Newspaper Analysis: The Times newspaper reporting of fatalities 1950 - 97

This section details the analysis I made of fatality reporting in The Times newspaper from 1950 - 1997. I considered all deaths that occurred in an F1 specification car at either officially sanctioned F1 races or during private testing - these death are listed in table 1. The analysis was made by reviewing newspapers after the day of the accident, noting Sunday editions were unavailable so Monday editions were reviewed in these cases. When a driver died after sustaining injuries the newspapers both after the date of the accident and the drivers death were reviewed. If no reference was found in the newspaper the following two days newspaper were reviewed. A table representation of the patterns found was made and may prove useful when discussing the analysis - table 2.

 Firstly, all but two fatalities were reported, the omissions being in the first eight years of the restructured F1 class. This suggests racing deaths have always been 'newsworthy'. Newsworthy refers to the aspects of an event which can be perceived as extraordinary, such as the unexpectedness of an event, the consequences of an event or the people involved. Stories may be hyperbolized to enhance, or some may say exaggerate, the stories newsworthiness. Racing fatalities fit the criteria of newsworthiness in many ways: whilst a known risk of racing a fatality is paradoxically unexpected - deaths cannot be predicted, the driver may have celebrity status which increases the personalization of the story, the time period of the accident is often short and there is a high degree of clarity of the event.

Analysis of The Times reporting shows a distinct change in the format of reporting. From 1950 until Schlesser's death in 1968 all deaths were reported in a distinct article in the editorial section of the newspaper whilst the associated race report was in the sports section. This would suggest that the reporting of a fatality was considered newsworthy for the general readership of the paper. The fatalities were effectively removed from the race setting and discussed in their own timespan. Articles detailing fatalities were often accompanied by file portrait or in-car photographs of the driver killed. This further enhanced the personalization of the story especially for members of the general readership whom may have little knowledge of the sport and couldn't 'put a face to the name'. It is also evident that from 1960 onwards there was an increasing tendency to use personal details and informal descriptions of the driver, for example, when Bandini was killed in 1967 he was described as:

"The handsome, dark-haired Italian"

(The Times 11^th May 1967)

From 1970 onwards the fatality and associated race reports were combined in a single article in the sports section of the newspaper. It is notable that from the late 1960s onwards there was increasing use of what I have termed 'crash photography'. Crash photography refers to photographs that show the crash, the aftermath or injured driver.

From 1978 fatality reports remained in the sports section as part of the race report but the reports were preceded by a front page 'taster' headline. It is not until De Angelis's death in 1986 that we see a return to a fatality report on the front page and when Ayrton Senna was killed in 1994 the fatality report was the main front page story accompanied by a large photograph showing the wreckage of his car.

The changing style of fatality reporting may be seen as becoming increasingly sensationalist By definition 'sensationalism' is to deliberately use language or matter to arouse intense emotional feeling amongst people. The use of crash photography, often very graphic, serves to heighten the emotional response of the reader and this is probably the most notable change in fatality reporting this analysis showed. During this analysis I noticed that the actual language of the fatality reports was very similar through all periods. Deaths have always been described in terms of tragedy and grief and there was no evidence of increasingly graphic language to describe accidents. Whilst it is important to recognize there have been many technical developments throughout the period studied which allows for the easy transfer of photographic images for inclusion in reports, it must be noted that the report on the 1955 Le Mans Tragedy was accompanied by crash photography and many photographs depicting F1 crashes exist in other publications suggesting they were available for use in the newspaper reports of the time.

In the 1950s the memories of World War II were still to the forefront of peoples' minds and this may be one reason why racing fatalities were not singled out and given large press coverage. This is not to say I favour the argument some put forward that in the wake of the war many people had a blasé attitude to racing deaths when directly compared to the enormous loss of life in the war. I would suggest the memories and consequences of the war were prominent in peoples' minds and day-to-day living. This idea is also proposed by Patrick Murphy and Eric Dunning in their work considering the press coverage of football spectator disorder. Murphy and Dunning go on to note that press coverage of football spectator disorder become more sensationalist during the 1960s and note this was a time when peoples' attention turned from the victory in World War II and public concern grew about social issues such as youth crime. My analysis shows reporting of racing fatalities also became more sensationalist during this period and therefore this aspect of social change, growing 'moral panic', may partly explain the change in reporting format.

It is during the 1960s that the sport underwent a process of professionalization including the professionalization of drivers. This period corresponds with the format of fatality reporting changing so that the deaths are noted as part of the race report in the sports section of the newspaper. Prior to professionalization and due to comparison with drivers of earlier times, racing drivers were often portrayed as 'gentlemen sportsmen' and this may be one reason their deaths were published in the editorial section. However, with the process of professionalization the competitors became increasingly identified by their sporting and career achievements and motor racing was perceived as a 'genuine' sport as opposed to a competitive leisure pursuit of the upper classes. This may partly explain why the format of fatality reporting changed during this period as editors perceived motor racing as eligible for inclusion in the sporting section.

During the 1970s the popularity of F1 was not extensive in Britain and in the analysis it can be seen that the racing fatalities of this time were reported in the sports section of the newspaper with the exception of Roger Williamson - who was the only British national to be killed during this time. When British driver, James Hunt won the World Championship in 1976 the popularity of F1 increased in Britain and remained high partly due to a succession of successful British drivers. During this period it is noted that whilst fatality reporting remained in the sports section of the newspaper there was a growing tendency to use taster headlines on the front page indicating a heightened interest in the sport and fatalities that occurred.

When Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were killed in 1994 there hadn't been a fatality at a race meeting since 1982 which heightened the shock of the deaths. The deaths received considerable media coverage especially the death of Senna who as a three time World Champion was a celebrity in both sporting and public life. The reporting of Senna's death was highly graphic; in relation to newspaper reporting many newspapers printed photos of the crash scene including frame by frame shots of the accident. The use of such photographs prompted little public debate on the use of such a graphic medium and when considered with other media such as television this may be an area of future debate. There was a more large scale public debate about such photography following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. Bill Boddy who has written a book on the history of motor racing at Brooklands, writes:

"I . . . dislike photos of fatal crashes published while those associated with them are still living, which is why you will find none in my Brooklands History".

(Boddy 1999:66)

Further Research: this issue could be expanded to consider the format of fatality reporting in other British newspapers including attention to the difference in formats between broadsheet and tabloid newspapers.

A similar analysis could explore the format of fatality reporting in other countries. Notable after Senna's death in 1994 was the number of articles dealing with the effect his death had on his team-mate, British driver Damon Hill and the reflections of other British F1 participants past and present - was this reflected in other countries newspapers, for example, did German newspaper produce articles regarding Michael Schumacher's reaction to the events?

Next Page: The Media and the Safety Issue.

Back: The Formation of the Grand Prix Medical Service and the FISA Medical Commission.

 Bibliography (or Go to my Book Reviews Page)

Bill Boddy - "Road Rage" article in Motorsports June 1999

(c)RH PR 2007