Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Doctors Fact-Check, Journalists Get Fact-Checked: Comparing Public Trust in Journalism and Healthcare
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7190
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7190
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 380-391
Author-Name: Young Eun Moon
Author-Workplace-Name: Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Arizona State University, USA
Author-Name: Kristy Roschke
Author-Workplace-Name: Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Arizona State University, USA
Author-Name: Jacob L. Nelson
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Utah, USA
Author-Name: Seth C. Lewis
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, USA
Abstract: Public trust in journalism has fallen disconcertingly low. This study sets out to understand the news industry’s credibility crisis by comparing public perceptions of journalism with public perceptions of another institution facing similar trust challenges: healthcare. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 31 US adults, we find that although both healthcare and journalism face public distrust, members of the public generally tend to feel more trusting of individual doctors than they do of individual journalists. This is because people (a) perceive doctors to be experts in their field and (b) engage more frequently with doctors than they do with journalists. Consequently, our interviewees described treating their doctors as “fact-checkers” when it comes to health information they find online, demonstrating trust in their physicians despite their lack of trust in healthcare more broadly. Meanwhile, the opposite unfolds in journalism: Instead of using legitimate news sources to fact-check potential misinformation, people feel compelled to “fact-check” legitimate news by seeking alternative sources of corroboration. We conclude that, to improve their credibility among the public, journalists must strike the right balance between persuading the public to perceive them as experts while also pursuing opportunities to engage with the public as peers.
Keywords: engagement; expertise; healthcare; journalism; news audiences; public trust
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:380-391

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Free Press Under Pressure? Experiences and Consequences of Hateful Harassment on Journalists in Germany
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7179
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7179
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 367-379
Author-Name: Yann P. M. Rees
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence, Bielefeld University, Germany / Department of Social Work, Münster University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Abstract: The rise of populist movements all over the world and various global crises in recent years have led to a sharp increase in distrust in news and the media. Although this development is tangible globally, it seems pertinent to take a look at a Western liberal democracy with a comparatively good journalistic infrastructure such as Germany, where hateful harassment and attacks on journalists are on the rise. These issues have been widely discussed publicly in Germany. However, it would be useful to take into account the perspective of those affected by these phenomena. To contribute to the discourses on hate against journalists, the current contribution presents data from a survey of active journalists in Germany (<em>n</em> = 322). The questionnaire comprised both standardized and open-ended questions, focusing specifically on hateful harassment and attacks experienced by journalists, including the ways through which they are transported and whether hate can be politically localized. The results reveal that hate and attacks are mainly attributed to right-wing individuals and groups. In addition to verbal hate, various responding journalists reported having been physically attacked or having received death threats. Given the frequency of experienced hateful harassment, most respondents fear that the freedom of press in Germany is in jeopardy (62%), and about half have considered self-censorship to avoid being the target of hate. The severity of experienced hate is illustrated by open-ended questions in the form of personal accounts that are analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results are discussed in light of the role of a free press in modern democracies, as well as recent research on devaluing attitudes towards the free press in Germany.
Keywords: far-right; Germany; hateful harassment; journalism; qualitative analysis
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:367-379

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Factors Affecting Trust in Chinese Digital Journalism: Approach Based on Folk Theories
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7169
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7169
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 355-366
Author-Name: Shaoqiang Liu
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, China
Author-Name: Jinghong Xu
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, China
Author-Name: Zi’an Zhao
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, China
Author-Name: Xiaojun Li
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, China / School of Journalism and Communication, Anhui University, China
Abstract: Trust in online digital news has become a significant concern affecting social cohesion in China. Under the framework of folk theories, we interviewed urban and rural residents’ perceptions and imaginations of digital news credibility in China’s digital journalism environment. The study finds that digital media giants in China are utilised by both urban and rural residents. Regarding the behaviour of news avoidance, scepticism of digital news accounts for only a tiny fraction of the reasons held by news avoiders. Chinese urban and rural residents have similar perceptions about the impact of news forms, quality of information, and individual stances on digital news, while rural residents show uncertainty about the transparency of news production, which may be related to their education level and media literacy. The relationship between recommendation algorithms and news trust is overlooked by respondents. In addition, news seekers are more likely to display herd behaviours, which may mislead their judgment of news credibility. News avoiders may refuse to consume news because of their distaste for China’s digital news atmosphere, such as the ubiquity of unpleasant emotions, preconceived opinions, and attention-grabbing clickbait headlines.
Keywords: constructive journalism; digital journalism; folk theories; news avoiders; news seekers; news trust; social cohesion
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:355-366

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Awkward Moment When You Agree With News Outlets That You Normally Distrust
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7153
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7153
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 344-354
Author-Name: Robin Blom
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Strategic Communication, Ball State University, USA
Abstract: News source attribution in selective exposure has been examined in many contexts, but rarely in the context of selecting news from distrusted sources. As such, 800 US adults were asked to select one of two headlines attributed to CNN and/or Fox News. Results showed some people selected news from a distrusted source, but only under very specific circumstances. Others avoided the awkward moment of siding with a distrusted source, even when that meant selecting news from a trusted source that was counter-attitudinal to the source’s typical slant on global warming.
Keywords: distrust; news content; news expectancy; news sources; news trust
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:344-354

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Trust Signals: An Intersectional Approach to Understanding Women of Color’s News Trust
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7106
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7106
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 332-343
Author-Name: Chelsea Peterson-Salahuddin
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Information, University of Michigan, USA
Abstract: Journalism scholars have increasingly become concerned with how our changing media environment has shifted traditional understandings of how news outlets create trust with audiences. While many scholars have focused on broad avenues of building trust with audiences through transparency, community engagement, and funding, arguably less attention has been paid to how audience members’ social positionality—determined by factors such as race, class, and socioeconomic status—can shape their varying understanding of what makes a news source trustworthy. Thus, in this study, I conducted focus groups with US women of color, a community marginalized minimally along race and gender, to understand how their positionality shapes how they conceptualize news trust. Through eight focus groups with <em>N</em> = 45 women of color, I found while participants used known antecedents of news trust, these were often more specifically rooted in their own experiences with racism, heterosexism, and classism. Further, participants had varying conceptualizations around antecedents of trust, such as accuracy and bias. Through these findings, I suggest how news organizations can better establish trust across marginalized communities.
Keywords: digital media; intersectionality; marginalized communities; news trust; women of color
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:332-343

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Confusing Content, Platforms, and Data: Young Adults and Trust in News Media
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7104
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7104
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 320-331
Author-Name: Veera Ehrlén
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Karoliina Talvitie-Lamberg
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Margareta Salonen
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Minna Koivula
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Mikko Villi
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Turo Uskali
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Abstract: News media trust, and the lack thereof, has been a prominent topic of discussion among journalism scholars in recent years. In this article, we study young adults’ trust in news media from the perspectives of platformisation and datafication. For the empirical study, we collected interview data from 23 Finnish 19–25-year-old young adults and analysed it inductively with applied thematic analysis. Our analysis reveals that trust negotiation is relational and entails not accepted, but forced vulnerability in relation to news media and the platforms on which they operate. Unclarity about the agency of news media on social media platforms causes young adults to experience powerlessness and anxiety in the face of data collection, which in practice translates into indifference toward their data being used by both news media and social media platforms. We show that young adults face a variety of challenges when navigating the online (news) media environment, which as we identify, can result in three trust-diminishing confusions about content, platforms, and data. This may have profound effects on how journalism is viewed as a cornerstone of a democratic society.
Keywords: data confusion; datafication; news; news trust; platformisation; social media; vulnerability; young adults
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:320-331

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Distrust Profiles: Identifying the Factors That Shape Journalism’s Credibility Crisis
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7071
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7071
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 308-319
Author-Name: Thomas B. Ksiazek
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Villanova University, USA
Author-Name: Su Jung Kim
Author-Workplace-Name: Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, USA
Author-Name: Jacob L. Nelson
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Utah, USA
Author-Name: Ahran Park
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Media & Communication, Korea University, Republic of Korea
Author-Name: Sushobhan Patankar
Author-Workplace-Name: Symbiosis International (Deemed University), India
Author-Name: Olivia Sabalaskey
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Villanova University, USA
Author-Name: Harsh Taneja
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Communications Research, University of Illinois Urbana‐Champaign, USA
Abstract: <span id="docs-internal-guid-c76c70fc-7fff-57e7-76ea-4562d4897bc3">Trust in news is declining globally and has been for some time a phenomenon that has been amplified in the context of a global pandemic, the rise in anti-media populism, and social and political unrest. Overall, public trust in journalism remains low (44% globally), according to the <em>Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021</em>. Building on a growing body of research on predictors of (dis)trust among news audiences, this study examines survey data from the <em>Reuters Institute Digital News Report</em> <em>2021 </em>to explore distrust profiles—comparative profiles of users based on their relative distrust in news in general, news they consume, and news accessed through digital intermediaries like social and search—across distinct news environments: India, South Korea, and the US. We conclude that, across all three countries, there are large segments who either trust everything or distrust everything, suggesting a trust polarization phenomenon. Moreover, the results identify segments of swing trusters, users who trust some news and distrust other types but do not indicate a blanket tendency to trust or distrust everything. Normative expectations about the institution of journalism (i.e., folk theories) seem to be the most powerful factors in explaining the relative likelihood of membership in all profiles, where expectations regarding impartiality, concern about fake news, and fair coverage were important indicators of (dis)trust, with varying degrees depending on the media, political, and technological contexts in which they are situated. These findings suggest that to regain trust, journalists should consider how they can change people’s folk theories when it comes to news by comprehensively taking into account the unique trajectory of a given country’s media system.</span>
Keywords: digital intermediaries; distrust profiles; journalism folk theories; media systems; news audiences; news distrust; swing trusters; trust polarization
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:308-319

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Trust and Distrust in Public Service Media: A Case Study From the Czech Republic
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7053
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7053
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 297-307
Author-Name: Marína Urbániková
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Author-Name: Klára Smejkal
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Abstract: Although public service media is a trusted island in the media landscape of many countries, trust in public service media is not absolute and universal. This study adopts a qualitative approach to explore what trust and distrust entail for the public, a perspective rarely applied in trust research. Also, it explores the extent to which the sources of trust and distrust are the same and whether the concepts of trust and distrust are identical (only inverse), or linked but separate. It focuses on the Czech Republic, where the level of trust in the news is among the lowest in the world, yet public service media is the most trusted news source (Newman et al., 2022). Based on four focus group discussions with the general public (<em>N</em> = 24), this study analyzes the reasons for the audience’s trust and distrust in Czech public service media. There are three main categories: trust in the message (i.e., people trust public service media if, in their view, it provides objective, truthful, reliable, relevant, and fast information without sensationalism and anti-system views); trust in the source (i.e., people trust public service media if they perceive the public service media journalists as professional); and trust in the public service media organizations (i.e., people trust public service media if they perceive the regulatory framework as effective in ensuring independence from politics and oversight boards as a guarantee for quality). As the reasons leading to trust were not identical (only inverse) to the reasons leading to distrust, our findings suggest that trust and distrust in public service media are not two sides of the same coin.
Keywords: Czech radio; Czech television; distrust; media quality; public service media; skepticism; trust
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:297-307

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: “They Always Get Our Story Wrong”: Addressing Social Justice Activists’ News Distrust Through Solidarity Reporting
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7006
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7006
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 286-296
Author-Name: Anita Varma
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Media, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Author-Name: Brad Limov
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Media, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Author-Name: Ayleen Cabas-Mijares
Author-Workplace-Name: Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University, USA
Abstract: This study positions social justice activists’ objections to dominant reporting norms as a catalyst for critically reassessing these norms and their connection to diminishing trust in US journalism. Based on a conceptual application of discourse ethics to journalism and qualitative analysis of 28 in-depth interviews with social justice activists, we examine how participants experience and evaluate mainstream coverage of social justice, and why they think journalism could improve its trustworthiness through practices consistent with solidarity<em> </em>reporting norms.
Keywords: activism; journalism; trust in news; social justice; solidarity
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:286-296

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Watching the Watchdogs: Using Transparency Cues to Help News Audiences Assess Information Quality
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7018
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7018
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 274-285
Author-Name: Brian Keith Norambuena
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Computer Science, Virginia Tech, USA / Department of Computing and Systems Engineering, Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile
Author-Name: Katharina Reis Farina
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication, Virginia Tech, USA
Author-Name: Michael Horning
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication, Virginia Tech, USA
Author-Name: Tanu Mitra
Author-Workplace-Name: Information School, University of Washington, USA
Abstract: The myriad of information sources available online can make it hard for the average reader to know whether a piece of content is credible or not. This research aims to understand if the public’s assessment of the credibility of information could be more accurate with the help of transparency features that act as heuristic cues under the elaboration likelihood model and the heuristic-systematic model, and if the cues increase cognitive absorption. Two between-subjects studies were performed, one with a young demographic (<em>N</em> = 68) and another with a representative sample of the adult population (<em>N</em> = 325). The stimuli contained information boxes designed to indicate that the story was not written in a traditional journalistic style (message cues) and missing background information on the author (source cues). Results show significant effects of the cues on credibility assessment and cognitive absorption.
Keywords: algorithmic cues; cognitive absorption; credibility; information quality; misinformation; transparency
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:274-285

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: News Representation and Sense of Belonging Among Multicultural Audiences
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7002
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7002
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 264-273
Author-Name: Sora Park
Author-Workplace-Name: News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra, Australia
Author-Name: Jee Young Lee
Author-Workplace-Name: News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra, Australia
Author-Name: Kieran McGuinness
Author-Workplace-Name: News & Media Research Centre, University of Canberra, Australia
Author-Name: Rebecca Griffiths
Author-Workplace-Name: Special Broadcasting Service, Australia
Author-Name: Thu Nguyen
Author-Workplace-Name: Special Broadcasting Service, Australia
Abstract: This study seeks to understand the role of representation in news media, trust in news, and participation in multicultural audiences’ sense of belonging to society. A multimodal survey combining online, CATI, and CAPI methods was conducted in Australia at the end of 2021 and early 2022 (<em>N</em> = 1,084). The top five non-English language communities in Australia (Arabic, Cantonese, Italian, Mandarin, and Vietnamese) were included in the survey, of which <em>n</em> = 851 were born overseas. The findings reveal a significant link between the perception of sufficient representation in Australian news media, trust in news, confidence to participate in society, and sense of belonging. When multicultural audiences see themselves fairly and adequately represented in the news, they are more likely to trust the news and participate in the community by discussing the news and current affairs. This, in turn, leads to a stronger sense of belonging to society. We also found confidence in English and time spent in Australia were important factors contributing to perceptions of representation. While the length of stay has a positive impact on the perception of representation among those with high confidence in English, this perception is significantly lower among those who have lower confidence. This result confirms the significant role language proficiency plays in migrants’ experiences in the host country.
Keywords: Australia; migrants; multicultural communities; news representation; news trust; sense of belonging
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:264-273

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Representing Trust in Digital Journalism
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6982
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.6982
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 252-263
Author-Name: Caryn Coatney
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Humanities and Communication, University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Abstract: This article examines how journalists at two prominent news organizations have aimed to portray trustworthy digital reporting of marginalized communities. The case study draws on the concepts of engagement and trust as a resource to evaluate journalists’ articles and the related audience comments on<em> The New York Times</em> and <em>The Washington Post</em> digital sites. This study analyzed the digital news articles and audience comments in 2012 and the latter half of 2022 during the rapid expansion of mobile audiences and American readers’ declining trust in newspapers. As this study discovered, journalists at the two legacy organizations have portrayed novel forms of reporting relating to fresh notions of enhancing readers’ trust as well as elements of transparency and interactivity in the news. They have represented trustworthy journalism based on an inclusive approach and personalized depictions of marginalized communities’ experiences to appeal to readers increasingly using mobile devices. Although the journalists’ stories attracted some toxic tweets, their articles also encouraged digital subscribers’ loyalty and enthusiasm to help solve the reported problems affecting marginalized communities. This study indicates the possibilities of fostering trustworthy interactions among journalists and engaged subscribers in digital news spaces.
Keywords: digital journalism; journalist–audience interaction; news coverage; marginalized communities; media trust; The New York Times; The Washington Post
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:252-263

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Tethered Disparities: Adolescent Smartphone Use in Rural and Urban China
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7181
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7181
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 239-251
Author-Name: Huan Chen
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Minjiang University, China
Author-Name: Zixue Tai
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Media, University of Kentucky, USA
Abstract: The pervasive penetration of the smartphone has disproportionately affected adolescents and youth more than any other sociodemographic group. Inspired by the conceptual framework of the digital divide in internet use, this research aims to interrogate the multi-dimensional aspects of disparities in smartphone use among teens in China. Measurement was developed to assess the first-, second-, and third-level divide as manifested in smartphone access and engagement in a variety of activities, different skill sets, and myriad outcomes and consequences. Results from a cross-sectional survey of 1,511 at-school teens show various patterns of divide along the lines of age, gender, and rural/mid-sized-city/metropolitan location.
Keywords: China; digital divide; media disparities; smartphone use; territorial gap
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:239-251

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Generation Alpha Media Consumption During Covid-19 and Teachers’ Standpoint
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7158
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7158
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 227-238
Author-Name: Blandína Šramová
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Multimedia Communications, Tomáš Bata University, Czech Republic
Author-Name: Jiří Pavelka
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Multimedia Communications, Tomáš Bata University, Czech Republic
Abstract: With the development of digital technologies that are part of everyday life, new cultural norms and patterns are developing with which children play, learn, communicate, and socialise in the digital age. Technologies are also fundamentally changing teachers’ attitudes to education. This study aims to determine the motivation of teachers of generation Alpha for using technology and mobile applications, what technologies were preferred by generation Alpha after the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and for what reason. The research sample included one segment of the Alpha generation, pupils of primary schools (<em>N</em> = 53) and their primary school teachers (<em>N</em> = 83). A qualitative research design was used. The data processed by thematic content analysis identified the themes associated with using digital tools by generation Alpha, according to the teachers. The results showed the teachers’ motivation for using digital technology with generation Alpha, such as meeting their physiological, safety, social, cognitive, aesthetic, and self-actualisation needs. Generation Alpha’s media applications saturated four needs: entertainment, information, education, and games. They were covered by 12 applications. The findings show that the digital communication activities of generation Alpha refer to the audience’s intentionality, selectivity, and involvement with the media. The presented research opens other possible research topics, such as how new communication and mobile apps influence the behaviours of Alpha generation, value orientation, and well-being, and how effectively to use mobile apps in education praxis.
Keywords: Covid-19; digitalisation; education; generation Alpha; media consumption; mobile applications; motivation; teachers
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:227-238

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Advertising on Video-Sharing Platforms in the Toy and Food Categories in Spain
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7141
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7141
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 214-226
Author-Name: Miguel Ángel Nicolás-Ojeda
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Murcia, Spain
Author-Name: Esther Martínez-Pastor
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain
Abstract: This article reviews the advertising content on the YouTube channels featuring kid influencers with the highest number of subscribers in Spain. The goal is to observe the evolution of the elements that define this type of content as advertising content, even though the vast majority of the advertising content is not labelled as such. An analysis was conducted of all the videos posted during the 2022 Christmas period on the 15 YouTube channels with the largest audiences, which produced a sample of 61 videos that possessed the pertinent characteristics. Content analysis was applied and the degree to which the content complied with food and toy advertising regulations was examined.
Keywords: advertising; food; influencers; kid influencers; media regulation; self-regulation; toys; YouTube
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:214-226

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Online Success as Horizon of Survival: Children and the Digital Economy in Lagos, Nigeria
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7133
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7133
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 203-213
Author-Name: Jaana Serres
Author-Workplace-Name: Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Abstract: Literature on the impact of the digital ecosystem on youth is largely grounded on Western case studies and Eurocentric in its working assumptions; yet African children and teenagers—who account for most of the continent’s population—have been early adopters of social media’s possibilities and are exposed to distinctive risks. This article shows how, in the absence of viable institutional structures for self-actualization in post-liberalization Nigeria, digital platforms turn children into central actors of economic flexibility. With transitional pathways disappearing, formal employment and traditional markers of adulthood are no longer on the horizon of African youths. Uncertainty, hustling, and extraordinary aspirations are part and parcel of their socialization process, with “survival” and “success” increasingly perceived as intertwined, requiring everyone, from the youngest age, to “perform.” From rags-to-riches stories of viral children groups to racist images and videos of children feeding China’s livestreaming boom and the meme culture across the world, commodified African childhood is projected into the flows of digital popular culture, enabled by legal and socioeconomic vulnerability and the internalization of visibility as an avenue of opportunity. Nigeria in particular, with the world’s largest population of out-of-school children on the one hand, and an internationally booming entertainment industry on the other, delineates a palpable, yet unsustainable mode of aspiration and wealth acquisition through engagement with social media. This article draws on a year-long ethnographic investigation in Lagos among (a) groups of teenage aspiring dancers seeking to “blow” online and (b) marketing professionals who use children in their commercial strategies.
Keywords: African youth; digital economy; hope labor; African cultural industries; Nigeria; Global South
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:203-213

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Idols of Promotion and Authenticity on TikTok
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7123
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7123
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 187-202
Author-Name: Radu M. Meza
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Digital Media, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Author-Name: Andreea-Alina Mogoș
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Digital Media, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Author-Name: George Prundaru
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Digital Media, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Abstract: TikTok’s rapid growth in the past few years, especially in the younger demographic, may signal a market shift. With children, teens, and young adults reportedly making up 40% to 60% of its user base, the platform is becoming the strongest challenger to YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The most followed TikTok celebrities are mostly young people who have either grown up with the platform or recently extended their popularity from other platforms to reach new audiences. This research investigates the discursive strategies and persona performances employed by the top 25 TikTok celebrities under the age of 25 in both popular content and content marked as advertising. A large sample of TikTok content metadata was collected using API interrogation. From each of the 25 young TikTok celebrities, up to 1,000 videos per user (<em>N</em> = 22,650) are explored using quantitative approaches. Two subsamples are analysed using visual, rhetorical, and narrative analysis to evaluate the most popular content (<em>Np</em> = 226) and content marked as advertising using the TikTok ad flagging (<em>Na</em> = 213). The findings include the identification of seven persona performance types and a significant difference in terms of performed ordinariness in content marked as advertising.
Keywords: authenticity; celebrity; idols; ordinariness; promotion; semantic networks; social media celebrities; TikTok
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:187-202

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Emotional Resonance and Identity Recognition in Chinese Late Adolescent Digital Music Consumption
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7099
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7099
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 175-186
Author-Name: Lina Li
Author-Workplace-Name: College of Film-Television and Communication, Shanghai Normal University, China
Author-Name: Yubin Li
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing Normal University, China
Author-Name: Jing Wu
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Author-Name: Hao Gao
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing Normal University, China
Abstract: This study conducts qualitative research on late adolescent digital music users aged 17–19 to explore their emotional resonance and identities in digital music consumption. The findings indicate that late adolescents are highly dependent on music, with it playing a significant role in their lives, particularly in meeting emotional needs and shaping identities. Late-adolescent digital music users seek to assert themselves through unique and unconventional music tastes. The study also uncovers the coexistence of personalization and socialization in their music-listening behaviors, dividing them into “music-experienced” and “music-socialized” groups. Regarding emotional motivation, the music-experienced group listens to music for personal empathy, while the music-socialized group seeks interpersonal emotional resonance through music-based social interaction. From a practical perspective, this study suggests that the digital music industry should focus on the emotional value generated by music and balance users’ personalization and socialization needs.
Keywords: adolescents; digital music; digital music platforms; emotional resonance; music consumption; music listeners; music preference; self-identity
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:175-186

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Conceptualising Liveness and Visibility in the News Repertoires of Adolescents in a Polymedia Environment
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7076
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7076
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 164-174
Author-Name: Dejan Jontes
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Author-Name: Tanja Oblak Črnič
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Author-Name: Breda Luthar
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract: Based on the assumptions that digital media are used as integrated structures or “polymedia repertoires” and that media practices cannot be treated as unrelated practices performed on distinct platforms, the present study examined the digital sociability of young people and their media prosumption in a polymedia environment. Data were collected from group interviews of 67 12- to 19-year-olds and 59 personal visualised media sketches. The study focused on teenage engagement with news as part of their media repertoires and their understanding of what news is in the context of general platform sociability conditions, including a state of permanent connectedness and constant anticipation of something new. Their sociability based on permanent activity and affective engagement was enabled and framed by the algorithmically produced regime of visibility and the promise of liveness. The findings indicated that an important consequence of the increased fragmentation of activities is the naturalisation of the performance of multiple media practices at the same time. Although the complexity of such performance, even among teenagers, revealed socially distinctive categories, clear hierarchies between types of practices—such as watching news or pop culture, online shopping and doing homework—and the cultural differentiation of the dominant contexts for these practices—such as school and leisure—were eroded. The contexts of school, home, and leisure thus collapse, and the definition of important news journalism becomes highly unstable, with the distinction between pop and politics generally disintegrating.
Keywords: adolescents; social media; digital visibility; liveness; news repertoires; media engagement; media repertoires; polymedia; permanently online
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:164-174

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The EU Approach to Safeguard Children’s Rights on Video-Sharing Platforms: Jigsaw or Maze?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7059
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7059
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 151-163
Author-Name: Valerie Verdoodt
Author-Workplace-Name: Law and Technology Research Group, Ghent University, Belgium
Author-Name: Eva Lievens
Author-Workplace-Name: Law and Technology Research Group, Ghent University, Belgium
Author-Name: Argyro Chatzinikolaou
Author-Workplace-Name: Law and Technology Research Group, Ghent University, Belgium
Abstract: Children are keen consumers of audiovisual media content. Video-sharing platforms (VSPs), such as YouTube and TikTok, offer a wealth of child-friendly or child-appropriate content but also content which—depending on the age of the child—might be considered inappropriate or potentially harmful. Moreover, such VSPs often deploy algorithmic recommender systems to personalise the content that children are exposed to (e.g., through auto-play features), leading to concerns about diversity of content or spirals of content related to, for instance, eating disorders or self-harm. This article explores the responsibilities of VSPs with respect to children that are imposed by existing, recently adopted, and proposed EU legislation. Instruments that we investigate include the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, the General Data Protection Regulation, the Digital Services Act, and the proposal for an Artificial Intelligence Act. Based on a legal study of policy documents, legislation, and scholarship, this contribution investigates to what extent this legislative framework sets obligations for VSPs to safeguard children’s rights and discusses how these obligations align across different legislative instruments.
Keywords: video-sharing platforms; audiovisual content; children’s rights; legislation
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:151-163

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Can an Awareness Campaign Boost the Effectiveness of Influencer Marketing Disclosures in YouTube Videos?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7050
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7050
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 140-150
Author-Name: Sophie C. Boerman
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands / Strategic Communication Group, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Eva A. van Reijmersdal
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Esther Rozendaal
Author-Workplace-Name: Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: Answering the strong need for insight into how minors can effectively be informed about advertising (e.g., influencer marketing) in online content, we ran an online experiment (<em>N</em> = 623 minors between 8 and 18 years old) testing the effects of two pictograms that were designed in co-creation with minors and the potential of an awareness campaign to boost the pictogram’s effectiveness. Our findings provide three important insights that have implications for theory, practice, and regulation. First, we find that minors are able to distinguish between sponsored and non-sponsored videos, indicating that they have developed some level of advertising literacy in this context. Second, our study shows that the two pictograms informing minors about advertising in online videos went unnoticed by most viewers and did not enhance conceptual or attitudinal advertising literacy. Third, the awareness campaign did not lead to higher recognition of the pictograms nor enhanced advertising literacy. The campaign did increase minors’ understanding of the meaning of the pictograms. However, the majority of minors also understood the pictograms without the campaign. Based upon our findings, we argue that pictograms are unnoticed by most minors and seem ineffective in enhancing minors’ advertising literacy. Although an awareness campaign can familiarize minors with pictograms and their implementation in online videos, it does not seem to boost the pictogram’s effects on advertising literacy.
Keywords: advertising literacy; awareness campaign; disclosure; influencer marketing; minors; online video; persuasion knowledge; pictograms; transparency
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:140-150

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Adolescents’ Augmented Reality Filter Usage on Social Media, Developmental Process, and Well-Being
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7016
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7016
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 129-139
Author-Name: Julia Szambolics
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Public Relations, and Advertising, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Author-Name: Sonia Malos
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Public Relations, and Advertising, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Author-Name: Delia Cristina Balaban
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Public Relations, and Advertising, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Abstract: Social media platforms are relevant for the media diet of adolescents. Augmented reality (AR) filters on social media are prevalent within the media consumption of this age group. Recent studies have unveiled the negative impact of beautifying AR filters and digitally enhanced pictures on adolescents’ well-being. However, there is a need for an in-depth understanding of how adolescents use AR filters beyond aesthetic reasons. Therefore, the present study aims to contribute to the existing scholarship by focusing on various AR filters and their relation to adolescents’ well-being. We investigate different ways of using AR filters (e.g., public posts versus ephemeral settings or direct messages to online friends) inspired by peers and social media influencers. Thus, we conducted four focus groups with <em>N = </em>40 adolescent participants aged 14 to 18 from a European country. Our findings align with previous research on adults, showing that adolescents use AR filters for fun, entertainment, creativity, interaction, and self-expression. Besides, adolescents’ well-being determined using AR filters can be tied to crucial elements of the developmental process, such as connections, identity, learning, and emotions. Results showed that using AR filters on social media can facilitate socializing and increase self-esteem. Conversely, their use is time-consuming and can cause adolescents frustration and enhance social pressure. This study provides new insights into adolescents’ AR-filter-related interactions. Furthermore, it contributes to the literature on AR filter usage, well-being, and the developmental process of adolescents.
Keywords: adolescents; AR filters; augmented reality; social media; social media influencers; well-being
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:129-139

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Digital Media and Younger Audiences
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7647
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7647
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 124-128
Author-Name: Olga Kolotouchkina
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Communication Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Celia Rangel
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Communication Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Patricia Núñez Gómez
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Communication Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Abstract: The active digital engagement of children and teens from a very early age makes them the most prolific digital users and online content creators. Simultaneously, this high level of digital exposure enhances their vulnerability to online risks and the potential for them to encounter harmful online content. This dynamic has profound implications for all dimensions and stakeholders within the digital ecosystem. This thematic issue presents a comprehensive review of the significant advantages, critical risks, and challenges arising from the extensive online engagement of children and adolescents. This body of research provides valuable insights and identifies future research avenues related to emotional well-being, identity development, perceptions of social success and self-esteem, as well as examining the critical aspects concerning digital literacy and the regulatory frameworks governing digital content providers.
Keywords: adolescents; children; digital literacy; digital media; digital vulnerabilities; influencers; online content; self-regulation; video-sharing platforms
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:124-128

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Overcoming the Age Barrier: Improving Older Adults’ Detection of Political Disinformation With Media Literacy
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7090
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7090
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 113-123
Author-Name: Charo Sádaba
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication, University of Navarra, Spain
Author-Name: Ramón Salaverría
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication, University of Navarra, Spain
Author-Name: Xavier Bringué
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication, University of Navarra, Spain
Abstract: <span lang="PT">This experimental study analyzes the effect of media literacy on the ability of Spanish seniors over 50 years of age to identify fake news. The experiment measures the improvement achieved by older adults in the detection of political disinformation thanks to a digital competence course offered through WhatsApp. The study comprises a total sample of 1,029 individuals, subdivided into a control group (<em>n</em> = 531) and an experimental group (<em>n</em> = 498), from which a qualified experimental subsample (<em>n</em> = 87) was extracted. Results reveal that participants’ political beliefs, ranging from left to right positions, influence their ability to detect misinformation. A progressive political position is associated with higher accuracy in identifying right-biased news headlines and lower accuracy for left-biased headlines. A conservative position is associated with higher accuracy when the news headline has a progressive bias, but lower accuracy when the headline is right-wing. Users are more critical when the headline has a bias against theirs, while they are more likely to believe news that confirms their own beliefs. The study adds evidence on the relevance of cognitive biases in disinformation and supports the convenience of designing specific media literacy actions aimed at older adults.</span>
Keywords: fake news; information disorders; media literacy; news bias; older adults; political disinformation; Spain; WhatsApp
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:113-123

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: EU Representations in Portuguese Media and Populism: Embodying Political Antipodes?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7135
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7135
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 101-112
Author-Name: Maria Raquel Freire
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, Portugal / Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Author-Name: Sofia José Santos
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, Portugal / Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Author-Name: Moara Assis Crivelente
Author-Workplace-Name: Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Author-Name: Luiza Almeida Bezerra
Author-Workplace-Name: Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Abstract: <div><span>Mass media mediate different publics, thus being crucial in constructing political reality. By selecting which topics are covered (agenda), which voices are heard, or how social and political issues/actors/dynamics are represented (priming and framing), mass media impacts how political conversations and processes unfold. Acknowledging the increasing mediatisation of politics, this article zooms into media texts of the Portuguese media during a complex political period that included national elections to explore how populism as a term, label, or topic was used and/or co-opted to create and negotiate political EU representations. Building on a historical perspective and using critical thematic analysis, this article argues that populism was used in the media and by the media as a discursive mechanism of political positionality and/or delegitimisation or criticism of political actors, agendas, or moves, thus making populism and the EU co-constitutively used as embodying political antipodes and making the EU work as a discursive buffer concerning populism in the country. </span></div>
Keywords: Covid-19; elections; European Union; media; mediatisation; populism; Portugal
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:101-112

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The EU as an ATM? Media Perception Analysis of Next Generation Funds in Spain
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7130
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7130
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 86-100
Author-Name: Marcos Mayo-Cubero
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Media and Communication Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Lucía García-Carretero
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Information Sciences, UDIMA, Spain
Author-Name: María-José Establés
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Media and Communication Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Luis-Miguel Pedrero-Esteban
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication and Arts, Antonio de Nebrija University, Spain
Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic has been a turning point in terms of communication and economics within the borders of the EU. Hence, the economic response to the consequences of the pandemic has been different from previous crises. Both factors influence the media’s representation of the European project, and the construction of this image is particularly relevant to generating a favourable public opinion towards the European project. This research aims to determine how the Spanish media represent the Next Generation recovery funds and to determine the main discourses around this issue. We analysed news items disseminated by a sample of six leading Spanish news media through qualitative and quantitative methods by applying content and critical discourse analysis. The selection collects data via Twitter from July 2021 to March 2022. We found that media discourse reflects a pro-European sentiment, departing from previous Eurosceptic views. Next Generation funds have positively influenced Spanish perception of the EU and shifted the narrative towards Europeanisation. The EU’s support for Spanish funds management advances European integration, but concerns about transparency and control remain. The findings show how the Spanish media present a pro-European view, placing the economic response as a window of opportunity for profound political, societal, and economic structural changes in Spain.
Keywords: disinformation; Europeanisation; journalism; media; Next Generation EU; political polarisation; recovery funds; Spain
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:86-100

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Eurabia Conspiracy Theory: Twitter’s Political Influencers, Narratives, and Information Sources
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7247
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7247
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 73-85
Author-Name: Sara Monaci
Author-Workplace-Name: Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Author-Name: Domenico Morreale
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Human Sciences, Guglielmo Marconi University, Italy
Author-Name: Simone Persico
Author-Workplace-Name: Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Abstract: In recent years, conspiracy theories on social media have emerged as a significant issue capable of undermining social perceptions of European integration. Narratives such as the Eurabia doctrine, which would imply an ethnic replacement of the indigenous European population with migrants (Bergmann, 2018), have been a significant resonance. Thanks to computational analysis, we have collected data from Twitter over three years (2020, 2021, and 2022) during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this period, we collected over 50,000 tweets strictly related to the Eurabia doctrine topic in different European languages. Analysing the collected data, we identified the most relevant voices spreading conspiracy theories online, the emerging narratives related to the Eurabia doctrine, and the primary sources used by the most active or mentioned subjects in spreading disinformation.
Keywords: conspiracy theories; Eurabia doctrine; population replacement conspiracy; social media; Twitter
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:73-85

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: How Public Service Media Disinformation Shapes Hungarian Public Discourse
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7148
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7148
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 62-72
Author-Name: Ágnes Urbán
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Infocommunication, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary / Mertek Media Monitor, Hungary
Author-Name: Gábor Polyák
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary / Mertek Media Monitor, Hungary
Author-Name: Kata Horváth
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary / Mertek Media Monitor, Hungary
Abstract: The structure of the illiberal Hungarian media system is well documented. Fewer publications address the question of how disinformation is reshaping public discourse in Hungary. The most important feature of disinformation in Hungary is that it is often generated and disseminated by the pro-government media. This is certainly unusual, as in other EU countries it is typically the fringe media which are responsible for spreading disinformation. The Russian war against Ukraine illustrates how the disinformation ecosystem works in Hungary, and it also reveals its devastating impact on democratic public discourse. Public service media play a prominent role in spreading disinformation. We were able to identify several false narratives in the period of the first year since the start of the war. In the first few months of the war, a key element of disinformation that was being spread in Hungary suggested that Ukraine had provoked the armed conflict. Later, the prevailing message was that only Hungary wanted peace, while the Western powers were interested in a continuation of the war. During autumn, the focus of the disinformation campaign increasingly shifted to the EU, disseminating an anti-EU message that was more concerned with the sanctions than the war. The pro-government media constantly told news consumers that the economic difficulties and the rise in energy prices had not been caused by the war launched by Russia but by the sanctions that the EU had imposed in response to the aggression. Public opinion research clearly shows the impact of these narratives on the perceptions of the Hungarian public. The polls readily capture how the Hungarian public’s opinion has changed over time. This study is primarily based on a content analysis of the relevant shows of the M1 public television channel, but we have also relied on some insights from public opinion polls to inform our analysis.
Keywords: disinformation; Hungary; propaganda; pro-Russian media; public service media; sanctions; war
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:62-72

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Rhetorics of Hope and Outrage: Emotion and Cynicism in the Coverage the Schengen Accession
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7137
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7137
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 47-61
Author-Name: Radu M. Meza
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Digital Media, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Abstract: Discourses on European integration and Euroscepticism have benefitted from increased interest after Brexit. Researchers point out that there is a great variance from one national context to another and that there is a gap in the literature concerning non-elite discourses and perspectives from Central and Eastern European countries such as Romania. The Eurobarometer findings of early 2023 indicate a shift in Romanian public opinion towards Euroscepticism. To better understand the potential causes for these shifts, we approach the politicisation of the issue in Romania through an analysis of online news headlines and related social media news sharing metadata. In the aftermath of the decision not to accept Romania and Bulgaria, this research investigates shifts in the media framing of the Schengen issue and EU over two months (from October 15 to December 15, 2022) in the 14 most accessed Romanian online news sites (with more than 10 million visits per month). Quantitative analysis of news headlines (<em>N</em> = 3,362) shows that the coverage focuses on Romanian politicians in power and emphasises conflict. Furthermore, the analysis of the interactions produced by news sharing of the analysed sample shows the impact of the political rhetoric encouraging the boycotting of Austrian companies in retaliation for the denial of Schengen Area accession: scapegoating and disenchantment with politics and politicians. The two-step approach used and results that use Facebook interactions as indicators of public resonance of politicisation and strategic framing may be replicated in future research.
Keywords: discursive patterns; emotionality; Euroscepticism; Facebook; linguistic indicators; news sharing; Romania; Schengen Area
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:47-61

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Measuring Receptivity to Eurosceptic Media Discourses in the Vicinity of War: Evidence from Romania
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7122
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7122
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 34-46
Author-Name: Mihnea S. Stoica
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Public Relations, and Advertising, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Author-Name: Andreea Voina
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Public Relations, and Advertising, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Abstract: Ever since its accession to the EU, Romania was considered an exceptional case among member states, given the unwavering high levels of popular support for the EU. However, the most recent elections held in Romania brought about the unexpected emergence of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), a far-right populist party that strongly opposes the European project, which it accuses of resembling “a harmful hegemony.” The war in Ukraine represented another chance for AUR to bash the EU for its reaction in supporting Ukraine. The current article examines the degree to which anti-EU appeals of AUR influence Eurosceptic attitudes in Romania. In doing so, the present research pursues two distinct, but complementary goals. The first is to perform a content analysis of Eurosceptic narratives disseminated by AUR through its main social media channels since the start of the war. The second goal is then, employing four logistic regression models and using unique data collected through an online interactive survey, to test which of these narratives matter the most in shaping Eurosceptic attitudes. The article allows us to develop a nuanced understanding of what triggered a change of heart in a significant part of the Romanian electorate vis-à-vis the EU and the influence of Eurosceptic media discourse in this sense.
Keywords: Euroscepticism; far-right; political communication; populism; Romania; social media; war
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:34-46

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The War in Ukraine and the EU’s Geopolitical Role in Spanish Media Discourses
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7073
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7073
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 20-33
Author-Name: Gracia Abad Quintanal
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Law and International Relations, Nebrija University, Spain / SEGERICO Group, Nebrija University, Spain
Author-Name: Sonia Boulos
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Law and International Relations, Nebrija University, Spain / SEGERICO Group, Nebrija University, Spain
Author-Name: Branislav Radeljić
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Law and International Relations, Nebrija University, Spain / Department of Government and Society, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates
Abstract: The EU’s ability to protect common interests and effectively address the challenges faced by its members relating to external threats is one of the most debated questions in the European landscape. Understandably, the war in Ukraine has had a major impact on discourses regarding the EU Common Security and Defense Policy, granting them more space and thus visibility in the media and public debates. Our study examines Spanish media discourses about the EU’s geopolitical role and, more specifically, to what extent such discourses foster or hamper European integration processes. To collect data and carry out this study, we selected six media outlets based on their ownership, ideological stance, consumption frequency, and impact on public opinion. Our sample includes 540 news items, collected between July 2021 and March 2022. Our discourse analysis benefits from, inter alia, a Foucauldian framework that focuses on the sayable, conservation, memory, reactivation, and appropriation. In addition, we also identify communicative strategies that are employed to promote different discourses, as well as possible policy alternatives, concerning the EU’s geopolitical role and future prospects.
Keywords: European Union; geopolitics; media discourses; security; Spain; Ukraine; war
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:20-33

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Downplaying Euroscepticism in Mainstream Media: The Schengen Accession of Romania and Bulgaria
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7131
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7131
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 5-19
Author-Name: Adriana Ștefănel
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Cultural Anthropology and Communication, University of Bucharest, Romania
Author-Name: Antonio Momoc
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Cultural Anthropology and Communication, University of Bucharest, Romania
Author-Name: Romina Surugiu
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Cultural Anthropology and Communication, University of Bucharest, Romania
Abstract: Scholars have expressed concern about the growth of Eurosceptic discourses in the media since Taggart’s (1998) article on Euroscepticism. While some progress has been made in understanding the media’s role in increasing Euroscepticism, previous studies have primarily focused on Western European media discourses. This research aims to address the knowledge gap on Eurosceptic discourse in Eastern Europe by analysing the impact of the veto against Romania and Bulgaria’s application to join Schengen, as reflected in mainstream media. The research question is: To what extent the Eurosceptic discourse arose in both countries in the weeks before and after the Justice and Home Affairs Council (8–9 December 2022)? The findings indicate that mainstream-mediated discourse employed a strategy of downplaying Euroscepticism. The Romanian and Bulgarian political class labelled the failure to join Schengen as “disappointing,” “unfair,” “unjustified,” and “regrettable.” This research provides evidence of how mainstream media discourses addressed the issue while promoting the European integration project by minimising Euroscepticism.
Keywords: Bulgaria; Euroscepticism; mainstream media; populism; Romania; Schengen Area
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:5-19

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Charting the Impacts of Media Discourses on the European Integration Project
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7526
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i4.7526
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 4
Pages: 1-4
Author-Name: Ana Pérez-Escoda
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Antonio de Nebrija University, Spain
Author-Name: Tetyana Lokot
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communications, Dublin City University, Ireland
Abstract: The over-exposure to information facilitated by the hybrid media system and social networks is a key factor contributing to the increasing polarization of public opinion on major political issues. The European integration project is one of the major political processes affected by information manipulation and disinformation. In this regard, social networks have become powerful tools for nurturing news siloes or “echo chambers,” influencing people’s perceptions of important political issues in a manner that could have a destabilizing effect on democratic processes and institutions. In this context, the role of media discourses and their circulation among networked publics has become particularly relevant, leading audiences to adopt different views supporting or rejecting the European project. This thematic issue features a range of articles considering how the Europeanization process is impacted by discourses circulating in the hybrid media system or threatened by the destructive dynamics of disinformation and polarization.
Keywords: digital literacy; disinformation; Europeanization; European Union; Euroscepticism; media discourses; polarization; social networks
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:4:p:1-4

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Local News Deserts in China: The Role of Social Media and Personal Communication Networks
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6812
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6812
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 426-436
Author-Name: Zixue Tai
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Media, University of Kentucky, USA
Author-Name: Bai He
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Minjiang University, China
Author-Name: Jianping Liu
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Minjiang University, China
Abstract: The field of local news is often associated with news deserts, commonly defined as geo-based communities without newspapers or other legacy media as providers of locally oriented news and civic information. This phenomenon is expanding in global society due to the diminishing presence of newspapers at moments of accelerated digitization. This study examines the multiplex nature of news deserts in rural and suburban areas in China. Data were collected through a multi-methods approach combining two focus groups and 44 semi-structured in-depth interviews. Patterns of engagement among interviewees reveal that smartphone-based social media applications and digital platforms function as viable sources of news, and incidental exposure to news has become the norm of digital news use. Government-orchestrated convergent media services and WeChat channels are preferred choices by most research participants for local news. We argue that a media ecology perspective may be a productive approach to understanding community news and local newspapers.
Keywords: China; community news; Convergent Media; media ecology; news desert; social media; WeChat
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:426-436

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Dealing With Covid-19 in Casual Democracies
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6807
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6807
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 414-425
Author-Name: Steen Steensen
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway
Abstract: This article reports findings from an in-depth, autoethnographic study of local communities in Denmark and England left behind by local journalism. The study was conducted during—and is thematically framed by—the Covid-19 pandemic, and it investigates how news, information, and deliberation related to this crisis were facilitated in the communities. The article embarks from ideas of informed citizenship and problems of misinformation and free speech related to the pandemic, and it aims to uncover developments in local democracy in places left behind by local journalism and dominated by platforms. The article argues that “news desert” is not an accurate term describing such places. Instead, such places and their social media platform dependency constitute what is identified as “casual democracies.” In casual local democracies, who and what gets to dominate the local public spheres is difficult to predict, as are the credibility and trustworthiness of local news and information and the interests that local news and information providers serve. Such local democracies are, to a large degree, shaped by informal power structures, individual agency, and the infrastructure of platforms.
Keywords: Covid-19; free speech; infodemic; local democracy; local journalism; misinformation; news deserts
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:414-425

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Examining the Social, Civic, and Political Impact of Local Newspaper Closure in Outback Australia
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6697
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6697
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 404-413
Author-Name: Marco Magasic
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University, Australia
Author-Name: Kristy Hess
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University, Australia
Author-Name: Julie Freeman
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University, Australia
Abstract: Scholars across the globe have focused intently on mapping news deserts and gaps where public interest journalism is lacking or in peril. However, little attention is paid to understanding the impacts and changing media-related practices of people who live in communities that lose a designated news service—notably a local newspaper. This article draws on a focused ethnographic study of a small outback mining town, Lightning Ridge (population 2,284), in central New South Wales, Australia. The research was conducted over a two-month period and involved participant observation, 31 interviews with residents and relevant stakeholders, and examination of several media platforms relevant to the town. The article begins with an overview of Australian policy interventions to address the decline of public interest journalism. It then discusses the impact of a local newspaper’s closure via three themes—social, civic, and political. This is important because much of the policy focus in Australia is on the threat “news gaps” present to democracy. However, it is also necessary to understand the nuances of local media’s role in shaping everyday social connections and ritualistic practices and elevating issues to local networks of power. The article concludes by considering how current policy interventions can learn from failed attempts to fill the news gap in Lightning Ridge.
Keywords: local journalism; local newspapers; news gaps; news deserts; rural media
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:404-413

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Local Journalism With State Support
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7503
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.7503
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 401-403
Author-Name: Gunnar Nygren
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism, Södertörn University, Switzerland
Abstract: In Sweden, the system of press subsidies was expanded in 2019 to give special support for “weakly covered areas.” This new support has had positive effects, but changes in the system also introduced new demands on the content concerning democratic values etc. If state support should be used for saving local journalism, how far can state influence on the content be acceptable for independent local media? The commentary describes the system of support and discusses this crucial question.
Keywords: local journalism; news deserts; political influence; press subsidies; state support; Sweden
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:401-403

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Deserted Local News: Exploring News Deserts From a Journalistic Recruitment Perspective
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6738
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6738
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 390-400
Author-Name: Ragnhild Kr. Olsen
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway
Author-Name: Birgit Røe Mathisen
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Science, Nord University, Norway
Abstract: An emerging body of research addresses how news deserts cause democratic deficits. This literature is mostly concerned with the closure of local news outlets. The present study was carried out in Norway, a country characterised by rich local media infrastructure. However, recruiting skilled and trained journalists to staff this infrastructure is challenging. Based on qualitative interviews with editors and journalism students (<em>N</em> = 21), this article explores the lack of skilled local journalists at small local newspapers, through a job attractiveness lens, and exposes how economic, geographic, and professional prestige factors contribute to labour deficits, identified as a brain drain threat in local journalism. The study expands the news desert research beyond the closure of local newspapers to encompass journalist labour deficits in an otherwise stable and diverse local media environment and discusses professional, societal, and political implications of the recruitment problem.
Keywords: brain drain; job attractiveness; journalistic recruitment; local journalism; news desert
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:390-400

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Backed Into a Corner: Structural Changes That Lead to Local News Deserts
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6731
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6731
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 381-389
Author-Name: Lenka Waschková Císařová
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media Studies and Journalism, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Abstract: On the surface, it may look like there are no news deserts in the Czech Republic, but that does not mean that all audiences are able to get relevant local news. Apart from independent local news outlets, which are diminishing, Czech districts are served by information provided either by a delocalised publishing chain or a municipality press that promotes the local government. I will focus on the emergence of news deserts from the perspective of independent local newspapers, especially on the structural changes that lead to the declining number of media outlets that offer local news in Czechia. Moreover, I take the bottom-up approach to reflect on the local journalists’ point of view. The mixed-method research, which was conducted in 2019 and 2020, consisted of a survey of local newspaper owners and in-depth interviews with local journalists. I identified several structural changes to both the local newspapers and to the general publishing industry that have led to growing organisational and economic problems for the local newspapers, and often to their demise. Local news is still carried by newspapers, which depend on the traditional business model and are slow with their digital transition. Their survival is based on (non)cooperation with either ancillary organisations (printing office, distribution firm, and sales outlet) or other local newspapers. Newspapers are cornered by the demands of external actors; their economic stability depends on the self-sufficiency of their production.
Keywords: entrepreneurial initiative; local journalists; local media; media cooperation; media infrastructure; news desert; newspapers’ self-sufficiency; structural changes
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:381-389

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: A Discursive Evolution: Trade Publications Explain News Deserts to United States Journalists
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6691
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6691
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 371-380
Author-Name: Patrick Ferrucci
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism, University of Colorado-Boulder, USA
Author-Name: Teri Finneman
Author-Workplace-Name: William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas, USA
Author-Name: Meg Heckman
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism, Northeastern University, USA
Author-Name: Pamela E. Walck
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media, Duquesne University, USA
Abstract: Although diminishing newsrooms—and gaping holes in community news coverage—have been acknowledged in the US for over a decade, the term “news desert” did not widely emerge in discourse among industry professionals to refer to places that lacked news outlets until the fall of 2018. While much work in various disciplines, including journalism studies, aims to uncover the causes behind news deserts and the effects of their proliferation, scant research attempts to understand how journalists themselves see these issues. Utilizing metajournalistic discourse analysis of journalism trade magazines, this study examined seven publications and found 97 articles published between January 1, 2017, and September 30, 2022, that used the term “news desert.” The aim is to understand how industry insiders constructed the concept and explained the repercussions of the phenomenon to other journalists. This has broader implications for understanding how journalism as an interpretive community constructs the field and the issues confronting it, particularly in times of crisis. This study found that industry leaders cannot agree on a clear definition of news deserts, have only recently begun to acknowledge the ethnic and socioeconomic communities most affected by a lack of news coverage, and rarely articulate, beyond generalities, the effects news deserts have on citizens. These results are then considered through the lens of journalistic reflexivity, national audience response, and potential solutions.
Keywords: community journalism; local news; metajournalistic discourse; news deserts; trade publications; US media
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:371-380

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Rise of the Zombie Papers: Infecting Germany’s Local and Regional Public Media Ecosystem
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6816
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6816
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 360-370
Author-Name: Karin Assmann
Author-Workplace-Name: College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia, USA
Abstract: Germany’s public broadcasters, along with local newspapers, have consistently ranked among the top three most trusted news sources in Germany. Yet growing criticism of mandatory fees and recent revelations about public broadcasters’ misuse of funds have put into question the health of Germany’s news and information infrastructure. In fact, a perfect storm appears to be brewing: precarious working conditions, exacerbated by cutbacks in the wake of Covid-19 and the emergence of so-called zombie papers. These papers, published without a local staff, reporters, or newsrooms, threaten to complicate audiences’ perceptions of news credibility and trust. This study explores Germany’s emerging news deserts by examining the rise of zombie newspapers in two states, one in the Western and one in the Eastern part of the country. Analyses of existing literature through the lens of institutional political economy and of interviews with key informants show that Germany, despite its strong federalized system, is following in US footsteps by creating journalist-free zones. A network of hard-to-follow corporate collaborations is endangering the foundations of post-war Germany’s media system: pluralism and media diversity.
Keywords: Germany; ghost papers; local news; news deserts; public media; zombie papers
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:360-370

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Co-Creating News Oases in Media Deserts
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6869
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6869
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 355-359
Author-Name: Michelle Barrett Ferrier
Author-Workplace-Name: Independent Researcher, USA
Abstract: The Media Deserts Project is a research effort to map and model the changing media landscape in the United States. Media deserts are defined as geographies lacking fresh, daily news and information. Using circulation data of US print newspapers, emerging hyperlocal online news sites in digital networks, and broadband access data from the Federal Communication Commission, the Media Deserts Project maps these changes using geographic information systems down to the zip code level, making visible local communication systems and gaps. To develop community-centered news and information solutions, this research team used community-based research practices, where students engaged with residents, local business leaders, health, education, and other administrators to examine the communication needs of three specific communities in Southeast Ohio. We centered our efforts on building relationships with community members and designing localized media tools. We learned key insights that we believe may travel well into other projects using community-based engagement, participatory design, and co-creation practices.
Keywords: civic communication; community-centered journalism; Media Deserts Project; media deserts; media ecologies; news desert; news oases; online news
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:355-359

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Investigating News Deserts on the Content Level: Geographical Diversity in Swiss News Media
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6794
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6794
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 343-354
Author-Name: Daniel Vogler
Author-Workplace-Name: Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society, University of Zurich, Switzerland / Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Morley Weston
Author-Workplace-Name: Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society, University of Zurich, Switzerland / Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Linards Udris
Author-Workplace-Name: Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society, University of Zurich, Switzerland / Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: With its diverse landscape of regional and local news media, Switzerland seems far from being a news desert. However, the centralization of editorial offices following the economic crisis of journalism has led to news outlets that share most of their content but appear under different names in different regions. This development has fostered fears about declining geographical diversity at the regional level in the news coverage of Swiss news media. We argue that this centralization by regional news outlets affects news content; it constitutes a specific process of news desertification, which is not aptly captured by news desert research’s focus at the outlet level. With our explorative study, we aim to analyze news deserts at the content level. We apply an automated geoparser to a manually annotated dataset of local news media articles (<em>n</em> = 5,173) published by six regional news outlets of two news organizations between 2016 and 2021 to determine the extent and development of geographical diversity in Swiss regional news media. The geoparser uses a weighted gazetteer-based approach to determine the most relevant locations of news articles within Switzerland. We find early signs of news desertification. At the output level, we observe a declining number of articles published by the analyzed outlets. At the performance level, we see a declining number of unique place names in the articles and more mentions per article. However, the diversity of place names in the coverage remains stable.
Keywords: geographical diversity; local journalism; media content concentration; news desert; news desertification; Switzerland
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:343-354

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: A Computational Mapping of Online News Deserts on African News Websites
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6857
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6857
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 330-342
Author-Name: Dani Madrid-Morales
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism Studies, University of Sheffield, UK
Author-Name: Joan Ramon Rodríguez-Amat
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media Arts and Communications, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Author-Name: Peggy Lindner
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Information Science Technology, University of Houston, USA
Abstract: <span>To date, the study of news deserts, geographic spaces lacking local news and information, has largely focused on countries in the Global North, particularly the United States, and has predominantly been interested in the causes and consequences of the disappearance of local media outlets (e.g., newspapers and TV stations) to the social fabric of a community. In this article, we extend the concept of “news deserts” by drawing on literature on the geography of news in Africa, where information voids have long been documented but have not been studied within the conceptual framework of news deserts. Using computational tools, we analyse a sample of 519,004 news articles published in English or French by news websites in 39 African countries. We offer evidence of the existence of online news deserts at two levels: at a continental level (i.e., some countries/regions are hardly ever covered by online media of other African countries) and at a domestic level (i.e., online news media of a given country seldom cover large areas of the said country). This article contributes to the study of news deserts by (a) examining a continent that has not been featured in previous research, (b) testing a methodological approach that employs computational tools to study news geographies online, and (c) exploring the flexibility of the term and its applicability to different media ecosystems.</span>
Keywords: Africa; digital media; geography of news; news websites; online news deserts
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:330-342

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The News Crawler: A Big Data Approach to Local Information Ecosystems
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6789
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6789
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 318-329
Author-Name: Asma Khanom
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism, University of Missouri–Columbia, USA
Author-Name: Damon Kiesow
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism, University of Missouri–Columbia, USA
Author-Name: Matt Zdun
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri–Columbia, USA
Author-Name: Chi-Ren Shyu
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri–Columbia, USA
Abstract: In the past 20 years, Silicon Valley’s platforms and opaque algorithms have increasingly influenced civic discourse, helping Facebook, Twitter, and others extract and consolidate the revenues generated<em>. </em>That trend has reduced the profitability of local news organizations, but not the importance of locally created news reporting in residents’ day-to-day lives. The disruption of the economics and distribution of news has reduced, scattered, and diversified local news sources (digital-first newspapers, digital-only newsrooms, and television and radio broadcasters publishing online), making it difficult to inventory and understand the information health of communities, individually and in aggregate. Analysis of this national trend is often based on the geolocation of known news outlets as a proxy for community coverage. This measure does not accurately estimate the quality, scale, or diversity of topics provided to the community. This project is developing a scalable, semi-automated approach to describe digital news content along journalism-quality-focused standards. We propose identifying representative corpora and applying machine learning and natural language processing to estimate the extent to which news articles engage in multiple journalistic dimensions, including geographic relevancy, critical information needs, and equity of coverage.
Keywords: critical information needs; information ecosystem; local news; machine learning; news deserts; United States
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:318-329

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Geography of Newspaper Circulations: A Spatial Taxonomy of “News(Paper) Deserts” in the United States
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6856
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6856
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 304-317
Author-Name: Ryan Yang Wang
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
Abstract: Using the newspaper circulation data collected through the Alliance for Audited Media (<em>n</em> = 1,925 across five years), this study provides the first empirical spatial analysis of newspaper circulation in the US, employing the theoretical framework of communication geography and the analytical tool of spatial econometrics. From 2018 to 2022, a steady decline (at an average of 24.1% per year) in newspaper circulation was observed in most of the counties in the dataset, after controlling for spatial and temporal random effects. A positive and significant spatial autocorrelation was found across the US. The local indicators of spatial association results identified four types of spatial clusters that offer a more nuanced understanding of the local spatial distribution of newspaper circulation: news deserts, news oases, news islands, and the fringe of news deserts. The study also used Bayesian spatiotemporal modeling to pinpoint the regions that are more sensitive to the spatial structure regarding the decline of newspaper circulation.
Keywords: communication geography; local indicators of spatial association; news deserts; newspaper circulation; United States
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:304-317

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: No People, No News: News Deserts and Areas at Risk in Spain
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6727
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6727
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 293-303
Author-Name: María-Cruz Negreira-Rey
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Author-Name: Jorge Vázquez-Herrero
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Author-Name: Xosé López-García
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Abstract: In recent decades Spain has suffered a gradual process of depopulation and exodus from rural areas to large capitals. The España Vaciada political and social movement denounces the country’s territorial inequality, while the government is working on a strategic plan to address the demographic challenge. At the media level, there is concern about citizens’ access to a local and quality journalistic service, key to the strengthening of communities and their democratic functioning. The main objective of this research is to explore the phenomenon of news deserts in Spain, identifying the areas that can be considered news deserts and those that are at risk of becoming so, based on the mapping of digital media in the country. The characteristics of the digital media of the autonomous communities with the highest presence of news deserts are studied to ascertain whether the risk factors of population or richness index are connected to their appearance. The results reveal that 6,304 (77.53%) Spanish municipalities can be considered news deserts, inhabited by 11.6 million people, 24.51% of the country’s total population. In addition, another 523 municipalities are at risk of becoming news deserts. In the regions with the largest number of news deserts, there is a clear concentration of media in the main capitals and a weak ecosystem of local and hyperlocal media. Depopulation is the main risk factor in the loss of media and news coverage in local communities.
Keywords: critical information needs; depopulation; digital media; local journalism; news deserts; Spain
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:293-303

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: News Deserts: A Research Agenda for Addressing Disparities in the United States
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6728
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6728
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 290-292
Author-Name: Penelope Muse Abernathy
Author-Workplace-Name: Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing, Northwestern University, USA
Abstract: News deserts are spread unevenly across the US, with as much as a fifth of the country’s population handicapped by a lack of access to critical news and information. There is a prodigious amount of recent research outlining the consequences for democracy. However, as policymakers, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs devise solutions, they are encountering gaps in information that hinder their ability to address the news disparities among communities. We need a focused research agenda that assists stakeholders in identifying the communities most at risk, understanding the current flow of critical news and information in communities without a local news provider, and establishing sustainable business models for existing and start-up organizations in both current news deserts and at-risk communities.
Keywords: at risk communities; business models; journalism disparities; local news; news deserts; United States
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:290-292

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Places and Spaces Without News: The Contested Phenomenon of News Deserts
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7612
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.7612
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 285-289
Author-Name: Agnes Gulyas
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Creative Arts and Industries, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK
Author-Name: Joy Jenkins
Author-Workplace-Name: Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri, USA
Author-Name: Annika Bergström
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism, Media and Communication, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Abstract: News deserts have gained prominence both in academic literature and policy discussions about local news in recent years. Although there is no agreed definition of the term, it usually refers to the lack of or diminishing availability, access, or use of local news or media in a community. It is seen as a significant phenomenon that highlights inequalities in local news provisions, challenges of local media operations in the digital environment, and issues around the quality of local journalism and the critical information needs of communities. This thematic issue aims to contribute to the field by bringing together different approaches to the topic, considering varied empirical studies and methodological designs, and providing perspectives from countries around the world with different media systems and cultures. The articles in the thematic issue address three broad issues: approaches to studying news deserts, local news production and news deserts, and the impact of news deserts on communities. Overall, the contributions reveal that the presence of a news desert is not a simple question of a locality having or not having a local media outlet. The concept is better understood as processes affecting access and quality of local news involving places, news media outlets and production, communities, and audiences. We end the editorial highlighting areas for further research, including the need for more holistic, conceptual, and comparative work on the topic.
Keywords: local communities; local journalism; local media; local news; media gaps; news deserts; news inequalities; subnational media.
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:285-289

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Barriers to Participation in Polarized Online Discussions About Covid-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian War
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6657
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6657
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 274-284
Author-Name: Martina Novotná
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Author-Name: Alena Macková
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Author-Name: Karolína Bieliková
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Author-Name: Patrícia Rossini
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Political and Social Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK
Abstract: Even though social networking sites create a unique online public space for the exchange of opinions, only a small share of citizens participate in online discussions. Moreover, research has depicted current online discussions as highly uncivil, hostile, and polarized, and the number of heated discussions has escalated in the last two years because of health, social, and security crises. This study investigates the perceived barriers to participation in Facebook discussions, focusing on two topics: the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War. It explores the role that the negativity of these online discussions has on participation. To investigate the perspectives of users and their personal experiences with online discussions in times of crisis, we apply a qualitative research method and interviews with participants. We collected and analyzed 50 semi-structured interviews with Czech Facebook users who participated in discussions during the spring of 2021 (i.e., Covid-19) and the spring of 2022 (i.e., Russo-Ukrainian War). The results show that, after initial mobilization at the beginning of the pandemic, the crisis reinforced several crucial barriers to participation in discussions due to the perceived persistence of polarization (e.g., the spread of disinformation, the bipolar character of discussions, negative perception of opponents), which subsequently spread to other areas and issues. The data also implies that these barriers tend to demobilize less active participants, those who do not have strong opinions, and participants who think the subject matter is not worth the heated exchange of opinions.
Keywords: Covid-19; cross-cutting discussions; Facebook; incivility online; online discussions; opinion polarization; Russo-Ukrainian War
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:274-284

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Datafication Markers: Curation and User Network Effects on Mobilization and Polarization During Elections
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6641
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6641
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 262-273
Author-Name: Emilija Gagrčin
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Media and Communication Studies, University of Mannheim, Germany
Author-Name: Jakob Ohme
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands / Weizenbaum Institut for the Networked Society, Germany
Author-Name: Lina Buttgereit
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Felix Grünewald
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Political Science, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany
Abstract: Social media platforms are crucial sources of political information during election campaigns, with datafication processes underlying the algorithmic curation of newsfeeds. Recognizing the role of individuals in shaping datafication processes and leveraging the metaphor of news attraction, we study the impact of user curation and networks on mobilization and polarization. In a two-wave online panel survey (<em>n</em> = 943) conducted during the 2021 German federal elections, we investigate the influence of self-reported user decisions, such as following politicians, curating their newsfeed, and being part of politically interested networks, on changes in five democratic key variables: vote choice certainty, campaign participation, turnout, issue reinforcement, and affective polarization. Our findings indicate a mobilizing rather than polarizing effect of algorithmic election news exposure and highlight the relevance of users’ political networks on algorithmic platforms.
Keywords: algorithmic platforms; datafication; election campaigns; mobilization; polarization
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:262-273

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Is Personality Key? Persuasive Effects of Prior Attitudes and Personality in Political Microtargeting
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6627
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6627
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 250-261
Author-Name: Hannah Decker
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Psychology: Media and Communication, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Author-Name: Nicole Krämer
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Psychology: Media and Communication, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany / Research Center Trustworthy Data Science and Security, Dortmund, Germany
Abstract: Messages that are designed to match a recipient’s personality, as enabled by microtargeting, have been found to influence political reasoning and even voting intentions. We extended these findings by adding prior attitudes to a microtargeting setting. Specifically, we examined what role different microtargeting approaches play in political reasoning by conducting an online experiment with a 2 (extraverted vs. introverted communication) × 2 (attitude-congruent vs. attitude-incongruent statement) between-subject design (<em>N</em> = 368). In line with the assumptions of the theory of motivated reasoning, attitude position matching emerged as an effective microtargeting strategy, and attitude strength moderated the effect of attitude congruency on recipients’ evaluations of political ads. While extraverted messages had no direct effect, that was unrelated to attitude congruency, recipients’ level of extraversion moderated the effect of extraverted communication on their evaluation of an ad. Interestingly, the intention to vote was significantly higher when an attitude-incongruent statement was phrased in an introverted rather than an extraverted manner, suggesting that information that challenges prior attitudes might be more persuasive when it is delivered in a more temperate way. In sum, the study indicates that matching message with personality alone might not be the most effective microtargeting approach within democratic societies.
Keywords: extraversion; motivated reasoning; political attitudes; political microtargeting; personality traits
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:250-261

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Instaworthy? Examining the Effects of (Targeted) Civic Education Ads on Instagram
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6614
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6614
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 238-249
Author-Name: Emilia Errenst
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Annelien Van Remoortere
Author-Workplace-Name: Strategic Communication Group, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Susan Vermeer
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Sanne Kruikemeier
Author-Workplace-Name: Strategic Communication Group, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
Abstract: The last few years have witnessed a growing societal and scholarly interest in the potential of online political microtargeting to affect election outcomes in favor of parties and candidates. It has often been rightly pointed out that political microtargeting can pose risks to electoral integrity in democracies. But can political microtargeting also benefit democratic functioning? Very little is known about the potential of political microtargeting to affect citizens’ attitudes towards politics and increase their civic participation. To address this paucity, this article presents a preregistered online experiment conducted in Germany among young adults (<em>N</em> = 445), examining whether (targeted) civic education ads on Instagram increase political interest, efficacy, and civic participation. An innovative methodological approach to studying political microtargeting is deployed, exposing respondents to civic education ads in a mock Instagram feed, personalized in real-time based on individual preferences. We find no direct evidence of (targeted) civic education ads, leading us to believe that (targeted) ads do not unconditionally affect political interest, efficacy, or civic participation.
Keywords: civic education; civic participation; Instagram; online advertisements; political microtargeting
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:238-249

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Fridays for Future and Mondays for Memes: How Climate Crisis Memes Mobilize Social Media Users
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6658
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6658
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 226-237
Author-Name: Michael Johann
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Communication and Media Studies, University of Leipzig, Germany / Department of Media, Knowledge, and Communication, University of Augsburg, Germany
Author-Name: Lukas Höhnle
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media, Knowledge, and Communication, University of Augsburg, Germany
Author-Name: Jana Dombrowski
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media Psychology, University of Hohenheim, Germany
Abstract: Modern protest movements rely on digital activism on social media, which serves as a conduit for mobilization. In the social media landscape, internet memes have emerged as a popular practice of expressing political protest. Although it is known that social media facilitates mobilization, researchers have neglected how distinct types of content affect mobilization. Moreover, research regarding users’ perspectives on mobilization through memes is lacking. To close these research gaps, this study investigates memes in the context of climate protest mobilization. Based on the four-step model of mobilization, a survey of users who create and share memes related to the Fridays for Future movement on social media (<em>N</em> = 325) revealed that the prosumption of climate crisis memes increases users’ issue involvement and strengthens their online networks. These factors serve as crucial mediators in the relationship between users’ prosumption of climate crisis memes and political participation. The results suggest that mobilization through memes is effective at raising awareness of political issues and strengthening online discussion networks, which means that it has strategic potential for protest movements. By looking at memes from the perspective of their creators and examining a specific type of social media content, this study contributes to the literature on digital mobilization.
Keywords: activism; climate crisis; Fridays for Future; internet memes; mobilization; political participation; prosumption; protest movements; social media
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:226-237

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Stuck With the Algorithm: Algorithmic Consciousness and Repertoire in Fridays for Future’s Data Contention
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6818
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6818
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 214-225
Author-Name: Giuliana Sorce
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Media Studies, University of Tübingen, Germany
Abstract: By focusing on the transnational youth climate movement Fridays for Future, this article explores how activists understand algorithms and how they try to use them in their digital campaigns. A qualitative case study, this article provides insights from nine virtual in-depth semi-structured interviews with organizers in social media roles from Fridays for Future country collectives across the globe, giving youth activists the opportunity to tell stories about their understandings and experiences in working in datafied spaces. Four central themes emerge via a three-step qualitative data analysis: algorithmic consciousness (understanding, functions, issues, pitfalls, and misinterpretations), algorithm as stake (contentious importance, tactical politics), algorithm as repertoire (role in activism, algorithmic campaigning), and data contention<em> </em>(data analysis, digital contentious tactics, uncritical uses). The interviews show that activists are stuck with the algorithm in two ways: They have to engage with them but are often unsure how. In that sense, activists frame algorithms as a stakeholder in their campaign but are often unclear on how they work. While organizers recognize algorithmic dependency on campaign success, they lack specific mobilization strategies, which prevents them from leveraging algorithms as a contentious tactic. Data contention includes conducting analytics and tailoring strategies to platforms; yet, datafied spaces are used largely uncritically. This article prompts scholars to go beyond textual analyses of digital activism and conduct research that centers on the experiences and practices of activists in dealing with algorithms and data as structural conditions for digital activism.
Keywords: algorithmic activism; data contention; environmental justice; Fridays for Future; social media mobilization; youth climate activism; virtual interviews
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:214-225

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Limits of Social Media Mobilization: How Protest Movements Adapt to Social Media Logic
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6635
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6635
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 203-213
Author-Name: Marlene Schaaf
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Author-Name: Oliver Quiring
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Abstract: The emergence of social networking sites offers protest movements new ways to mobilize for action and draw attention to their issues. However, relying on social media also creates challenges, as social media follow their own principles. If protest movements want to be visible in news feeds, they have to adapt to so-called social media logic, as originally postulated in mediatization research. The principles of social media have been conceptualized. However, there is a lack of empirical research on how political actors perceive and orient to this logic, how they learn about it, and the consequences for mobilization (i.e., communicating protest issues as well as taking protest action). As protest movements are an integral part of modern democracies, use social media somewhat intensively, and usually build on a fluid network structure that allows us to examine adaptation processes in greater detail, they are particularly suitable for addressing these questions. Semi-structured interviews with activists organizing protest actions or managing social media accounts from 29 movement organizations in Germany (<em>N</em> = 33) revealed that protest movements have internalized social media logic and paid attention to not only the design but also the timing of posts to suit algorithms. The protest organizations generally built on their experience with social media. The degree to which they followed these principles was based on available resources. Limits of this adaptation arose, for example, if sensitive or negative content rarely produced likes or, increasingly, personalization evoked a presumed hierarchy within the movements.
Keywords: activism; mediatization; mobilization; protest movements; social media
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:203-213

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: “Anti-Regime Influentials” Across Platforms: A Case Study of the Free Navalny Protests in Russia
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6643
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6643
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 187-202
Author-Name: Sofya Glazunova
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne, Australia / Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Author-Name: Malmi Amadoru
Author-Workplace-Name: Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology, Australia / Department of Information Technologies, HEC Montreal, Canada
Abstract: The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 has put the future of the Russian opposition further at stake. The new limitations towards political, internet, and press freedoms have led to a severe disintegration of the anti-regime movement in Russia, including its leaders like Alexey Navalny. Digital platforms had previously hosted anti-Kremlin narratives online and played a role in the facilitation of Russian anti-regime protests. The latest scalable anti-regime rallies to date were the Free Navalny protests, caused by the imprisonment of Navalny in 2021. Digital platforms strengthened the voice of the Russian regime critics; however, their growing visibility online caused further suppression in the country. To understand this paradox, we ask<em> </em>which main anti-regime communicators were influential in the protests’ discussions on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, and how platform features have facilitated their influence during the Free Navalny protests. We develop a multi-platform methodological workflow comprising network analysis, social media analytics, and qualitative methods to map the Russian anti-regime publics and identify its opinion leaders. We also evaluate the cultures of use of platforms and their features by various Russian anti-regime communicators seeking high visibility online. We distinguish between contextual and feature cultures of platform use that potentially aid the popularity of such actors and propose to cautiously confer the mobilisation and democratisation potential to digital platforms under growing authoritarianism.
Keywords: digital platforms; Navalny; non-systemic opposition; political influence; social media; Russia
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:187-202

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Are Online Political Influencers Accelerating Democratic Deconsolidation?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6813
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6813
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 175-186
Author-Name: Rachel Gibson
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Politics, University of Manchester, UK
Author-Name: Esmeralda Bon
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Politics, University of Manchester, UK
Author-Name: Philipp Darius
Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Digital Governance, Hertie School, Germany
Author-Name: Peter Smyth
Author-Workplace-Name: Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research, University of Manchester, UK
Abstract: Social media campaigning is increasingly linked with anti-democratic outcomes, with concerns to date centring on paid adverts, rather than organic content produced by a new set of online political influencers. This study systematically compares voter exposure to these new campaign actors with candidate-sponsored ads, as well as established and alternative news sources during the US 2020 presidential election. Specifically, we examine how far higher exposure to these sources is linked with key trends identified in the democratic deconsolidation thesis. We use data from a national YouGov survey designed to measure digital campaign exposure to test our hypotheses. Findings show that while higher exposure to online political influencers is linked to more extremist opinions, followers are not disengaging from conventional politics. Exposure to paid political ads, however, is confirmed as a potential source of growing distrust in political institutions.
Keywords: democratic deconsolidation; digital campaigning; micro-influencers; online election; online influencers; social media
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:175-186

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Social Media Influencers’ Role in Shaping Political Opinions and Actions of Young Audiences
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6750
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6750
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 164-174
Author-Name: Christina Peter
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communications, University of Klagenfurt, Austria
Author-Name: Luisa Muth
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political and Social Sciences, FU Berlin, Germany
Abstract: Social media influencers have become an indispensable part of social media, informing audiences, especially young ones, about various topics, such as beauty, lifestyle, or food. Recently more political influencers have emerged, and regular influencers have increasingly taken positions on political and societally relevant topics, including climate justice and gender equality. Yet, empirical evidence on how both types of influencers are perceived by their audiences and how they might impact young audiences regarding political action is scarce. Hence, the present study set out to investigate adolescents’ and young adults’ use and perception of social media influencers in the context of political information dissemination, opinion formation, and mobilization. With the help of qualitative interviews of young people in Germany (16–22 years), we show that while the mainstream media seems to still be the primary source of political information, influencers focused on politics are increasingly used to make sense of this information. The presumed impact ranges from amplifying the effects of existing opinions to opinion formation and changes in voting intentions based on the assessment provided by the influencer. Regular influencers who talk about political topics occasionally are not perceived as reliable sources of political information.
Keywords: digital opinion leadership; incidental news exposure; political influencers; political mobilization; social media influencers
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:164-174

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Value of a Like: Facebook, Viral Posts, and Campaign Finance in US Congressional Elections
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6661
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6661
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 153-163
Author-Name: Michael Kowal
Author-Workplace-Name: College of Arts, Stevens Institute of Technology, USA
Abstract: Social media has become a dominant force in American political life, from Twitter and Facebook to newer rivals like Instagram and TikTok. As American elections have also grown increasingly expensive, campaigns have sought to capitalize on social media success through campaign donations. The most successful social media posts can garner thousands of likes and millions of views focusing attention on the candidate and presenting a fundraising opportunity. In this study, I examine the impact of viral posts (those receiving more than 5,000 likes or those in the top 1% of likes) on the number and amount of campaign donations a candidate receives on the date of the post. Combining social media data from Facebook and campaign finance donations during the 2018 and 2020 House of Representatives elections, I find that viral posts can dramatically increase a candidate’s fundraising on those dates. This finding suggests that candidates can increase their fundraising through increased social media success.
Keywords: campaign finance; campaign fundraising; congress; elections; political campaigns; social media; US elections; viral posts
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:153-163

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: In the Web of the Parties: Local Politicians on Facebook in Hungary
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6654
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6654
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 141-152
Author-Name: Márton Bene
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Political Science, Centre for Social Sciences, Hungary / Faculty of Law, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
Author-Name: Gábor Dobos
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Political Science, Centre for Social Sciences, Hungary / Research Institute for Politics and Government, University of Public Service, Hungary
Abstract: The study examines the Facebook use of elected local politicians over two years in Hungary. To gain insights into the role of local politicians in social-media-based local publics in Hungary, a large-scale data collection has been conducted to capture the Facebook activity of all elected local representatives (mayors and councilors; <em>N</em> = 19,503) from the 3,152 Hungarian municipalities. Our research uncovers the level (adoption, activity) and direct audience (number of followers) of their Facebook activity and shows how these patterns are conditioned by political (party, electoral competitiveness, bandwagon effect) and contextual (size, average income of the population, development level of the local Facebook sphere) factors. We show that local politicians are mostly active in larger municipalities, while a larger proportion of the population can be reached directly in smaller communities. The activity of local politicians is largely driven by political considerations, while demand-side factors are less important.
Keywords: Facebook; Hungary; local politics; local representatives; municipalities; social media
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:141-152

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Mobilization in the Context of Campaign Functions and Citizen Participation
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6660
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6660
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 129-140
Author-Name: Anna-Katharina Wurst
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, LMU Munich, Germany
Author-Name: Katharina Pohl
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, LMU Munich, Germany
Author-Name: Jörg Haßler
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, LMU Munich, Germany
Abstract: Mobilization strategies are an essential part of political parties’ campaign communication. By mobilizing voters and supporters, parties promote civic participation in politics, the forms of which have multiplied given the possibilities of user activities on social media. To define their online mobilization strategies, parties have to choose which forms of participation (e.g., voting, donating, or liking or sharing a post) they will seek to mobilize. Understanding mobilization as a communicative appeal to engage audiences in participatory actions, in our study we conceptually linked parties’ mobilizing appeals with three campaign functions—information, interaction, and mobilization—to systematize different types of mobilization. We applied that categorization to the social media campaigns of parties and top candidates in Germany and conducted a manual quantitative content analysis of 1,495 Facebook and 1,088 Instagram posts published in the run-up to the 2021 federal election. Results show that parties primarily mobilized their audiences to vote and seek out more information (e.g., on the party’s website). Although user reactions are generally an important factor of performance on social media, parties mostly avoided calls to like, share, or comment on posts. When compared, the strategies of parties and candidates indicate that mobilization is more the task of parties than of candidates. Differences between Facebook and Instagram can be attributed to the different technical affordances of the platforms. Because Facebook, unlike Instagram, supports clickable links in posts, parties are more likely to encourage users on Facebook to seek out more information online.
Keywords: Facebook; Instagram; online campaigning; political mobilization; political participation; social media
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:129-140

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Why We Should Distinguish Between Mobilization and Participation When Investigating Social Media
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7285
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.7285
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 124-128
Author-Name: Jörg Haßler
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, LMU Munich, Germany
Author-Name: Melanie Magin
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
Author-Name: Uta Russmann
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media, Society and Communication, University of Innsbruck, Austria
Abstract: In the recent past, social media has become a central channel and means for political and societal mobilization. Mobilization refers to the process by which political parties, politicians, social movements, activists, and other political and social actors induce citizens to participate in politics in order to win elections, convince others of their own positions, influence policies, and modify rulings. While not sufficient on its own for facilitating participation, mobilization is necessary for participation to occur, which justifies examining mobilization specifically to understand how people can be involved in politics. This thematic issue of <em>Media and Communication</em> presents various perspectives on the role of social media in mobilization, embracing both its recruitment side (traditional and non-established political actors, social and protest movements) and its network side (the ways citizens respond to mobilization appeals). Taken together, the thematic issue highlights the multifaceted nature and scholarly fruitfulness of mobilization as an independent concept.
Keywords: activism; campaigning; citizenship; political mobilization; social mobilization; new civics; political parties; politicians; social media; social movements
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:124-128

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Perception of Older Adults Regarding Socio-Political Issues Disseminated on Social Networks
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6748
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6748
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 112-123
Author-Name: María Sánchez-Valle
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Audio-visual Communication and Advertising, CEU San Pablo University, Spain
Abstract: Research on the relationship between seniors and social networks has focused mainly on the difficulties experienced by this group in accessing the internet. However, it has not examined other aspects such as participation by older adults in socio-political discourse. Although articles have been written on specific topics related to this issue, such studies are not enough. This research aims to analyse the perception of people over 60 years of age regarding the use of social networks as a channel for staying informed and participating in socio-political discourse that takes place on social media. To achieve this objective, four focus groups were conducted in July of 2022. In assessing the results, the transcripts were examined using qualitative-inductive content analysis and reinforced with topic analysis to identify shared perceptions. The co-occurrence evaluation reveals a strong relationship between negative perceptions and concepts such as tension and fake news. Positive perceptions are associated with the ease of interaction with other users and the potential for obtaining information. Differences have also been observed among social networks such as Facebook and WhatsApp, which appear to be the networks of choice for sharing information and opinions on socio-political issues.
Keywords: digital divide; digital inclusion; fake news; seniors; social media; social networks
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:112-123

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Elder People and Personal Data: New Challenges in Health Platformization
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6838
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6838
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 101-111
Author-Name: Ana Rivoir
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of the Republic, Uruguay
Author-Name: Katherine Reilly
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Abstract: In Uruguay, as in many countries around the world, healthcare providers are looking to digital technologies to enhance service provision. This includes introducing new data-intensive systems that facilitate connections between healthcare providers and patients and maintaining records of these interactions. This article considers the numeric ability of older citizens to critically assess the implications of platformization and datafication within the Uruguayan healthcare system with a view to identifying implications for digital literacy programs. The ability of older people to manage their personal data within healthcare systems shapes their ability to enact citizenship and human rights. This reality came into sharp relief during the recent Covid-19 pandemic, demonstrating the extent to which core social services have become datafied and digitally mediated, as well as their potential to deepen digital divides where senior citizens are concerned. Critical perspectives on technological change, well-being, and ageing offer useful perspectives on this challenge. Drawing inspiration from these perspectives, in this article, we explore the results of a digital literacy initiative that worked with 16 seniors to explore their experiences of personal data collection within Uruguay’s new National Comprehensive Health System. Our approach simultaneously worked to build digital literacy while also revealing the complex relationships and disconnections between the ontological frameworks mapped onto healthcare by systems designers and the reality of older people. In the conclusions, we consider the implications of these observations for seniors’ digital literacy interventions that foster seniors’ critical understanding of their data subjectivity in the context of local healthcare systems.
Keywords: datafication; digital literacy; health care; platforms; seniors’ digital literacy; senior citizens
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:101-111

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Assessing Older Adults’ Perspectives on Digital Game-Related Strategies to Foster Active and Healthy Ageing
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6796
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6796
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 88-100
Author-Name: Francisco Regalado
Author-Workplace-Name: DigiMedia, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Author-Name: Cláudia Pedro Ortet
Author-Workplace-Name: DigiMedia, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Author-Name: Liliana Vale Costa
Author-Workplace-Name: DigiMedia, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Author-Name: Carlos Santos
Author-Workplace-Name: DigiMedia, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Author-Name: Ana Isabel Veloso
Author-Workplace-Name: DigiMedia, University of Aveiro, Portugal
Abstract: The growing use of digital platforms among older adults has brought increased challenges to the design and development process, thus requiring considering age-related needs and changes. Nonetheless, a growing body of research suggests that different types of applications of digital platforms, i.e., digital games, can foster new opportunities to encourage active and healthy ageing (AHA) by promoting knowledge acquisition, developing competences, fostering well-being, and deepening social connections. Therefore, this study aims to assess older adults’ perspectives and participation in digital game-related strategies and how these can foster AHA. A mixed-methods approach was applied, resorting to field notes and a questionnaire, involving 18 participants aged between 63 and 81, at the Ageing Lab (Laboratório do Envelhecimento). Through 10 exploratory digital gaming-related sessions over approximately two months, participants were introduced to game-related strategies and online communities. Overall, this study sustained previous research about the influence of digital games and online communities in the promotion of AHA, by encouraging participation in society, acquisition of new digital competences in the dimensions of information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, and safety; and maintaining one’s health and well-being. Moreover, findings suggest that continued contact with information and communication technologies stimulates digital proficiency, thus further fostering inclusion in an increasingly digital society.
Keywords: active and healthy ageing; digital competences; digital games; miOne; older adults; online community
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:88-100

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Age-Based Digital Divide: Uses of the Internet in People Over 54 Years Old
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6744
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6744
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 77-87
Author-Name: Natalia Papí-Gálvez
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Social Psychology, University of Alicante, Spain
Author-Name: Daniel La Parra-Casado
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sociology, University of Alicante, Spain
Abstract: <span lang="PT">The digitization process is widespread and unrelenting. Compared with other European countries, Spain has a good position in the latest data compiled in the Digital Economy and Society Index. Direct use of communication and information technologies is high among the regions in Spain, where the national average in the region of Valencia stands out. However, despite this context, differences between population groups continue to be observed in different dimensions of the digital divide. This article explores this multidimensional gap among the midlife and older adult population. The research design adopts a mixed-method sequential design (questionnaire-based survey, follow-up with semi-structured interviews) to explore social positions in relation to access and use of technologies and the meanings that people ascribe to such positions and actions. A telephone survey was conducted with 1,800 people over 54 years of age residing in Valencia in September 2021, followed by 67 in-depth interviews. The results suggest that demographic and socioeconomic characteristics (level of education, age, and gender) determine people’s position in the digital divide. Qualitative discourses qualify these results by elucidating key aspects that could be acting as protectors of digital and social exclusion. They are related to the social and family context and the characteristics of digital service providers. The findings are useful to guide both public policies to promote digital inclusion and private market actors when designing their digital strategies.</span>
Keywords: digital competence; digital divide; grey divide; internet access; logistic regression; social context
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:77-87

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Applicability of the User Experience Methodology: Communication and Employment Web Portal for Older Adults
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6775
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6775
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 63-76
Author-Name: María de los Ángeles Ferrer-Mavárez
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Design, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Chile
Author-Name: Erwin Robert Aguirre-Villalobos
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Planning and Territorial Ordering, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Chile
Author-Name: Janeth Beatriz Valecillos-Pereira
Author-Workplace-Name: Teaching and Learning Center, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Chile
Abstract: <span id="docs-internal-guid-377cb434-7fff-3296-1d28-8f416d31349d"><span>The purpose of this study is to redesign a web portal, oriented to communication and employment management for older adults, from the perspective of user experience, using the user experience methodology. The graphic and functional elements of the platform were considered, enhancing the effectiveness of the communication and inclusion processes and accessibility to employment opportunities. The study is part of a mixed investigation, attending the following stages: (a) exploration of the users of the ServiSenior portal platform during 2021 (constituted by 11 collaborators, 15 clients, and 30 older adults); (b) documentary analysis of the state of the art of employment portals for older adults; (c) proposal design incorporating user experience improvements; (d) testing to validate the value proposition delivered to the target audience. The results obtained were taken into account in decision-making for the approach to the design of the digital portal. This proposal is theoretically based on user-centered design, from which the user experience methodology emerges, which seeks to improve the use and quality of services of digital portals centered on users, emphasizing the attribute of universal use and access. The results obtained enhance the applicability of digital tools that serve to insert a vulnerable population in work spaces, assuming as a starting point design, accessibility, and ease of use.</span></span>
Keywords: older adults; senior inclusion; user-centered design; user experience; UX methodology; web portal
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:63-76

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Older Adults Learning Digital Skills Together: Peer Tutors’ Perspectives on Non-Formal Digital Support
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6742
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6742
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 53-62
Author-Name: Viivi Korpela
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Laura Pajula
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Riitta Hänninen
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Abstract: In later life, digital support is predominantly received outside of formal education from warm experts such as children, grandchildren, and friends. However, as not everyone can rely on this kind of informal help, many older adults are at risk of being unwillingly left without digital support and necessary digital skills. In this article, we examine non-formal digital support and peer tutoring as a way to promote digital and social inclusion through the acquisition of necessary digital skills. First, we ask: (a) What is peer tutoring, in the field of digital training, from the peer tutors’ point of view? Then, based on the first research question, we further ask (b) what are the key characteristics of peer tutoring in relation to other forms of digital support? Our thematic analysis is based on semi-structured interviews (<em>n</em> = 21) conducted in Central Finland in 2022 with peer tutors aged between 63 and 84. Peer tutors offered individual guidance by appointment and also supported their peers in group-based settings. Based on our study, we argue that from the peer tutors’ point of view, being a peer entails sharing an age group or a similar life situation and provides an opportunity for side-by-side learning. Although every encounter as a peer tutor is different and the spectrum of digital support is wide, these encounters share specific key characteristics, such as the experience of equality between the tutor and the tutee that distinguishes non-formal peer support from formal and informal learning.
Keywords: digital inclusion; digital skills; informal learning; non-formal learning; older adults; peer support; peer tutor
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:53-62

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Set in Stone? Mobile Practices Evolution in Later Life
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6701
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6701
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 40-52
Author-Name: Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences, Open University of Catalonia, Spain / Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), Open University of Catalonia, Spain
Author-Name: Andrea Rosales
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences, Open University of Catalonia, Spain / Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), Open University of Catalonia, Spain
Author-Name: Francisca Morey Cortès
Author-Workplace-Name: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), Open University of Catalonia, Spain
Abstract: In what ways do mobile communication practices change through later life? To what extent do sociodemographic characteristics, country of residence, and well-being relate to these changing practices? To answer these questions, we used an online, longitudinal study targeting internet users aged 60 and over in six countries (Austria, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, Spain, and Romania). The focus is on the 3,125 respondents who declared using a mobile phone in every wave (2016, 2018, and 2020). Results show an increasing usage diversification already before the Covid-19 pandemic. A latent class analysis identified three different styles of mobile practices. The most sophisticated relies on almost all the analyzed functions, while the most unsophisticated is limited to voice calls, texting (mainly SMS), and photographs to a lesser extent. Finally, a multinomial analysis provided a picture of the individual characteristics related to the usage styles in the period. The most relevant dimensions were country of residence and age, followed by internet use intensity. The country of residence is relevant to explaining usage because the telecommunications price structure determines the priority given to the mobile phone in (senior) individuals’ everyday lives. The article contributes nuanced evidence of the trajectories of digital practices in later life. At the same time, the findings support and better inform country-based policies, services, and products for more effective inclusion of the older population in today’s hyper-digitized societies.
Keywords: 60+; digital practices; diversity in later life; international comparison; smartphone practices
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:40-52

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Digital Media Domestication and Job Paths Among Older People: An Ethnographic Investigation
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6710
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6710
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 29-39
Author-Name: Simone Carlo
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Performing Arts, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Italy
Author-Name: Giulia Buscicchio
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Living Conditions, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Luxembourg
Abstract: While it is true that ageing dramatically affects the sustainability of welfare systems, increasing life expectancy in most Western countries is also seen as an opportunity to live longer and better: The healthiest older people are also the most dynamic in terms of work activity and social and cultural capital. In this debate, media and communication technologies are often seen as tools to enable older people to age actively, thanks to their potential for inclusion. The empowerment of older people through the use of communication technologies is strongly influenced by the social and family context in which digital media are used and by the formal and informal contexts in which their use is learned. Starting from this context, this article investigates the relationship between career paths and the use of digital media among older people. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews and ethnographic sessions with Italian internet users aged over 65. The results show how their current condition (retired or employed) and the job previously held have a fundamental impact in both the processes of domestication of technologies and internet use, but also in the structuring of the home itself and the positioning and use of technologies in the domestic space of older people.
Keywords: active ageing; digital media; gender differences; information technology; job status; seniors’ communication
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:29-39

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Digitalised Welfare: Access, Usage, and Outcomes Among Older Adults
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6694
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6694
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 18-28
Author-Name: Tobias Olsson
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Culture, Language and Media, Malmö University, Sweden
Author-Name: Dino Viscovi
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Social Studies, Linnæus University, Sweden
Abstract: The slogan “digital first” has become a buzzword for public organisational development at the local, regional, and national levels in Sweden. The slogan alludes to the idea that providing information to and communication with citizens should take place primarily through digital channels. This idea is also popular in other parts of the digitalised world. Obviously, digital solutions have the potential to become pedagogical, reliable, and effective interfaces for governmental interaction with citizens. However, the extent to which they are actually accessible, brought to use, and valued among older adult users (more than 65 years of age) has not attracted much research interest. Drawing on national survey data, collected in November–December 2020, on Swedish citizens (aged 65 to 90 years), this article will start to compensate for this deficit. First, it analyses the extent to which citizens have physical access to required devices and how access is related to material, discursive, and social resources. Second, it analyses resources and usage of important platforms for public services for older adults: the Pensions Agency, health care, e-pharmacy, the Social Insurance Agency, and the Tax Agency. Finally, the article examines outcomes: feelings and attitudes towards experiences of encountering a digitalising society. The article demonstrates how all three levels of divides—access, usage, and outcomes—are clearly related to older adults’ access to material, discursive, and social resources, as well as to age and pre-retirement experience with computers. It is comparatively younger individuals with longer formal education and at least average incomes and social networks who benefit the most from digitalised public services.
Keywords: Digital First; digital inclusion; digitalisation; digitalised public services; older adults; Sweden
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:18-28

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Digital Ageism: Emerging Challenges and Best Practices of Age-Friendly Digital Urban Governance
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6711
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.6711
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 6-17
Author-Name: Olga Kolotouchkina
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Communication Studies, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Monica Viñarás-Abad
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Communication Studies, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Luis Mañas-Viniegra
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Communication Studies, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Abstract: The ageing of urban populations poses serious challenges for policymakers and urban planners alike. While the number of people over 65 is increasing in urban areas, the digital transition in cities raises concerns about the persisting digital divide facing older citizens, as well as the digital inequality and ageism inherent to most digital domains. As ageing in place and place attachment play a significant role in the social engagement and well-being of older people, the purpose of this research is to shed light on the novel approaches taken by local governments to foster active participation among senior residents in the digital public sphere. Using semi-structured interviews with public officials from three age-friendly cities in Spain, we have explored innovative urban projects for digital inclusion, active ageing, and autonomy for older people. The findings of the study reveal the importance of coordinated multi-stakeholder initiatives in promoting digital literacy and overcoming barriers rooted in ageism in the digital world. True representation of older people in local governments, the promotion of co-creation initiatives led by seniors, and the standardisation of universal design and accessibility are some of the key contributions made by Spanish cities in their transition toward places that are digitally inclusive and age-friendly.
Keywords: age-friendly cities; digital ageism; digital divide; digital inclusion; digital inequality; older people; Spain
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:6-17

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Communication for Seniors’ Inclusion in Today’s Society: The Effects of Digitisation on Active Ageing
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7039
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i3.7039
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 3
Pages: 1-5
Author-Name: Carmen Llorente-Barroso
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Applied Communication Studies, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Leopoldo Abad-Alcalá
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Public Law, CEU San Pablo University, Spain
Author-Name: Fausto Colombo
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Performing Arts, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
Abstract: The progressive ageing of developed societies requires strategies and tools to ensure the well-being of older adults. The new communication paradigm offers ways to reduce the stigma associated with ageing and to improve the quality of life for older adults, but it can also create a dynamic that could put their inclusion at risk. The internet has fomented digital gaps that have exacerbated some of the exclusionary barriers faced by many older adults, while allowing a considerable number of others to maintain emotional ties with loved ones during the worst moments of the pandemic. This thematic issue addresses the different opportunities offered by Information and Communication Technology in improving the social inclusion and quality of life of seniors, but it also considers the risks that digitisation may pose by limiting certain rights of this group. Through the different articles in this issue, the repercussions of communication on the management of ageing are highlighted from different perspectives and methodological approaches. In this way, the complexity of the issue has been revealed, along with the need to address it from positive and constructive perspectives that reassess the role of older adults in the societies in which they live.
Keywords: active ageing; digital inclusion; digital literacy; digitisation; older adults; seniors; communication; technological skills
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:3:p:1-5

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Fact of Content Moderation; Or, Let’s Not Solve the Platforms’ Problems for Them
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6610
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6610
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 406-409
Author-Name: Tarleton Gillespie
Author-Workplace-Name: Microsoft Research New England, USA / Department of Communication, Cornell University, USA
Abstract: Recent social science concerning the information technology industries has been driven by a sense of urgency around the problems social media platforms face. But it need not be our job to solve the problems these industries have created, at least not on the terms in which they offer them. When researchers are enlisted in solving the industry’s problems, we tend to repeat some of the missteps common to the study of technology and society.
Keywords: content moderation; governance; industry research; platforms
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:406-409

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Media Concentration Law: Gaps and Promises in the Digital Age
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6393
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6393
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 392-405
Author-Name: Theresa Josephine Seipp
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: Power concentrations are increasing in today’s media landscape. Reasons for this include increasing structural and technological dependences on digital platform companies, as well as shifts in opinion power and control over news production, distribution, and consumption. Digital opinion power and platformised media markets have prompted the need for a re-evaluation of the current approach. This article critically revisits and analyses media concentration rules. To this end, I employ a normative conceptual framework that examines ”opinion power in the platform world” at three distinct levels (individual citizen, institutional newsroom, and media ecosystem). At each level, I identify the existing legal tools and gaps in controlling power and concentration in the digital age. Based on that, I offer a unifying theoretical framework for a “digital media concentration law,” along with core concepts and guiding principles. I highlight policy goals and fields that are outside the traditional scope yet are relevant for addressing issues relating to the digital age. Additionally, the emerging European Union regulatory framework—specifically the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the European Media Freedom Act—reflects an evolving approach regarding platforms and media concentration. On a final note, the analysis draws from the mapping and evaluation results of a Europe-wide study on media pluralism and diversity online, which examined (national) media concentration rules.
Keywords: digital platforms; editorial independence; European regulation; media concentration; media pluralism; opinion power; structural dependency
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:392-405

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Platforms and Exposure Diversity: Towards a Framework to Assess Policies to Promote Exposure Diversity
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6401
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6401
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 379-391
Author-Name: Heritiana Ranaivoson
Author-Workplace-Name: imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Author-Name: Nino Domazetovikj
Author-Workplace-Name: imec-SMIT, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Abstract: The fragmentation of consumption and algorithms’ increasing impact on how content is recommended and displayed makes it even more important to analyse and promote exposure diversity, i.e., the extent to which audiences are exposed to, discover, and engage with diverse content. Although there is a growing literature addressing how to define media diversity in the context of the challenges posed by platformisation, this article translates the normative dimensions into a framework for operationalising exposure diversity into a tangible policy goal, taking into account datafication and its consequences in terms of increasing data requirements towards platforms. The main objective of this study is to analyse initiatives to assess exposure diversity in the platform era and to discuss how such assessment could be improved, particularly for policy initiatives. This involves addressing several challenges of existing approaches for the assessment of exposure diversity related to defining an appropriate frame of reference, determining the degree of diversity required, dealing with data transparency issues, and promoting user autonomy. To achieve this, we propose a framework for analysing initiatives aimed at assessing and promoting exposure to media diversity. Our framework is composed of four key features: measures (type of initiative), metrics (quantifying exposure diversity), data collection methods, and data requirements. We apply this framework to a set of 13 initiatives and find that policy initiatives can benefit from adopting metrics based on distances and experimenting with data collection methods.
Keywords: audiovisual policy; data requirement; exposure diversity; media pluralism; news policy; online platforms; platform regulation; recommender systems
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:379-391

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Post-Publication Gatekeeping Factors and Practices: Data, Platforms, and Regulations in News Work
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6486
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6486
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 367-378
Author-Name: Margareta Salonen
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Veera Ehrlén
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Minna Koivula
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Author-Name: Karoliina Talvitie-Lamberg
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Abstract: The gatekeeping literature has turned to look at the factors and practices that shape gatekeeping in the post-publication environment, i.e., after news has entered circulation. This article adds to the discussion and argues that news workers share gatekeeping power in the post-publication environment with audiences, platforms, and regulations. Further, this study extends the post-publication gatekeeping framework and considers it in the context of datafication. The article aims to broadly understand how (audience) data is part of editorial decision-making in news media from news workers’ perceptions. The current study was conducted by interviewing news workers from three Finnish news organisations. The interview data was analysed utilising qualitative iterative content analysis. Our analysis revealed that the use of (audience) data in news organisations increasingly shapes news workers’ journalistic decision-making processes. We found that news workers were ambivalent toward data (use) and that their reliance on platform data depended on the particular platform. Furthermore, when interviewed about journalism ethics, news workers only connected it with legislative issues, such as General Data Protection Regulation. Lastly, we could see that regulatory factors of data, i.e., legislation and media self-regulation, have power over news production and distribution. This study reflects how journalism (research) is shifting from an audience-centric view to a data-driven one, i.e., it is experiencing a <em>data turn</em>.
Keywords: audiences; datafication; gatekeeping; news workers; platforms; regulations
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:367-378

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Wellbeing Amid Digital Risks: Implications of Digital Risks, Threats, and Scams on Users’ Wellbeing
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6480
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6480
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 355-366
Author-Name: Bindiya Dutt
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Social Sciences, University of Stavanger, Norway
Abstract: This study investigates how users perceive their wellbeing amid the risks associated with digital media use in Norway. According to the literature, some of these risks include digital dependence, online privacy, scams, thefts, information misuse, and harassment. To expand knowledge on how these and other digital risks are construed by users, this study addresses the following research questions: What implications do digital risks have on users’ perceived sense of wellbeing? What are the solutions proposed by users to manage these risks? Methodologically, the inquiry is led through a qualitative approach comprising 17 semi-structured in-depth interviews of university students in Norway. The investigation centers on<strong> </strong>an interpretative phenomenological analysis. This study contributes to the existing literature by empirically evaluating the notion of digital wellbeing in the everyday choices of university students, thereby comprehending their safety concerns and how they manage online risks while exploring solutions to combat the risks of digital usage. The study adds value to the present literature on digital wellbeing by juxtaposing digital risks with the construct of wellbeing in digitalized societies.
Keywords: digital fraud; digital risks; digital wellbeing; mediatized risks; online scams; online theft
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:355-366

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: “I Think Quality is More Important Than a Lot of Data” in Cities Datafication
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6510
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6510
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 344-354
Author-Name: Carl Chineme Okafor
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Social Sciences, University of Stavanger, Norway
Abstract: This article studies how the decision to connect data volumes to value is made by technologists and governance people in smart cities’ datafication process. Its entry point is that datafication promises to use data to make cities liveable domains. Cities on the back of this promise presuppose that more data produce value and therefore fixate on exhaustive datafication. But datafication does not appear self-evident, and knowledge of how technologists and governance people connect data volumes to data value is quite unclear in media and communication literature. Using evidence from interviews (<em>n</em> = 6), datafication policy documents (<em>n</em> = 4), and a diverse dataset of city activities (<em>n </em>= 299) in the open data portal of a situated datafication site, the Stavanger Smart City, Norway, and with the theoretical support of critical data studies, this article responds to the question: How does data volume connect to data value in smart cities datafication? Its findings put data quality as the intermediary that makes this connection.
Keywords: data quality; data value; data volumes; smart city datafication; Stavanger Smart City
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:344-354

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Google News Initiative’s Influence on Technological Media Innovation in Africa and the Middle East
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6400
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6400
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 330-343
Author-Name: Mathias-Felipe de-Lima-Santos
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands / Digital Media and Society Observatory, Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), Brazil
Author-Name: Allen Munoriyarwa
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media Studies, University of Botswana, Botswana
Author-Name: Adeola Abdulateef Elega
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Mass Communication, Nile University of Nigeria, Nigeria
Author-Name: Charis Papaevangelou
Author-Workplace-Name: Laboratory of Applied Studies and Research in Social Sciences, University of Toulouse, France
Abstract: The Google News Initiative (GNI) aims to collaborate closely with the news industry and financially support the creation of quality journalism in the digital age. It also aims to bring technological advancements and innovation into newsrooms’ operations. Drawing on journalism innovation and responsible innovation theories, this study examines GNI beneficiaries in Africa and the Middle East. To address this, we analysed GNI projects’ descriptions combined with thirteen (<em>n </em>=  13) in-depth interviews with leading actors and beneficiary news organisations to answer two main questions: (a) What are the main characteristics of the technological innovations proposed by GNI Innovation Challenge grantees in Africa and the Middle East? and (b) How are these news media organisations becoming increasingly dependent on these platforms’ technological and financial aspects? Anchored in journalism innovation, responsible innovation, and platformisation theories, our findings show that funded organisations heavily depend on Google’s technological and financial infrastructure to innovate. Furthermore, we note that some projects do not offer a clear path for sustainability in the future. We further argue that this initiative builds an infrastructure of power and dependency that poses risks to responsible innovation in journalism. Our study contributes to extant scholarship on digital platforms and their role in the infrastructure of news organisations, creating power asymmetries between those who serve as the backbone for data flows and technological processes and those dependent on these institutions.
Keywords: artificial intelligence; business models; data; dependence; Google News Initiative; innovation; news; philanthrocapitalism; platform
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:330-343

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Follow the Data! A Strategy for Tracing Infrastructural Power
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6464
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6464
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 319-329
Author-Name: Sofie Flensburg
Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Tracking and Society, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Author-Name: Signe Sophus Lai
Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Tracking and Society, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstract: Recalling the well-known strategy of “following the money” when investigating the underlying power structures and business models of legacy media, this article argues that studies of digital political economies can benefit instead from following the data. Combining perspectives from critical data studies and infrastructure research, we first discuss how direct money flows can be difficult to trace in digital ecosystems, creating a need for alternative analytical approaches for studying and scrutinising contemporary power configurations in digital societies. As a theoretical backdrop, we elaborate on the concept of infrastructural power and apply it in a walkthrough of critical data infrastructures. To illustrate the efficacy of this strategy, we provide perspectives and examples from the political economies of internet infrastructures in Northern Europe and discuss how control over data is translated into economic profit and societal power. In doing so, we argue that increased attention to data infrastructures is needed to advance both critical data and infrastructure studies, improve digital market monitoring, and ground future regulation and policy.
Keywords: critical data studies; data economy; infrastructural power; internet infrastructures; political economy
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:319-329

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Infrastructure of News: Negotiating Infrastructural Capture and Autonomy in Data-Driven News Distribution
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6388
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6388
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 307-318
Author-Name: Lisa Merete Kristensen
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Arts, Roskilde University, Denmark
Author-Name: Jannie Møller Hartley
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Arts, Roskilde University, Denmark
Abstract: The platformisation of news has triggered public and scholarly concern regarding the impact of platforms on the news industry and, more importantly, platforms’ potential threat to ideals of autonomy and economic independence. Despite ongoing debate and the increasing investment in technologies for automated distribution and artificial intelligence, the material infrastructures of the news media sustaining this artificial intelligence-driven news distribution remain understudied. Approaching the infrastructural relationship as spaces of negotiation this article investigates how the news media is negotiating their own autonomy vis-à-vis infrastructure capture by platforms. The analysis is grounded in a mapping of technologies sustaining the production, distribution, and commercial viability of the media. This is further combined with ethnographic observations from two large Danish news organisations and 19 in-depth interviews with news organisations and digital intermediaries from Scandinavia, the US, and the UK. The research shows how infrastructure capture is manifested and negotiated through three overall logics in the infrastructure of news: logics of classification, standardisation, and datafication.
Keywords: datafication; digital media infrastructures; infrastructure capture; media logics; platformisation
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:307-318

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Digital Platforms and Infrastructure in the Realm of Culture
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6422
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6422
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 296-306
Author-Name: David Hesmondhalgh
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds, UK
Author-Name: Raquel Campos Valverde
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds, UK
Author-Name: D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds, UK
Author-Name: Zhongwei Li
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds, UK
Abstract: The concepts of (digital) platform and (digital) infrastructure have been widely used and discussed in recent media research, and in neighbouring fields such as science and technology studies (STS). Yet there is considerable confusion about these concepts and the relations between them. This article seeks to bring these concepts together more coherently by showing how “platformisation” might be understood in terms of its impacts on information infrastructure, including on the principles of openness and generativity underlying early internet architecture, and potential further effects on media and culture deriving from those impacts. To develop this perspective, we draw on research from legal studies which: (a) articulates these principles more fully than in recent media studies and STS; (b) understands infrastructures as resources subject to political contestation; and (c) in the work of Julie Cohen, interprets digital platforms as strategies for disciplining infrastructures. We discuss how such a perspective might complement approaches to digital platforms and infrastructures to be found in political economy of media and internet governance research. We then apply the perspective to a case study: the transition of online music from chaotic experiments with alternative models of distribution in the early century to a thoroughly platformised environment in the 2020s.
Keywords: digital information infrastructure; digital platforms; internet architecture; internet regulation; music streaming platforms; platformisation
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:296-306

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Datafied Societies: Digital Infrastructures, Data Power, and Regulations
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7317
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.7317
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 291-295
Author-Name: Raul Ferrer-Conill
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Stavanger, Norway / Karlstad University, Sweden
Author-Name: Helle Sjøvaag
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Stavanger, Norway
Author-Name: Ragnhild Kr. Olsen
Author-Workplace-Name: Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway
Abstract: The datafication and platformization of social processes further the overall shift from an open, public, and decentralized internet towards a private and siloed realm that establishes power asymmetries between those who provide data and those who own, trade, and control data. The ongoing process of datafying societies embraces the logics of aggregation and automation that increasingly negotiate transactions between markets and social entities, informing governance systems, institutions, and public discourse. This thematic issue presents a collection of articles that tackle the political economy of datafication from three main perspectives: (a) digital media infrastructures and its actors, data structures, and markets; (b) the articulation of data power, public access to information, data privacy, and the risks of citizens in a datafied society; and (c) the policies and regulations for effective, independent media institutions and data sovereignty. It concludes with a reflection on the role of media and communication scholarship when studying sociotechnical processes controlled by giant technological companies.
Keywords: datafication; datafied society; data power; digital infrastructure; media policy; media political economy; media regulation; platforms
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:291-295

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Games as Political Actors in Digital Journalism
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6515
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6515
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 278-290
Author-Name: Salvador Gómez-García
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Global Communication, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Teresa de la Hera
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: The goal of this study is to explore the role of digital games as political actors in digital journalism. The development of digital games designed to frame journalistic messages led to the emergence of newsgames. This trend impacts online mass media outlets’ performance as political actors in democratic polities. In this article, we explore the current relationship between political communication and newsgames by answering the following research question: How do online mass media outlets use newsgames to report, interpret, and critically analyze democratic polities?<em> </em>In this study, an inductive grounded theory approach was used to analyze 29 political newsgames published in 25 mass-media digital outlets across 11 different countries. The findings reveal that mass media outlets employ political newsgames to perform four distinct functions when covering political events: analytical reportage, commentary, critical scrutiny, and representation.
Keywords: digital games; game studies; newsgames; politainment; political communication
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:278-290

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Digital Games as Persuasion Spaces for Political Marketing: Joe Biden’s Campaign in Fortnite
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6476
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6476
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 266-277
Author-Name: Jenniffer Soto de la Cruz
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Philology, Communication and Documentation, University of Alcalá, Spain
Author-Name: Teresa de la Hera
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Sara Cortés Gómez
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Philology, Communication and Documentation, University of Alcalá, Spain
Author-Name: Pilar Lacasa
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Philology, Communication and Documentation, University of Alcalá, Spain
Abstract: The aim of this study is to explore how digital entertainment games are used as spaces for political persuasion in electoral campaigns, by examining Joe Biden’s use of Fortnite during the campaign for the 2020 US presidential election as a case study. To date, the study of persuasive communication related to games has been mostly focused on persuasive games. This article approaches the use of entertainment games as spaces for persuasive communication answering the research question: How is political marketing—and electoral propaganda specifically—embedded into digital entertainment games? To answer this question, we have analyzed the persuasive dimensions of the Biden–Harris campaign in Fortnite using a qualitative mixed-methods approach that combined the identification and analysis of the persuasive strategies used in the game with a textual analysis of 19 articles discussing the campaign. The results of the analysis of the Biden–Harris campaign in Fortnite show that the persuasive efforts embedded in the game mostly made use of textual persuasion and procedural persuasion, relying largely on goal rules. The results of the textual analysis of the articles show that, although there is an appreciation of how the campaign links political persuasive goals with the challenges presented to the player, the lack of understanding of the persuasive potential of the game results in a gaming experience that in some cases does not meet the expectations of Fortnite’s experienced and demanding players.
Keywords: analytical play; Biden–Harris campaign; Fortnite; in-game persuasion; in-game propaganda; persuasive gaming; politainment; political communication; political games; political marketing
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:266-277

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Spanish-Portuguese Serial Fiction as a Politainment Tool: Representations of Politics on Iberian Television
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6319
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6319
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 255-265
Author-Name: Mar Chicharro-Merayo
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Humanities and Communication, University of Burgos, Spain
Author-Name: Fátima Gil-Gascón
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Humanities and Communication, University of Burgos, Spain
Author-Name: Carla Baptista
Author-Workplace-Name: NOVA Institute of Communication, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract: This article deals with recent Spanish and Portuguese political television series. Within this sub-genre, it is pertinent to consider the symbolic construction of politics, as well as the differences caused by each series’ geographical adscription. Six Spanish productions have been selected—<em>Isabel </em>(Isabella the Catholic),<em> Carlos Rey Emperador </em>(Charles the Emperor King), <em>La Embajada </em>(The Embassy),<em> Crematorio </em>(Crematorium),<em> Vamos Juan</em>/<em>Venga Juan </em>(Come on, Juan/Let’s go Juan), and <em>El Partido </em>(The Party)—along with three Portuguese productions—<em>A Rainha e a Bastarda </em>(The Queen and the Bastard), <em>Teorias da Conspiração </em>(Conspiracy Theories),<em> </em>and <em>Os Boys </em>(The Boys). The narrative of these audio-visual stories has been examined utilising qualitative content analysis, looking at the plotlines and characters involved. The type of characterisation of politics has been identified by means of the deconstruction of the main characters. The conclusion is that the evaluation is eminently negative, although differential frameworks are present, depending, in particular, on the fiction’s genre, either historical drama, drama-thriller, or comedy.
Keywords: politainment; political fiction; political television series; Portugal; Spain
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:255-265

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Music as Soft Power: The Electoral Use of Spotify
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6344
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6344
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 241-254
Author-Name: Raquel Quevedo-Redondo
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Early Modern History, Modern History, History of America and Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Author-Name: Marta Rebolledo
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Public Communication, University of Navarra, Spain
Author-Name: Nuria Navarro-Sierra
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, King Juan Carlos University, Spain
Abstract: The changes brought by new technologies and the ensuing rapid development of the communication field have resulted in an increasing number of studies on politicians’ use of the internet and social media. However, while election campaigns have been the predominant research area in political communication scholarship, music has not yet been taken as an object of study alongside spectacularisation and politainment. Aside from some preliminary studies, systematic research on music in politics is scarce. The literature holds that music is a universal language. Music in politics can therefore be deemed to be an identification tool that can help politicians connect with voters and bring together positions between the different actors of international relations. This is an exploratory study about the use of music in political campaigning. It is focused on the role played by the Spotify playlists created by the main political parties in recent election campaigns in Spain. The initial hypothesis is that some of the candidates strategically selected songs to be shared with their followers. A quantitative content analysis (<em>N</em> = 400) of some Spotify playlists showed that there were significant differences in the selection of songs among the different political parties. This research contributes to the understanding of how Spotify has been used for electoral campaigning, as well as shedding some light on the current communication literature on music and politics.
Keywords: electoral campaign; politainment; political playlists; pop politics; soft power; Spain; Spotify
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:241-254

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Populist Right Parties on TikTok: Spectacularization, Personalization, and Hate Speech
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6358
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6358
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 232-240
Author-Name: Juan Manuel González-Aguilar
Author-Workplace-Name: Facultad de Empresa y Comunicación, International University of La Rioja, Spain
Author-Name: Francisco Segado-Boj
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Global Communication, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Mykola Makhortykh
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Communication and Media Studies, University of Bern, Switzerland
Abstract: Populist parties use social media as a fundamental element of their online communication strategies. This article aims to identify the strategies of right-wing populist parties and politicians on TikTok by measuring a set of features of their videos: It evaluates the presence of hate speech in these messages and the identification of certain groups as “enemies” of “the people,” and also pays special attention to the differences in engagement according to the presence of hate speech and entertaining or humoristic features. We apply a content analysis to a transnational sample (<em>N</em> = 293) of videos posted by the following populist right-wing parties and politicians on TikTok: Vox and Santiago Abascal (Spain), José Antonio Kast (Chile), and the UK Independence Party (UK). Findings show that while Vox and UKIP use TikTok to convey their ideology and values and to target the state as the main enemy of “the common person,” Kast used the same platform to build and project his image of leadership and to broadcast humoristic and entertaining content. Only 19% of the analyzed videos included hate speech elements. Not only was hate speech uncommon; it deterred engagement in terms of the number of comments as well. Contrarily, humour and entertainment favoured engagement. We conclude that TikTok might downplay the most controversial issues of the populist right.
Keywords: Chile; hate speech; political communication; populism; right-wing; social media; Spain; TikTok; UK
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:232-240

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Securing the Youth Vote: A Comparative Analysis of Digital Persuasion on TikTok Among Political Actors
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6348
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6348
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 218-231
Author-Name: Rocío Zamora-Medina
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Murcia, Spain
Author-Name: Andrius Suminas
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Communication, Vilnius University, Lithuania
Author-Name: Shahira S. Fahmy
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
Abstract: In the context of “pop politics” and “politainment,” the irruption of TikTok has changed the landscape of social media and become the fastest-growing application among young people. Based on the peculiarities of the social platform’s affordances and the political personalization approach, we explore the differences between political parties and political leaders in terms of digital persuasion on TikTok in Spain and Poland. This work contributes to the scarce knowledge about the strategic use of TikTok for political purposes. It also attempts to fill the gap in the comparative research into the practical uses of TikTok in different political contexts. The study explores the three classical persuasion appeals—pathos, ethos, and logos—based on a visual, quantitative analysis of <em>N</em> = 372 videos posted on the official TikTok profiles of the main political parties and leaders from January 1st to March 31st, 2022. Differences were found in how political parties and political leaders used TikTok’s affordances as well as in the main rhetorical resource they use to persuade. We noted the use of more rational resources (logos) in the case of political parties and more emotional resources<em> </em>(pathos) for political leaders. Further, the rare presence of the personality in the videos of the political actors (ethos), along with their unusual privatization role, indicate that personalization on TikTok is far from being considered as part of their digital persuasion strategy.
Keywords: digital persuasion; personalization; political communication; social media; TikTok; visual framing
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:218-231

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: TikTok and Political Communication: The Latest Frontier of Politainment? A Case Study
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6390
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6390
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 203-217
Author-Name: Laura Cervi
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Communication Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
Author-Name: Santiago Tejedor
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Communication Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
Author-Name: Fernando García Blesa
Author-Workplace-Name: General Studies Program, University of Lima, Peru
Abstract: TikTok is without any doubt the most popular social media among Gen Zers. Originally born as a lip-syncing app, it can be exploited in different ways; as such, it represents a new fertile space for political communication. In this vein, previous studies have shown that politicians all over the planet are joining the platform as a tool to connect with younger audiences. This study examines the use of TikTok in the last presidential elections in Peru. Following an affordance-based approach, we analyze all the TikToks published by the main candidates (Pedro Castillo, Keiko Fujimori, Rafael Lopez Aliaga, Hernando de Soto, and George Forsyth) during the electoral campaign, to understand if and how candidates have integrated this platform as part of their electoral strategy and what kind of content they publish and share. Through a content analysis that combines quantitative and qualitative elements, we demonstrate that, although all the analyzed politicians have opened TikTok accounts, they do not seem to take full advantage of the platform’s affordances displaying a top-down communication style with almost no deliberative nor participative intentions. Political issues are almost absent since the platform is mostly used to display their personal life and enhance their political persona, with most of the content displaying a clear entertaining dimension. Some differences are discussed but, in general, results reveal that Peruvian candidates use TikTok almost uniquely for politainment.
Keywords: Peru; politainment; political campaign; political communication; TikTok
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:203-217

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Selfies and Speeches of a President at War: Volodymyr Zelensky’s Strategy of Spectacularization on Instagram
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6366
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6366
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 188-202
Author-Name: Maite Plazas-Olmedo
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Sciences, Universitat Jaume I, Spain
Author-Name: Pablo López-Rabadán
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Sciences, Universitat Jaume I, Spain
Abstract: The spectacularization of politics is not the exclusive patrimony of the media in their news coverage. Leaders from all over the world have successfully incorporated this “communicative style” into their own strategies, a style that finds a suitable space in visual social networks such as Instagram, in dynamic formats such as video, and in crisis contexts. This article analyzes the “spectacularization” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s through Instagram. The methodological proposal is based on the study of the 5W in relation to the digital image and investigates the leading role, the staging, the space, and the technical resources of the videos. Thus, a content analysis is applied to a sample of 143 videos published by the president on his official profile in February–March 2022, when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began, and in September–October 2022. We observed that Zelensky uses video in an intense and “spectacular” way: He exploits his figure in a professional style, strategically combines careful staging with amateurism, and uses resources such as subtitles to internationalize his discourse.
Keywords: celebritization; Instagram; politainment; political communication; pop politics; social media; spectacularization; Ukraine; war; Zelensky
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:188-202

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Journalism in Democracy: A Discourse Analysis of Twitter Posts on the Ferrerasgate Scandal
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6314
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6314
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 176-187
Author-Name: Itziar Reguero-Sanz
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Modern, Contemporary, American History, and Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Author-Name: Pablo Berdón-Prieto
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Modern, Contemporary, American History, and Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Author-Name: Jacobo Herrero-Izquierdo
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Modern, Contemporary, American History, and Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Abstract: This research analyses the discourse on Twitter surrounding the “Ferrerasgate” scandal involving the Spanish journalist Antonio García Ferreras, director and host of the television show <em>Al Rojo Vivo </em>(La Sexta, Spanish TV channel). It examines the main object of criticism, the tone of the discourse, the argumentation made by users, as well as the existence of hate in their rhetoric. The tweets included in the study’s sample (<em>N </em>= 2,846), posted between 5 and 15 July 2022 and extracted on 16 July 2022, were examined in two complementary phases. The first entailed a quantitative content analysis of the messages and the second analysed whether hate speech was found in the sample as a whole. The Sketch Engine tool was used to determine whether “crypto hate speech” existed in the sample as a whole, and to whom it was targeted. The results reveal that “Ferrerasgate” sparked a debate that spilt over into journalism across the board, calling into question the media’s role in a democracy. The most prominent arguments were the condemnation of misinformation, lack of independence, and absence of professionalism in the journalism sector. It should be noted that most of the messages were destructive in tone; hate was found in the tweets analysed, although these did not represent a high percentage in relation to the total sample.
Keywords: disinformation; Ferrerasgate; hate speech; journalism; online discourse; Twitter
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:176-187

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Politainment on Twitter: Engagement in the Spanish Legislative Elections of April 2019
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6292
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6292
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 163-175
Author-Name: Salomé Berrocal-Gonzalo
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Modern, Contemporary, American History and Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Author-Name: Patricia Zamora-Martínez
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Modern, Contemporary, American History and Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Author-Name: Ana González-Neira
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sociology and Communication Sciences, University of A Coruña, Spain
Abstract: The mediatisation of politics is based on the logic of spectacle. Politainment defines the phenomenon in which political information is trivialised by the hybrid narratives in which it is included and its anecdotal tone, with the aim of reaching an audience that seeks entertainment rather than information. This phenomenon has reached the digital sphere; the media, political parties, and prosumers are interested in using the new communicative context to expand their audience or become producers of new narrative formulas that act as a loudspeaker for online infotainment policies or discourses. This research examines the engagement obtained by politainment producers on Twitter, a network where debates about television content are concentrated. The article examines the tweets issued by Spanish television programmes that carry out politainment. The research focuses on the Spanish general elections held in April 2019 to establish whether this social network acted as a sounding board for television broadcasts and how it contributed to fixing ideas and content. The researchers conducted a content analysis on a sample of 7,059 tweets and 2,771 comments. The results show that the production, promotion, and communication strategies of programmes on Twitter are still scarce and unoriginal. The behaviour of prosumers is not very creative, active, or interactive, preventing the creation of a debate on Twitter or the construction of a horizontal (user–user) or vertical (user–programme) interaction on the content published.
Keywords: engagement; politainment; political communication; Spanish general elections; Twitter
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:163-175

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Spectacle of “Patriotic Violence” in Romania: Populist Leader George Simion’s Mediated Performance
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6367
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6367
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 148-162
Author-Name: Teodora-Elena Grapă
Author-Workplace-Name: Doctoral School in Political and Communication Sciences, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Author-Name: Andreea-Alina Mogoș
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Digital Media, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Abstract: Political actors who adapt their performance to the logic of politainment gain visibility and success in the public sphere. Such is the case of George Simion, an emerging politician and leader of the newest parliamentary party, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), a populist radical right party that proved especially attractive to Romanian diaspora voters. This study focuses on the discursive and stylistic dimensions of Simion’s newsworthiness and mediatization. Additionally, a multiplatform analysis of his populist communication content and style aims to determine degrees of populism. As such, we propose a mixed-methods multimodal approach that combines corpus linguistics and semi-automated content analysis with thematic coding and visual semiotic analysis. The media-reported performance analysis focuses on content (<em>n</em> = 963) produced by three popular online news media outlets (<em>Digi24.ro</em>, <em>Adevărul.ro</em>, and <em>Antena3.ro</em>) between May 13th 2015 and April 30th 2022, while the analysis of Simion’s discourse examines his Telegram channel’s feed (738 messages and 383 images) between March 15th 2021 and April 30th 2022, and his authored texts published in <em>Adevărul.ro</em> (<em>n</em> = 116) between July 8th 2014 and April 30th 2022. The results indicate that news media reports are defined by conflict (aggression, violence), scandalization, negativity, emotionality, and by a prevalent use of arresting quotes that employ colloquial language (sarcasm, vulgarity). Simion’s celebrity populism is styled through an “ideal candidate,” “populist campaigner” image and framed through the emotional glorification (unionism, patriotism, Orthodoxy) of a potentially united “homeland,” a democratic space that reflects the unadulterated will of ordinary Christian-Orthodox Romanians whose sovereignty is currently undermined by corrupt political elites. He invokes historical narratives (e.g., founding fathers, retrospective utopia) reinforced through othering the EU and ethnic/sexual minorities as forces that threaten the purity of “the people.”
Keywords: content analysis; corpus linguistics; discourse analysis; news values; politainment; populist frames; populist political communication; telegram
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:148-162

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Technopopulism and Politainment in Brazil: Bolsonaro Government’s Weekly YouTube Broadcasts
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6470
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6470
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 137-147
Author-Name: Karina Di Nubila
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Author-Name: Carlos A. Ballesteros-Herencia
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Author-Name: Dunia Etura
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Author-Name: Virginia Martín-Jiménez
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Abstract: Digital platforms have become powerful weapons in the hands of many politicians. In search for disintermediation of information, Jair Messias Bolsonaro found in social networks a new space to interact with his voters. With a communication strategy primarily online, the former president of Brazil had social profiles on all platforms and has transformed these channels into official government sources, in a campaign whose goal was to discredit the traditional media and occupy the place of speech of these social actors. This article analyzed Bolsonaro’s weekly live streams, made available on his YouTube channel in order to study the technopopulism undertaken by Bolsonaro. Through a quantitative and qualitative content analysis, 121 videos (with a total duration of 83 hours and 58 minutes) were examined, from March 7, 2019, when the president of Brazil began doing the weekly YouTube broadcasts, until May 11, 2022, when this research was planned. The results indicate that the themes addressed in the live streams have influenced the disinformation process in Brazil and especially the hate attacks against important Brazilian democratic institutions. The speeches of resentment against the press, the Supreme Court, and the opposition parties are constant in Bolsonaro’s weekly programs. Finally, this article concluded that Bolsonaro’s communicative strategy on YouTube is an example of technopopulism based on the manipulation of public opinion with the dissemination of propaganda favorable to the government, and veiled attacks on all kinds of enemies of the current system in place as a true example of right-wing populist government.
Keywords: Bolsonaro; Brazil; disinformation; politainment; post-truth; technopopulism; YouTube
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:137-147

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Experiencing Political Advertising Through Social Media Logic: A Qualitative Inquiry
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6412
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6412
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 127-136
Author-Name: Martin Echeverría
Author-Workplace-Name: Center for Studies in Political Communication, Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico
Abstract: <span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;" lang="EN-US">The allocation of political advertising in social media is rising in Western campaigns. Yet audiences, unlike those of television advertising, are no longer isolated and passive consumers of linear discourses from politicians; users can now interact, share, and merge political advertising with other messages. Literature has dealt with the effects of such affordances separately, yet not in an integrative, holistic way that makes it possible to observe how they interact with each other. Hence, this article explores qualitatively how users experience, engage with, and make sense of political advertising in social media, and how its affordances mediate the attitudes, responses, and meanings users bring to political advertising and its sponsors. Under the lenses of the theory of social media logic, which points out the properties of social media—popularity, programmability, datafication, and connectivity—that structure users’ experiences, we conducted six focus group sessions with Mexican users (<em>n</em> = 34) during the 2021 federal campaigns. Findings show the fuzziness of digital advertising for users, which blurs with other formats like infographics or memes, the crucial role of individual linkages for advertising attention and attitude formation, a mismatch between the platform’s political feed and citizens’ information needs, and the tactics users perform to tame or avoid political content, disengaging them from campaigns.</span>
Keywords: digital advertising; digital campaigns; mediatization; political advertising; reception studies; social media logic
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:127-136

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Partisanship, Ideology, and Selective Exposure: A Longitudinal Analysis of Media Consumption in Spain (2008–2019)
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6280
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6280
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 113-126
Author-Name: María Luisa Humanes
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Corporate Communication, King Juan Carlos University, Spain
Author-Name: Lidia Valera-Ordaz
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Language Theory and Communication Sciences, University of Valencia, Spain
Abstract: The literature on selective exposure has shown that ideology and voting govern media consumption decisions, but longitudinal studies are still scarce. To fill this gap, this work analyzes: (a) whether selective exposure guided by ideology and partisanship to three media types (television, radio, and newspapers) is a stable phenomenon in Spain (2008–2019) as expected from a polarized pluralistic media system; and (b) which variable has the strongest effects on news choices (ideology or partisanship). Multinomial logistic regressions are carried out using data sources from six post-electoral surveys conducted by the Center for Sociological Research in the last six Spanish general elections (2008–2019). As dependent variables, we consider the four most important preferred media outlets for each media type, and as independent variables, we include the vote in general election and ideology. Moreover, interest in politics, gender, age, education, and social class are included as control variables, too. Findings show strong evidence that selective exposure based on ideology and partisanship is a well-established phenomenon in Spain for the three media types during the 11 years. Results also show that the effect of partisanship is always stronger than that of ideology for the three news media types. We conclude that selective exposure in Spain needs therefore to be conceived as partisan selective exposure.
Keywords: audience; ideology; longitudinal analysis; media consumption; partisanship; political news; selective avoidance; selective exposure; Spain; survey
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:113-126

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: New Frontiers for Political Communication in Times of Spectacularization
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7069
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.7069
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 109-112
Author-Name: Salvador Gómez-García
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Global Communication, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Author-Name: Rocío Zamora
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Murcia, Spain
Author-Name: Salomé Berrocal
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Modern, Contemporary, American History and Journalism, University of Valladolid, Spain
Abstract: Political spectacularization is a broad global phenomenon challenging contemporary digital political communication under new features that define interactive digital narratives. In this sense, the use of politainment formulas in digital contexts to reconnect the electorate with political leaders and institutions through a more direct and interactive communication deserves further understanding of its implications on the devaluation of political information and the loss of democratic quality. This thematic issue sheds some light on how the spectacularization of political communication, which increasingly takes place in online contexts, affects and is affected by these processes, where entertainment is crucial to engage citizens. In this editorial, we provide a short overview of how research on politainment has started to shift its attention away from traditional media toward the wide array of lenses of politainment among digital platforms. The articles in this thematic issue reflect this shift but also show its consequences in terms of political engagement. Finally, we outline further research steps, which should establish a more nuanced and multifaceted understanding of the complex relationship between political communication, entertainment, and new digital communication formulas, which is crucial to advance knowledge in the field.
Keywords: digital narratives; digital persuasion; disintermediation; gamification; ideological polarization; online campaigns; politainment; political communication; political engagement; social media
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:109-112

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Pre-Truth: Fake News, Semiological Guerrilla Warfare, and Some Other Media and Communication “Revolutions”
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6628
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6628
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 101-108
Author-Name: Claudio Paolucci
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies, University of Bologna, Italy
Abstract: In this article, I will work on the idea of Pre-Truth (as opposed to post-truth) and Semiological Guerrilla (as opposed to fake news), claiming that these two concepts are better equipped to explain what is happening in our contemporary societies, especially if we take into account the world of media and communication. In the first part of the article, I will frame the problems of fake news and post-truth within the dynamics characterizing the relationships between knowledge and power. Taking into account Foucault and Latour’s perspectives, I argue that the problem of fake news can be understood as a new kind of relationship between these two instances, previously stably coupled and in the hands of institutional power. Later, I will deal with three different meanings of “fake news,” that are usually blended and confused: (a) serendipity, (b) false belief, and (c) mendacity. Consequently, I will deal with the problem of “Semiological Guerrilla Warfare,” arguing that the new shape of the “knowledge-power relationship” rendered alternative and non-institutionally certified interpretations the norm. Eventually, I will identify the deep cause of this effect in the machinic production of documents provided by new technologies, causing a return of the medieval sense of “truth” as “trust,” independent from knowledge and strictly related to anecdotes and personal experiences. Finally, I will work on the concept of “truth” connected to technology, trying to reveal its genealogy with the aim of explaining some misleading contemporary beliefs on “post-truth.”
Keywords: post-truth; fake news; semiological guerrilla warfare; semiotics; experience and knowledge
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:101-108

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Combating Disinformation or Reinforcing Cognitive Bias: Effect of Weibo Poster’s Location Disclosure
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6506
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6506
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 88-100
Author-Name: Chang Luo
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Media and Design, Beijing Technology and Business University, China
Author-Name: Juan Liu
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Media and Design, Beijing Technology and Business University, China
Author-Name: Tianjiao Yang
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Media and Design, Beijing Technology and Business University, China
Author-Name: Jinghong Xu
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, China
Abstract: This study conducted a controlled experiment to examine the impact of posters’ IP disclosure on the perceptions of Weibo users with different habits and information preferences and explore whether such disclosure facilitates the fight against disinformation or deepens cognitive biases. Results showed that the IP location of the information poster does influence users’ judgments of the authenticity of the information and that the consistency between users’ long-term residence and poster IP is not important for users to make judgments about the credibility of information. The high level of usage of Weibo also has no effect on users’ judgment of the credibility of the information, and this may be related to the small difference in college students’ overall use of Weibo. The results also showed that users’ perceptions of information’s accuracy, logical coherence, absence of bias, alignment with their own views, consistency with the majority opinion, and trustworthiness of its source are all statistically positively correlated with the overall credibility of information.
Keywords: cognitive bias; disinformation; identity disclosure; social media; Weibo
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:88-100

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: A Systematic Literature Review of the Phenomenon of Disinformation and Misinformation
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6453
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6453
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 76-87
Author-Name: Marta Pérez-Escolar
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Spain
Author-Name: Darren Lilleker
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, Bournemouth University, UK
Author-Name: Alejandro Tapia-Frade
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Marketing and Communication, University of Cadiz, Spain
Abstract: Disinformation threatens the virtue of knowledge. The notion of truth becomes corrupted when citizens believe and give credibility to false, inaccurate, or misleading messages. This situation is particularly relevant in the digital age, where users of media platforms are exposed to different sorts of persuasive statements with uncertain origins and a lack of authenticity. How does academia understand the disinformation problem, and are we equipped to offer solutions? In response to this question, our study provides an overview of the general definitions, trends, patterns, and developments that represent the research on disinformation and misinformation. We conducted a systematic review of <em>N</em> = 756 publications covering eight years, 2014–2022. This period captures phenomena such as Trump’s emergence as a candidate for the US presidency, his term in office, as well as the leadership of figures such as Erdogan in Turkey, Bolsonaro in Brazil, Modi in India, and various similar populist and nationalist leaders across a range of democratic and semi-democratic societies. This period is also one that witnessed the first global pandemic, when misinformation and disinformation not only threatened societal cohesion but the lives of people. This systematic review explores the critical terminology used, the areas of social life where disinformation is identified as problematic, the sources identified as creating or circulating this material, as well as the channels studied, the targets, and the persuasiveness of the discourse. What this article offers, then, is an overview of what we know about disinformation and what gaps in research should be pursued. We conclude that given the problems that misinformation and disinformation are seen to cause for democratic societies, we need to assess the contribution of social science in providing a foundation for scientific knowledge.
Keywords: credibility; disinformation; fake news; falsehood; hoaxes; misinformation; truth
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:76-87

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Accessing to a “Truer Truth”: Conspiracy and Figurative Reasoning From Covid-19 to the Russia–Ukraine War
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6396
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6396
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 64-75
Author-Name: Bianca Terracciano
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Social Research, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Abstract: This research hypothesizes that all conspiracy theories have dominating isotopies and images-symbols regardless of ideology or context. As a result, I hypothesized that the common denominator might be discovered in figurative reasoning, which means using the same representations to explain current events, in order to detect an ideal center of the semantic universe of conspiracy where the diverse conspiracist fringes converge. Social media invariant topicalizations of the Covid-19 epidemic and the Russia–Ukraine war are the ideal field to validate this hypothesis. The corpus on which the study was conducted consists of thousands of online items published between February 15, 2020, and October 15, 2022. Within the corpus were chosen posts by QAnon supporters designated as disinformation “superspreaders.”
Keywords: conspiracy; Covid-19; figurative reasoning; QAnon; Russia; semiotics; Telegram; Ukraine
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:64-75

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Teaching Journalism Literacy in Schools: The Role of Media Companies as Media Educators in Germany
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6389
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6389
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 53-63
Author-Name: Michael Sengl
Author-Workplace-Name: Chair of Communication Studies, University of Passau, Germany
Author-Name: Elfi Heinke
Author-Workplace-Name: Chair of Communication Studies, University of Passau, Germany
Abstract: German journalism is facing major challenges including declining circulation, funding, trust, and political allegations of spreading disinformation. Increased media literacy in the population is one way to counter these issues and their implications. This especially applies to the sub-concept of journalism literacy, focusing on the ability to consume news critically and reflectively, thus enabling democratic participation. For media companies, promoting journalism literacy seems logical for economic and altruistic reasons. However, research on German initiatives is scarce. This article presents an explorative qualitative survey of experts from seven media companies offering journalistic media education projects in German schools, focusing on the initiatives’ content, structure, and motivation. Results show that initiatives primarily aim at students and teachers, offering mostly education on journalism (e.g., teaching material) and via journalism (e.g., journalistic co-production with students). While these projects mainly provide information on the respective medium and journalistic practices, dealing with disinformation is also a central goal. Most initiatives are motivated both extrinsically (e.g., reaching new audiences) and intrinsically (e.g., democratic responsibility). Despite sometimes insufficient resources and reluctant teachers, media companies see many opportunities in their initiatives: Gaining trust and creating resilience against disinformation are just two examples within the larger goal of enabling young people to be informed and opinionated members of a democratic society.
Keywords: disinformation; journalism literacy; journalistic media education; media literacy; news media literacy
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:53-63

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Vulnerability to Disinformation in Relation to Political Affiliation in North Macedonia
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6381
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6381
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 42-52
Author-Name: Edlira Palloshi Disha
Author-Workplace-Name: Max van der Stoel Institute, South East European University, North Macedonia
Author-Name: Albulena Halili
Author-Workplace-Name: Max van der Stoel Institute, South East European University, North Macedonia / Faculty of Contemporary Social Sciences, South East European University, North Macedonia
Author-Name: Agron Rustemi
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Contemporary Social Sciences, South East European University, North Macedonia
Abstract: This study aims to analyze the relationship between political affiliation and vulnerability to disinformation in North Macedonia through the role of psychological and social constraints in shaping how individuals respond to and process information. Research has shown that politically affiliated individuals may be particularly vulnerable to disinformation in part due to confirmation bias or the tendency to accept and seek out information that is consistent with one’s preexisting beliefs and ignore or refute information that is not. Using the quantitative method and cross-matched data from the empirical research, the study has shown that political affiliation affects the way individuals perceive disinformation. Correspondingly, disinformation with a negative connotation from one’s affiliated political party is perceived by a lower percentage as accurate, contrary to disinformation with a negative connotation from the opposing political party, which is perceived by a higher percentage as accurate. The study also found that politically affiliated individuals are more prone to disinformation than those who are not politically affiliated. The results suggest that political affiliation plays a significant role in an individual’s vulnerability to disinformation.
Keywords: confirmation bias; disinformation; North Macedonia; political affiliation; vulnerability
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:42-52

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Exploring European Citizens’ Resilience to Misinformation: Media Legitimacy and Media Trust as Predictive Variables
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6317
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6317
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 30-41
Author-Name: Carlos Rodríguez-Pérez
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Management, Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia
Author-Name: María José Canel
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Theory and Analysis, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
Abstract: Building on the notion of an intangible resource, this research conceptualizes resilience as an intangible resource that can be ascribed to countries (governments and media) and explores its sources. After presenting the conceptual framework, the study uses cross-national comparable data from Eurobarometer to (a) determine whether a factor called “resilience to misinformation” can be composed of citizens’ attitudes and behaviors toward misinformation and be conceptualized and operationalized as an intangible asset, and (b) determine the extent to which other intangible assets regarding the media (legitimacy and trust) help predict resilience to misinformation. Based on statistical techniques, findings show that (a) it is possible to conceptualize “resilience to misinformation” as an intangible asset comprised of several items related to citizens’ awareness of misinformation, acknowledgment of the negative impact, and the development of skills to identify misinformation; (b) this intangible asset can be analyzed in relation to intangibles that derive from media performance, such as media legitimacy and trust in the media; and (c) media’s intangible assets seem to be more predictive of “resilience to misinformation” than sociodemographic variables. Based on the findings, this research proposes a conceptualization of “resilience to misinformation” as an intangible resource in the public sector. In addition, it highlights recommendations for the mainstream media on how to manage their intangible value while contributing to resilience to misinformation.
Keywords: European Union; intangible assets; media legitimacy; media trust; misinformation; resilience
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:30-41

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: An Overview of the Fake News Phenomenon: From Untruth-Driven to Post-Truth-Driven Approaches
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6315
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6315
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 15-29
Author-Name: Raúl Rodríguez-Ferrándiz
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Social Psychology, University of Alicante, Spain
Abstract: “Fake news” was chosen in 2017 as the word of the year by the Collins Dictionary and the American Dialect Society, due to its extraordinary popularity. However, its relevance has been called into question due to its controversy and ambiguity. We have compiled herein 30 definitions from selected dictionaries, academic papers, news agencies, influential media observatories, and independent, certified fact-checkers over the last six years and have carried out a manual relational content analysis on them. We also collected data from four bibliometric studies from academic literature and five surveys on how the general public perceived fake news. In keeping with this three-level systematic review (lexicography, bibliometrics, and public perception) we detected some trends, including a growing drift towards a post-truth-driven conceptualization of fake news. Results also show that the “viral” and “memetic” quality of a rumor prevail over the demonstrable credibility of a source and even the factuality of a reported event; the element of surprise or outrage in the heat of the moment is more powerful than the ironic detachment elicited by news satire and parody; and sharing motivations are definitely less concerned with perceived accuracy than with partisan support, community sentiment, emotional contagion, and a taste for the sensational or bizarre.
Keywords: bibliometrics; disinformation; fakeness; fake news; lexicography; news-ness; partisanship; post-truth; public perception; shareworthiness
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:15-29

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The (Un)Intended Consequences of Emphasizing the Threats of Mis- and Disinformation
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6301
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.6301
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 5-14
Author-Name: Michael Hameleers
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: The mis- and disinformation order does not only consist of the dissemination of deceptive content but also involves using fake news as a blame-shifting label in politics and society. The salience of this label on social media and in political discourse, and the frequent discussions held about the threats of fake news in public opinion, may result in a systematic overestimation of mis- and disinformation’s presence. Even more so, these primed perceptions about false information may affect people’s evaluations of factually accurate information. In this article, we offer a theoretical account of how the public’s and media’s attention to mis- and disinformation, fake news labels, and the threats of mis- and disinformation may have a negative impact on people’s trust in factually accurate information and authentic news. In addition, relying on an experimental case study of pre-bunking interventions, we illustrate the extent to which tools intended to increase media literacy in the face of mis- and disinformation may also have ramifications for trust in reliable information. Based on this, we propose a forward-looking perspective and recommendations on how interventions can circumvent unintended consequences of flagging false information.
Keywords: credibility; disinformation; fake news; media literacy; misinformation; truth bias
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:5-14

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: (Dis)Information Literacy: A Democratic Right and Duty of All Citizens
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/7029
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i2.7029
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 2
Pages: 1-4
Author-Name: José Antonio Muñiz-Velázquez
Author-Workplace-Name: Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Spain
Abstract: When the call for papers for this issue was made a few months ago, disinformation literacy to defend our democracies was already seen as having great importance. Today, when hybrid warfare (of which information disorder is a key part) is being waged, with deaths and destruction inflicted on European soil, it is clearly not only important but also urgent. Our democracies and freedoms are at stake. In a scenario where, on the one hand, labels (“audience,” “prosumers,” “media,” “fake news,” “post-truth”) and on the other hand, the realities that these labels hide are changing and are modified so quickly, different institutions that structure the democratic societies must converge in the construction of effective information literacy strategies. Schools and the entire formal education system must be the first, of course. Universities must lead this fight, combining their teaching and research mission with their work relating to dissemination and social awareness, especially from communication studies and colleges of journalism. In parallel to educational and research institutions, media also play a crucial role in promoting (dis)information literacy. As media educators, they should not only serve the mercantilist objective of retaining their clientele but also uphold their democratic responsibility to help instill a sense of civic awareness in citizens.
Keywords: democracy; disinformation; hybrid war; information disorder; information literacy; post-truth; resilience
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:2:p:1-4

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: How Politicians’ Attacks on Science Communication Influence Public Perceptions of Journalists and Scientists
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6098
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6098
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 361-373
Author-Name: Jana Laura Egelhofer
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media and Communication, LMU Munich, Germany
Abstract: In today’s “post-truth” world, concerns over political attacks on the legitimacy of expert knowledge and scientific facts are growing. Especially populist politicians frequently use their social media platforms to target science and journalism, arguing these are part of an “evil elite,” deliberately misleading the public by spreading disinformation. While this type of discourse is highly concerning, thus far, we lack empirical evidence on how these accusations affect the public perceptions of scientists and journalists. To fill this gap, this study tests how politicians’ attacks affect citizens’ trust in journalists and scientists and the information provided by them. Furthermore, it investigates whether this discourse renders hostility towards journalists and scientists acceptable and whether there are effects on the image of politicians using such anti-science rhetoric. Findings suggest that the effects of politicians’ attacks on citizens’ perceptions of scientists and journalists are limited. Only individuals with strong anti-elitist attitudes are susceptible to disinformation accusations and indicate less belief in discredited scientific information. Interestingly, these individuals also perceive politicians using such attacks as more trustworthy and authentic.
Keywords: anti-elitist attitudes; disinformation accusations; incivility; media trust; political attacks; populist communication; science communication; science trust
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:361-373

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Meet Bob and Offset Your Flight: Optimising Explainer Videos to Promote Voluntary Carbon Offsetting
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6028
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6028
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 349-360
Author-Name: Anna Schorn
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Werner Wirth
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: In Germany, over 60% of people use YouTube as a search engine and watch explainer videos or tutorials at least occasionally. Two studies were conducted to determine how explainer videos can be optimised to promote sustainable minority behaviour such as voluntary carbon offsetting. A typical way to present information in explainer videos is by using exemplars (the “meet Bob” trope), which can change recipients’ judgements of the frequency of events. When an exemplar is included, the frequency of occurrence can be estimated to be higher, even if the actual base-rate information is given. Therefore, study one (<em>N</em> = 482) tested whether an exemplar could enhance the positive effects of a dynamic descriptive social norm appeal (DSNA), prevent the backfire effects of a static minority DSNA, and examine whether there were any differences depending on the narrative perspective. In study one, we conducted a 2 (narrative perspective: first vs. third person) × 2 (DSNA: static vs. dynamic) × 2 (travel destination: Europe vs. overseas; control factor) between-subjects experiment using six self-produced explainer videos about voluntary carbon offsetting (<em>N</em> = 270). The results show that the narrative perspective, different DSNAs, and the destination had no effect on persuasive outcomes. Study two (<em>N</em> = 270) focused on social norm appeals and supplemented minority DSNAs (DSNA: static vs. dynamic vs. absent) with an injunctive social norm appeal (ISNA: present vs. absent). The results show that a majority injunctive social norm appeal can improve attitudes towards voluntary carbon offsetting and perceived effectiveness.
Keywords: exemplar; experiment; explainer video; narrative perspective; nudging; social influence; social norm appeals; sustainable behaviour; voluntary carbon offsetting
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:349-360

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Scientific Information Literacy: Adaption of Concepts and an Investigation Into the Chinese Public
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6077
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6077
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 335-248
Author-Name: Han Wang
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, China
Author-Name: Lina Li
Author-Workplace-Name: Film–Television and Communication College, Shanghai Normal University, China
Author-Name: Jing Wu
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Author-Name: Hao Gao
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing Normal University, China
Abstract: Many studies have developed the concepts and measurements of scientific and information literacy. However, the changes in the media environment, the complexity of scientific information, and low entry barriers have brought new challenges to scientific information communication. A single scientific or information literacy concept cannot provide a clear overview of the competencies and literacy required for individuals to access scientific information in new media contexts. This study aims to adapt the existing concepts and measurement frameworks related to information literacy in science communication and to investigate scientific information literacy and the demographic differences among the Chinese public through a cross-sectional survey (<em>N</em> = 2,983). The results showed that compared to self-directed information acquisition, accurate information filtering, and information sharing and dissemination, the Chinese public has relatively lower levels of information credibility assessment and opinion expression. Besides, the scientific literacy levels among the Chinese public had significant differences according to gender, age, and education. This study argues that adapting current information literacy concepts into science communication can promote public understanding of scientific information. The concept of scientific information literacy should be considered as a means of understanding the impact of new media on scientific information communication. The contribution of this study is that it adapts existing concepts into a novel context, further enriching the empirical research on scientific literacy and the research perspective on science communication.
Keywords: information literacy; literacy investigation; new media; science communication; scientific literacy
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:335-248

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Covid-19 Research in Alternative News Media: Evidencing and Counterevidencing Practices
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6049
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6049
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 323-334
Author-Name: Markus Schug
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media, Knowledge, and Communication, University of Augsburg, Germany / Centre for Interdisciplinary Health Research, University of Augsburg, Germany
Author-Name: Helena Bilandzic
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media, Knowledge, and Communication, University of Augsburg, Germany / Centre for Interdisciplinary Health Research, University of Augsburg, Germany
Author-Name: Susanne Kinnebrock
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media, Knowledge, and Communication, University of Augsburg, Germany / Centre for Interdisciplinary Health Research, University of Augsburg, Germany
Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an excess of accurate and inaccurate information (infodemic) that has prevented people from finding reliable guidance in decision-making. Non-professional but popular science communicators—some with a political agenda—supply the public with scientific knowledge regarding Covid-19. This kind of communication represents a worrisome force in societal discourses on science-related political issues. This article explores online content (<em>N </em>= 108 articles) of two popular German “alternative news” media (<em>NachDenkSeiten</em> and <em>PI News</em>) that present and evaluate biomedical research concerning Covid-19. Using thematic analysis, we investigated how scientific evidence was presented and questioned. Regarding the theoretical background, we drew on the concept of “evidencing practices” and ideas from argumentation theory. More specifically, we studied the use of the following three evidencing and counterevidencing practices: references to Data/Methods, references to Experts/Authorities, and Narratives. The results indicate that the studied alternative news media generally purport to report on science using the same argumentation mechanisms as those employed in science journalism in legacy media. However, a deeper analysis reveals that argumentation directions mostly follow preexisting ideologies and political agendas against Covid-19 policies, which leads to science coverage that contradicts common epistemic authorities and evidence. Finally, we discuss the possible implications of our findings for audience views and consider strategies for countering the rejection of scientific evidence.
Keywords: alternative news media; argumentation theory; counterevidencing practice; Covid-19; science communication
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:323-334

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: How Do Multiple Actors Conduct Science Communication About Omicron on Weibo: A Mixed-Method Study
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6122
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6122
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 306-322
Author-Name: Jinghong Xu
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, China
Author-Name: Difan Guo
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, China
Author-Name: Jing Xu
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, China
Author-Name: Chang Luo
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Media and Design, Beijing Technology and Business University, China
Abstract: This article explores science communication about Omicron on Weibo by eight actors from November 2021 to June 2022. Regarding the themes of vaccines, symptoms, and medicines, we examined the actors’ communication with content analysis, presented the interactions of different actors using social network analysis, and assessed the impact of weibos on public sentiment using SnowNLP and descriptive statistics. The results showed that scientists are still the most important actors, focusing on science issues and using contrasting and contextual frames. Central-level media play an essential mediating role, relaying scientific knowledge. Science communication on Weibo had a positive impact on public sentiment.
Keywords: Covid-19; Omicron; public sentiment; science communication; social media; sentiment analysis; Weibo
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:306-322

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Multilingual Twitter Discourse on Vaccination in Germany During the Covid-19 Pandemic
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6058
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6058
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 293-305
Author-Name: Hannah Schmid-Petri
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Passau, Germany
Author-Name: Moritz Bürger
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Passau, Germany
Author-Name: Stephan Schlögl
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Passau, Germany
Author-Name: Mara Schwind
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Passau, Germany
Author-Name: Jelena Mitrović
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Passau, Germany / Institute for Artificial Intelligence Research and Development of Serbia, Serbia
Author-Name: Ramona Kühn
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Passau, Germany
Abstract: There is evidence that specific segments of the population were hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic (e.g., people with a migration background). In this context, the impact and role played by online platforms in facilitating the integration or fragmentation of public debates and social groups is a recurring topic of discussion. This is where our study ties in, we ask: How is the topic of vaccination discussed and evaluated in different language communities in Germany on Twitter during the Covid-19 pandemic? We collected all tweets in German, Russian, Turkish, and Polish (i.e., the largest migrant groups in Germany) in March 2021 that included the most important keywords related to Covid-19 vaccination. All users were automatically geocoded. The data was limited to tweets from Germany. Our results show that the multilingual debate on Covid-19 vaccination in Germany does not have many structural connections. However, in terms of actors, arguments, and positions towards Covid-19 vaccination, the discussion in the different language communities is similar. This indicates that there is a parallelism of the debates but no social-discursive integration.
Keywords: content analysis; Covid-19; multilingual communities; Twitter; vaccination debate
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:293-305

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Between Calls for Action and Narratives of Denial: Climate Change Attention Structures on Twitter
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6111
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6111
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 278-292
Author-Name: Hendrik Meyer
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Communication Studies, University of Hamburg, Germany
Author-Name: Amelia Katelin Peach
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Communication Studies, University of Hamburg, Germany
Author-Name: Lars Guenther
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Communication Studies, University of Hamburg, Germany
Author-Name: Hadas Emma Kedar
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Communication Studies, University of Hamburg, Germany
Author-Name: Michael Brüggemann
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism and Communication Studies, University of Hamburg, Germany
Abstract: The threats posed to society by climate change often fail to become priorities for voters and policymakers. Nevertheless, it has been shown that merely paying online attention to climate change can increase the perceived severity of the associated risks and thus encourage climate action. Therefore, we focus on public discourse on Twitter to explore the interplay of “triggers” and discursive features that stimulate attention to climate change. We collected data from 2017 to 2021, identified each year’s top five “peak” events of climate attention, and applied manual content (<em>N </em>= 2,500) and automated network analyses (<em>N</em> = ~17,000,000). The results show that while specific events and actors may not trigger and maintain attention permanently, there are discursive features (types of domains, discourses, users, and networks) that continuously shape attention to climate change. Debates are highly politicized and often call for action, criticize administrations, stress negative future scenarios, and controversially debate over the reality of climate change. Attention thereby is amplified within hybrid discourses which merge different triggers, being dominated by political, cultural, and journalistic media accounts: Political events trigger posts that stress the reality of climate change, whereas tweets on protests and cultural events are amplified if they call for action. However, antagonism and backlashes to such posts are essential features of the peaks investigated. Accordingly, attention is often connected to controversial debates regarding focusing events, polarizing figures (such as Greta Thunberg or Donald Trump), and the formation of counter-public networks. Which content is amplified highly depends on the subnetworks that users are situated in.
Keywords: climate change; content analysis; discursive features; network analysis; politicized debates; Twitter
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:278-292

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Higher Education Institutions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: Comparing Swiss Universities’ Social Media Communication
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6069
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6069
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 264-277
Author-Name: Isabel Sörensen
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Silke Fürst
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Daniel Vogler
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Mike S. Schäfer
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: Public communication has become more important to higher education institutions (HEIs), with many HEIs using social media to communicate with stakeholders. However, scholarship on the subject is scarce and mainly based on single-platform studies and small datasets. Therefore, we conducted a cross-platform study to examine the communication of all Swiss HEIs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The results were based on two datasets: an automated analysis on data for all Swiss HEIs (<em>n</em> = 42) and their social media accounts from 2004 to 2021 (337,232 posts from 207 accounts), and a manual content analysis on 1,500 posts per platform. By including all HEIs in one country, this study allowed for a comparison of the results by HEI type: universities of applied sciences, universities of teacher education, and research universities. Results show that, in recent years, HEI communication increased on Instagram, but not on Facebook or Twitter. Twitter was used the most by research universities, while most Instagram and Facebook posts were from universities of applied sciences. Universities of teacher education were least active across all platforms. The content of communication across all HEI types was primarily self-referential. Our analysis of how well HEIs used the affordances of social media communication relative to hypertextuality and multimodality revealed a generally high level of adaption. Moreover, our data showed no substantial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on posting activities and engagement with social media posts by HEIs for the two first years of the pandemic.
Keywords: higher education institutions; new media technology; public relations; social media; strategic communication; Switzerland; university communication
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:264-277

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Content Analysis From a Gender Perspective of Comments Received by Spanish Science YouTubers
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/5971
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.5971
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 252-236
Author-Name: Belén Cambronero-Saiz
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Business and Communication, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain
Author-Name: Carmen Cristófol-Rodríguez
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Sciences of Communications, University of Málaga, Spain
Author-Name: Jesús Segarra-Saavedra
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Social Psychology, University of Alicante, Spain
Abstract: One of the main features of videos that popularise science on YouTube is the ability to interact with the videos and the YouTubers who generate them. However, some types of interaction are often not gender neutral. In order to identify whether there are gender differences in the type of comments posted on YouTube channels that popularise science, a content analysis of nine such channels hosted by Spanish macro influencers was conducted. A total of 221 videos and 18,873 comments were analysed to identify and classify comments of a personal nature relating to physical appearance, tone of voice, or intellectual capacity, among other aspects. The results show that 7.5% (1,424) of the total number of analysed comments were comments of a personal nature addressed to the channel’s host. Of the videos hosted by women, 95.3% contained at least one positive comment related to their physical appearance, compared to 27% in the case of men. Gender differences were mainly found in negative comments regarding the presenter’s intellectual ability or personality, with women most likely to receive them. These results show that women who face media exposure are more vulnerable to negative sexist comments, which may deter them from professionalisation in this area.
Keywords: gender; science communication; sciencetubers; sentiment analysis; YouTube
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:252-236

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Women Scientists on TikTok: New Opportunities to Become Visible and Challenge Gender Stereotypes
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6070
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6070
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 240-251
Author-Name: Brigitte Huber
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Marketing and Communication, IU International University of Applied Sciences, Germany / Department of Communication, University of Vienna, Austria
Author-Name: Luis Quesada Baena
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Vienna, Austria
Abstract: Today, women scientists are still underrepresented in media coverage and confronted with gender stereotypes. However, social media might have the potential to challenge current gender stereotypes of scientists, foster diversity in science communication, and open new ways of becoming visible. We explore this potential by analyzing TikTok accounts of female scholars (<em>n</em> = 50 accounts). Results from content analysis (<em>n</em> = 150 videos) indicate that female scientists from a wide range of different disciplines and at different career stages are visible on TikTok. Building on previous research, we show that female scholars use TikTok mainly to explain scientific facts and concepts and to discuss what being a (female) scholar is like. Moreover, female scholars talk about private life events, give expert advice, and show science in the making. Finally, some of the videos analyzed address gender stereotypes by, for example, challenging assumptions on how a female professor should dress. Implications for science communication in the digital age are discussed.
Keywords: female scholars; gender stereotypes; science communication; social media; TikTok
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:240-251

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Maximizing Science Outreach on Facebook: An Analysis of Scientists’ Communication Strategies in Taiwan
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6080
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6080
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 228-239
Author-Name: Adrian Rauchfleisch
Author-Workplace-Name: Graduate Institute of Journalism, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Author-Name: Jo-Ju Kao
Author-Workplace-Name: Graduate Institute of Journalism, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Author-Name: Tzu-Hsuan Tseng
Author-Workplace-Name: Graduate Institute of Journalism, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Author-Name: Chia-Tzu Ho
Author-Workplace-Name: Graduate Institute of Journalism, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Author-Name: Lu-Yi Li
Author-Workplace-Name: Graduate Institute of Journalism, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Abstract: The internet, and especially social media platforms, offer scientists new opportunities to connect with a broader public. While many studies have focused on science communication on Twitter, surprisingly few have analyzed how scientists use Facebook, even though it is an essential platform for the general public in many countries. A possible explanation for this lack of research is that scientists keep their Facebook profiles separate from their work life and are more active on Twitter in their professional roles. Our study challenges this assumption by focusing on Taiwan as a peculiar case. Due to the local culture, Twitter is less popular there, and scientists are more active on Facebook, even in their professional roles. In our study, we analyzed 35 public pages of scientists on Facebook and assessed the factors explaining the reach of their communication using content analysis in combination with a multilevel model that allowed us to test predictors on the page level, such as the number of fans, in combination with predictors on the post level, such as the complexity of the language used. Our study shows that Facebook can play an influential role in science outreach. To effectively communicate with the audience on Facebook, it is best to use strategies that appeal to new and existing followers. Posts that address current issues and include opinions are likely to be shared widely, while humor or personal self-disclosure is likely to engage the existing audience. Our study contributes to the current debate about alternatives to Twitter in science communication.
Keywords: Facebook; science communication; self-disclosure; social media; Taiwan; Twitter
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:228-239

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: “You Can Do Better Than That!”: Tweeting Scientists Addressing Politics on Climate Change and Covid-19
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/5961
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.5961
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 217-227
Author-Name: Kaija Biermann
Author-Workplace-Name: Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute for Communication Science, Germany
Author-Name: Nicola Peters
Author-Workplace-Name: Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute for Communication Science, Germany
Author-Name: Monika Taddicken
Author-Workplace-Name: Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute for Communication Science, Germany
Abstract: Climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic are global challenges in which scientists play a crucial role, and immediate political actions are necessary. However, in contrast to climate change, strong governmental actions have been taken during the pandemic. While climate change has been on the public agenda for several decades, the pandemic is a rather new issue. In such cases, social media offer scientists the potential to disseminate scientific results to the public and express calls to action and their personal views towards politics. Thus far, little is known about the extent to which scientists make use of this option. In this study, we investigated the similarities and differences between visible German climate experts and visible German Covid-19 experts regarding advocacy and assessments of policies and political actors on Twitter. We conducted a manual content analysis of tweets (<em>N</em> = 5,915) from 2021 of the most visible climate experts (<em>N</em> = 5) and the most visible Covid-19 experts (<em>N</em> = 5). The results show that climate experts addressed politics more often than Covid-19 experts in their tweets. The selected climate experts more often expressed negative evaluations, the degradation of competence and blaming. The Covid-19 experts, however, made more political calls for action. We assume that an issue’s history and context will affect scientists’ public assessments of politics. Our comparative study provides insight into the interrelations between science and politics in digital communication environments and elucidates visible scientists’ communication behaviours towards different socio-scientific issues.
Keywords: climate change; Covid-19; digital communication; science communication; science–politics interrelations; Twitter; visible scientists
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:217-227

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Editorial: Science Communication in the Digital Age—New Actors, Environments, and Practices
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6905
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6905
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 212-216
Author-Name: Julia Metag
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Münster, Germany
Author-Name: Florian Wintterlin
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Münster, Germany
Author-Name: Kira Klinger
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Münster, Germany
Abstract: Digitalization challenges science communication in theoretical as well as methodological ways. It raises questions on how scientists, organizations, and institutions, as well as citizens and actors from other fields communicate about science and how science communication affects politics and the public. This thematic issue presents a collection of articles attempting to tackle digitalization’s challenge for science communication research. In this editorial, we provide a short overview of the included articles. Additionally, we outline some future avenues that research could follow to examine further the implications that digital channels could have for science communication.
Keywords: climate change; Covid-19; digital media; experts; Facebook; science communication; science literacy; social media; TikTok; Twitter; YouTube
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:212-216

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Knowledge Gap Hypothesis and Pandemics: Covid-19 Knowledge, Communication Inequality, and Media Literacy in Lebanon
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/5960
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.5960
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 197-211
Author-Name: Jad Melki
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Media Research and Training, Lebanese American University, Lebanon
Abstract: The study examines the knowledge gap hypothesis during the Covid-19 pandemic in a country experiencing severe social, political, and economic turmoil and inequality. The research design assesses Covid-19 knowledge through 13 variables and incorporates income, education, gender, and media literacy among the socioeconomic status variables. It also includes television exposure, social media exposure, and social media posting as media use measures. A cross-sectional survey of adults living in Lebanon was implemented between March 27 and April 23, 2020. The study aimed for a nationally representative probability sample of 1,536 participants (95% CI, ±2.5%) and received 792 valid responses (51.6% response rate). The results show a positive relationship between Covid-19 knowledge and education, media literacy, and social media exposure, but no relationship between Covid-19 knowledge and income, gender, television exposure, and social media posting behavior. The evidence shows a widening of the knowledge gap for those more likely to post on social media and a narrowing of the knowledge gap for those more exposed to social media news, but the observed narrowing of the knowledge gap for television exposure was not statistically generalizable. Finally, the evidence shows that media literacy maintains the knowledge gap by almost identically increasing the knowledge level for both low and high socioeconomic groups, although the limitations in measuring media literacy merit further exploration.
Keywords: communication inequality; Covid-19 pandemic; health communication; knowledge gap hypothesis; media literacy
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:197-211

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Career, Covid-19, and Care: (Gendered) Impacts of the Pandemic on the Work of Communication Scholars
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6050
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6050
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 184-196
Author-Name: Kathrin Friederike Müller
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty for Electronic Media, University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart, Germany
Author-Name: Corinna Peil
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Studies, University of Salzburg, Austria
Author-Name: Franzisca Weder
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communication and Arts, The University of Queensland, Australia
Abstract: The study at hand analyzes the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions on scholars in the area of media and communication studies. It aims to highlight inequalities in the negative effects of the pandemic on academic output by examining the working conditions of scholars, taking into account gender, parenthood, and the partnership-based division of professional and care work. The quantitative survey was directed at communication scholars in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The findings show that there are no significant gender differences in terms of changes in academic output during the first 15 months of the pandemic; instead, disadvantages were observed in terms of parenting, regardless of the gender of the parents. Gender-specific effects could be detected concerning family situations and partnerships. Here, male participants are more often found in relationships in which the partner only works half-time, than women who mostly live with a partner who works full-time. The data suggest that gender differences related to changes in the time allotted for professional and care work and academic output are leveled out by the characteristics of the academic career model in which German-speaking scholars work. Nevertheless, gendered structures in academia and partnerships shape how the impact of the pandemic on professional work is experienced.
Keywords: academic output; care work; communication studies; Covid-19; gender gap; German-speaking countries; inequality; transnational perspective
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:184-196

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Maternal Health Information Disparities Amid Covid-19: Comparing Urban and Rural Expectant Mothers in Ghana
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6092
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6092
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 173-183
Author-Name: Sahar Khamis
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
Author-Name: Delight Jessica Agboada
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted mothers’ access to credible and reliable health information from their healthcare providers. However, the impact of the pandemic on maternal health information access among rural and urban mothers has not been studied, especially in the Global South. Guided by the channel complementarity theory, we examined the sources of maternal health information rural and urban Ghanaian mothers used during the pandemic. Specifically, we analyzed the role access to technology plays in determining the quantity and quality of maternal health information expectant mothers had during the pandemic. Through purposive and snowball sampling techniques, we recruited and conducted in-depth interviews with 15 mothers, eight from rural communities and seven from urban communities in Ghana. We thematically analyzed the data and found that rural and urban mothers used medical and non-medical sources to obtain maternal health information. While medical sources remained the most credible information source even amid the pandemic, the mothers equally appreciated the immense benefits of other sources, particularly the internet. Our findings also suggest that the motivations for using maternal health information sources complementarily were not limited to the mothers’ functional needs, level of interest, and source characteristics but also covered the mothers’ location, resources, and health information literacy levels.
Keywords: Covid-19; Ghana; maternal health information; rural mothers; urban mothers
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:173-183

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Representing Life and Death in Care Institutions: Between Invisible Victims and Suffering Old Women
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6056
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6056
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 163-172
Author-Name: Shari Adlung
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Author-Name: Annabella Backes
Author-Workplace-Name: Collaborative Research Center Affective Societies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Abstract: The article examines the representation and (in)visibility of ageing people in German care institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Within the framework of a qualitative content-analytical and discourse-analytical study of 185 articles, including 108 images from German newspapers, the authors trace the patterns behind the representation of ageing people. In so doing, they argue that in the media discourse ageing people are often represented without agency and in a strongly homogenised way as “others.” By emphasising pre-existing conditions and vulnerability, older and disabled people appear naturally at risk. The article also problematises the mere counting of life and death in care institutions, which contributes to a naturalisation and symbolic annihilation of the death of ageing people. Furthermore, the authors identify the notion of the suffering old woman as a key figure in pandemic media discourse, performing a critical function. She embodies an appeal to society to show sympathy and solidarity and to act reasonably with respect to the pandemic measures yet contains no elements of discursive agency or personal characteristics beyond that. Additionally, the suffering old woman reinforces traditional patterns of patriarchal representation. The authors conclude that the pandemic has placed the German care crisis in settings of institutionalised geriatric care into the media spotlight. However, the comprehensive inclusion of ageing people has been absent. Emphasising one’s own ability and thus adapting to the midlife years seems to be the only way to precarious inclusion for ageing people in the discourse.
Keywords: ageing; agency; Covid-19; German newspapers; institutionalised care; media representation; vulnerability
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:163-172

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Cartographies of Resistance: Counter-Data Mapping as the New Frontier of Digital Media Activism
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6043
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6043
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 150-162
Author-Name: Sandra Jeppesen
Author-Workplace-Name: Media, Film, and Communications, Lakehead University, Canada
Author-Name: Paola Sartoretto
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Education and Communication, Jönköping University, Sweden
Abstract: In the first datafied pandemic, the production of interactive Covid-19 data maps was intensified by state institutions and corporate media. Maps have been used by states and citizens to understand the advance and retreat of the contagion and monitor vaccine rates. However, the visualisations being used are often based on non-comparable data types across countries, leading to visual misrepresentations. Many pandemic data visualisations have consequently had a negative impact on public debate, contributing to an infodemic of disinformation that has stigmatised marginalised groups and detracted from social justice objectives. Counter to such hegemonic mapping, counter-data maps, produced by marginalised groups, have revealed hidden inequalities, supporting calls for intersectional health justice. This article investigates the ways in which various intersectional global communities have appropriated data, produced counter-data maps, unveiled hidden social realities, and generated more authentic social meanings through emergent counter-data mapping imaginaries. We use a comparative multi-case study, based on a multi case-study of three Covid-19 data mapping projects, namely Data for Black Lives (US), Indigenous Emergency (Brazil), and CityLab maps (global). Our findings indicate that counter-data mapping imaginaries are deeply embedded in community-oriented notions of spatiality and relationality. Moreover, the cartographic process tends to reflect alternative imaginaries through four key dimensions of data mapping practice—objectives, uses, production, and ownership. We argue that counter-data mapping is the new frontier of digital media activism and community communication, as it extends the projects of data justice and community media activism, generating new practices in the activist repertoire of communicative action.
Keywords: activist maps; CityLab; Covid-19; Data for Black Lives; data imaginaries; data justice; data mapping; Indigenous Emergency
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:150-162

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Reframing Leadership: Jacinda Ardern’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6045
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6045
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 139-149
Author-Name: Andreea Voina
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Public Relations, and Advertising, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Author-Name: Mihnea S. Stoica
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, Public Relations, and Advertising, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania
Abstract: Women’s underrepresentation in political leadership has been a constant global challenge during recent decades. Although women’s leadership and its impact on organizational and country performance have been systematically explored, new research avenues are opened through the emergence of various crises. Crises constitute instances in which the intersection of leadership and communication is shaped and enforced, and how female leaders tackled and managed crises has been found to be different from that of their male counterparts in various instances. This study aims to examine the crisis communication approach taken by Jacinda Ardern during the 2020 global public health crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Female leaders were found to enforce a more effective and persuasive communication approach during the crisis, but Jacinda Ardern’s crisis management approach has been grounded in a feminist ethics of care since her response to the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019. This article aims to emphasize the importance of communication in reframing leadership, by analyzing Jacinda Ardern’s Facebook communication from the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis. By examining how her messaging is embedded in values and attitudes specific to the ethics of care, we contribute to theorizing ways in which crisis communication is grounded in feminist ethics.
Keywords: crisis communication; ethics of care; female leaders; Jacinda Ardern; leadership
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:139-149

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Negotiating Care Work: Gendered Network Structures of Pandemic Care Discourses on Twitter in Germany
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6032
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6032
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 125-138
Author-Name: Miriam Siemon
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Author-Name: Wolfgang Reißmann
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Abstract: Precarious conditions of care work are contested and deeply gendered issues all over the globe. The Covid-19 pandemic both intensifies the (national) care crises and makes care work more visible as a public issue. In this article, we ask for the opportunities, structural conditions, and limitations of voice and visibility in emerging publics beyond established media organizations. Applying the concept of performative publics and using social network analysis, we reconstruct and compare the constitution of publics around the two German language Twitter hashtags 0#systemrelevant and #CoronaEltern. In a comparative design, we ask which actor groups and what kind of genders gain visibility, and in which speaker positions women, men, and non-binary people appear. The comparison of the two case studies reveals rather different network structures and asks for more nuanced, issue-based “medium data” analyses in the linkage of gender media studies and computational methods. Whereas the public discourse on professional paid care work resembles gendered power structures, the public discourse on privatized, unpaid care work shows shifted patterns concerning female visibility. These findings are discussed critically as gendered discourse spaces of professional and privatized care work stay rather separated and thus risk reproducing traditional private/public boundaries. Furthermore, findings emphasize the importance of “invisible” relational work which keeps hashtags running. Ratios of paying attention from women to men and vice versa are unequally distributed. Females either invest more communicative effort than males or receive less attention for the equal amount of reaching out to others.
Keywords: care work; computational methods; Covid-19; gender inequalities; hashtag; media discourse; Twitter
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:125-138

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: 8M Demonstrations, the Spanish Far Right, and the Pandemic in a Hybrid Media System
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/5991
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.5991
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 114-124
Author-Name: Aurora Labio-Bernal
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism I, University of Seville, Spain
Author-Name: Laura Manzano-Zambruno
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Journalism II, University of Seville, Spain
Abstract: For years, the construction of social subjectivity has been conditioned by the role of the so-called mass media, but the multiplicity of media platforms today contributes to the configuration of reality. In this context, this study analyses how the discourse of the far right in Spain effectively criminalised the International Women’s Day (8M) demonstrations in the first year of the pandemic by linking them to an increase in Covid-19 infections. To implement this strategy, Spain’s far-right party, Vox, used its social media accounts, but it also had the support of ultra-conservative digital media outlets to legitimise its discursive distortions. Taking this into account, this article presents a content and critical discourse analysis of the Twitter and Gab accounts operated by Vox and its leaders, Santiago Abascal and Rocio Monasterio, as well as three ultra-conservative newspapers, <em>La Razón</em>, <em>OK Diario</em>, and <em>Libertad digital</em>. The period covered is from 8 March 2020 to 8 March 2021.
Keywords: Covid-19; far right; feminist demonstrations; hybrid media system; International Women’s Day; Vox
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:114-124

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Frontlines and Margins: Gendered Care and Covid-19 in the Indian Media
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6104
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6104
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 102-113
Author-Name: Usha Raman
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication, University of Hyderabad, India
Author-Name: Sumana Kasturi
Author-Workplace-Name: Independent Researcher, India
Abstract: Among the many stories that emerged out of India during the pandemic, one was somewhat buried under the media discourse around the migrant crisis, lockdown regulations, and economic fallout. This was the story of striking accredited social health activist workers asking for fair wages, improved benefits, and better working conditions. The Covid-19 crisis highlighted the poor health infrastructure and the precarious, and often, stigmatized nature of frontline work, managed at the community level by paramedical workers, a significant proportion of whom are women. There has been considerable attention paid by feminist groups as well as health-related civil society organizations on the gender-based inequities that have emerged during the pandemic, particularly in relation to care work. This study explores how care work performed by the accredited social health activists was framed in the mainstream media, through an examination of articles in three selected English daily newspapers over one year of the pandemic. Drawing on theoretical work deriving from similar health crises in other regions of the world, we explore how the public health infrastructure depends on the invisible care-giving labor of women in official and unofficial capacities to respond to the situation. The systemic reliance on women’s unpaid or ill-paid labor at the grassroots level is belied by the fact that women’s concerns and contributions are rarely visible in issues of policy and public administration. Our study found that this invisibility extended to media coverage as well. Our analysis offers a “political economy of caregiving” that reiterates the need for women’s work to be recognized at all levels of functioning.
Keywords: care work; Covid-19; frontline workers; India; media framing; social health activists; women healthcare workers
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:102-113

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: All’s Fair in Pandemic and War? A Gendered Analysis of Australian Coverage of Covid-19
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6139
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6139
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 91-101
Author-Name: Blair Williams
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Australia
Author-Name: Brent Greer
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Politics and International Relations, The Australian National University, Australia
Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic has repeatedly been framed by politicians and the media alike as this generation’s “Great War.” Metaphors are often used in political reportage as effective discursive tools to influence and persuade readers. War metaphors especially are frequently used in election campaigns, leadership spills, and during times of political unrest to portray politics as a brutal and competitive (masculine) arena. As such, the use of militaristic language and war metaphors to describe the shared challenges during a global pandemic is unsurprising. Framing the pandemic as a war can rally citizens by appealing to their sense of national and civic duty at a moment of crisis. Yet such framing is problematic as it draws on stereotyping cultural myths and values associated with war, reinforcing patriarchal understandings of bravery and service that glorify hegemonic masculinity while excluding women from the public sphere. Using a feminist critical discourse analysis, this article will examine Australian print media coverage of the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on two case studies—the prime minister and “frontline” workers—to further understand the gender bias of mainstream media. We argue that, by drawing on war metaphors in Covid-19 coverage which emphasizes protective masculinity, the media reproduce and re-enforce political and societal gender stereotypes and imbalances.
Keywords: Australian politics; care work; Covid-19; crisis leadership; discourse analysis; gendered mediation; Scott Morrison; war metaphors
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:91-101

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Countering or Reinforcing (Gendered) Inequalities? Ramifications of the Covid-19 Pandemic in and Through Media
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6839
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6839
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 86-90
Author-Name: Margreth Lünenborg
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Author-Name: Wolfgang Reißmann
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Author-Name: Miriam Siemon
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Abstract: The Covid-19 pandemic reveals and exacerbates inequalities in various ways. Gender inequalities—intertwined with intersectional differences along class, ethnicity, or origin—are highly visible. Legacy and social media around the world cover and perform these issues as much as they conceal them. On the one hand, they have the ability to give those affected a voice and to intervene in public discourse. On the other hand, they reproduce stereotypes and imbalances and rely on gendered (infra)structures. This thematic issue explores the entanglement between empowering and restricting forms of media discourse and media practices. Ten contributions from different world regions, which analyze various media, and involve diverse methodological approaches, make visible reproductions of established power structures as well as new visibilities and counter-practices of marginalized groups. In sum, they generate a complex body of knowledge about global and local inequalities and the ramifications of the pandemic in and through media.
Keywords: Covid-19; gender and representation; gender gaps; gender inequalities; global inequalities; intersectionality; marginalization; visibility
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:86-90

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Does Social Media Use Matter? A Case Study of the 2018 Irish Abortion Referendum
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6653
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6653
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 81-85
Author-Name: Theresa Reidy
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork, Ireland
Author-Name: Jane Suiter
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Communications, Dublin City University, Ireland
Abstract: The role of social media at electoral events is much speculated upon. Wide-ranging effects, and often critical evaluations, are attributed to commentary, discussions, and advertising on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and many other platforms. But the specific effects of these social media during campaigns, especially referendum campaigns, remain under-studied. This thematic issue is a very valuable contribution for precisely this reason. Using the 2018 abortion referendum in Ireland as an illustrative case, this commentary argues for greater research on social media at referendum campaigns, more critical evaluation of the claims and counterclaims about social media effects, often aired widely without substantive evidence, and, finally, for robust, coordinated cross-national regulation of all digital platforms in line with global democratic norms.
Keywords: abortion; campaign regulation; referendum; referendum campaign; social media
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:81-85

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Beyond Brexit? Public Participation in Decision-Making on Campaign Data During and After Referendum Campaigns
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6200
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6200
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 69-80
Author-Name: Julia Rone
Author-Workplace-Name: Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, University of Cambridge, UK
Abstract: While the Brexit referendum campaign has been extensively researched, media, regulatory bodies, and academics have often talked at cross-purposes. A strong focus on Cambridge Analytica’s role in the 2016 referendum, despite official investigations concluding the company had only limited involvement in the campaign, has distracted attention from more mundane but highly controversial data practices, including selling voters’ data to third parties or re-using campaign data without consent from data subjects. This empirical case study of data-driven referendum campaigning around Brexit raises two broader theoretical questions: First, moving beyond the current focus on transparency and accountability, can public participation in the ownership and management of campaign data address some of the problematic data practices outlined? Second, most academic literature on data-driven campaigning, in general, and referendum campaigns, in particular, has often overlooked the key question of what happens with campaigning data once campaigns are over. What legal safeguards or mechanisms of accountability and participation are there to guarantee consent when it comes to further re-use of people’s data gathered during campaigns? Ultimately, the article raises the question of who should have a say in how “people’s data” is used in referendum campaigns and afterwards and makes a case for democratising such decisions.
Keywords: Brexit; data-driven campaigning; digital democracy; participation; referendums; referendum campaigns
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:69-80

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Referendum Campaigns in Hybrid Media Systems: Insights From the New Zealand Cannabis Legalisation Referendum
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6021
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6021
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 56-68
Author-Name: Marta Rychert
Author-Workplace-Name: SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre, Massey University, New Zealand
Author-Name: Chris Wilkins
Author-Workplace-Name: SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre, Massey University, New Zealand
Abstract: During New Zealand’s 2020 cannabis legalisation referendum, advocacy groups on both sides widely debated the issue, utilising “older” and “newer” media channels to strategically influence voters, including through appearances in traditional media and paid advertising campaigns on Facebook. Comparatively little is known about the campaign strategies used by each camp and how they leveraged the hybrid media environment to advocate for their positions. We analyse the cannabis legalisation referendum campaigns using primary data from our digital ethnographic study on Facebook, a systematic quantitative content analysis of legacy media websites, and a review of published reports from other authors. We show how positive sentiment towards cannabis law reform in the traditional media was amplified via referendum campaigners’ activity on Facebook. While campaign expenses on both sides were similar, money was spent in different ways and via different mediums. The pro-legalisation campaign focused more on new digital media channels, while the anti-legalisation campaign diversified across a range of mediums, with greater attention paid to traditional political advertising strategies, such as leaflets and billboards. The New Zealand case study illustrates how greater engagement with the “newer” media logics may not necessarily secure a favourable outcome during a national referendum campaign. We discuss how the broader media and political environment may have influenced campaigners’ choices to engage (or not) with the different media channels.
Keywords: cannabis advocacy; hybrid media; marijuana legalisation; New Zealand; Meta; political advocacy; referendum
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:56-68

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Level Playing Field or Politics as Usual? Equalization–Normalization in Direct Democratic Online Campaigns
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6004
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6004
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 43-55
Author-Name: Michaela Fischer
Author-Workplace-Name: Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Fabrizio Gilardi
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: Are digital technologies leveling the playing field or reinforcing existing power relations and structures? This question lies at the core of the equalization vs. normalization debate. The equalization thesis states that the affordances of digital technologies help less-powerful political actors to compete with their more resource-rich counterparts, thereby overcoming structural disadvantages inherent to the political landscape. The normalization thesis, in contrast, suggests that more powerful and resource-rich political actors outperform their weaker competitors in the digital sphere by establishing a more sophisticated online presence, thus reproducing existing power imbalances. An overwhelming majority of studies on the equalizing vs. normalizing effect of digital technologies focus on electoral campaigns or non-electoral periods. Direct democratic campaigns have not been adequately considered in previous studies. This study exploits the regularly held and institutionalized character of direct democratic votes in Switzerland. Specifically, it investigates political actors’ level of activity and generated engagement on Facebook and in newspapers during all direct democratic campaigns from 2010–2020. Applying the equalization vs. normalization lens to Swiss direct democratic campaigns over an 11-year timespan provides new insights into the status-quo preserving or altering effects of digital technologies. We find a tendency toward equalization in terms of Facebook activity and user engagement, and in a comparative perspective: Facebook campaigns are, on average, more balanced than newspaper advertisement campaigns, particularly since 2014.
Keywords: digital campaigning; direct democracy; equalization; normalization; Switzerland
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:43-55

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Do Intensive Public Debates on Direct-Democratic Ballots Narrow the Gender Gap in Social Media Use?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6051
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6051
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 31-42
Author-Name: Laurent Bernhard
Author-Workplace-Name: Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau (ZDA), University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Daniel Kübler
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of Political Studies, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Abstract: Despite the growing importance of new technologies, research on individual opinion formation in the digital domain is still in its infancy. This article empirically examines citizens’ use of social media in the context of direct democracy. Based on previous work, we expect men to form their opinions on social media more frequently than women (gender gap hypothesis). In the second step, we focus on the contextual level by examining the role campaigns play in reducing this discrepancy. More specifically, we hypothesize that the presumed gender gap narrows in accordance with the increasing intensity of public debates that precede ballots (interaction hypothesis). The empirical analysis draws on 13 post-ballot surveys held at Switzerland’s federal level from 2016 to 2020 and supports both the gender gap and the interaction hypotheses.
Keywords: campaign; digitization; direct democracy; gender gap; media coverage; political communication; public debate; social media; Switzerland
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:31-42

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Googling Referendum Campaigns: Analyzing Online Search Patterns Regarding Swiss Direct-Democratic Votes
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6030
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6030
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 19-30
Author-Name: Sina Blassnig
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Eliza Mitova
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Nico Pfiffner
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Michael V. Reiss
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: In direct democracies, voters are faced with considerable information demands. Although search engines are an important gateway to political information, it is still unclear what role they play in citizens’ information behavior regarding referendum campaigns. Moreover, few studies have examined the search terms that citizens use when searching for political information and the potential “user-input biases” in this regard. Therefore, we investigate to what extent citizens search online for information about upcoming referendums and what differences emerge between proponents, opponents, and non-voters regarding the search terms they used and the results they visited, related to three national ballot proposals voted on in Switzerland on November 28, 2021. The study combines cross-sectional survey data with longitudinal digital trace data containing participants’ Google Search histories obtained through data donations. Our findings show that participants rarely used Google to search for information about upcoming referendums. Moreover, most ballot-related searches employed rather neutral search terms. Nevertheless, a qualitative analysis of the search terms points to differences between different voting groups, particularly for the most prominent proposal around a Covid-19 law. The study provides interesting insight into how citizens search for information online during national referendum campaigns.
Keywords: data donation; direct democracy; Google; online search patterns; political information; referendum campaigns
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:19-30

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Mobile News Consumption and Its Relation to Young Adults’ Knowledge About and Participation in Referendums
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6029
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6029
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 6-18
Author-Name: Daniel Vogler
Author-Workplace-Name: Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Morley Weston
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Quirin Ryffel
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Adrian Rauchfleisch
Author-Workplace-Name: Graduate Institute for Journalism, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Author-Name: Pascal Jürgens
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Media Studies, University of Trier, Germany
Author-Name: Mark Eisenegger
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Lisa Schwaiger
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Urs Christen
Author-Workplace-Name: Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: The news media are among the most important sources of information about political events, such as referendums. For young adults, the smartphone has become the main device for accessing news. However, we know little about the factors influencing mobile news consumption and how this consumption is related to political knowledge and political participation. This study investigates the antecedents of young individuals’ smartphone news consumption and how it is correlated with their knowledge about and participation in two referendums in Switzerland. We record the mobile internet usage of 309 young adults and link their digital trace data to survey data. We show that trust in news media and the use of broadcast media are positively correlated with the duration of mobile news consumption. The use of social media leads to more news source diversity. However, we find that the duration of mobile news consumption and news source diversity are not correlated with political knowledge about or participation in the referendum. As interest in politics is also positively correlated with the diversity of news sources used by individual participants, our study supports the idea that attentive audiences use a broader range of news sources to inform themselves about referendums.
Keywords: mobile news consumption; news media; referendum; political knowledge; political participation; young adults
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:6-18

Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Referendum Campaigns in the Digital Age: Towards (More) Comparative Analyses in Hybrid Media Systems
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6703
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/mac.v11i1.6703
Journal: Media and Communication
Volume: 11
Year: 2023
Issue: 1
Pages: 1-5
Author-Name: Linards Udris
Author-Workplace-Name: Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society (fög), University of Zurich, Switzerland
Author-Name: Mark Eisenegger
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: Referendum campaigns, which happen in many countries on the national or sub-national level, are highly important and special periods of political communication. Unlike elections, however, referendum campaigns are understudied phenomena. This thematic issue addresses patterns of referendum campaigns, which increasingly take place in digital and hybrid media environments, where political actors conduct campaigns through various channels, news media react to and shape debates on social media, and citizens receive a large share of political information from traditional and digital media. In this editorial, we provide a short overview of how research on referendum campaigns has evolved and how it has started to shift its attention away from news coverage and toward the role of campaign actors and the citizens who use (or engage with) search engines and social media platforms. The articles in this thematic issue reflect this shift but also show that news media remain important actors in referendum campaigns. Finally, we outline further research steps, which should include even more holistic analyses of the hybridity of referendum campaigns and hopefully more comparisons across cases.
Keywords: digitalization; direct democracy; hybrid media system; news media; referendum campaigns; social media; tech platforms
Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v11:y:2023:i:1:p:1-5