Football on Social Media: Analysis of Journalists' X Posts

Abstract

Technological developments have influenced the practice of journalism throughout history. Among communication technologies, the internet is one of the most important developments affecting journalism. Social media, which has become an indispensable part of both personal and social communication as an extension of the internet, has also contributed to the transformation of journalism.Social media has gradually become a means of reaching individuals, and journalists have begun to establish a presence on social networks in order to reach their target audience. Sports journalists use their personal accounts to report on sports developments, which are an important part of the social media agenda. This study analyzes football posts made by sports journalists on X. Using content analysis, the study examined posts made by 16 journalists between April 15, 2025, and May 15, 2025. The analysis revealed that journalists generally use their social media accounts actively. The study also found that journalists' football posts received a high level of engagement. In addition, it has been revealed that sports journalists utilize the advantages of social media platforms (mentions, hashtags, multimedia, etc.) to inform their target audience and that the majority of their posts (41.52%) use formal language.