Book

Every day, Russian sports media publish hundreds of news stories about football, hockey, and the Olympics. But when the Paralympic Games end, the coverage of adaptive sport practically vanishes. Why do athletes with disabilities, who achieve world-class results, remain invisible for 50 weeks out of 52? This book delivers the first systematic quantitative analysis of this media inequality in Russia. Drawing on content analysis of the two largest sports platforms — Championat.com and Sports.ru, their social media accounts, and a survey of 290 respondents — the author exposes a structural bias. During non-Olympic periods, para-sport accounts for less than 0.07% of the total news flow. 89.6% of the audience rarely or never encounters para-sport news. By applying agenda-setting and framing theories, the study reveals the vicious circle of invisibility: media neglect suppresses public interest, which in turn justifies editorial indifference. More than just a diagnosis, this book offers concrete recommendations for media outlets, sports federations, and policymakers to build a truly inclusive sports media landscape. Essential reading for journalists, sociologists, sports managers, and anyone concerned with fairness and representation in modern media.