Agenda of Sports Press on X: An International Examination

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the relationship between content production and Olympic success by examining the dynamics of the sports press on the X platform. The February 2024 content from the top three most-followed X sports press accounts in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Türkiye, and USA was analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. According to the findings, Türkiye and Great Britain were ahead in daily average content production, while the USA and Germany were the countries that produced the least content. In terms of discipline diversity, while publishers in Spain produced content in 32 different disciplines, this number was 14 in Turkey and the USA. While American football was the most featured discipline in the USA, soccer content was more prevalent in European countries. Content from USA publishers was balanced between Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines (x̄=48-52%). However, in European countries, influenced by soccer, content on Olympic disciplines was significantly higher (x̄=81-97%). These proportions showed a significant and strong positive correlation with the countries’ overall medal rankings in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, as well as their rankings in the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Summer Games. Additionally, the proportion of soccer content showed a positive correlation with the overall medal rankings in Summer and Winter Olympics, as well as with the success rankings in the Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, and Paris 2024 Olympics.

Keywords

• Social media
• Sports press
• soccer
• Olympic success

References

1. Allison, L., & Monnington, T. (2002). Sport, prestige and international relations. Government and Opposition, 37(1), 106-134.
2. Antunovic, D., & Bartoluci, S. (2023). Sport, gender, and national interest during the Olympics: A comparative analysis of media representations in Central and Eastern Europe. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 58(1), 167-187.
3. Aula, P., & Heinonen, J. (2016). Digital Revolution of communication. In P. Aula, & J. Heinonen, The Reputable firm: How digitalization of communication is revolutionizing reputation management (35-64). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22008-6_2
4. Barnard, S. R. (2018). Twitter: More than 140 characters. In P. Macmillan (Eds.), Citizens at the gates: Twitter, networked publics, and the transformation of American Journalism (13-31). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90446-7_2
5. Bentivegna, S., Marchetti, R., & Stanziano. A. 2022. The Agenda-Building Power of Facebook and Twitter the Case of the 2018 Italian General Election. In D. Taras & D. Taras (Eds.), Electoral Campaigns, Media, and the New World of Digital Politics (124-142), University of Michigan Press.
6. Bilgiseven, B. (2019). The increasing importance of sports marketing and promotion strategies in sports marketing: An emprical research on cycling from non-popular types of sports (Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Marmara University Social Sciences Institute). İstanbul.
7. Bloyce, D., & Smith, A. (2009). Sport policy and development: An introduction. Routledge.
8. Briggs, A., & Burke, P. (2009). A social history of the media: From Gutenberg to the internet. Polity.

9. Bruce, T. (2015). Assessing the sociology of sport: On media and representations of sportswomen. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 50(4-5), 380-384.
10. Carr, C. T., & Hayes, R. A. (2015). Social media: Defining, developing, and divining. Atlantic journal of communication, 23(1), 46-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2015.972282
11. Cha, H.-J., & Kweon, S.-h. (2021). Niche analysis in social media with Uses and Gratification Theory apply in Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter. Journal of Internet Computing and Services, 22(2), 89-107.
12. Crothers, L. (2021). Globalization and American popular culture. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
13. Çetin, C. (2014). Sports communication (2 ed.). Nobel.
14. Çetin, C. (2021). Geopolitics of sports (Power relations in sports). Nobel.
15. Çetin, C. (2022). Editorial policy towards specializing in sports journalism: Exemplary model L'Equipe. Middle Black Sea Journal of Communication Studies, 7(1), 51-72. https://doi.org/10.56202/mbsjcs.1093982
16. Çetin, C., & Özsoy, S. (2023). The role of newspapers in the popularisation of Sports: Example of DH Les Sports+ (Belgian newspaper)and bicycle. Middle Black Sea Journal of Communication Studies, 8(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.56202/mbsjcs.1292869
17. De Wachter, F. (2001). Sport as mirror on modernity. Journal of social philosophy, 32(1), 90-98. https://doi.org/10.1111/0047-2786.00081
18. Demirkasımoğlu, N. (2021). An evaluation on the use of quantitative indicators and generalizability in qualitative research tradition. Pamukkale University Journal of Social Sciences Institute, (42), 231-242. https://doi.org/10.30794/pausbed.801464
19. Dietschy, P., Ranc, D., & Sonntag, A. (2009). Parallel myths, popular maps: the Europe of soccer. Journal of Educational Media, Memory, and Society, 1(2), 125-144. https://doi.org/10.3167/jemms.2009.010206
20. Doroudian, A. A., & Ghasemi, H. (2022). Content analysis of the most popular Iranian sports channels of telegram social network. Communication Management in Sport Media, 10(1), 56-64. https://doi.org/10.30473/jsm.2020.54160.1436
21. Duncan, S. (2020). The digital world of sport: The impact of emerging media on sports news, information and journalism. Anthem Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv170x59d
22. Dunleavy, B. P. (2014). The use of Twitter as a news source in sports reporting (Graduation thesis, University of Missouri). Columbia.
23. Dunning, E., & Coakley, J. (2000). Handbook of sports studies. SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848608382
24. English, P. (2016). Twitter’s diffusion in sports journalism: Role models, laggards and followers of the social media innovation. New media & society, 18(3), 484-501. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814544886
25. Frandsen, K. (2012). Sports broadcasting, journalism and the challenge of new media. MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research, 28(53), 5-21. https://doi.org/10.7146/mediekultur.v28i53.4285
26. Guarino, S., Trino, N., Celestini, A., Chessa, A., & Riotta, G. (2020). Characterizing networks of propaganda on twitter: a case study. Applied Network Science, 5(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41109-020-00286-y
27. Hutchins, B. (2011). The Accelaration of media sport culture. Information, Communication & Society, 14(2), 237-257. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2010.508534
28. Hoffmann, F., Falk, G., & Manning, M. J. (2013). Football and American identity. Routledge.
29. İlhan, E. (2014). London 2012 Summer Olympic Games; Comparison of L’equipe (France) And Turkish sports newspaper. Gumushane University Electronic Journal of the Faculty of Communication, 2(4), 53-70. https://doi.org/10.19145/guifd.41699
30. IOC. (2025). Olympic Results. Retrieved 31.01.2025 from https://www.olympics.com/en/olympic-games/olympic-results
31. Jackson, S. J., Grainger, A., & Batty, R. (2004). Media sport, globalisation and the challenges to commercialisation: Sport advertising and cultural resistance in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In T. Slack (Eds.), The commercialisation of sport (230-247). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203494264-24
32. Jackson, S. L. (2009). Research methods and statistics. Wadsworth.
33. Jakubowska, H. (2013). The world of sports in newspapers based on the results of “The international sports press survey”. Media Studies/Studia Medioznawcze, 52(1), 1-21.
34. Kane, M. J., & Lenskyj, H. J. (2002). Media treatment of female athletes: Issues of gender and sexualities. In L.A. Wenner (Eds.), MediaSport (186-201). Routledge.
35. Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and gratifications research. The public opinion quarterly, 37(4), 509-523. https://doi.org/10.1086/268109
36. Kidd, B. (2013). The Olympic Movement and the sports–media complex. Sport in Society, 16(4), 439-448.
37. Kıral, B. (2020). Document analysis as a qualitative data analysis method. Journal Of Social Sciences Institute, 8(15), 170-189.
38. Langer, M. (2021). What is sports news? The news values for sports journalism revisited. IAMCR Online, 11(15), 1-16.
39. Li, B., Scott, O. K., & Dittmore, S. W. (2018). Twitter and Olympics: Exploring factors which impact fans following American Olympic governing bodies. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 19(4), 370-383. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-04-2017-0030
40. Lull, J. (2001). Media, Communication and culture. Vadi.
41. Mauro, M., & Martínez-Corcuera, R. (2020). Hypermasculinity and racist discourses in the Spanish media: The spectacularisation of radio sport programming. In J. O'Brien, R. Holden & X. Ginesta (Eds.), Sport, globalisation and identity (90-106). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003007104-9
42. McCombs, M. (2005). A look at agenda-setting: Past, present and future. Journalism studies, 6(4), 543-557. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700500250438
43. McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public opinion quarterly, 36(2), 176-187. https://doi.org/10.1086/267990
44. McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail's mass communication theory. Sage publications.
45. Missiroli, A. (2002). European football cultures and their integration: The 'short' Twentieth Century. Sport in Society, 5(1), 1-20.
46. Moritz, B. (2015). The story versus the stream: Digital media’s influence on newspaper sports journalism. International Journal of Sport Communication, 8(4), 397-410. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2015-0071
47. Newman, N. (2018). Journalism, media and technology trends and predictions 2018. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
48. Nicholson, M., Kerr, A., & Sherwood, M. (2015). Sport and the media: Managing the nexus. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315776422
49. Orunbayev, A. (2023). Globalization and sports industry. American Journal of Social Sciences And Humanity Research, 3(11), 164-182.
50. Özkan, U. B. (2023). Validity and reliability in document analysis method: A theoretical review in the context of educational science research. The Journal of Buca Faculty of Education (56), 832-848. https://doi.org/10.53444/deubefd.1258867
51. Özsoy, S., Sadik, R., & Boz, H. (2013). The comparison of sports journals in Turkey and Europe in terms of branch diversity. Gümüşhane University Faculty of Communication Electronic Journal, 2(1), 133-149.
52. Ramon, X., & Rojas-Torrijos, J. L. (2022). Public service media, sports and cultural citizenship in the age of social media: An analysis of BBC Sport agenda diversity on Twitter. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 57(6), 918-939. https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902211043995
53. Ramon, X., Rojas-Torrijos, J. L., & Tulloch, C. D. (2024). Reshaping sports journalism through innovation: An analysis of L’Équipe Explore’s strategies, practices and output. Journalism practice, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2024.2418911
54. Rowe, D. (2003). Sport, culture and media. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
55. Shasha, W., Nawaz Abbasi, B., & Sohail, A. (2023). Assessment of Olympic performance in relation to economic, demographic, geographic, and social factors: Quantile and Tobit approaches. Economic research-Ekonomska istraživanja, 36(1), 1-25.
56. Sheffer, M. L., & Schultz, B. (2013). The new world of social media and broadcast sports reporting. In P. M. Pederson (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport communication (224–232). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315088556-22
57. Stanková, M. (2020). The comparative analysis of social media platforms to identify a competitive advantage of Tiktok. International Journal of Arts and Commerce, 9(5), 15-24.
58. Statista. (2023a). Football players with the highest combined social media following worldwide as of February 2023. Retrieved 22.10.2024 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1060411/soccer-players-worldwide-digital-community-size/
59. Statista. (2024a). Interest in sport types in France as of September 2024. Retrieved 23.10.2024 from https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1388994/interest-in-sport-types-in-france
60. Statista. (2025a). All-time medal count at the Summer Olympics from 1896 to 2024, by country and color. Retrieved 28.05.2025 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1101719/summer-olympics-all-time-medal-list-since-1892/
61. Statista. (2025b). All-time medal table for the Winter Olympic Games from 1924 to 2022. Retrieved 28.05.2025 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/266371/winter-olympic-games-medal-tally-of-the-most-successful-nations/
62. Statista. (2025c). Leading countries based on number of X (formerly Twitter) users as of April 2024. Retrieved 24.01.2025 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/242606/number-of-active-twitter-users-in-selected-countries/
63. Statista. (2025d). Most popular social networks worldwide as of february 2025, ranked by number of monthly active users. Retrieved 24.01.2025 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/
64. Tulloch, C., & Ramon, X. (2017). Take five: How sports illustrated and L’équipe redefine the long-form sports journalism genre. Digital journalism, 5(5), 652-672. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2016.1263159
65. Verduyn, P., Gugushvili, N., Massar, K., Täht, K., & Kross, E. (2020). Social comparison on social networking sites. Current opinion in psychology, 36, 32-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.04.002
66. Wanta, W., Golan, G., & Lee, C. (2004). Agenda setting and international news: Media influence on public perceptions of foreign nations. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 81(2), 364-377.
67. Weimann, G., & Brosius, H.-B. (2017). Redirecting the agenda: Agenda-setting in the online Era. The Agenda Setting Journal, 1(1), 63-102.
68. Williams, J., Chinn, S. J., & Suleiman, J. (2014). The value of Twitter for sports fans. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 16, 36-50. https://doi.org/10.1057/dddmp.2014.36
69. X. (2023). Twitter's recommendation algorithm. Retrieved 29.12.2024 from https://blog.x.com/engineering/en_us/topics/open-source/2023/twitter-recommendation-algorithm
70. Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (Vol. 5). Sage.