Award Date

5-1-2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Journalism and Media Studies

First Committee Member

Gregory Borchard

Second Committee Member

Olesya Venger

Third Committee Member

Larry Mullen

Fourth Committee Member

David Dickens

Number of Pages

74

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This thesis examines how sports teams vary by means of self-presentation on a social media

platform in relation to gender and sport. Building on Erving Goffman’s (1959) constructs of selfpresentation

and operationalizing impression management strategies, this study content analyzed

seven UNLV teams’ Tweets. The analysis spanned from August 2015 to October 2015. Every

Tweet posted, during these three months, from the seven different sporting teams was coded to

compare and contrast the men's teams accounts with the women’s teams accounts, as well as one

account that combines the men’s and women’s team on one Twitter page. The study found that

the time of the season affects how teams present themselves. Moreover, the teams of the same

sport (i.e. men’s and women’s basketball) had similarities in the content of their Tweets,

including the media they included in each Tweet.

Keywords

gendered; Goffman; Self-presentation; social media; team; Twitter

Disciplines

Broadcast and Video Studies | Journalism Studies | Sports Management | Sports Studies

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/


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