From yellow to blue: Exploring Lance Armstrong’s image repair strategies across traditional and social media

Communication and Sport

Volumn 3, Issue 2, 2015, Pages 196-218

  Hambrick, Marion E ^a   Frederick, Evan L ^b   Sanderson, Jimmy ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO   (United States)

^c CLEMSON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Identity; Image repair; Lance Armstrong; Social media; Twitter

Indexed keywords

EID: 85054790713     PISSN: 21674795     EISSN: 21674809     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/2167479513506982     Document Type: Article

References (37)

1. About USADA. (n.d.). USADA. Retrieved from http://www.usantidoping.org/about
2. Albergotti, R. (2012, August 20). Armstrong lawsuit dismissed. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100087239639044444350457760137 3048501222.html
3. Austen, I. (2012, February 3). Inquiry on Lance Armstrong ends with no charges. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/sports/cycling/federal-prose-cutors-drop-lance-armstrong-investigation.html
4. Benoit, W. L. (1995). Accounts, excuses, and apologies: A theory of image restoration strategies. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
5. Benoit, W. L. (1997). Image repair discourse and crisis communication. Public Relations Review, 23, 177–186.
6. Benoit, W. L. (2000). Another visit to the theory of image restoration strategies. Communication Quarterly, 44, 463–477.
7. Benoit, W. L. (2006). President Bush’s image repair effort on Meet the Press: The complexities of defeasibility. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 34, 285–306.
8. Benoit, W. L. (2011). NPR’s image repair discourse on firing Juan Williams. Journal of Radio and Audio Media, 18, 84–91.
9. Benoit, W. L., & Hanczor, R. S. (1994). The Tonya Harding controversy: An analysis of image restoration strategies. Communication Quarterly, 42, 416–433.
10. Brazeal, L. M. (2008). The image repair strategies of Terrell Owens. Public Relations Review, 34, 145–150.
11. Fisher, E. (2009, June 1). Flight of fancy? Sports Business Journal. Retrieved from http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2009/06/20090601/SBJ-In-Depth/Flight-Of-Fancy.aspx
12. Glantz, M. (2010). The Floyd Landis doping scandal: Implications for image repair discourse. Public Relations Review, 36, 157–163.
13. Hambrick, M. E., Simmons, J. M., Greenhalgh, G. P., & Greenwell, T. C. (2010). Twitter in sport: A content analysis of professional athlete tweets. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3, 454–471.
14. Kassing, J. W., & Sanderson, J. (2015). Playing in the new media game or riding the virtual bench: Confirming and disconfirming membership in the community of sport. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 39, 3–18.
15. Kaye, B (2005) It’s a blog, blog, blog world: Users and uses of weblogs. Atlantic Journal of Communication 13, 73–95.
16. Lagos, M. (2012, June 22). Prop. 29 cigarette tax backers concede defeat. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Prop-29-cigarette-tax-backers-concede-defeat-3656640.php
17. Legg, K. L. (2009). Religious celebrity: An analysis of image repair discourse. Journal of Public Relations Research, 21, 240–250.
18. Len-Rios, M. E. (2010). Image repair strategies, local news portrayals, and crisis stage: A case study of Duke University’s lacrosse team crisis. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 4, 267–287.
19. Macur, J. (2012a, August 23). Armstrong drops fight against doping charges. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/sports/cycling/lance-armstrong-ends-fight-against-doping-charges-losing-his-7-tour-de-france-titles.html
20. Macur, J. (2012b, October 22). Lance Armstrong is stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/sports/cycling/armstrong-stripped-of-his-7-tour-de-france-titles.html
21. Macur, J., & Austen, I. (2013, January 18). Amid tears, Armstrong leaves unanswered questions. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/19/sports/cycling/amid-tears-lance-armstrong-leaves-unanswered-questions-in-oprah-winfrey-interview.html
22. McGuire, J. (2012). Excellence in broadcasting? Rush Limbaugh and image repair in the Sandra Fluke controversy. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 19, 206–220.
23. Meng, J., & Pan, P. L. (2013). Revisiting image-restoration strategies: An integrated case study of three athlete sex scandals in sports news. International Journal of Sport Communication, 6, 87–100.
24. Pilon, M. (2012, October 10). Armstrong finds a mixed reception in triathlon. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/sports/cycling/lance-arm-strong-draws-mixed-reception-from-triathlon-community.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
25. Sanderson, J. (2008). The blog is serving its purpose: Self-presentation strategies on 38pitches.com. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, 912–936.
26. Sanderson, J. (2009). ‘‘You are all loved so much’’: Exploring relational maintenance within the context of parasocial relationships. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 21, 72–83.
27. Sanderson, J. (2010). ‘‘The Nation stands behind you’’: Mobilizing social support on 38pitches.com. Communication Quarterly, 58, 188–206.
28. Sanderson, J. (2011). It’s a whole new ballgame: How social media is changing sports. New York, NY: Hampton Press.
29. Sanderson, J. (2013). Stepping into the (social media) game: Building athlete identity via Twitter. In R. Luppicini (Ed.), Handbook of research on technoself: Identity in a technological society (pp. 419–438). New York, NY: Idea Group Global.
30. Sanderson, J., & Cheong, P. H. (2010). Tweeting prayers and communicating grief over Michael Jackson online. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30, 328–340.
31. Sanderson, J., & Emmons, B. (2014). Extending and withholding forgiveness to Josh Hamilton: Exploring forgiveness within parasocial interaction. Communication and Sport, 2, 24–47.
32. Sanderson, J., & Kassing, J. W. (2011). Tweets and blogs: Transformative, adversarial, and integrative developments in sports media. In A. C. Billings (Ed.), Sports Media: Transformation, integration, consumption (pp. 114–127). New York, NY: Routledge.
33. Shepard, R. (2009). Toward a theory of situated atonement: A case study of President George W. Bush’s response to the Abu Ghraib torture scandal. Communication Studies, 60, 460–475.
34. Smith, E. (2012). Corporate image and public health: An analysis of the Philip Morris, Kraft and Nestlé websites. Journal of Health Communication, 17, 582–600.
35. Smithson, J., & Venette, S. (2013). Stonewalling as an image-defense strategy: A critical examination of BP’s response to the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Communication Studies, 64, 395–410.
36. Walsh, J., & McAllister-Spooner, S. M. (2011). Analysis of the image repair discourse in the Michael Phelps controversy. Public Relations Review, 37, 157–162.
37. Weprin, A. (2013, January 18). 3.2 million people watch Oprah Winfrey-Lance Armstrong interview on OWN. Retrieved from http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/3-1-million-people-watch-oprah-winfrey-lance-armstrong-interview-on-own_b163089