The Tweet Life of Erin and Kirk: A Gendered Analysis of Professional Sports Broadcasters’ Self-Presentation on Twitter

Abstract

Social media have been embraced by the sports world at an extraordinary pace and, as such, have become a viable avenue for sports broadcasters to redefi ne their roles as celebrities. However, given the differences in the ways females and males are utilized in sports broadcasts, it is plausible that differences also exist in how they present themselves. This study employed content analyses, guided by Goffman's (1959) seminal theory of self-presentation to compare Erin Andrews and Kirk Herbstreit's tweets during the 2012-2013 college football season. Findings indicate that both broadcasters' self-presentation fell along traditional gender lines, as Andrews primarily discussed personal items, whereas Herbstreit largely provided sports-related commentary and analysis. The results suggest that although Twitter provides an avenue for female sports broadcasters to break down gender barriers, it currently serves to reify their subordinate sports-media roles.

I'm Going to Instagram It! An Analysis of Athlete Self-Presentation on Instagram

“…They suggested that this finding reflected gender norms, as females are socialized and nurtured to be thought conscious, prompting this approach to self-presentation. Weathers et al (2014) found similar results in a study of sports broadcasters Erin Andrews and Kirk Herbstreit, as both broadcasters self-presented along traditional gender lines. More specifically, the bulk of Andrews' self-presentation centered on fashion and entertainment, while Herbstreit's focused primarily on sports information and expert opinion.…”

“…This is of particular salience in sport, where gender norms, particularly for women, tend to be rigid. One study (Weathers et al, 2014) compared self-presentation between sports broadcasts personalities Erin Andrews and Kirk Herbstreit and found that Andrews self-presented along traditional gender lines, perhaps missing an opportunity to self-present as more of a sports expert.…”

“…In another story, National Football League (NFL) player DeSean Jackson's release from the Philadelphia Eagles was speculated to have resulted from his alleged affiliation with gang members and some reporters used Jackson's Instagram content to suggest this hypothesis was correct (ShorrParks & Perez, 2014). Previous research on self-presentation and social media has centered on more text-based mediums such as blogs (Sanderson, 2008) and Twitter (Lebel & Danylchuk, 2012;Weathers et al, 2014). However, visual platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat are becoming increasingly popular, with some industry analysts positing that Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform (Lunden, 2014).…”

He Said, She Said: An Exploration of Male and Female Print Sports Journalist Tweets, Sports Coverage, and Language Style

“…In examining the tweets of two well-known college football sports personalities, Erin Andrews and Kirk Herbstreit, Weathers et al (2014) found that both personalities conformed to very traditional gender stereotyped roles in their self-presentation with Andrews discussing personal issues in her tweets and Herbstreit providing sports-related commentary in his tweets. However, the comparison between Erin Andrews and Kirk Herbstreit may be unfair because of their disparate roles in the field of sports journalism.…”

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“…Twitter's flexibility for allowing both mediated communication and dialogue among users (Clavio & Kian, 2010;Frederick, Lim, Clavio, Pedersen, & Burch, 2014) has made it a popular communication medium for advocacy and environmental groups, activists, politicians, athletes, and academicians. In addition, much of Twitter's appeal stems from users' ability to contribute to their presented image (Weathers et al, 2014). This ability to control is constructed through the users' visual image choices as well as selected messages conveyed via direct access to their audiences (Lebel & Danylchuk, 2012).…”