Promoting women’s soccer through social media: how the US federation used Twitter for the 2011 World Cup |
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| Authors: | Roxane Coche |
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| Institution: | UNC-Chapel Hill, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Chapel Hill, NC, USA |
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| Abstract: | This study examines the coverage given to the US women’s national soccer team by its governing body, the US Soccer Federation (USSF), immediately before, during and immediately after the 2011 World Cup. Content analysis of two of the USSF’s Twitter accounts showed that although the differences in both quantity and quality of coverage between men’s and women’s soccer are not as great as those detected in traditional media between men’s and women’s athletics, a gender gap remains. Similar to traditional media, the USSF framed the women’s team as less important than the men’s, even though this study was purposefully conducted at a time when female soccer was supposed to be prominent because of the international schedule. |
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