Few studies on sport and communication consider how environmental issues are reported on—especially in non-Western media. In this article, we report findings from a study of South Korean mainstream and alternative print media coverage of the controversial development of Mount Gariwang for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Our study focused on (1) how the decisions and events unfolding around the development of Mount Gariwang were portrayed in South Korean mainstream and alternative news coverage and (2) how the issues at play were politicized and/or depoliticized within and across these outlets. We found that differences in coverage of environmental issues were starkest between, on one side, conservative mainstream media and, on the other side, left-leaning mainstream and alternative media outlets. We also found that environmental controversies were variably politicized or depoliticized in differently positioned media outlets—with left leaning and alternative media highlighting concerns about Olympic-related hypocrisy and corruption, and right-leaning media usually featuring depoliticizing statements from Olympic and government elites. All media outlets highlighted questions about why viable and existing venues were not being used instead of Mount Gariwang, with economic and environmental issues being emphasized differently across outlets. We conclude with reflections on the relevance of our findings for considering links between sport, mediatization, journalism, and environmental politics and suggestions for future research in international coverage of sport- and mega-event-related environmental issues.

Across newsrooms and journalism schools, questions as to what constitutes or 'counts' as excellent reporting are currently inciting much debate. Among the various frameworks being put forward to describe and encourage 'excellent' journalism in its various forms, sport is seldom mentioned-a legacy perhaps of its perennial dismissal as trivial subject matter. This essay grew from our curiosity as to whether the reverse was also true: that is, whether and what those who study sports journalism and sports media-in particular sociologists of sport-have contributed to understandings of 'best' and even excellent journalistic practice. We identified and analysed 376 articles from eight leading scholarly journals that feature sports media research with the aim of examining instances where 'excellent' sports reporting was either highlighted, described or advocated. After outlining the major themes that emerged from this analysis, we reflect on why so few of the sampled articles explicitly advise on what best practice sports journalism might look like-especially when it comes to coverage of the sportrelated social issues that sociologists of sport tend to focus on-and why so little theoretical attention has been afforded to the question of excellent sports journalism more generally. While there are good sociological reasons for focusing on problematic sports reporting, on structural and systemic issues in which media are implicated, and on producing alternatives to hegemonic sports media, we conclude that it is high time for instances of excellent sports journalism to be afforded the theoretical and empirical attention long granted to their 'bad' journalistic counterparts.

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This study examines mainstream news media framings of North Korea and the inter-Korean relationship in the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, focusing on the role that the media played in privileging particular understandings of nationalism, conflict and reconciliation. Print news articles from South Korea and English-speaking western nations were collected and analyzed. The results illustrate notable differences between South Korean and western media coverage of North Korea's involvement and the inter-Korean relationship. Western representations of North Korea featured discussions of controversies pertaining to the North Korean government, and often deemphasized or dismissed athletes' efforts. South Korean coverage included few reflections on socio-political problems related to North Korea, but highlighted athletic accomplishments. Emphasis on division was also found more often in western coverage of the inter-Korean relationship as compared to South Korean coverage.