1. Introduction, 2. Spectacles of Otherness: Media, sports and disability dilemmas, 3. Riskier Representations: Channel 4’s public service broadcast model, 4. Normalising Disability: Mega-event media parity for the ‘superhuman’ supercrips, 5. Reframing Meanings: Encoding disability across multiple TV programme formats, 6. Marketing Parasports: Media, cultural production, and branded authenticity, 7. Conclusion
Carolyn Jackson-Brown is Senior Lecturer in Journalism & Sports Journalism at Leeds Trinity University, UK. Her research focuses on media production and representations of difference.
"In this important book Carolyn Jackson-Brown addresses the immense
role played by television in the representation of disability. She
presents a fascinating account of how public perceptions of
disabled sportspeople can be shifted from a discourse of
strangeness and embarrassment to admiration and inclusion. Many
books about television tell us about failures of representation;
this one presents a story of bold risk-taking." - Stephen Coleman,
Professor of Political Communication, University of Leeds, UK "It
is now clear that Channel 4’s broadcasting and promotion of the
2012 Paralympics was a turning point for disability and para-sport
broadcasting, which changed the conversation about disability in
the UK and had lasting reverberations for broadcasters across the
world. This unique book provides the definitive inside story of
Channel 4’s Paralympic broadcasting strategy towards 2012 and
beyond. Filled with rich insights and engagingly written
throughout, this book is the most in-depth study of Paralympic
broadcasting strategy to date." - Dan Jackson, Associate Professor
of Media and Communication, Faculty of Media and Communication,
Bournemouth University, UK
"In this important book Carolyn Jackson-Brown addresses the immense
role played by television in the representation of disability. She
presents a fascinating account of how public perceptions of
disabled sportspeople can be shifted from a discourse of
strangeness and embarrassment to admiration and inclusion. Many
books about television tell us about failures of representation;
this one presents a story of bold risk-taking." - Stephen Coleman,
Professor of Political Communication, University of Leeds, UK"It is
now clear that Channel 4’s broadcasting and promotion of the 2012
Paralympics was a turning point for disability and para-sport
broadcasting, which changed the conversation about disability in
the UK and had lasting reverberations for broadcasters across the
world. This unique book provides the definitive inside story of
Channel 4’s Paralympic broadcasting strategy towards 2012 and
beyond. Filled with rich insights and engagingly written
throughout, this book is the most in-depth study of Paralympic
broadcasting strategy to date." - Dan Jackson, Associate Professor
of Media and Communication, Faculty of Media and Communication,
Bournemouth University, UK"Jackson-Brown does an excellent job of
incorporating her study on athletes with disabilities and the
media’s influence … [she] has done the hard work of gathering the
necessary data and assembling it so it will be understandable to
the layperson. She illustrates how and why the Paralympic Games and
disabled athletes in general have become more accepted by sports
fans and the role that social media have played in that acceptance.
This book will appeal to any reader who is interested in the topic
of disability, sports, and the media. Summing Up: Recommended. All
readers." - S. J. Bryant, Michigan State University, CHOICE
magazine"British media scholar Carolyn Jackson-Brown’s newest
monograph, Disability,
the Media and the Paralympic Games, takes an inspiring and
informative perspective
on the issue. Her research casts light on the cooperation and
competitions between multiple
parties, including media professionals, national authorities,
private sectors, and disabled
people, in the production and meanings of normalized and
super-humanized disabled bodies
in the British television network Channel 4’s coverage of the 2012
London Paralympics." -- Shu Wan, University at Buffalo
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |