A STUDY ON TWITTER’S IMPACT ON TRADITIONAL SPORTS JOURNALISM IN SAUDI ARABIA (KSA)

Abstract

Digital media is widely publicized in several fields, especially in the sports field. One of the most important digital journalism platforms that has an impact on Saudi Arabia's football scene is Twitter. Moreover, Twitter has become the preferred platform for supporters of Saudi sports clubs to engage in daily debates and provide ideas that aid their clubs' continued success in various sports tournaments. The main aim of this study was to determine the influence of Twitter on traditional sports journalism in Saudi Arabia and how it has played a significant role in steering sports journalism toward a more modern press rather than a more conventional one. Saudi sports journalists were contacted for intensive semi-structured online interviews to obtain the results of this study. The majority of the 15 participants argued that "Twitter is an effective tool used by the public and journalists in Saudi Arabia to pressure the Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Football Association to change official decisions, specifically in football, through sports hashtags”. Furthermore, 73.3% of respondents indicated that users’ interaction helped the Twitter platform outperform traditional sports journalism. Meanwhile, 40% of the total participants suggested that paper sports journalism should keep pace with modern changes and digital transformation, as well as discuss the need to turn it into electronic journalism. Finally, this study has shown that Saudi Arabian journalists have established three important points, such as: Twitter is characterized by the rapid spread of news through the media; the traditional press is slow to get the word out compared to Twitter; and Twitter is a powerful tool that the public and journalists use to pressure change of official decisions in Saudi Arabia. Keywords: Digital Media, Journalism, Twitter, Saudi Arabia, Sports, Journalists.