ABSTRACT
The 1998 World Cup will be seen as a landmark event in French media history. The media as an industry, the World Cup laid bare the competing energies which drive and distort it, including advertising, ownership, technology, finance, and society and government policy. Older media such as radio and press embraced the new by broadcasting and publishing on the Internet. France Football avoided the controversy excited by its stable-mate, having long maintained a loyal stance towards Jacquet. The World Cup marked a brave departure for Radio France, the national public service network, which comprises different channels. The World Cup demonstrated the desire of television producers to transform sports events into something better than ordinary reality, with Canal Plus Charles Bitry declaring with vaulting ambition. The consumers of Frances highly mediatised sports coverage could be forgiven in the future for wondering if they are watching a real event or a media-created virtual reality.
