ZeMKI members at the 8th Annual Conference of the DGPuK Media Sports and Sports Communication Expert Group

The 8th annual conference of the DGPuK Media Sports and Sports Communication expert group took place in Frankfurt am Main from September 17 to 19, 2025, under the theme of “Sustainability & Diversity in Sports Communication.” Together with ZeMKI graduate Antonia Abs, ZeMKI members Dr. Philip Sinner and Dr. Erik Koenen gave a presentation entitled “Winter is coming: The ideological messages of National Socialist sports propaganda posters from 1933 to 1939.” In the underlying study, which is based on an image analysis by Philippe Viallon, all propaganda posters found in the Federal Archives and the Berlin State Museums that can be broadly classified as relating to the subject of sport were evaluated in terms of content. The study divided the period under investigation into the time before and after the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. This made it possible to trace how the imagery and language used changed and became more intense over time. While the focus at the beginning was on the fundamentals of Nazi ideology and the emphasis on the national community, after the Olympic Games the message clearly shifted to health aspects (for women), the promotion of military capability (for men), and the militarization of society. The results are a warning sign: even today, authoritarian regimes in particular rely on the prestige of major sporting events and engage in sportswashing. In addition, sports campaigns are still being used to promote national pride, differentiate themselves from other countries, and distract from other domestic and foreign policy issues. The imagery, text, and color scheme often draw on principles developed in the German Reich in the 1930s. As a further result of the study, several posters that had previously been archived without a publication date could be assigned to the two periods.

In addition to the scientific program, several so-called practice panels were held, in which representatives from civil society, the media, and sports organizations and companies discussed current topics and challenges. Two of these panels were led by ZeMKI member Dr. Philip Sinner together with Prof. Dr. Markus Schäfer (Macromedia University). The first panel was entitled “Strategies & Challenges in (Crisis) Communication by Sports Organizations.” In it, David Profit, President of the German Swimming Association (DSV), first provided insight into the realignment of the DSV’s organizational communication and, in particular, how sexual violence in swimming is being addressed. The subsequent discussion focused on the sexualization of sport in the media, self-promotion and marketing of athletes in (social) media, the risks of self-commercialization, and training by clubs and associations. The second panel was entitled “Diversity in Sports Communication.” The guests were Dr. Peggy Bellmann, Head of Diversity at the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), and Eva Werthmann, Head of Association Communications and Press Spokesperson for the DOSB. The topics of discussion were the use of and handling of AI filters to protect athletes on social media, which the DOSB offers to members of Team Germany in collaboration with the company Sportradar, the challenges of international sports communication with stakeholders such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its member countries, and communication preparations for the XXV. Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, the XXXIV. Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles and a possible bid by Germany to host the Olympic Summer Games in 2036, 2040, or 2044.

Organizational matters: Elections were held at the expert group’s general meeting on September 18, 2025, in accordance with the DGPuK statutes. ZeMKI member Dr. Philip Sinner was re-elected as spokesperson for the section for another two-year term. Dr. Jörg-Uwe Nieland (AAU Klagenfurt) was elected as deputy spokesperson. The mid-level faculty also elected a new team of spokespersons: Chiara Gethmann and Marc Tietjen (both DSHS Cologne). The next annual conference of the expert group will take place in September 2026 at the Kiel University of Applied Sciences. In 2027, ZeMKI will host the conference in Bremen.