Media Coverage of Sports Talk Shows on Iraq Al-Hadath Channel: An Analytical Study of "Sports Suhoor" from 1/3/2025 to 30/3/2025

Abstract

Our study attempted to identify the nature of the topics presented in the "Sports Suhoor" program on Iraq Al-Hadath channel. The research aimed to monitor and analyze the most prominent discussion topics and the types of media coverage used in the program. This descriptive research employed a survey methodology, relying on a content analysis form as the data collection tool. A stratified random sample was selected using the industrial week method, choosing three episodes from each week. This resulted in the analysis of 12 episodes out of a total of 30 episodes of the "Sports Suhoor" program, broadcast from March 1, 2025, to March 30, 2025. Selecting 12 episodes out of 30, representing 40%, is considered a sufficiently representative size for descriptive research, as it achieves a balance between the comprehensiveness of the original population and the possibility of accurate analysis. Furthermore, distributing the sample with three episodes per week ensures regular coverage of the study period and minimizes the impact of unforeseen events or cyclical broadcasting patterns. The research yielded several results, including the emergence of seven main topics that reflected the program's policy. The editorial policy of the channel under study included it within the topics of media coverage of the sports program "Suhoor," where (technical topics and monitoring the reasons for the national team's loss) topped the first rank, and the category (negative trend) topped the first rank among the subcategories of the trend of the program's episode guests, and the category (interpretive coverage) occupied the first rank among the types of coverage used in the program. The research concluded that the editorial policy of the program focused greatly on presenting (technical topics and monitoring the reasons for the national team's loss), and (administrative and organizational topics), during the time period of the research sample, more than the rest of the topics, due to the channel's intensive focus on the World Cup qualifiers (2026) as topics of the hour and the first interest of the public.