The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze how Swedish ice hockey clubs portray (image and text) and report (coverage) their male and female representative teams through the club's channels (Instagram & Website), and to compare portray with the reporting in Swedish sports tabloids (Expressen & Aftonbladet). Through methodological triangulation consisting of quantitative content analysis and multimodal analysis, data is collected and analyzed to identify potential differences, similarities, and patterns. The analysis time was October 1–31, 2023. 

Hypothesis: 

What space is allocated to male and female hockey players on Instagram, websites, and in tabloids?

How are the different genders represented in terms of images and text?

Are there similarities or differences in how external sports tabloids report on each gender compared to the team's own channels?

The study utilizes statistics and graphical analysis to measure the frequency and extent of gender representation within the clubs' communications. The results indicate significant differences in the amount of coverage and the type of content given to women's and men's teams, on the clubs' own platforms. The type of textual content in articles given to women and men in external sports tabloids wasn't any bigger differences. Women's teams generally received less coverage and different image and text presentations compared to men's teams on the hockey club's platforms, there were big differences in coverage of gender between the best club and the worst in the analysis. The tabloids showed an even greater inequality in reporting, with a markedly higher frequency of articles about men's teams. Some teams are more balanced than others when it comes to coverage and space allocated in the hockey clubs.