Kris Boyle

Abstract:Sports fans are no longer relying solely on traditional media to get news and information about the teams they support. They often turn to social media—including online sports forums—as a primary source of information. Using Q-sort methodology, this study sought to understand more about sports-forum participants and why they visit and participate in these online forums. A factor analysis identified three types of sports-forum participants based on personality characteristics and opinion statements: tailgaters, trivia seekers, and bandwagon fans. The identification of these factors tends to support previous research examining the motivations for visiting and using online sports forums.

Major League Baseball (MLB) has been criticized for its handling of the Astros’ cheating scandal. Researchers used a case study method to test whether Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) should be expanded to include collaborative brand attack (CBA) as a crisis type. Researchers used traditional and extended SCCT to analyze MLB’s crisis response to determine which version fit best. Data were triangulated from sports news sources, MLB’s official statement and Twitter account, and social media influencer and stakeholder posts. Researchers asked which SCCT response MLB used and whether it was effective with stakeholders. Because of poor history, MLB’s accidental crisis response mismatched the level of stakeholder attribution of responsibility. Another question examined the role of social media. Major League Baseball underestimated the role of social media and SM influencers and, by underutilizing its Twitter feed, left stakeholders to attribute greater responsibility to MLB....

This paper examines the framing of crisis communication strategies before, during, and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by analyzing news releases from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security, and US Senators and Governors from Mississippi, ...