Abstract

Media coverage affects the perceptions and opinions not only of the individuals who are exposed to it but also those who have no direct experience of the specific circumstances covered by the media. Because media plays a fundamental role in the (re)production of cultural values and social identities, researchers, athletes, and organizers alike consider it an essential tool for publicizing Paralympic sport and Games. This article discusses broad themes and issues concerning the underlying assumptions, frames, and patterns in the interviews with a sample of journalists who covered the Rio Paralympic Games. The article starts outlining the central debates in the existing literature regarding media representations of disability and disability sport that help situate the subsequent discussion of the media frames as they relate to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Following an overview of the study’s methodology, the article moves to discuss the journalistic frames identified in the interviews and concludes by outlining the potential effects of journalistic framing of the Rio Paralympics for the empowerment and inclusion of disabled athletes and disabled people in Brazil.