The audience of sports journalism in Algeria: A field study on a sample of young people in Jijel province

Abstract

This study - which is a research paper submitted to obtain a Master’s degree in Media and Communication Sciences, which was discussed on 12/13/2008 at Prince Abdelkader University in Constantine - aimed to identify the general characteristics of the audience and readers of sports newspapers among the youth in the state of Jijel, their reading habits and patterns, in addition to revealing the patterns of interest and levels of preference in their choice of sports newspapers, vocabulary and content. The descriptive survey method was used in collecting, processing and statistically analyzing the data by adopting a purposive sample of 150 individuals from different areas of the state of Jijel who met the conditions of the study, based on the questionnaire form consisting of 35 questions distributed over four main axes. The most important findings of this study were that 95% of respondents obtain the newspaper by purchasing it, and 92.6% do not subscribe to their favorite sports newspaper. They also do not rely on youth and cultural centers to obtain and read their favorite sports newspaper. The average number of sports newspapers read per week was three, and the average number of readers per newspaper was three. 64% of the respondents felt that the volume of media service was insufficient, and 92% of them resorted to other media sources for additional information. The preferred sports newspapers were specialized in one sport, namely football, with Al-Haddaf newspaper being the most popular, with a preference rate of 90%. Interest in international sports events ranked first. The most important motivations for reading the sports newspaper for most respondents were expanding their sports knowledge and curiosity. It was found that about 88% of them had never contacted their preferred sports newspaper. Therefore, the study recommended allocating spaces for readers' correspondence and communication, encouraging them to subscribe, and not focusing solely on football coverage, despite its local and international popularity.