Fewer Canadians than ever are lacing up skates, swimming lengths at the pool, practicing their curve ball, and experiencing the thrill of competition. However, despite a decline in active participation, Canadians spend enormous amounts of time and money on sports, as fans and followers of sporting events and sports culture. Never has media coverage of sports been more exhaustive, and never has it been more driven by commercial interests and the need to fuel consumerism, on which corporate profits depend. But the power plays now occurring in the arena of sports are by no means solely a matter of money. At issue as well in the media capture of sports are the values that inform our daily lives, the physical and emotional health of the population, and the symbols so long central to a sense of Canadian identity.

Writing from a variety of perspectives, the contributors to this collection set out to explore the impact of the media on our reception of, and attitudes toward, sports—to unpack the meanings that sports have for us as citizens and consumers. Some contributors probe the function of sports as spectacle—the escalation of violence, controversies over drug use, and the media’s coverage of tragic deaths—while others shed light on the way in which the media serve to transform sports into a vehicle for the expression of identity and nationalism. The goal is not to score points but to prompt critical discussion of why sports matter in Canadian life and culture and how they contribute to the construction of identity.

David Taras holds the Ralph Klein Chair in Media Studies at Mount Royal University. He is the author of several books, including The Newsmakers: The Media's Influence on Canadian Politics (1990) and Power and Betrayal in the Canadian Media (2001), and co-author of Last Word: Media Coverage of the Supreme Court of Canada (2005).

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Christopher Waddell is associate professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University, where he holds the Carty Chair in business and financial journalism. He was formerly national editor for The Globe and Mail and Parliamentary bureau chief for CBC television news.

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