Western U prof explores media coverage of Paralympics

Five-timeparalympianTodd Nicholson has done his share of interviews with media organizations, answering questions that cover everything from his role on Canada's champion sledge hockey team to questions he considers borderline inappropriate.

"I used to get asked all the time how I put on my pants or who gets me dressed in the morning," Canada's current chef de mission for the 2018Paralympicssaid over the phone from Ottawa.

The impact of these experiences on athletes and the public perception of people with disabilities are driving a group of international researchers to embarkon a study examining media coverage oftheParalympics.

"The stories are typically based around a tragic narrative ... the athlete ... had to overcome to make it to the games," said Western University's LauraMisener,who is gathering Canadian material for the team based in England's Dorsetregion.

Calling it the "supercrip" narrative, she points to various stories aboutprominent Canadianparalympians.

"Take sit-skier JoshDueckand notice how often the story focuses on how he ended up in a chair and how he's worked hard to overcome mobility issues," Misener said.

Shequestions why this type of narrative always overshadows the athletic talent of the athlete.

"These people are elite in their sport and 'overcoming' their disability is not part of how they got there."

Reporters don't do homework

Nicholson agrees reporters often want to focus on how he becameparaplegic, questions he doesn't mind answering for clarity, but he says reporters have consistently lacked basicknowledgeaboutpara-sports.

"One of the biggest challenges I faced with the media was always having to explain my sport," explained Nicholso, who was on sledge hockey teams that won gold inTorino, silver inNaganoand bronze inLillehammer.

Journalists come to interviews not knowing the game, the athletes or who qualifies to play.- Todd Nicholson, Chef de Mission Paralympics 2018

Nicholson recalls reporters coming to interviews not knowing the players,the rules of play or what type of athletes competed, something he said would never happen in the NHL.

Researchers plan to probe how networks decide who covers theParalympics, including comparing experience levels to the teams sent to the Olympics.

Canadian athletes say coverage of theParalympicsis improving, with Nicholson and the researchers agreeing thatVancouver was a turning point for more accurate representation of athletes.

The research team is currently working with Channel 4 in the UK and hopes the CBC will agree to participate.