ABSTRACT
The aim of our study is to understand the role the media in the construction of the controversy surrounding Froome’s performance during the 2015 Tour de France. With the analysis of a French media corpus (press and TV channel), we were able to better understand how they interact with the other actors of the ecosystem of the cycling performance: (1) the scientific experts who are at the beginning of the controversy, (2) the cyclists and the teams who defend themselves after the firsts attacks, and (3) the other media and journalists who take part in the controversy. The study shows that to be legitimate in the ecologic system of cycling, actors need some specific ‘symbolic capital’ (Bourdieu, 1994). At the same time, to be legitimate in the controversy, they have to find a global recognition of their symbolic capital to have a discourse with authority and to be considered as the trustworthiest. Hence, as the media possess the power of the visibility, they played a key role in the controversy and modified the cycling ecology. They are able to act on the confidence relationships between the ‘audience’ (Abbott, 1988) by building the reputation of actors. They give visibility to the ‘devices of confidence’ (Quéré, 2011) that are a basis of information on which people can rely to build their judgment. Finally, the media reaffirm their position and editorial line, more or less critical and investigative, in order to satisfy their readership and preserve their specific symbolical capital in the media field.
