c.c. Race - The fifth R.A.C. British Grand Prix Meeting […]’.75 Second, the

73
Ibid.
74
Andrew Crisell, An Introductory History of British Broadcasting (London: Routledge, 2005).
75
Motor Racing at Silverstone: The 500cc Race, Radio Times, 18 July, 1953.

202
Television Act in 1954 ended the BBC’s monopoly of television broadcasting and
allowed for the emergence of ITV, which subsequently instigated a ratings war.
One of the BBC’s solutions to this sudden competition from commercial
television was by broadening its appeal to a wider audience through, for one,
extending coverage of sport and provided the opportunity for motorsport to
gain exposure.76 Some major additions to the BBC portfolio were Sportsview,
the BBC’s first regular sports programme, in 1954 and Grandstand, the BBC’s
sports-flagship programme, in 1958 both regularly covered motorsport.77 In the
immediate years following this, Sportsview would broadcast motorsport
including coverage of the BBC’s first continental motor race, the Monaco Grand
Prix, in May 1955.

Table 7: Number of keyword entries per time period

Keyword 1946- 1951- 1956- 1961- 1966- Total

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970
Scrambling 0 1 2 4 2 9
Rallycross 0 0 0 0 15 15
Hill Climb 2 4 4 5 0 15
Formula One 0 1 24 30 19 74
Grand Prix 1 8 30 54 83 176
Motor Racing 6 43 107 71 137 364
Total 9 57 167 164 256 653

76
Boyle and Haynes, Power Play: Sport, The Media and Popular Culture.
77
Briggs, Sound and Vision: The History of Broadcasting; Haynes, BBC Sport in Black and
White.

203
First Contact? The BBC’s Adoption of Hill Climbs and Scrambling for
Television

Unlike BBC radio coverage of motorsport such as, for example, the Isle-of-Man
TT race which gained huge popularity during the 1930s, television coverage
during the immediate post-war years proved far more expensive and
technically challenging. Indeed, with television coverage of sport in particular
still being in its infancy, transmitting television signals outside the immediate
radius of Greater London proved troublesome and ‘cameras were the size of a
shed’ and were restricted by cable length up to 100 yards, which rendered
coverage of spatially expansive race tracks impossible.78 Also, the cost of
overcoming these constraints meant coverage of motorsport was simply not as
attractive to the BBC as other sports were. In 1947, the BBC tentatively
experimented with coverage of motorcycling from Brands Hatch in the Kentish
countryside by integrating a series of after-race interviews with competitors. In
a production review, then BBC producer Peter Dimmock noted his
disappointment with the content of the programme due to boring racing.79 A
subsequent conversion from grass track to permanent road circuit in 1950 then
led to BBC a management policy which opposed sports coverage on Sundays,
on which most motor racing took place.
During the early 1950s, Raymond Baxter persuaded BBC management of
the possibility to include in its television schedules a series of 30-minute
motoring non-live programmes called ‘Driving Club’ which came under the wing
of the Outside Broadcast Department.80 Further, and following a recent
commentary by Baxter on the Royal Automobile Club’s (RAC) first international
rally, i.e. ‘[…] the speed hill climb from the famous ' Rest-and-be-Thankful' hill
in the Highlands of Scotland’, BBC producer Bill Duncalf wrote Baxter asking: ‘I

78
Walker, Unless I’m Very Much Mistaken, 111; Baxter and Dron, Tales of My Time.
79
Production notes, Brands Hatch, 31 August 1947, BBC Written Archives Centre (hereafter
WAC), T14/168.
80
Baxter and Dron, Tales of My Time, 167.

204
believe you have ideas for staging a car trial or exciting hill climb or what not?’.81
This led to Baxter and Duncalf devising a motor racing series in 1952 specifically
for television called the ‘Television Trophy Trial’:
‘The idea was to tailor the long-established format of trials driving,
which is to see who can complete a series of off-road sections, to
the requirements of TV broadcasting. We decided to have a series
of hill climbs, each divided by five-and ten-point markers, roughly
halfway up and at the top’.82
Either as a group of successive trials under the denominator of ‘international
trials’, e.g. or as individual events, hill climbs have been a popular part of motor
racing from as early as 1897 (1899 in Britain) and have, due to the delicate
ability to race up corkscrew-like courses against the clock, attracted vast
numbers of followers from the onset (Flower, 1975).83
As such, the hill climb can be defined along the following parameters:

‘[Cars can tackle] an uphill course one-by-one, with the quickest

time dictating the winner’.84
‘[Here] race strategy is clear-cut – a ‘maximum attack’ approach is
required from the very first to the last centimeter of the route, as
for an athlete running the 100 metres’.85

Bearing in mind the maximum action in minimum space requirements for

television broadcasting as first used by Harry Carpenter and set out by
Whannel, this maximum attack approach inherent to hill climbs redeems the
first requirement of this broadcasting principle.86 Yet most, if not all, existing

81
Radio Times, ‘RAC First International Rally’, 5 June, 1951; Duncalf to Baxter, Sept. 1952, BBC
WAC T14/229/1.
82
Baxter and Dron, Tales of My Time, 207.
83
Anthony Harding, ed., The Guinness Book of Car Facts and Feats (Middlesex: Guinness
Superlatives Limited, 1985).
84
Motorsport Association United Kingdom, ‘Hill Climb’, https://www.msauk.org/The-
Sport/Types-of-Motor-Sport/Hill-Climb (accessed August 2, 2018).
85
Fèdèration Internationale d’Automobile, ‘FIA European Rallycross Championship’,
https://www.fia.com/events/european-rallycross-championship/season-2018/fia-european-
rallycross-championship (accessed August 2, 2018).
86
Whannel, Fields in Vision

205
hill climbs were still considered too long and unwieldy for television to cover
adequately.87 As such, Baxter was assisted by Goff Imhoff from the London
Motor Club to recce various hills and select the most suitable course for the
trial.88 The hill climb course chosen by Baxter and Imhoff successfully alleviated
many of the technological constraints associated with traditional racetrack
coverage including strategic camera placement which allowed for a better
overview of the track and a reduction in the number of cameras required as
well as more spectacular tracking shots of race cars.89 Subsequently, by means
of a tailored-for-television motor racing event, the BBC was able to more
effectively ‘control’ the (motor) sporting environment of operation to suit its
own abilities, and limitations, accordingly.90 Producer Bill Duncalf made
arrangements for a new BBC trophy to be designed, which used a silver model
of an Image Orthocon three turret camera, a design that was later adopted by
the BBC Sport Personality of the Year award from 1954. As a result, the
Television Trophy Trial, first broadcast on 15 November 1952, constitutes one
of the first attempts by the BBC to effectively instigate a sporting event and
indicates motorsport on television increasingly wanted to become televisual.
The televised nature of Trials following on from this becomes further evident
via the memorandum ‘Some thoughts on recent OB programmes’ from the
BBC’s Director of Outside Broadcasts, Seymour ‘Lobby’ Joly de Lotbinière,91
who besides noting the initial Television Trophy broadcast went well, makes
some suggestions for improving the scoring system, adding further suspense
and adding more technical information to the running commentary when
possible. More so, in a further memo he noted the success of the BBC

87
Details of Programme Requirements, 5 Nov. 1952, BBC WAC T14/229/1.
88
Baxter to Haseman, 14 Oct. 1952, BBC WAC T14/229/1.
89
Details of Programme Requirements, 5 Nov 1952, BBC WAC T14/229/1.
90
Boyle and Haynes, Power Play: Sport, The Media and Popular Culture.
91
de Lotbinière to Edgar, Burrell-Davis, Singer and Buchan, 19 Nov. 1952, BBC WAC
T14/229/1.; Seymour ‘Lobby’ Joly de Lotbinière was the BBC’s Director of Outside Broadcasts
from 1935 to 1939 (Radio and Television) and 1946 to 1952 (Radio and Television). From 1952
until 1955 he concentrated exclusively on outside broadcasting for television and is widely
credited with transforming the codes and conventions of radio running commentary for BBC
sport during those periods; Richard Haynes, ‘‘Lobby’ and the Formative Years of Radio Sports
Commentary, 1935–1952’, Sport in History 29, no 1, (2009): 25-48

206
promotion writing, ‘I think we should explore the possibilities of more BBC
promotions of this sort. Not only do we thereby bypass promoters who may be
worried about television, but we can get the events streamlined to suit
television purposes’.92
In view of this, and the larger competition with ITV, and parallel to its
endeavors with hill climbs, the BBC had also been experimenting with
scrambling, i.e. ‘a race in which the fastest [motorcycle] rider is the winner [on]
a circuit of one or two of the roughest possible country […]’, which saw a huge
boost from BBC’s television coverage. Much like hill climbs for motorcycles,
Baxter describes it as ‘[…] ideal for the box: exciting, cheap and cheerful, there
was lots of it readily available and it was eager to promote itself’.93 Despite the
BBC’s adoption of scrambling, e.g. ‘The Television Motor-cycle Scramble’ and
‘Motorsport: Autocross and Motorcycle Scramble’, it was ITV that set up
scrambling in the same way that the BBC had created and built up the Television
Trophy Trial with an event at Bentley Springs in Yorkshire.94
From 1952 onwards, the BBC further expanded its television experience
with hill climbs, both as individual events, e.g. the ‘Bo’ness Speed Hill Climb:
Scotland v. England’ and the ‘Prescott Hill Climb’, but the big televised events
remained the Television Trophy Trials, e.g. the ‘Television Trophy: Car Hill Climb
Trial’.95 Interestingly, and despite efforts from Baxter,96 the 1956 edition was
eventually cancelled in ‘the national interest’ as at that time, the British

92
de Lotbinière to Television Controller, 24 Nov 1952, BBC WAC T14/229/1.
93
Charles Hewitt, ‘Steeplechasing on Wheels’, Picture Post, May 10, 1947,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/29/newsid_3247000/3247805.s
tm (accessed August 20, 2018); Crisell, An Introductory History of British Broadcasting; Baxter
and Dron, Tales of My Time, 144.
94
Radio Times, ‘Television Motor-Cycle Scramble’, 4 December, 1954; Radio Times,
‘Motorsport: Autocross and Motorcycle Scramble’, 1 February, 1958; Baxter and Dron, Tales
of My Time.
95
Radio Times, ‘Bo'ness Speed Hill Climb: Scotland v. England’, 29 June, 1953; Radio Times,
’Prescott Hill Climb’, 9 April, 1955; Radio Times, ‘Television Trophy: Car Hill Climb Trial’, 1
October, 1955.
96
Baxter to Dimmock, 21 November 1956, BBC WAC T14/229/2.

207
Ministry of Fuel and Power had asked the BBC not to broadcast any motorsport
due to petrol rationing as a result of the ongoing Suez fuel crisis97.
The ‘BBC Television Trophy Car Hill Climb Trial’ returned in 1957 with the
BBC mainly struggling with bad lighting and weather conditions as well as
broadcast scheduling issues.98 Similarly in 1958, the BBC furthered the televised
nature of the Trophy by experimenting with a small radio camera as an onboard
camera.99 Although it was not used during the actual race due to unavailability,
it does indicate the BCC’s continued intent to raise the level of television
motorsport to televised motorsport. However, in the same edition, the issue of
broadcast scheduling reappeared in view of Sportsview handing over to the
newly formed Grandstand regarding Saturday scheduling. More so, then BBC 1
controller Paul Fox was instigating a policy of dipping in and out of various
sporting events during each episode which, according to him, would
considerably increase audience numbers.100 This reduced the traditional 60
minute Television Trophy Trial broadcast to 20 minutes, something Duncalf
strongly disapproved of and which, according to Duncalf, took too much
organizing for the BBC as a co-promoter of the event.101 As a result of the
mounting issues, the Television Trophy Trial struggled to conform to the latest
requirements of television broadcasting. Much like other television sport, it
would not be until the technological advancements of the 1960s before sport’s
fixed position on television would materialize fully.102

97
BBC, 26 November 1956, ‘Motorists Panic as Petrol Rations Loom’. Available at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/29/newsid_3247000/3247805.s
tm
98
Radio Times, ‘BBC Television Trophy Car Hill Climb Trial’, 23 November, 1957; Imhoff, 23
November 1957, BBC WAC T14/229/4.
99
Duncalf to Goff, 5 August 1958, BBC WAC T14/229/4.
100
Fox to Duncalf, 24 September 1958, BBC WAC T14/229/4.
101
Duncalf to Fox, 23 September 1958, BBC WAC T14/229/4; Fox to Duncalf, 24 September
1958, BBC WAC T14/229/4.
102
Whannel, Fields in Vision.

208
Overcoming Obstacles: From Hill Climbs to Rallycross
With the beginning of the 1960s, the BBC continued to broadcast varying motor
races including Formula 1 Grand Prix’s and sports car races e.g. ‘Motor Racing:
Le Mans – Raymond Baxter reports direct from the circuit on the latest
positions in the International Twenty-Four-Hour-Race’.103 In spite of this
continuation, the aforementioned technological constraints and issues from
the 1950s continued to limit televising motorsport by the BBC.104 For example,
and as table 1 indicates, broadcasting of hill climbs by the BBC during the
second half of the 1960s dwindled. The absence of hill climbs on the BBC during
the second half of the 1960s is, at least in part, due to the creation, of a new
winter series, namely Rallycross.105 Officially recognized by the Féderation
Internationale d’Automobile (FIA) in 1967, Rallycross is a motorsport series in
which ‘five [originally four] cars line-abreast at the start for short and sharp
races of 4 to 6 [short] laps on mixed surfaces, alternating between asphalt and
gravel’.106 Effectively combining the spectacle of rally driving with track racing,
the series was first devised by ‘pioneering’ television producer Robert Reed in
1966, with the specific intent of overcoming many of the existing constraints
and issues for televising motorsport, i.e. scheduling, lighting and bad-weather
(cancellations):
‘I got the idea while working on a wet hill climb event in
November 1966. […] There was no point booking another hill
climb because it could be cancelled again, so we needed to come
up with another event that could fill the gap when other sports
were stopped by the weather […] and leave holes in the TV
schedule when cancelled’.107

103
Radio Times, ‘Motor Racing: Le Mans’, 10 June, 1961.
104
Dan Wright, (2017, 10 February). ‘Rallycross 50th anniversary: TV Producer Robert Reed
Recalls Sport's History at Lydden Hill’, Kent Online, February 10, 2017,
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/sport/rallycross--how-it-all-120348/ (accessed
August 20, 2018).
105
Radio Times, ‘Grandstand’, 31 October 1970
106
Fèdèration Internationale d’Automobile, ‘FIA European Hill Climb Championship’.
107
Kent Online, 10 February 2017, ‘Rallycross at 50th Anniversary’.

209
For this, Reed adjusted the Lydden Hill (England) track that was visually
unobstructed for spectators and which required only four cameras to capture
the action,108 thus also reducing the issue of temporal fragmentation (cf.
Whannel)109. This further enabled commentators to see all competitors on the
track at all times and provide a continuous flow of information on all
competitors, even after a crash. Created entirely by and for television,
Rallycross thus adhered better to the maximum action in minimum space
principle than any previous series and as such provided more ‘[…] exciting and
spectacular motorsport.110 Although having been picked up by ABC TV and ITV
earlier, Rallycross was covered as a ‘popular winter series’ from 1968 onwards
as part of the BBC’s Grandstand programme.111 Grandstands’ exposure
subsequently contributed to the series huge rise in popularity through to the
rest of the decade as well as the century.112

Conclusion: The Post-war Years and Beyond

By means of an archival approach, this article has shown that due to the
significant technical and logistical difficulties associated with televising
motorsport, the BBC experimented with the format of the hill climb by
moulding it to fit television’s requirements more appropriately which resulted
in the creation of the Television Trophy Trial, the adoption of scrambling and
eventually in the rise of Rallycross. In view of Whannel’s suggestion that early
televised sport was not televisual,113 it would seem that the BBC was not only
using motorsport to its own benefit early on, i.e. from the early 1950s onwards,
but actively creating and representing motorsport as competitive and dramatic.
This, in effect, is in line with Crisell’s suggestion that ‘television graduated from
the modest onlooker to a mighty arbiter whom the world cannot oppose and

108
Ibid.
109
Whannel, Fields in Vision.
110
Radio Times, ‘Grandstand’, 17 October, 1970.
111
Radio Times, ‘Grandstand’, 31 October 1970; Kent Online, 10 February 2017, ‘Rallycross at
50th Anniversary’.
112
Ibid.
113
Gary Whannel, ‘The Unholy Alliance: Notes on Television and the Remaking of British Sport
1965–85’.

210
whose gaze it often courts’.114 In addition, the BBC’s creative intent regarding
motorsport was largely a reaction to a sharply increasing popularity for the
sport that enjoyed a strong grassroots or club foundation during the immediate
post-war period. Subsequently, the adoption of Rallycross by the BBC after ITV
and ABC earlier during the late sixties further suggests the BBC felt it needed to
cater to a continually expanding fanbase with further automotive and
motorsport oriented programmes such as, for example, Wheelbase, which ran
from 1964 to 1975. As such, this also indicates that with time, BBC broadcasting
of motorsport fell increasingly within Whannel’s concept of ‘infotainment’ as
increasingly documentary style reporting was combined with sporting
entertainment.115 Of course, the logistical struggle of broadcasting motorsport
live might have been overcome from the 1970s onwards, the struggle of
representing the sport and its proceedings during races lasts until the present
day. Even to this day, with digital technology now exploring the realm of virtual
reality and augmented reality to complement the many cameras on track,
onboard the race cars and in helicopters and drones, the struggle to make
motorsport real for viewers remains, in essence, ‘real’.

114
Crisell, An Introductory History of British Broadcasting, 174.
115
Whannel, Fields in Vision.

211
 FINAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The final part of this Ph.D. summarises the main findings of the five empirical
chapters in two ways. First, it combines and relates the results of the various
studies to the main research question(s) as formulated in the introduction,
namely how and to what extent does the media represent, i.e. frame, the
presence of ES in Formula E and how and to what extent does this affect the
overall representation of Formula E. This is followed, second, by providing an
indication on how these studies have addressed gaps in the current body of
research.

Addressing The Research Question(s)

As previously formulated in the introduction of this Ph.D., the main research

question consists of two parts and reads:
How and to what extent do the media represent ES in Formula E
and
How and to what extent does the framing of ES in Formula E affect the overall
representation of Formula E?

This Ph.D.’s five empirical chapters have addressed this question by adopting a
wide-angle approach. Indeed, chapters three through six all started by means
of conceptualizing ES and Formula E and their relationship with the media prior
to applying a textual analysis. Chapter three differentiated itself through a
political economy take on the self-representation of Formula E and ES where
the chapters four and five focused exclusively on representation by the media
for which they adopted a framing approach. Only chapter six included an
analysis that provided insight into both media production and audience
reception. Chapter seven used an archival and biographical approach to, first,
study the influence of the media on motorsport through broadcasting, and
second, as a means to provide further historical contextualization.

212
 In what follows, this Ph.D.’s research question will be addressed in two
parts, namely: first by summarizing the findings on the representation of ES by
the media and, second, by looking at the media (-ted relationship between the
representations of ES and) representations of Formula E.

Conceptualizing Representations of ES in Formula E

Throughout this Ph.D., the definition of environmental sustainability, or ES, in

sport has been described in the theoretical frameworks of chapter one to four,
namely that ‘sport is sustainable when it meets the needs of today’s sporting
community while contributing to the improvement of future sport
opportunities for all and the improvement of the integrity of the natural and
social environment on which it depends’ (Chernushenko, 2011) has been the
starting point for the conceptualization in the empirical studies. Interestingly
enough, empirical findings indicate only one frame comes close to embodying
this definition, i.e. the ‘Strong Ecological Message’ frame found exclusively in
the pre-race section of the inaugural Formula E broadcast. Constructed with a
positive moral evaluation and emerging from a contemporary context in which
ES plays an increasing part of people’s lives (Lester, 2010), the issue of this
secondary frame presents a message of ES for a more sustainable future in
relation to Formula E. However, a limited level of further detail and media
context to the frame hampered advancement of the story of ES, meaning the
frame functions mostly as a neglected frame throughout the sample of
broadcasts (chapter five) as well as throughout the entire media sample
analysed in this Ph.D. According to Boykoff (2013) this is the first of two often
recurring problems in relation to ES and other environment related topics.
However, the ‘Saving the Environment’ frame (chapter six) found in online
articles from 2013, 2015 and 2017 suggests differently, namely that the story
of ES ‘enjoyed’ sufficient context to be able to advance, or at least be
maintained, over time (although this was not the case for audience comments).
Much in line with previous findings on representations of environmental issues,
the ‘Saving the Environment’ frame’s emergence rests on the suggestion of an
urgent global necessity for sustainability (Lester, 2010; Cox, 2012), i.e. that

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climate change is posing one of the biggest challenges for current generations
(Abric, 2001). The main reason for this frame’s longevity is due to the significant
involvement of an A-list celebrity, namely Leonardo DiCaprio. Media messages
surrounding (1) co-foundership of a Formula E race team, (2) his appointment
as Chairman of the Sustainability Committee and (3) his appearance as the 2016
New York Formula E ePrix clearly provided a sustained base to (re)use this
frame. Indeed, DiCaprio functioned as a frame sponsor supporting and
elongating the diachronical relevance of the frame as well as exposure for
Formula E. Findings subsequently revealed a positively evaluated subframe that
focussed in particular on DiCaprio’s role as a ‘Hollywood Hero’, effectively
approving of DiCaprio’s achievement of combining Hollywood flair with
authentic intent to protect the environment (e.g. ‘award-winning actor and
environmental activist’ (The Green Living Guy, 2013)). Interestingly though,
audience comments revealed that both the ‘Saving the Environment’ and the
‘Hollywood Hero’ frame were not sustained throughout all three sample
periods, i.e. 2013 for the former and 2013 and 2017 for the latter, which leads
to suggest that the interpretation process associated with decoding the media
produced messages and frames allows audiences to read these frames in
various ways. The fact that the ‘Saving the Environment’ frame was not
sustained diachronically by audiences can be ascribed to two reasons. A first
plausible explanation is that after the initial ‘breaking news’ of DiCaprio’s
involvement with Formula E in 2013, the limited newsworthiness often
associated with media reporting of ES comes into play as the novelty effect –
certainly of Formula E and, to some extent, of DiCaprio’s involvement - wears
off over time (Lester 2010; Cox 2012, Panis & Van den Bulck, 2014). A second,
and additional, explanation is that the private life of the celebrity, i.e. DiCaprio,
which in this case consists of his Hollywood career and his personal health (see
Celebrity Health) frame, has a stronger attention-pulling power than his
political persona does (see chapter four: ‘Hollywood Hero’ and ‘Celebrity
Health’ frames). It needs to be said then that, when it comes to audiences,
celebrities and celebrity endorsement can help to raise and maintain attention
by making environmental narratives appear more truthful (Brockington, 2009),

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yet only to a certain extent. This is also directly dependent on the authenticity
of (Van den Bulck, 2018) DiCaprio, who is a hero to some but a hypocrite to
others (see frames ‘Hollywood Hero’ and ‘Celebrity Hypocrisy’). As such,
Boykoff’s (2013) first problem of a lack of context surrounding ES prohibits the
story from advancing diachronically, and thus successfully among these
audiences.
The presence of celebrity has further implications regarding the
representation of ES in Formula E. Although Formula E’s website as a tool for
controlling their own organizational identity revealed extensive efforts to
advance the story of embracing as well as of the necessity for ES (for example
through ES adverts, logos spread beyond the designated sustainability pages
and on two out of three webpages (n=201) of the website) in Formula E, the
website analysis (chapter three) also revealed that celebrities were significantly
represented. Indeed, along with other factors of commodification including
glamour, gamification and (ES) advertising, the celebrity factor, which also
included many textual and visual references to Leonardo DiCaprio, contributed
significantly to represent (ES in) Formula E as commodified. Although less
problematic than on Formula E’s own website, the commodification of ES in
newspaper articles and live-television broadcasts of Formula E remains firmly
within the boundaries of neo-liberalism and free-market capitalism (Carvalho,
2005). Indeed, the quantitative analysis of newspaper articles (chapter four)
revealed that topics such as research and development and politics were
mostly used in relation to ES. Similarly, the live-broadcast analysis (chapter five)
uncovered a clear intention by broadcasters to not integrate ES (see the
aforementioned and largely neglected ‘Strong Ecological’ frame). They did so
as to direct focus on building, which includes attracting existing, motorsport
audiences by means of maintaining values traditionally associated with
motorsport by audiences, such as speed, action and drama on track (Roy et al.,
2010). Indeed, the historical analysis of the BBC representation of motorsport
(chapter seven) indicated that, at least for television, broadcasters’ emphasis
remained firmly on trying to convey such values to audiences as realistically as
possible. With media technologies growing increasingly intricate, technological

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permutations have brought along new possibilities for the representation of
sport (Hutchins and Rowe, 2012; Sturm, 2017), which over time have further
reinforced such traditional motorsport values. Further, reconstructed frames
found in the live-broadcast analysis such as ‘Challenge, ‘Proper Motorsport’ and
‘Generating Conflict’ are some of the more dominant frames that broadcasters
use to help raise the sport’s profile (Helland 2007; Kidd 2003). The concerns by
broadcasters are thus largely cultural, economic and political as they are
directly linked to audience expectations, profit-making and
stakeholder/advertising commitments. As such, the concerns subsequently
highlight ‘an interdependence of sport, media, culture, commerce and politics’
which is inherent to the notion of mediatization (Sturm, 2017, p. 175; Billings
and Wenner, 2017). This subsequently brings us to the application of Boykoff’s
(2013) second problem: framing of ES, whether secondary or neglected, occurs
in terms of socio-political and potential economic concerns. However, the use
of the secondary frame ‘Strong Ecological Message’ by broadcasters in the pre-
race section of the inaugural Formula E ePrix and its change to a neglected
frame from then onwards implies the use of ES as a green selling card and
furthers the argument towards capitalist profit-making .
As much as ES either constitutes a frame per se (‘Strong Ecological
Message’), or whereby ES is very much a part of the construction of a frame
(‘Saving the Environment’) or where it only plays a limited part (e.g. ‘Hollywood
Hero’ and ‘EV Revolution’), these frames all share a positive moral evaluation.
Yet, factors of commodification such as celebrity presence and/ or involvement
present either in Formula E’s self-representational online identity, in online
media articles or socio-economic and political concerns by broadcasters to
generate audiences which quickly reduce ES to the side-line also contribute to
more critical, i.e. negative, moral evaluations. Media framing in newspapers
(chapter four) generated the secondary frame, i.e. ‘Green Farce’. Functioning
as a direct counter frame to the (Formula E as an) ‘EV Revolution’ frame and
indirectly to ‘FE Improves Motorsport’ (chapter six), this frame dismisses
Formula E’s technological and ES efforts, rendering them inadequate to offset
the series’ impact on its delicate urban surroundings following the racing in city

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centres. In this way, this frame links up with the previous representation of
motorsport, more specifically Formula One, as disruptive to the local public and
natural environment (Lowes, 2004; Sturm, 2018). Similarly, the ‘Formula E
Hypocrisy Ruins Motorsport’ frame claims Formula E only highlights EV’s
negative aspects by not being able to be sustainable itself. Bearing in mind the
concept of greenwashing as a limit of green communication which occurs as a
result of growing scepticism among the public when a company is not able to
live up to its environmental claims and/or promises (Platel, 2010; Barnfield,
2011, Cox, 2012; Cox & Pezzullo, 2015; Miller, 2016), these frames effectively
represent ES as a greenwashing tool for Formula E. Although the frame was
found in only a small minority of articles, the critical perspective in the self-
representational analysis of Formula E’s website (chapter three) raised the
issue of greenwashing, albeit less incriminating than those that the ‘Green
Farce’ frame raise. Indeed, much like Miller (2016) found in relation to Formula
One, Formula E’s website did not provide the fullest transparency regarding
data concerning international travel and as such, the total ecological impact of
Formula E could not be fully established in relation to the series’ offset.

Conceptualizing Representations of Formula E

With regards to the second research question and conceptualizing media

representations of Formula E, this Ph.D. identifies a number of patterns in
terms of media frame (re)occurrence.
When combining the findings from all studies, a first pattern of frames
emerges. Chapter four reveals newspaper articles largely framed Formula E in
terms of an ‘EV Revolution’. Herein, Formula E is presented as a solution that
can help mainstream and boost the lingering negative image of EV’s. More so,
the ‘Motorsport Improves EV’s’ frame found in online media articles (chapter
six) suggests both the media and audience commenters, albeit limited, also
consider that developments in motorsport directly and positively affect the
development of road-going EV’s. Taking a macro view of all findings, this
presentation of Formula E as a forward-looking motorsport series links up with
the ‘EV’s are the Future’ frame (chapter six) and the ‘Novelty’ frame (chapter

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five). These media frames are constructed on the basis of positive moral
evaluations. However, they, and in particular the ‘EV Revolution’ and ‘EV’s are
the Future’ frames, come about based on the underlying problem associated
with EV’s; namely that of significant negative characteristics compared to ICE
cars. Indeed, characteristics commonly associated with EV’s including boring,
slow, ugly, costly or impractical are inherent to two counter fames; ‘EV Image
Problems’, found in newspaper articles from both the UK and Flanders (chapter
four), and ‘EV’s are Problematic’, found in online media messages (chapter six).
The moral evaluation of the former frame suggests it could prove difficult for
the public to change their consuming behavior based on the negative
characteristics of EV’s. Indeed, as the online media article analysis (chapter six)
reveals, audience commenters followed a dominant reading of the frame
suggested by media throughout the three year period. According to Scheufele
(1999) and Van Gorp (2010), the construction of frames such as ‘EV Image
problems’ and ‘EV’s are Problematic’ by the media reveals they frame events
not just by applying journalistic values but also by being sensitive to
contemporary and social and cultural themes (Scheufele, 1999; Van Gorp,
2010). Considering the positive and negative EV frames set out above as well as
further drawing on Van Gorp (2010), it seems plausible to conclude that the
framing of Formula E, at least partially, occurs by means of an overarching and
culturally embedded EV frame.
A second pattern of frames emerges in relation to Formula E’s (motor)
sporting implications. The dominant ‘(Potential) Threat to Formula One’ frame
found in newspaper articles draws from the compromised ‘health’ state that
Formula One was considered to be in and suggests Formula E can capitalise on
this situation if it manages to further develop and improve on deficiencies that
emerge from adopting EV’s for racing purposes. These deficiencies are
subsequently what also led the media to construct the counter frame ‘Child’s
Play’, which also functions as a sub frame to the ‘EV Image Problems’ frame set
out prior. By means of this counter frame, the representation of Formula E is to
not be taken seriously in motor racing terms as it resembles, for example, a
Scalextric set. Subsequently, the representation of Formula E as a children’s

218
game would imply an intricate break away from values, norms and expectations
associated with motorsport. Media frames that represent ‘Formula E as a
Challenge’, ‘Facing the Unknown’ and ‘Generating Conflict’ (and its subframe
‘Generating Safety’) and as ‘Proper Motorsport’ in the live broadcasts indeed
seem to confirm the requirement of traditional values, norms and expectations.
Broadcasters construct these frames in order to be able to provide audiences
with a nostalgic experience based on motorsport as a symbolic arena where
plentiful drama can unfold (Crabbe & Brown, 2004; Kennedy & Hills 2009). The
significance of such traditional values for audiences cannot be underestimated
as the ‘Formula E Ruins Motorsport’ frame (chapter six) suggests. Exclusively
constructed by audience commenters, this frame posits that Formula E’s EV
shortcomings are extrapolated in a stereotypical racing environment where
traditional motorsport values are expected to contribute to the excitement of
motorsport rather than compromise it. Of course, and in line with sports
marketing strategies, additional frames by broadcasters are added carefully to
not only ‘enhance’ the fan experience but also position itself as a niche sport
and in doing so appeal to a truly global audience (Menzies & Nguyen 2012). One
such frame concerns the ‘Novelty’ frame which, according to Whannel (1992),
is commonly applied with the aim of generating additional and sustainable
audience numbers. Bearing in mind the above, this Ph.D. groups together most
of the frames included in this sub-section ‘(Potential) Threat to Formula One’,
‘Challenge’, ‘Facing the Unknown’, ‘Proper Motorsport’, ‘Generating Conflict’,
‘Generating Safety’ on the basis of a motorsport series that aims to perform
against rival series such as Formula One as well as for audiences as an
entertaining product (Roy et al., 2010). As such, these frames fall under an
overarching Performance frame (Lewis and Weaver 2013).
A third and final pattern which this Ph.D. addresses concerns the counter
frames ‘Child’s Play’, ‘Green Farce’, ‘Celebrity Hypocrisy’ and ‘Formula E
Hypocrisy Ruins Motorsport’. In their criticisms of Formula E, these four frames
share some of the following common traits, namely (1) inappropriate actions
and behavior, (2) two-faced characterizations and (3) a level of absurdity. These
traits also form part of what makes up the definition of a ‘farce’. Indeed, the

219
English Oxford Dictionary (farce, 2018) defines a farce as ‘A comic dramatic
work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude
characterization and ludicrously improbable situations’ and ‘An event or
situation that is absurd or disorganised’. As a result, this Ph.D. makes a case to
combine these frames constructed by on the one hand, newspaper media, and
on the other hand online media and subsequent audiences, and group them
under the common denominator, i.e. overarching, Farce frame.

Addressing Theoretical Gaps, Limitations and the Way Forward

By means of its five empirical studies, this Ph.D. makes an important

contribution to the current body of research in a variety of academic domains,
addressing a number of shortcomings.
The first gap this Ph.D. addresses relates to motorsport studies. More
than other sports, academic research into motorsport has been lagging behind
(e.g. Pflugfelder, 2009; Hassan, 2011a; Howell & Miller, 2014; Matthews and
Pike, 2016). However, a solid base of explorational studies have started to
reduce the fragmented nature of the field of study (Pflugfelder, 2009). Indeed,
there is now a significant body of literature focussing on American motorsport
and other global series, most notably Formula One (e.g. Grant-Braham, 1996,
Lowes, 2004; Tranter & Lowes, 2005; Tranter & Warn, 2008; Sturm, 2011;
Evans, 2013; Evans, 2014; Sturm, 2014; Miller, 2016; Naess, 2017; Sturm, 2017;
Lowes, 2018). Yet, as Howell and Miller (2014) indicate, the motor racing scene
is volatile and changes occur rapidly, requiring continued academic
reassessment. In addition, and speaking about CSR in Formula One, Naess
(2017) suggests a need for more research when it comes to a motor racing
organization’s relationship to larger societal issues. Considering the dramatic
rise of public and political acknowledgment of environmental issues in the 21st
century (Lester, 2010; Cox, 2012) and the impact this has on the workings of all
industries including (motor) sport, there exists a significant need to look at how
this manifests itself in the fast-changing field of motorsport. As such, this Ph.D.
veers away from traditionally researched motorsport series such as Formula
One or NASCAR to look at Formula E, the FIA’s most significant initiative

220
towards more sustainable motorsport through EV’s. As academic contributions
regarding Formula E start to emerge (e.g. Kalinauckas, 2016; Standaert &
Jarvenpaa, 2016; Standaert & Jarvenpaa, 2017; Sturm, 2018), this Ph.D.’s main
contribution in this respect lies with the scope of its systematic and diachronic
analysis, covering the first generation of Formula E since its initial launch in
Beijing in 2014.
Following this initial gap, some scholars have studied motorsport in
relation to the environment (e.g. Dingle, 2009; Miller, 2016; Sturm, 2018) and
the media (Evans, 2013; Evans, 2014), yet the Ph.D. is the first effort to date to
combine both. This is very timely considering (1) the significance of the media
in raising the global profile of ES (e.g. Lester, 2010; Savery & Gilbert, 2011; Cox,
2012), and sport (e.g. Wenner, 2002; Rowe, 2003; Boyle & Haynes, 2009) as
well as (2) the importance of sport as a platform to further ES awareness and
advocacy (e.g. Savery & Gilbert, 2011; Jarvie, 2018) and (3) that motorsport is
considered wasteful and environmentally damaging (Hickson, 2014; Miller,
2016). Regarding the latter, this Ph.D. takes the lead in understanding
empirically how a variety of media represents motorsport in relation to ES.
Indeed, this Ph.D. contains a number of empirically based chapters that
investigate representations of ES in Formula E by newspapers, broadcasters
and various online media from a production point of view. More so, it looks at
how ES in Formula E is received by audiences from aforementioned online
media and in relation to a social construct that is the celebrity activist. Another
empirically based chapter specifically looks at the self-representation of ES in
Formula E on their website, thus answering the specific need for more research
on motorsport organization’s CSR efforts in relation to larger societal, i.e.
including environmental, issues (Naess, 2017). As such, all of these chapters
shed valuable light onto the conceptualization of ES in Formula E as both a
commodified and, to a lesser extent, educational element which fulfills social
and economic functions in contemporary (sporting) society.
Third, Howell and Miller’s (2014, p. viii) suggest that (American)
motorsport fans value technical and innovative advancements, even if they
know only little about them. However, due to their exclusive focus on American

221
motorsport, claims beyond the USA are difficult to make. Indeed, going beyond
the situation in the USA, the newspaper analysis in chapter four of this Ph.D.,
in part, reveals the importance of technology and business in printed media
representing Formula E in the UK, a country which shares an elaborate
motorsport culture (House of Commons, 2010) with the USA. Yet, it also
indicates that this does not apply to Flanders, the Dutch speaking region in
Belgium, where reporting on (ES in) Formula E was minimal and predominantly
focused on sporting results. Adding a European perspective, albeit limited in
scope, these findings further corroborate Howell and Miller’s (2014, p. ix) claim
that motorsports are generally related to their historical eras and in relation to
regional locations.
Fourth, this Ph.D. combines a wide range of academic domains which
contribute to the multidisciplinary character of sport-media studies. Indeed,
and as Rowe (2003) suggests, the steep rise of academic interest in sport from
cultural studies, sociology, leisure and communication studies is due to its
connection as a socio-cultural institution with the politics and economics of
everyday global life. This consequently means it is perfectly suited for multi-
disciplinary research (Rowe, 2003). However, considering the extent of
contemporary research on sport, a vast majority of studies remain anchored
within a single academic discipline. This is even more so the case with
motorsport116. To address this and to bridge the gap between social sciences
and humanities, this Ph.D. constructs a multi-disciplinary character and
incorporates concepts and insights from differing academic domains relevant
for the study of sport and the media. In particular, the chapters in this Ph.D.
combine the disciplines (political) communication studies, cultural studies,
(sport) sociology and history. Indeed, the third chapter combines concepts from
political (economy) communication studies (e.g. commodification) and cultural
studies (e.g. representation) and mixes a quantitative content analysis with a
qualitative thematic analysis to gain insight into underlying socio-economic and
political workings of Formula E and the impact on ES. This combination of

116
An exception in this instance is Howell and Miller (2014) which combines cultural studies
with gender studies, media studies, sociology and aesthetic theory.

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quantitative and qualitative research provides not only broader insights, it also
sets up a bridging model for media research in chapter four, namely framing
(Reese, 2001; 2010). Functioning as a multi-paradigmatic research programme,
framing provides the best way to unearth more complex and latent structures
of meaning produced by the (newspaper) media (D’Angelo, 2002; D’Angelo,
2010). As such, this chapter effectively combines communication studies with
cultural studies to understand how ES in Formula E is represented in two
different regions. Similarly, chapter five combines elements from
communication studies, cultural studies and sociology. It uses a qualitative-only
framing analysis and indicates how ES’s presence and absence in broadcasts of
Formula E is rooted in society. Following this, chapter six employs a framing
analysis to examine the role of a celebrity in affecting representations of (ES in)
Formula E. As such, it combines communication studies with cultural studies
and provides a comparison between encoding and decoding (i.e. media and
audience) processes. Finally, chapter seven changes a framing analysis for an
archival analysis as it combines cultural and historical studies, or social sciences
and humanities. This enables this chapter to gain a detailed insight into the role
of television media in shaping motorsport.
Fifth, the historical focus on the BBC’s early broadcasting of motorsport
provides novel empirical evidence of the implications for the representation of
motorsport during the early years of television broadcasting as, here too,
motorsport of this era is largely bypassed. This is of specific interest considering
that, according to Whannel (1992), early sport in general was not televised.
However, the findings from chapter seven indicate that UK broadcasters during
the post-WWII period actively shaped and created motorsport to fit the
technological possibilities of representing motorsport as televisual, i.e. real
(Briggs, 1979).

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Issues for Future Research

As set out above, this Ph.D. addresses some potential shortcomings in the
current areas of media and (motor) sport studies, yet it also has a number of
limitations worth taking into consideration, especially with a view to future
research.
Considering the main research question focused on the media
production side of representation, audience reception was largely excluded
from this Ph.D.’s empirical studies. The aspect of media reception was included
as an area of study in chapter six as insights into the mediated relationship
between a celebrity, in this case Leonardo DiCaprio, and audiences often
provides additional and valuable information (Claessens, 2013; Van den Bulck,
2018). More work on how audiences respond to coverage of Formula E in
general and its relationship to ES in particular is required.
Second, the Ph.D. has made a partly conceptual, partly pragmatic choice
to focus on traditional forms of media such as newspaper articles and television
broadcasts along with ‘newer’ online media sources. Contemporary studies on
media-sport representations are starting to focus on social media. In this sense,
future research could focus on representations of Formula E and ES in the
context of social media.
A third area for future research revolves around the international scope
for analysis. Considering the inclusion of UK and Flemish newspapers in chapter
two provided a rich basis for comparative analysis and subsequently revealed
interesting differences, it might prove worthwhile to include other countries,
including those which the Formula E championship visits. Although beyond the
scope of a single Ph.D., such a study could draw, for example, from large-scale
media studies such as The International Sports Press Survey (Horky & Nieland,
2013) which includes newspaper analyses from 22 countries from around the
world. Indeed, this would benefit a more comprehensive view and could,
potentially, include systematic as well as case studies.
Finally, at the time of its initial conceptualization, this Ph.D. chose to
focus on Formula E as it represented the most significant electric motorsport

224
series that openly stated to embrace ES and drive EV technology and
awareness. However, since then, electric motorsport participation has
increased, e.g. Jaguar I-Pace Trophy, Pikes Peak Hill climb, Isle of Man TT, Dakar
Rally, and more series have been announced for the near future, e.g. World
Rallycross (WRX), Electric GT, ECTR (electric touring car) and MotoE. Formula E
has been able to establish itself as the go-to series for professional electric
motorsport, yet future studies should (1) continue to monitor Formula E’s
progression in terms of both self-representation and subsequent media
representations as well as (2) branch out and determine how other electric
motorsport series represent themselves and how the media represents them.
In doing so, future studies of motorsport will be able to engage with what
Hassan (2011b, p. 322) called the ‘fascinating future’ of motorsport, or, in this
particular case, the electrifying future of 21st century motorsport, a sport in
transition.

Reaching the Chequered Flag: A Final Summary

Addressing the main research question, the five empirical studies in this Ph.D.
have demonstrated that media represent ES in Formula E in a variety of ways.
Indeed, ES was significantly represented on many of Formula E’s webpages, and
although it experienced a level of commodification, it did contribute to the
sporting organizations’ identity of aiming to create more sustainable
motorsport and modes of transport. A number of multi-media analyses
however suggest a more complicated situation of representing ES in Formula E.
This Ph.D. indicated ES is never represented as a frame itself, but rather
as part of other frames. Primarily newspaper articles and a variety of online
news media along with subsequent audience commenters do so in a limited
number of frames. Such framing represents ES either as a necessary solution to
a variety of environmental issues and helps to validate Formula E’s intentions,
or as a basis for criticizing Formula E and accompanying celebrities such as
Leonardo DiCaprio in misusing ES for profit making, i.e. greenwashing,
purposes. More, DiCaprio’s involvement with Formula E was framed positively
and diachronically, indicating the celebrity’s ability to raise the issue of ES more

225
so than just Formula E can achieve. Audiences to these articles however framed
his involvement as hypocritical and as a result negatively impact Formula E’s
organizational image. Further, this Ph.D. also indicated that broadcasters of
Formula E only represented ES as part of a frame only used as an initial green
selling card, after which it was neglected throughout the rest of all broadcasts.
This deliberate neglect was due to the nature of the sports-media complex and
the need for broadcasting media to comply with advertising and stakeholder
commitments by creating nostalgic motorsport experiences based on
traditional motorsport values. Indeed, as this Ph.D. established, some early
broadcasters focused primarily on representing motorsport as televisual, i.e. as
realistic as possible. This firmly established and reinforced such ‘traditional
values’ in a period in which ES did not enjoy relevant public or media
significance. As such, this intent was further evident through a number of
frames underlying a performance frame used to represent Formula E across all
media. This Ph.D. further identified two more overarching frames relevant for
representing ES in Formula E, namely the ‘EV’ frame and the ‘Farce’ frame,
whereby the latter represented Formula E, and ES in Formula E, as considerable
negative.
Finally, this Ph.D. concludes by stating that media and subsequent media
texts prove instrumental in shaping our understanding of the meaning of both
Formula E and ES in relation to Formula E. Clearly, varying national media lenses
and the sort of media affect how and to what extent ES is represented. By
means of a multi-disciplinary and framing approach this Ph.D. has aimed to
compensate for a lack of media production research on (ES in) motorsport and
a need to combine insights from different academic fields including media,
(motor) sport, and environmental studies. These original shortcomings as well
as the findings of this Ph.D. should be monitored and developed further in
future research – both with regard to the conceptualization of ES in Formula E
and in other motorsport series as well as its meaning for audiences – as to a
certain extent audiences read media texts on ES in Formula E in different ways.

226
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 SUMMARY

Abstract in English
Media representations of environmental sustainability (hereafter: ES) in
motorsport, to date, have received little academic attention. This is surprising,
considering that recent events such as the Volkswagen scandal (Dieselgate)
have reinvigorated the debate about the sustainability and societal relevance
of the automotive industry. This, in turn, significantly compromised the existing
motorsport landscape by forcing manufacturers to pursue more sustainable
forms of motorsport such as the electric racing series Formula E. Embedded in
this lies an ideological debate on environmentally sustainable (motor)sport and
mobility. Existing studies point out the significance of mainstream media in
generating salience for issues such as ES. Research also shows that the media
scrutinize fossil fueled motorsport for its unsustainable practices. That said,
academic work on whether the media applies the same scrutiny to more recent
non-fossil fueled motorsport such as Formula E remains scarce. This Ph.D. aims
to address this void by providing more substantial research, combining the
areas of media, ES and motorsport.
To this end, a theoretical and analytical framework is developed.
Following an initial theoretical conceptualization of both ES and motorsport, a
constructivist perspective to representation is rendered, complemented by
secondary political economy and historical approaches. The main analytical
framework is based in a framing approach, a popular process in sports-media
communication studies that unearths how the media influence the messages
that audiences receive. Unlike previous research , this study takes a broader
overview of the sports-media relationships with respect to the environmental
debate. Therefore, a case-study design is followed and includes analyses of the
FIA Formula E website, newspaper articles, live television broadcasts , online

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news media and audience comments on celebrity involvement along with
bibliographical and archival materials on early BBC broadcasting of motorsport.
Results show diverse representations of ES in Formula E, differing
according to varying national media lenses and types of media. Although
commodified, ES contributes to a sporting identity of increased sustainability
on Formula E’s website. However, other media analyses indicate that ES takes
a secondary role in coverage, mostly represented as part of other frames. The
‘strong ecological message’ and ‘electric vehicle’ frames represent ES as a
necessary solution to environmental issues, effectively endorsing Formula E’s
intentions whereas a less frequent ‘farce’ frame represents it as hypocritical
and greenwashing practices. In effect, ES functions predominantly as a
‘neglected’ frame for two reasons. First, a ‘performance’ frame highlights the
symbiotic nature of the sports-media complex which requires broadcasting
media to comply with advertising and stakeholder commitments by generating
traditional motorsport value content. Second, in news media, ES still suffers
from a limited newsworthiness compared to other daily news.
The doctoral thesis concludes with addressing the theoretical gaps it
aimed to fill and a number of suggestions for future research into media
representations of ES in motorsport.

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 Abstract in Dutch
Racen naar een Duurzamere Toekomst? Mediarepresentaties van
Milieuduurzaamheid in Motorsport: De Elektrische Formule E

Tot op het heden hebben mediarepresentaties van milieuduurzaamheid

nauwelijks het onderwerp van academisch onderwerp uitgemaakt. Dit is
merkwaardig in het licht van recente gebeurtenissen zoals het Volkswagen-
Dieselschandaal die het ideologische discours omtrent duurzaamheid in de
auto-industrie aanwakkeren. Dit heeft constructeurs in de motorsportindustrie
gedwongen om op duurzamere alternatieven zoals de elektrische Formule E
over te schakelen. Eerder academisch onderzoek toonde enerzijds de rol van
de media om problematische onderwerpen zoals milieu prominenter te
profileren. Anderzijds toont onderzoek dat de media erg kritisch omgaan met
de op fossiele brandstoffen aangewezen motorsport. Evenwel is nog nauwelijks
onderzocht hoe de media berichten over de elektrische motorsport weergeeft.
Deze doctoraatsthesis beoogt een antwoord te formuleren op deze vraag door
middel van een substantieel onderzoek dat inzichten rond milieuduurzaamheid
en motorsport combineert met communicatiewetenschappen.
Op basis hiervan wordt zowel een theoretisch als een analytisch kader
ontwikkeld dat representatietheorie vanuit een constructivistisch perspectief
benadert. Het analytisch kader is voornamelijk gebaseerd op een ‘framing’
aanpak die vaker terugkomt in onderzoek naar de sport-media communicatie
en die aantoont hoe de media informatie op een bepaalde manier aan het
publiek presenteert. In tegenstelling tot voorgaande studies opteert deze
doctoraatsthesis voor een breed overzicht van de sport-media relaties in
functie van het milieudiscours. Om dit te verwezenlijken wordt een case study
ontwerp gevolgd, wat een combinatie van analyses van websites,
krantenartikelen, live televisie uitzendingen alsook archiefmateriaal mogelijk
maakt.

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 De resultaten tonen aan dat er, afhankelijk van de nationale media focus
en mediatypes, diverse representaties van milieuduurzaamheid in de Formule
E voorkomen. Zo levert milieuduurzaamheid, weliswaar gecommodificeerd,
een bijdrage aan de identiteit van de Formule E als sport op haar website.
Andere resultaten tonen echter aan dat milieuduurzaamheid een secundaire
rol in de mediaberichtgeving opneemt als deel van andere ‘frames’. Zo geven
het ‘sterk ecologische signaal’ frame en het ‘elektrisch voertuig’ frame
milieuduurzaamheid weer als een noodzakelijke oplossing voor
milieuproblemen en beamen zij de vooropgestelde intenties van de Formule E.
Het minder voorkomende ‘farce’ frame weerlegt dit op basis van referenties
naar hypocrisie- en groenwaspraktijken. In het algemeen functioneert
milieuduurzaamheid grotendeels als een ‘verwaarloosd’ frame omwille van
twee redenen. Ten eerste belicht een ‘prestatie’ frame het symbiotische
karakter van het sport-media complex wat voorschrijft dat mediabedrijven hun
verplichtingen naar adverteerders en aandeelhouders toe moeten nakomen, in
dit geval door inhoud op basis van traditionele motorsportwaarden te
genereren. Ten tweede, milieuduurzaamheid wordt nog steeds gehinderd door
een beperkte mate van nieuwswaardigheid in vergelijking met dagdagelijkse
nieuwsonderwerpen. De doctoraatsthesis eindigt met een bespreking van de
vooropgestelde theoretische doelen alsook enkele suggesties voor verder
onderzoek naar mediarepresentaties van milieuduurzaamheid.

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