A narrative perspective on the press coverage of Tiger Woods: temporary fall from grace of the hero or a trickster forever?

TL;DRAbstract

From a storytelling perspective, journalism is considered to be a powerful myth making force. Journalists are seen as modern minstrels, continuing a storytelling tradition that started in the oral tradition (e.g. Aitchison, 2007). News stories can be compared with societal narratives that offer “exemplary models that instruct and inform” (Lule, 2005, p. 104), and which are based on archetypal structures. One of the most common archetypes in the news is the hero. Sport journalism and sport in general is the domain par excellence for modern day heroes, although media scholars are divided concerning the question if the modern age still produces heroes, e.g. Boorstin (1992) and Drucker (2008), who claim that the celebrification process means the death of the traditional hero. However, for other scholars it is clear that heroes still exist, and that sports is one of the most fruitful domains for the creation of heroes (Parry, 2009; Whannel, 2002). Tiger Woods has been one of the most promin

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