The introduction of Social Media (SM) into sports communications in professional leagues is disrupting the traditional methods of sports media relations. In the past, teams used websites to post information for fans, but it was strictly a one-way format of communication whereby a story was posted for fans to read. To fully engage with this new communication channel, the sports communications departments in professional leagues have begun to use SM to communicate directly with fans through platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Currently, SM like Twitter allows the team communication departments to communicate directly with fans in an interactive two-way format that is not mediated by a reporter or someone from a traditional media outlet. In addition, the open format of SM means that media relations staff are no longer the only intermediary between the media and the players; through the use of SM like Twitter, a professional athlete can now communicate directly to fans without gatekeepers like the media or the sports communications department of the team. This thesis will explore how SM has changed media relations from several different perspectives. The first perspective is related to the risks that are associated with the use of SM by professional athletes: without an intermediary or a filter for athlete-fan communication, many athletes have caused irreparable damage to their reputation and the reputation of their team. The second perspective is related to the benefits for teams that use SM as a platform to connect with fans: the ability to connect with fans using SM is new to sports communications and represents an interactive one-to-one and one-to-many mode of communication through which the fan can directly communicate with the team. Finally, this research will look at how Twitter has changed media relations in sports from the perspective of the lived experiences of people who work in sports media. To explore the risks associated with athletes’ use of social media, this research used Situational Crisis Communication Theory as a theoretical framework to explore reputation-damaging incidents that occurred through social media. The study reviewed national media stories reported in North America from 2009 to 2010 that were perceived to have negative impact on athletes’ reputation. In total, 17 incidents were reviewed — seven incidents in particular demonstrated the athlete as the source of the SM crisis. Through the review and categorization of these 17 situations, the study was able to identify four broad categories of situations that a sports communication manager needs to be prepared for. The four categories identified were “Rookie Reporter”, “Team Insider”, “Opportunist”, and “Imposter”. Each of these categories are invaluable for team communication managers to recognize in order to address the risks associated with social media. To explore the benefits associated with the communications department’s use of social media, this research used Uses and Gratification theory as a theoretical framework to explore how and why fans followed team Twitter accounts. This study was conducted in partnership with the Canadian Football League (CFL) and a total of 526 people responded to an online survey that was tweeted out to them for their feedback. The results of the survey indicated several significant findings — in particular, the phenomenon of converged sports fan consumption was identified, which has not been previously acknowledged in academic research. The phenomenon of converged sports fan refers to the multi-screen environment whereby a sports fan decides where, when, and how they want to consume sporting content. This research identified that in-game consumption of SM while watching television and the mobile consumption of SM are both dominant ways for fans to interact with their teams. This multi-modal format of connecting with the team supports the idea of Henry Jenkins’s Black Box Fallacy (2006, p. 13): as teams move forward in developing communications platforms to reach their fans, they will need to recognize that all channels can and do work together. In order to further understand how Twitter has changed sports media relations, the study used long semi-structured interviews with a phenomenological research design to understand how Twitter has impacted sports media relations. The phenomenological analysis of the informant interviews suggested that Twitter is the source of three themes of change: general media relations, mechanical job functions, and other changes specific to sports media relations. The significance of Twitter’s impact on sports media relations cannot be understated. With the ubiquitous use of SM like Twitter, it is important to understand how sports media relations can use SM to manage the image of their respective teams and athletes. After looking at SM and sports from three different perspectives, the pivotal finding was the role that Twitter and mobile communications play in ‘flattening’ sports media relations. Similar to how Friedman (2006) argued that the convergence of the personal computer drove globalization, Twitter and the increased adoption of mobile communications have flattened the role of sports media relations. This research will explain how the flattening of sports media relations happened and what the implications might be for sports media professionals.

Title: Requirements of Selected Czech Media for Media Relations of Sports Organisations Objectives: The objective of this thesis is to synthesize sports media's opinions on media relations of sports organizations in Czech republic. The aim is to create a document that will have the potential to improve communication between media and Czech sports organizations. Methods: The qualitative method of interviews was used for data collection, alongside with a guideline based on theoretical framework. Respondents were selected by targeted sampling employing criteria. Interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed into written form. Obtained data were processed by the deductive method of thematic analysis. Results: The result of this thesis is a summary of requests from media representatives. The results reflect the theoretical framework with practical comments for the Czech sports environment. Overall, media representatives focus on trust from sports organizations and their representatives. They recall that a media output is also a part of a sports career of athletes. They wish to be seen as someone who is a partner in spreading information to the public and fans, not as an enemy. Keywords: public relations, communication, press release, press conference, sports media, media guide, media room,...

This thesis deals with the analysis of Gabriela Koukalová's media portrayal in selected print media in the period January 2017 - June 2019. This period was determined due to changes in Gabriela Koukalová's professional focus, as early 2017 she was a successful biathlete who has many victories from international competitions. She stopped racing in autumn of 2017 and due to the controversial biography she published in 2018, she announced retirement from her biathlon career in 2019. ​The aim is to find out whether the media image of Gabriela Koukalová at a time when she was a top biathlete differs from the media image that she had when she stopped competing. ​The theoretical part presents the role of the media in society and the theoretical definition of the construction of the media image. This section also includes mediasport, and media portrayal of biathlon and women in sports. The methodological part of the work describes the chosen analysis methods and the process of data recording. The analytical part of the work is devoted to the interpretation of the obtained results.

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Uppsatsens syfte är att studera skillnader mellan kultur- och sportjournalistik för att kunna undersöka vad dessa skillnader har för grunder och betydelser för vår uppfattning om kultur och sport i samhället. Varför låter sport- och kulturjournalistik så olika? Vad har det för betydelse? Genom att detaljstudera två av Sveriges Radios nyhetsprogram, Kulturnytt och Radiosportens nyheter, görs skillnader mellan de två genrerna tydliga och konkreta. Skillnaderna analyseras utifrån begrepp som genre, hegemoni, dikotomi och uppdelningen mellan hög och låg samhällelig status. Uppsatsens slutsatser är att uppdelningen mellan sport och kultur hålls stabil genom journalistiska genrer, vilka i sin tur är skapade efter uttryckens olika samhälleliga status. Kulturens och sportens historiska bakgrunder och nutida plats i den samhälleliga diskursen speglas så i de journalistiska skillnaderna. Resultatet av undersökningen gestaltas i ett ljudverk som syftar till att tydliggöra hur skillnaderna ser ut genom att vända på genrerna. Hur låter det om man rapporterar om kultur som om det vore sport och hur skulle ett reportage om en sporthändelse låta med kulturjournalistikens verktyg? / The purpose of this dissertation is to study and examine the differences between culture and sports journalism to examine what the grounds of the differences are, and what the consequences are for our understanding of culture and sport in society. Why do sports and culture journalism sound so different? And, what does it mean? Through detailed study of two Swedish Radio news programmes, Kulturnytt and Radiosportens nyheter, the differences between the two genres is made evident and concrete. The differences are analysed through concepts as genre, hegemony, dichotomy and the division between high and low social status. The conclusions of this dissertation are that the division between sport and culture is kept stable by journalistic genres, which in turn is created by the expressions differences in social status. Culture and sport's historical background and contemporary place in the discourse is thus reflected in the journalistic differences. The results of the genre examination are interpreted in a radio piece, aiming to clarify how the differences are constructed by reversing the genres. How would it sound to report on culture as if it were sports, and how could a story about a sport event sound using the instruments of culture journalism?

This paper explores the disparities in media coverage between men’s and women’s sports. It utilises the media coverage of the German sports news outlet, Sportschau, to examine the differences in terms of language, depth, amount, and framing between the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Through a comparative Content analysis, this study aims to uncover disparities in the media coverage of men’s and women’s football in Germany. By using Feminist Media Studies Theory, it seeks to reveal potential biases, inequalities, and differences in the portrayal of gender in sports media. The paper is applying qualitative and quantitative data analysis to gather broader insights to understand different aspects and perspectives of the media coverage. The research reveals enduring gender biases in German sports media. Sexist language was more common in the coverage of the women’s tournament as well as an emphasis of feminine qualities, personal narratives, and struggles.

網路和行動科技的發展，促使全球進入OTT服務時代，職業運動產業亦深受影響。中華職棒於2014年成立CPBL TV，成為台灣職棒OTT服務之先驅；隨後發生電視轉播權爭議，下半季起改由球隊各自尋找轉播單位，各球隊並於2015年開始陸續與網路平台合作，建立球隊OTT服務。本研究運用運動媒體複合體的概念，探討在OTT服務時代下新媒體加入後，對該複合體中「運動－媒體－廣告」三角架構帶來何種變革，並分析運動組織及媒體如何看待在OTT服務時代下的中華職棒轉播權利市場，以及其因應策略。 本研究以深度訪談的方式，與八組中華職棒權利市場相關的受訪者進行訪談，試圖建構目前中華職棒轉播權利市場的輪廓，並輔以媒體報導、新聞稿等次級資料加以補充。研究發現，目前中華職棒各球隊除了與有線電視頻道業者保持密切轉播合作關係外，在網路轉播權利上，亦會考量球隊需求，包含轉播權利金、平台客群，與合適的網路平台簽訂轉播合約。然而在轉播內容上，網路OTT業者仍無法突破由有線電視頻道業者所掌握，製作賽事內容的能力，因此新媒體只能透過增加轉播隊數、自製節目內容、提升平台附加功能等服務上做出差異性。 從台灣職棒OTT服務發展來看，在運動媒體複合體的架構中，運動組織與媒體的角色儼然轉變，球隊受惠於網路科技，建置球隊媒體頻道／平台的門檻已大幅降低，提升其自主性。OTT業者將增加運動內容的投資，甚至轉型為以運動為主的媒體平台。然而，OTT服務發展仍受限於媒體的內容產製能力，在轉播權談判中球隊因此無法獲得太多自主空間。 / Along with the emergence of OTT service development in modern society, broadcasting rights market in Taiwanese professional baseball industry has changed radically. A broadcasting rights controversy occurred between Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) and international sports agency MP & Silva in 2014. This forced the baseball teams to seek for broadcasters by themselves. At the same time CPBL TV, the first formal OTT service in CPBL, was established, and thereby inspiring the teams to establish their own OTT service. This research employs the concept of Sports-Media Complex to analyze the impact of OTT service on Taiwanese professional broadcasting rights market. Methods include in-depth interviews and document analysis. Besides keeping partnership with cable television operators, teams also look for the suitable broadcast partners on the Internet platform. Broadcasting rights fees and the users are their concerns while signing contracts. Unlike cable television operators, OTT service providers are still unable to broadcast on scene..Therefore, OTT service providers can only make a difference by increasing the number of broadcast teams, enriching the content of self-made program and upgrading the platform's additional functions. To sum up, the role of sports organizations and the media has changed in the structure of Sports-Media Complex. Sports organizations nowadays intend to build their own media channels and platforms, enhancing their ability of autonomy. OTT service providers increase the investment of sports content, and create a sports-based media platform. However, each team’s autonomy and negotiation chips are still limited by their media production abilities.