National News and the Olympics. The Delfi articles on the 2018 Olympics are fairly straightforward, with the first article, published on January 19th, 2018, sharing what the doping scandal will do to the 199 xxx.XXXXX.xx, “МОК не одобрил участие в Олимпиаде 111 российских спортсменов.” 200 xxx.XXXXX.xx, “Дукурс” 201 xxx.XXXXX.xx, “Дукурс” Russian team in terms of athlete numbers and discussing what Russian participation will look like for the 2018 Games. The article doesn’t give much of a hint to the journalist’s or paper’s internal feelings, however, the article doesn’t suggest that the Russian team has been treated unfairly in the aftermath of the doping scandal, potentially shedding light on the readership base of Delfi. Due to the internet portal being most popular among Latvian-speakers, the audience may not be as sympathetic to the woes of the Russian athletes as a Russian-speaking audience would be. The second article, published about a week and a half later, brings attention to the statements made by Latvia’s skeleton coach Dainis Dukurs—who clearly states his views that the Russia’s doping scandal didn’t result in adequate punishment, impacting what should be his son’s world championship.202 The article offers Dukurs’s beliefs in order to resonate with readers, and to portray a viewpoint showing Russia’s athletes as being above the law, as the Arbitration Court’s decision demonstrates. Delfi’s first article focusing on the doping scandal, and second article spotlighting the Latvian skeleton coach’s view, tie into each other. While the first article introduces the 2018 Winter Olympics controversy to readers, the second article then makes a statement in portraying a certain narrative which shapes how the doping controversy may be viewed. Vesti also published a piece regarding the 2018 Olympics. Titled “Russian athletes will suffer humiliation at the Olympics”, the Vesti article discusses the IOC’s parameters for Russian participation at the 2018 Olympics in the context of Russia’s doping scandal. The article brings up that the parameters seem like a humiliating 202 xxx.XXXXX.xx, “Дукурс” punishment to many people against the Russian athletes who are participating, while others, such as the International Olympic Committee see the parameters as a justified punishment. The article mentions the IOC’s reasoning behind its decision to first name the team Authorized Neutral Athletes at the World Championships, and then name the team the Olympic Athletes from Russia for the 2018 Winter Ol...
