Sports Media Trust Model Based on Grounded Theory

Trust in the mass media in a world where there is widespread competition for influencing, affecting and changing tastes and cultures of society, is one of the main challenges in the plans and decisions of government and political leaders of each country. The purpose of this study is to provide a model of trust in sports media based on grounded theory. The research was conducted by qualitative and exploratory method. The statistical population consisted of media professionals with university teaching experience or activists in the field of sports and media, sports promotion specialists in the media, sports experts and officials, producers of sports programs and policy makers and sports consultants of IRIB. The sampling method was non-probabily way, and 16 people were selected purposefully with a maximum variety. The measurement tool was unstructured interview, which was based on three stages of open, axial and selective coding. The amount of 146 initial concepts, 24 axial codes and 5 selective codes were identified based on data analysis. The proposed model was developed according to the views of experts, and its implementation can build public confidence in sports media and ultimately increase the popularity of sports media in all areas.