Date of Award

Spring 8-1-2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Debra A. Worley

Second Advisor

David W. Worley

Third Advisor

Trevor R. Hall

Abstract

This thesis uses content analysis, specifically thematic analysis, to investigate the message boards on Major League Baseball (MLB) teams' Web sites in order to 1) recognize in what ways sports teams' Internet message boards meet the unique gratifications of sports fans; and, 2) identify ways that sports PR practitioners can use Internet message boards for better (more gratifying) communication with sports fans. Thematic analysis of eight MLB teams' Web sites (the four with the highest winning percentages and the four with the lowest winning percentages) was conducted using Katz, Gurevitch, and Hass (1973) five gratifications categories and one additional "other" category established by the author. Further, statistical analysis was conducted based upon teams "winning percentage" as an independent variable, and three dependent variables (number of topics, frequency of topics created by one user, optimism score). An independent-sample t test was conducted for each dependent variable. The number of topics on winning teams and losing teams' message boards were significantly different. Finally, the message boards contained lots of messages which do not conform to traditional gratifications. Implications for PR practitioners suggest that the message boards are a new tactic for communication between sports organizations and fans.

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