Date of Publication

Fall 12-6-2017

Document Type

Undergraduate Project

Professor's Name

Dr. Burakowski

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the media contributing to the national dialogue involving rule changes in the NHL (National Hockey League). Reporters in the media choose what is published on day to day press releases. What is released is what the consumers are taking in, using various mediums of social media, television, internet, etc. and that is the only knowledge the consumers are getting surrounding a developing story or topic.

This was an important topic to research because discussion in the media, and the way they speak on different topics and news stories is the first impression the common sport fan gets while tuning in, or doing research of their own. The media attempts to create this type of frame and storyline around stories that consumers buy into and jump on board with. The media continuously turns to the negative side of breaking news topics to stir up different types of controversy around the sports world.

This study gathered 30 news articles from 10 different secondary qualitative data sources. The articles were then analyzed for variables including the author, the tone of the article, the description of the article, the length of the article, and quotes in the article. The data were recorded using a spreadsheet instrument. Based on the variable and category each article fell into, data were translated to categorical code to easily run cross-tabulation on statistics, producing the results of this study.

Based on the results from this study, it seemed to appear that nearly 50% of articles regarding rules changes in the NHL possessed a negative tone, as well as being an article that was based off of commentary on fact or opinion. 40% of articles possessed a neutral tone, and roughly 13% of articles possessed a positive tone. The results of the study showed that media crafts a narrative in the news, or in this case, NHL rule changes, that seem to be discussed in a negative way giving the consumer a negative view to refer to, affecting national dialogue.

The results of this study were important because it demonstrated the way that today’s media was able to put a message out there in a certain way, which would be negatively, and get that message into the consumer’s head, and quite possibly influencing their feelings on the topic or issue at hand.

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