International Journal of Communication

Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water: Using Facebook to Mobilize Solidarity Among East Jerusalem Palestinians During the 2014 War in Gaza

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

This study explores the use of a major Facebook page by East Jerusalem Palestinians during the peak of the war in Gaza for building solidarity with the Gaza people in the asymmetric conflict with Israel. A data set containing 253 posts and 1,149 comments was qualitatively analyzed. Our findings reveal three mechanisms—calling for solidarity, maintaining engagement, and calling for protest—reflecting a configuration in which collective actions were performed through connective discursive practices. We also discuss our study as an account of a bounded protest in which online platforms are limited in their ability to transcend domination and the lack of resources for political mobilization while the offline circumstances of asymmetrical power relations remain unchanged.

Institutions and Media Use in Democratizing Countries: The Czech-Slovak Case as a Quasi-Experiment

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

Using original survey data from the early democratization period in Central and Eastern Europe, I compare the choice of media for individuals’ informational demands in the context of differently evolved media environments. Using the quasi-experimental setting of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the findings indicate that individuals who express more interest in staying informed about politics are more likely to use public rather than privatizing media. Further, in the context of the multilevel design, this media preference is consistent regardless of the differing extents of privatization between the countries. This analysis adds empirical evidence to the ongoing debate on the role of mass media and the process of political socialization in democratizing countries.

Belonging-Security Across Borders: News Media, Migration and the Spaces of Production

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

This article analyzes the relationship between migrants, news media, and feelings of belonging and security. It comparatively examines the role of news media produced in three distinct yet overlapping sociopolitical spheres—Australia, Iran, and the Iranian diaspora—in the management of “belonging-security” among Iranian migrants in Australia. The article investigates the experiences of Iranian Australians as they manage shifting understandings of identity, home, and community, all while engaging with a complex media environment that addresses multiple audiences and facilitates multiple overlapping communities. The findings demonstrate that participants apply their own evaluative frameworks onto media in an attempt to manage feelings of belonging-security and negotiate cultural and political borders.

Attack Versus Advocacy: Advertising Tone That Mobilizes

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

This study examines the role of attack ads in encouraging citizen communication. Using a national survey merged with ad tracking data, this study finds that attack advertising elicited negative emotions about the candidate the voter opposed, which in turn fostered political conversation. However, such indirect effects of campaign advertising were not observed for advocacy advertising. Data also reveal that attack ads outperformed advocacy ads overall when it came to promoting political discussion. Taken together, it is attack advertising, not advocacy advertising, that promotes political discussion, and negative emotions explain, at least in part, how the attack ad effects occur.

Reciprocity and the News: The Role of Personal and Social Media Reciprocity in News Creation and Consumption

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

As journalists and audiences increasingly interact via social media spaces online, scholars have begun to explore the varying forms of information and relational exchanges between them. Building on an emerging thread of research that examines the potential role of reciprocity in such encounters, this study examines how reciprocity, as a key ingredient of online communities, might stimulate audiences’ consumption and creation of content, including news content. A national survey finds that, while personal beliefs in reciprocity (perceptions) may predict news consumption, it is reciprocity in practice on social media that is associated with not only news consumption but content creation, both for news and in general. This first-of-its-kind empirical study indicates that scholars may be correct in theorizing a role for reciprocity in the news interaction process, much as in social media and society more broadly.

The Mobilization Process of Syria’s Activists: The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Use of Information and Communication Technologies and the Political Culture

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

Using extensive interviews of Syrian activists and tracing the course of initially peaceful protests, this article explores the mobilization tactics protesters adopted over four distinct phases of Syrian protests up to August 2011. Analysis reveals that in establishing trustful relations and a sense of effectiveness and belonging among the protesters, interpersonal communication was more effective and faster than the hybrid media activities of Facebook administrators. Nevertheless, the uprising’s later stages show that the more protesters became accustomed to protest culture, the more they benefited from ICTs. Many scholars studying ICTs’ role in the protests have advanced the idea that people’s use of the technology—not the technology itself—affected social processes. This study takes this argument a step further to claim that people’s use of technology constitutes a dependent variable linked to the country’s political culture.

From Mani Stones to Twitter: Bhutan Creates a Unique Media Matrix for a 21st-Century Democracy

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

The small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is adopting digital media in culturally specific ways. For this traditionally oral culture with little interest in newspapers, digital media such as Facebook and Twitter sit comfortably alongside more traditional forms of media such as mani stones and lama dancing. In this article I use Benedict Anderson’s theory of media for creating nationhood and an imagined political community as a prism to consider the media landscape that is developing in Bhutan. The unique media matrix that is emerging from all the modern media platforms available provides a fresh perspective from which to consider the baggage of print capitalism and to rethink notions of print literacy versus digital literacy.

Facebook Use and Acculturation: The Case of Overseas Chinese Professionals in Western Countries

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

The emergence of social network sites has provided new opportunities for intercultural communication. This study is one of the first to explore the role of Facebook on the acculturation of Chinese professionals overseas. Through qualitative interviews, we explored how overseas Chinese professionals use Facebook to maintain their social networks, manage their multicultural identities, and adapt to Western culture in their host countries. Our research reveals that overseas Chinese professionals tended to manage their identity with little self-awareness, and their Facebook communication reflected Chinese traditional culture in many ways. Facebook was regarded as a useful acculturation tool for them to learn about popular social topics in the host countries.

Discussion Network Heterogeneity Matters: Examining a Moderated Mediation Model of Social Media Use and Civic Engagement

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

Employing original two-wave national panel survey data, this study examines the mediating role of discussion network heterogeneity on social media in the relationship between social media use for news/information and civic engagement. This study also investigates whether such indirect effects of social media use on civic participation are contingent on individuals’ extraversion personality. The results indicate that discussion network heterogeneity mediates the relationship between citizens’ social media use for news/information and their civic engagement. In other words, social media use for information positively influences individuals’ discussion network heterogeneity on social network sites, which consequently contributes to increased levels of civic engagement. In addition, this indirect effect of social media use on civic participation through network heterogeneity is stronger for introverted individuals. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Historicizing Cine Jóven and Cuba’s Audiovisual Landscape: New Paradigms in Digital Media Production and Circulation

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

The Cuban government’s response to the increasing ability of ordinary citizens and media makers to produce their own content has ranged from ambivalence to hostility, and such usage has challenged the state’s broad control of media production and circulation. In the audiovisual sector, this new media ecology, together with economic reforms that ignore the contemporary needs of artists and the declining relevance of the Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry, is altering how films get produced and distributed. This essay analyzes the role that cine jóven is playing in the current media landscape. It argues that, despite formidable obstacles, a new generation of audiovisual producers are pivotal actors in the construction of a more pluralistic and democratic media landscape in Cuba.

Building Voices: Teens Connect to Their Communities Through Youth Journalism Websites

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

This study uses a grounded theory approach to understand how online youth journalism programs can promote youth voice for building stronger communities. Specifically, this study draws on 24 in-depth interviews with youth and adults working at scholastic and nonscholastic youth journalism websites to derive themes connecting the importance of youth voice to community-building efforts. The results support and extend existing research to suggest that youth voice in these journalism programs can promote community building through informing and empowering local youth, promoting peer support among both participating and nonparticipating teens, and fostering constructive youth–adult partnerships.

Beyond the Western Masses: Demography and Pakistani Media Credibility Perceptions

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

Based on a random survey sample, this study examines audience assessments of different media platforms in Pakistan. We found that in the complex Pakistani media landscape, ethnicity is a key indicator in predicting media credibility. Our study’s results indicate that minority ethnic groups tend to find domestic television to be less credible, and international television or traditional media to be more credible, than do members of the majority Punjabi group. Media reliance was found to be a significant indicator of media credibility assessment—particularly regarding media such as international television and the Internet—as media reliance hinges on the availability of a media infrastructure, especially in the context of a developing society such as Pakistan.

Globalization of Mediated Spaces: The Case of Transnational Environmentalism in China

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

This study takes a network perspective on media globalization, demonstrating how transnational civil society provides linkages that circulate norms and globalize mediated spaces. Based on interviews in China with the most prominent transnational environmental NGOs, I describe their institutional position and strategies through interactions with media, other civil society groups, and the government. Supported by case study examples, I argue that this transnational network, bound together via a problem-solving logic and connecting with more localized structures, enables adaptation to the authoritarian constraints of Chinese society and, in providing global linkages, contributes to the quality and transparency of issue discourse. This holds for not only the environment but, one can speculate, other issues arenas as well.

Ratings as Politics. Television Audience Measurement and the State: An International Comparison

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

Whereas most research has focused on the commercial uses of television audience measurement, this article examines the political dimension of audience measurement in a comparative study of France, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It identifies three types of relationships between the state and measurement. The guarantor state performs measurement via a public broadcaster and is involved in its implementation, be it as shareholder of the organization in charge of measurement, as reformer, or as supervisor of measurement procedures. The regulator state introduces audience measurement figures as criteria for policy into constraining legal texts, mostly to regulate concentration. The reader state interprets audience measurement figures as legitimate representations of the public. This political dimension helps explain the semiofficial status of measurement institutions across the countries studied.

Mobile Phone Appropriation and Migrant Acculturation: A Case Study of an Indian Community in Singapore

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

This research explores how the mobile phone appropriation patterns of an Indian migrant group in Singapore are linked to acculturation strategies. The circular model of mobile phone appropriation was adopted to investigate aspects of usage and handling, prestige and social identity, and metacommunication. Following a pluralistic-typological approach, acculturation patterns identified relate to migrants’ maintenance of cultural identity and relationships with the Singaporean host society. In-depth interviews among 33 low-skilled male migrants from an Indian Malayali migrant community reveal that the four appropriation types convenience seeker, experimenter, group communicator, and tabula rasa were linked to three acculturation types observed: culture campaigner, culture connoisseur, and culturally petrified.

From Local to Global: Philippine Broadcast Networks and the Filipino Diaspora

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

This article presents an overview of the landscape of Philippine broadcast media and discusses how through their international arms—particularly ABS-CBN Global, GMA Worldwide Incorporated, and Pilipinas Global Network Limited (PGNL)—they have expanded their operations to cater to the 11 million Filipinos living and working abroad. Using a political economy framework, the discussion attempts to propose a necessary starting point for further research on the Filipino diaspora that shifts the focus from studies of representations to the role of media institutions in the creation of the diaspora as an audience. The article offers an institutional perspective into how these local networks create and program content for that audience. The article argues that the concentration of economic and political capital and power within media entities continues to legitimize the duopolistic control of ABS-CBN and GMA-7 in local markets and now in the international media landscape.

The Cultural Production of a Pharmaceutical Market: The Making of ADHD

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

The pharmaceutical industry has grown into a global market worth nearly $1 trillion. How are we to make sense of this sudden upsurge? As I argue, the rising demand for pharmaceuticals must be contextualized within a culture of consumption, where health practices are yoked to individuals’ purchasing habits. Through a case study of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and behavior-controlling drugs affecting six million children in the United States, this analysis shows how discourses of prevention and the quick fix originated in the school, family, and medical establishment; shape consumer demand; and are employed effectively in pharmaceutical advertising. This article concludes that the demand for pills is constructed by entangled discourses that induce new ways of relating to health and illness.

Nature and Effectiveness of Online Social Support for Intercultural Adaptation of Mainland Chinese International Students

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

Many mainland Chinese students have flocked to universities or colleges in Singapore. Inevitably, these students encounter difficulties adapting to their new lives. An online social support group called Living in Singapore Group (LSg), a subforum of the most popular forum on Chinese international study created in April 2000, provides various types of social-support messages for mainland Chinese students in Singapore. The present research explores the nature and effectiveness of these social-support messages. Study 1 uses a directed qualitative content analysis to analyze 1,736 posted messages collected from July 6, 2012, to February 6, 2013. Results suggest that social support messages can be categorized into subcategories of three existing main categories (informational, instrumental, and emotional) and a new category (network support). Study 2 conducts in-depth interviews with 21 LSg members from May 15, 2013, to July 15, 2013. Results demonstrate that social support messages provided by this group are effective in helping mainland Chinese international students to adjust to their new lives in Singapore.

Culturally Specific Privacy Practices on Social Network Sites: Privacy Boundary Permeability Management in Photo Sharing by American and Chinese College-Age Users

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

This article explores the cultural specificity of privacy practices on social network sites (SNSs) by comparing 10 college-age American Facebook users’ and 10 college-age Chinese Renren users’ in their photo sharing of significant events during winter vacation. Using communication privacy management theory, we show that Chinese participants more tightly controlled their privacy boundary permeability than American participants. Also, Chinese participants’ relationships with Renren friends—potential information co-owners—featured more distance and formality than American participants’ close interactions with Facebook friends. We interpret the findings in light of American and Chinese cultures to contemplate the cultural manifestation in SNS privacy practices.

Who is a Laowai? Chinese Interpretations of Laowai as a Referring Expression for Non-Chinese

2015-07-30T11:42:24-07:00

Laowai, a referring expression popularly used for non-Chinese, has found favor in the discourse of Chinese people. This article investigates Chinese interpretations of laowai based on survey data from a sample of 290 native Chinese. The results show that not all non-Chinese are called laowai. This expression—connoting a more complimentary meaning—is more often used by the Chinese respondents to name Western white people than any other cultural groups. For those who are not called laowai, other traits are used to refer to them—for example their nationality, skin color, or other features. The use of the expression laowai is generally based on ethnicity rather than nationality. Chinese interpretations of laowai reflect two features. First, the respondents tend to oversimplify the heterogeneity of other cultures. Second, the Chinese idea of shuren society regulates the respondents’ choice of the term laowai, which serves a dual purpose: 1) separating an “out-group” from the “in-group”, and 2) expressing a willingness to cultivate a friendly relationship between Chinese and non-Chinese.

Institutions, Telecommunications Reform, and Universal Service Policy in Mexico (1990–2014)

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

The article analyzes difficulties in the design and implementation of pro-competition and universal services policies in Mexico, from the privatization of the public telephone company in 1990 to the recently approved Telecommunications and Broadcasting Reform of 2013–2014. It reviews recent literature on the expansion of Mexico’s telecommunications infrastructure, formulates its conceptual framework based on institutional theory, and proposes possible explanations for Mexico’s underperformance. Finally, it addresses the reforms of 2014, concluding that the new institutional embodiment of these reforms has begun to bear fruit: Telecommunication markets have seen a rise in their contestability, attributable to the institutional strength of the new regulatory framework. On digital inclusion, the deployment of two wholesale networks is on schedule. The Mexico Connected program has led to a 500% increase in Internet access points in public places. But there little information on whether these access points are equipped with the necessary infrastructure and personnel for developing digital skills to foster the adoption of such technologies

Politics in Fictional Entertainment: An Empirical Classification of Movies and TV Series

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article presents conceptual considerations on the classification of TV series and movies according to their political references and introduces an empirical approach for measuring the constituent features. We argue that political representations in fiction vary along two dimensions: political intensity and degree of realism. These dimensions encompass four indicators relating to characters, places, themes, and time. The indicators were coded for a sample of 98 TV series and 114 movies. Cluster analyses showed four clusters of TV series and six clusters of movies. Nonpolitical fiction, thrillers, and fantasy were central types in both TV series and movies. Movies, however, stand out through a greater diversity and a focus on the past that is reflected in three additional types. Based on the identification of different types of movies and TV series, three directions for theory building are suggested.

The Shaping of the Network Neutrality Debate: Information Subsidizers on Twitter

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Drawing on the concept of information subsidy, this study explores the network neutrality debate in the context of Twitter. Content analysis of the top 150 most retweeted URLs demonstrates that the composition of information subsidizers on Twitter was more or less evenly divided among stakeholders, including government, industry, nonprofit/advocacy, and experts. Despite the diversity of sources, there was a clear lack of diversity in stance. The majority of sources displayed a favorable attitude toward net neutrality. Our findings highlight the potential of Twitter to represent the position of resource-poor information subsidizers, including advocacy groups, entrepreneurs, and race-based online communities, as they seek to uphold the neutrality of the Internet.

The Mediatization of Second-Order Elections and Party Launches: UK Television News Reporting of the 2014 European Union Campaign

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Using the United Kingdom as a case study to explore the degree to which news about a second-order election is mediatized, this comparative content analysis examines television news coverage of the 2014 European Union elections. Evidence of mediatization was stronger on the most commercially driven bulletins, with an overwhelming emphasis on the game frame and a more interpretive approach than the most public service–orientated broadcaster (the BBC). However, qualitative analysis revealed that the BBC pursued a more mediatized form of journalism. Developing a close textual analysis of how broadcasters reported party campaign launches—representing what we call key “mediatized moments”—we argue that a more qualitative approach to assessing media and political logics can complement comparative quantitative studies about mediatized politics.

The Value of Proximity: Examining The Willingness to Pay for Online Local News

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

The exploration of new business models based on paid content strategies in the digital environment has generated an important discussion regarding the willingness to pay for online news. Previous studies have neglected local newspapers, although several analyses have clearly identified the local (news) as a fundamental asset to convince readers to pay for information. Based on a national survey of 1,637 U.S. adults, the research presented here systematically evaluates factors that influence the willingness to pay for online local news. Results of the logistic regression analysis reveals relationships between paying intent and predictor variables such as demographics (age and gender), media use (print and online newspapers), news interest, and traditional newspaper subscription. Finally, managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.

Balancing Audience and Privacy Tensions on Social Network Sites: Strategies of Highly Engaged Users

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

As social network sites grow and diversify in both users and content, tensions between users’ audience composition and their disclosure practices become more prevalent. Users must navigate these spaces carefully to reap relational benefits while ensuring content is not shared with unintended audiences. Through a qualitative study of highly engaged Facebook users, this study provides insight into how people conceptualize friendship online as well as how perceived audience affects privacy concerns and privacy management strategies. Findings suggest an increasingly complex relationship between these variables, fueled by collapsing contexts and invisible audiences. Although a diverse range of strategies are available to manage privacy, most participants in this sample still engaged in some degree of self-censorship.

Communication, Mediation, and the Expectations of Data: Data Valences Across Health and Wellness Communities

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Communication technologies increasingly mediate data exchanges rather than human communication. We propose the term data valences to describe the differences in expectations that people have for data across different social settings. Building on two years of interviews, observations, and participation in the communities of technology designers, clinicians, advocates, and users for emerging mobile data in formal health care and consumer wellness, we observed the tensions among these groups in their varying expectations for data. This article identifies six data valences (self-evidence, actionability, connection, transparency, “truthiness,” and discovery) and demonstrates how they are mediated and how they are distinct across different social domains. Data valences give researchers a tool for examining the discourses around, practices with, and challenges for data as they are mediated across social settings.

One Country, Two Cups—The International Image of Brazil in 1950 and in 2014: A Study of the Reputation and the Identity of Brazil as Projected by the International Media During the Two FIFA World Cups in the Country

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article analyzes the international image of Brazil as projected in the foreign media coverage of the two World Cups held in the country through the theoretical framework of nation branding and competitive identity. Brazil hosted the 1950 and the 2014 FIFA World Cups as a strategy to improve its international image. This article uses content and discourse analysis of international media articles to show that, as a public diplomacy strategy, hosting the Cups was a big success. There was an increase in the visibility of Brazil in both years because of the Cups, but there was also a change in the frames used to describe Brazil, from the economy and culture to politics, and a change in tone, from positive to negative. The use of stereotypes about Brazil also became more frequent in 2014.

Obamacare, the News Media, and the Politics of 21st-Century Presidential Communication

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Studies of presidential framing and the media lead to contrary expectations of whether the president would be able to reframe a pejorative name for a major legislative achievement and alter its news coverage. The case of President Obama and the use of the term “Obamacare” to refer to the Affordable Care Act requires rethinking what we know about presidential communication strategies and contemporary news norms. Obama’s embrace of the Obamacare moniker spread among supporters and led to its appearance with more positive/neutral depictions of the policy in the media. The term also has become more prominent in the news over time, raising questions about loosening standards of news objectivity and the future of this contested term.

Living Proof: Autobiographical Political Argument in We are the 99 Percent and We are the 53 Percent

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

People often cite life experiences as evidence in political arguments, though personal experience is far from generalizable. How do these arguments work? In this paper, I consider the rhetorical dynamics of “autobiographical political argument” by examining We are the 99 Percent and We are the 53 Percent, two blogs that use autobiographical stories to make discursive points. I argue that these autobiographical appeals efficiently use all three of Aristotle’s persuasive “proofs”—logos (logic), ethos (credibility), and pathos (emotion). Then I show that many of the blogs’ stories focus on “redemption,” a theme personality psychologists have found emphasized in the narrative identities, or “stories of self,” of Americans. I argue that autobiographical political arguments draw on the cultural and psychological power of life stories. These findings are evidence of how “narrative rationality” enables public engagement.

Communicative Affordances of Mobile Media: Portability, Availability, Locatability, and Multimediality

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Mobile technologies such as smartphones and tablets have been rapidly adopted worldwide. Mobile media are now the primary online connection for most individuals. Despite this rapid rise, theories of how mobile media relate to communication patterns and outcomes remain scarce. An affordances approach promises a high-level framework for researching how technologies such as mobile media are integrated into routines, affecting subsequent patterns of communication. In this article, I first consider the theoretical lineage of affordances and how this perspective demonstrates advantages from related theories. Second, I draw on affordances to define “communicative affordances,” a perspective that takes communication as a central concern. Finally, I synthesize literature from mobile communication to formulate a typology of communicative affordances of mobile media: portability, availability, locatability, and multimediality. Suggestions are then made for research employing a communicative affordances framework.

Interpersonal Communication, Media Exposure, Opinion Leadership, and Perceived Credibility of News and Advertising During December 2012 Parliamentary Election in Kuwait

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This study investigates how a sample of Kuwaiti citizens engaged in interpersonal communication and used traditional and new media during the December 2012 parliamentary election in Kuwait. Hypotheses were developed based on an analysis of macro-level politico-economic and sociocultural factors that affect communication flows in the country and using a two-step flow of information framework. Consistent with predictions, respondents spent more time in interpersonal political discussions than using traditional media. Time spent in face-to-face conversations and on social media to obtain and exchange political information was equal, indicating that social media is an important channel of communication in the region. Newspaper and Internet ads were perceived as the most credible forms of advertising. Opinion leadership positively predicted news and advertising exposure, and perceived credibility mediated these effects.

“I’ve Thought About This, Trust Me”: Understanding the Values and Assumptions Underlying Prescription Stimulant Misuse Among College Students

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Grounded in a social constructionist perspective of biomedicine, this qualitative study explored the meanings and practices associated with prescription stimulant (PS) misuse among college students. In-depth interviews uncovered four primary themes: using and manipulating PS for increased productivity, basic knowledge about PS and risks, learning about the effects of PS through experimentation, and locating resistance and addiction within the realm of individual control. The study provides one instance of how biomedical technologies are appropriated by lay people in the absence of medical supervision to achieve nonmedical goals. The study also reveals the declining authority of the medical provider and the increased role of biomedicine in everyday life. The discussion elaborates on the modernist assumptions of individualism and control embedded in the biomedical model of medicine that provide the ideological framework for this potentially dangerous pharmaceutical practice.

The Power of Youth: How the Bottom-up Technology Transmission from Children to Parents is Related to Digital (In)equality

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This study explores to what extent youths’ perceived influence on their parents’ adoption of and learning about digital media is related to digital inequality. Particularly, it investigates whether bottom-up technology transmission is associated with a possible reduction of socioeconomic-, age-, and gender-based digital gaps. Using a dyadic survey conducted in Chile, this study found that youths’ perceived influence on their parents’ adoption of digital media and their learning processes were associated with reductions of socioeconomic gaps in technology use, particularly regarding computer and Internet use.

The 26/11 Network-Archive: Public Memory, History, and the Global in an Age of Terror

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article examines the online discourses of public memory of the November 2008 or “26/11” terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. The thesis of the article is that the 26/11 attacks were memorialized online in a hybrid “network-archive” of old and new media content generated by both media organizations and lay users, and that this network-archive is informed by a distinct mode of public memorialization in which historical responsibility is the criterion for bearing witness to terror. This mode of remembering may reflect a new kind of compact between memory and history. By analyzing the theme of 26/11 as “India’s 9/11,” the article shows how the relationship between memory and history in the 26/11 network-archive complicates understanding of the local and global meanings of acts of terror. In the online memory discourse of 26/11, the experience of terror appears to work as a bridge between local suffering and global belonging.

Terrorism as Failed Political Communication

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Some terrorist acts are meant to communicate something beyond the violence they cause. They are a form of political communication that should be studied as such. To identify the acts we consider politically communicative, we develop a typology of primary objectives that ranges from strategic goals to such communicative statements as moral condemnation. We examine why, as a form of political communication, terrorist acts typically fail. Terrorism fails as political communication because it is violent; because targeted audiences often have little prior awareness of the group’s grievances; because it is sometimes a complex communication; and because governments and media frame issues in a way that sidelines the act’s communicative content. In promoting a better understanding of the message, and why it fails, we hope to make this component of terrorism a more robust subject of study for political communication scholars.

The Feel of Life: Resonance, Race, and Representation

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article uses examples of the viral circulation of the images of Black people in the new media ecology of television news and YouTube to suggest that the feelings these images evoke exceed the legibility of their semiotic meaning and the promise of their political efficacy. The article uses this condition of excess in the politics of meaning to suggest that the platforms though which the images of Blacks gather, focus, and habituate points of identification (and disidentification) and perception might complement the continuing conceptual emphasis on racial meaning with a conception of media as a cultural technology for generating and circulating racial feelings and feelings about race.

The Third Level of Agenda Setting in Contemporary China: Tracking Descriptions of Moral and National Education (MNE) in Media Coverage and People’s Minds

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article investigates the third level of agenda setting during the anti–Moral and National Education movement in Hong Kong—a Chinese society—in the summer of 2012. Our content and network analyses focus on 532 newspaper articles and 342 public surveys describing the event. Evidence reveals a strong correlation between the media and online and off-line public attribute network agendas. Results also demonstrate that, at the third level, the media agenda can lose its influence on the setting of the off-line public agenda. Several contingent factors include the political stance and news media credibility. In addition, Hong Kong activists’ young age may influence the agenda-setting effects. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Matrix Activism: Media, Neoliberalism, and Social Action in Italy

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Using the case of the Rome-based media group ZaLab, this article examines the articulations that shape and define the multiple dynamics of connected activism in contemporary societies. The first section engages the existing literature on convergence, commodity activism, and connectivity as theoretical frameworks of my analysis of ZaLab. The second section provides some context on the Italian mainstream and activist mediascapes, both of which shape ZaLab’s media practices. The last section examines a few specific examples of ZaLab’s productions and the activist campaign created to promote them. I conclude with some reflections on the nature of contemporary media practices as part of what I call “matrix activism.”

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Alternative Infrastructures in Scholarly Publishing

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

For more than three-and-a-half centuries, the scholarly infrastructure—composed of commercial publishers, learned societies, libraries, and the scholars themselves—has provided the foundation functions of certification, registration, access, preservation, and reward. However, over the last two decades, the stability of this infrastructure has been disrupted by profound changes in the technological, economic, cultural, and political climate. We examine the actions of scholars in response to this infrastructure instability through the lens of Hirschman’s “exit, voice, and loyalty” framework. We describe the motivations and actions by scholars, especially those with tenure, who have chosen exit from the mainstream scholarly communication infrastructure to a proliferation of newly available alternative infrastructures. However, this option is not practical for all scholars due to the “enforced loyalty” imposed by reward systems based on metrics that are intricately tied to the traditional infrastructure. We examine the alternative of voice exercised by these scholars, combined with the threat of exit that has changed policies that are the source of dissatisfaction with the system.

Can Partisan News Be Valuable for Discussion? An Analysis of the Effects of Internal Balance on Online Discussion Intention

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

What can be the effect of the simultaneous increase in online news seeking and exposure and the tendency for online news to be partisan? This study examines the effects of online partisan news on intention to engage in two online discussion dimensions: withdrawal and civil discussion. The novel notion of internal balance is advanced to determine the degree of balance or lack thereof (partisanship) within news stories. The effects are tested in two traditionally different media systems, the United States and Spain, using a controlled experiment. Results demonstrate that partisan news leads to less withdrawal and more civil discussion intention compared to balanced news. Moreover, results are consistent in both countries, thereby suggesting a democratic value for partisan news.

Nano-Media and Connected Homeliness

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article explores how digital communication platforms influence the everyday life of migrants in transnational milieus and how they shape the migrants’ sense of home. I analyze the role of ICTs in forming relationships that are reproduced transnationally. The research is based on empirical material in the form of communication diaries that were completed by migrants living in Slovenia and interviews conducted with them. The article discusses the digitalized web of relations by exploring the who, when, how, where, and what of communication and analyzes how this influences the experiencing of home. The aim is to not only learn about belonging in contemporary mobility but understand how transnational communication is clustered along gender, ethnic, and class divides.

The Evolution of Christian America: Christianity in Presidential Discourse, 1981–2013

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Commentators have been quick to note the declining number of self-professed Christians in the United States and view this as the end of “Christian America.” Such observations are overstated, but it is clear that Christian America—understood as a communicative construct—is undergoing a substantial evolution. This article traces that evolution via a content analysis of every explicit mention of Christianity in presidential communications from 1981 to 2013—more than 2,200 mentions in all. We argue that shifts in religious identification, political engagement, and global affairs make it likely that recent presidents have altered their Christian discourse. In particular, we find that recent presidents have emphasized linkages between Christians and those of other faiths or no faith at all, but deemphasized linkages between Christianity and America’s heritage.

Cinemas of Conflict: A Framework of Cinematic Engagement with Violent Conflict, Illustrated with Kurdish Cinema

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

In an age of mediated conflict, the fields of media and communication studies need to critically address the increasingly important relation between film and violent conflict. The number of films dealing with violent conflicts is expanding, but scholars still struggle to find suitable frameworks to study them. Instead, concepts such as “accented” and “exilic” filmmaking are often used. Seeking to advance the study of film and violent conflict, and based on interdisciplinary insights, this article proposes a framework of cinematic engagement that takes the level of involvement of filmmakers as a key element of differentiation. The proposed framework is illustrated with examples from Kurdish cinema, which is deeply rooted in one of the longest-standing conflicts in the Middle East.

Why Citizens Still Rarely Serve as News Sources: Validating a Tripartite Model of Circumstantial, Logistical, and Evaluative Barriers

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Despite being equipped to an unprecedented extent to become substantial news players, despite a growing need for their journalistic input, and despite the promise of user-generated content to give them voice, ordinary citizens remain a negligible news source. To explore why this is so, I propose a model that indicates journalists’ reliance on citizens is hindered by three factors: circumstantial (situations calling for input from citizens arise ad hoc), logistical (using them requires greater journalistic effort), and evaluative (journalists appreciate their contributions less). A broad comparison of contacts with ordinary citizens against contacts with other source types (N = 2,381) in Israel strongly validates this model. To enhance their access, citizens may need not only a technological revolution but also a social, cultural, and epistemic revolution.

Conflict as News and News as Conflict: A Multidimensional Content Analysis of TV News in Cyprus

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This research about how conflict is (re)presented on television news adopts a dual perspective on conflict: conflict as news and news as conflict. Focusing on the understudied case of Cyprus, it builds on the concept of conflict-oriented journalism, a theory-informed analytical framework for studying televised conflict. The analysis reveals the heavy presence of conflict-laden news referring to social conflict, violent crime, warfare, and political contestation. Especially in the case of political news, conflict is used as a paradigmatic mode of presentation. Current journalistic practices ignore the potential offered by peace journalism, meant as event reporting that includes various viewpoints but leaves open the possibility of resolution. This is especially important in societies of long-lasting conflict, such as Cyprus, because the media are one of the fields where conflict is reconstructed.

Effects of Long-Term Exposure to News Stereotypes on Implicit and Explicit Attitudes

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

A substantial body of research suggests that some news media outlets depict certain social groups stereotypically. We hypothesize that long-term exposure to such news influences viewers’ automatically activated gut feelings (i.e., implicit attitudes) toward this social group , which, in turn, may be used as a basis for overtly expressed evaluations (i.e., explicit attitudes). This prediction was investigated in three empirical studies in two cultural contexts. In the United States and Austria, results suggest that regular exposure to stereotypical news coverage creates negative implicit attitudes, which, in turn, alter explicit attitudes. A better understanding of the news stereotype effects will allow us to develop strategies to reduce prejudice, which may contribute to the improvement of a humane and open society.

Does Student Exchange Bring Symmetrical Benefits to Both Countries? An Exploration Case for China and Korea

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This study probed the existence of symmetrical benefits of student exchange between Korea and China. People in the public diplomacy field have acclaimed the importance of student exchange between countries, given its promise of relationship building and the perennial appeal of symmetrical benefits. To measure symmetry, this study examined three effects of student exchange between China and Korea: conation for relationship building, belief, and attitude toward the host country. Latent mean analysis using survey data found that outside of personal relationships with host nationals, the norm was asymmetry, not symmetry. As findings failed to support perfect symmetry, this study discusses the potential of imperfect symmetry in future research.

Multiplicities and the Subject: Rethinking a Mix-of-Attributes Approach in the Digital World

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

It has been 30 years since Clark made his call to focus on fundamental structures of media rather than media formats (such as radio or television) and more than 10 years since Eveland proposed a mix-of-attributes approach to media effects. This article suggests that it is time for a reevaluation of the mix-of-attributes approach, noting that there is a continued focus on format when studying media content. We argue for rethinking the assumptions that preempt a mix-of-attributes approach. As a way of accounting for the complexities of how messages move in the digital media ecology, beyond the constraints of singular media formats, we first invoke the concept of multiplicities (concurrent engagement with multiple information sources) and then propose that the role of the subject be foregrounded within a revised mix-of-attributes approach to studying media effects in the digital age.

The Writing Is on the Wall, or Is It? Exploring Indian Activists’ Beliefs About Online Social Media’s Potential for Social Change

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This study examined how activists in India, the world’s largest democracy, perceived online social networking sites’ potential to bring about social change in a country with a large digital divide and a partially free press. Analysis of closed and open-ended survey responses indicated activists were positive about using SNS in their work, believing SNS helped transcend geographic and temporal borders and reach out to wider audiences. Despite the digital divide, they did not view lack of Internet access or technical skills as a major challenge to using SNS for activism. Overall, Indian activists said that a social movement needs to use both online and off-line activism tools together to reach its full potential.

The Streisand Effect and Censorship Backfire

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Barbra Streisand’s attempt to restrict online views of her residence on a public website had the paradoxical effect of leading to many more views than if she had done nothing. Subsequently, attempts at censorship that end up being counterproductive have been dubbed the “Streisand effect.” To better understand the dynamics of the Streisand effect, we examine five tactics used by censors to reduce outrage from their actions: (1) hiding the existence of censorship; (2) devaluing targets of censorship; (3) reinterpreting actions by lying, minimizing consequences, blaming others, and using benign framing; (4) using official channels to give an appearance of justice; and (5) intimidating opponents. Within this framework, the Streisand effect can be understood as a special outcome of censorship attempts, one in which the methods used to reduce outrage did not succeed.

Comparing Online Alternative and Mainstream Media in Turkey: Coverage of the TEKEL Workers Protest Against Privatization

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Challenging the dominance of mainstream media, this study questions the role of alternative news media in Turkey based on the approach that positions alternative media as an alternative to mainstream media. Quantitative content analysis is carried out with a particular focus on the antiprivatization protest by workers of the Tobacco, Tobacco Products, Salt and Alcohol Enterprises (TEKEL). It has been found that alternative media showed support for TEKEL workers by employing a tone in favor of the protesters. However, evidence from the research indicates that the depiction of the TEKEL workers protest by alternative media, to a large extent, relies on mainstream framing practices.

Of War and Water: Metaphors and Citizenship Agency in the Newspapers Reporting the 9/11 Catalan Protest in 2012

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Metaphors, organized in superdomains and articulating scenarios, are a powerful tool in framing a given social or political conflict. This article studies the use of metaphors in the reports of the mass demonstration held in Barcelona on September 11, 2012, in favor of Catalan self-determination. The authors analyzed 917 extracts from the main Spanish and Catalan newspapers. The results show that the most frequent superdomains were nature-weather and war-fortress-battle schemes, and they were used to construct different scenarios about the meaning of the political event. The research reveals major differences in metaphor use between the Catalan and the Spanish dailies covering the demonstration. The authors conclude that metaphor scenarios articulated a diverse discourse about the influence of citizenship agency on the political process for greater autonomy or even the independence of the region.

Effects of Multipart Media Framing on Consumer Attitudes Toward Biotechnology

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This study explores whether and how people with a negative biotechnology-related perception can change their attitudes when they are exposed to a positive message in two different frames. The two frames differ in terms of the medium, the language used, and the general tone. A frame is thus conceptualized as unified symbolic entities, rather than just words or positioning in terms of valence (positive/negative). An exploratory stage was conducted through in-depth interviews, which resulted in three audience categories. Results of the experimental study indicated that it is, in fact, possible to turn negative attitudes into positive attitudes for people with intuitive perceptions. People with analytical and ideological perceptions change their attitudes only when the frame is scientific.

The Food of the Worlds: Mapping and Comparing Contemporary Gastrodiplomacy Campaigns

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

From the perspective of strategic communication planning, this research maps and compares the gastrodiplomacy campaigns by Japan, Malaysia, Peru, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Analysis reveals that message appeals of the campaigns include mysticism, exoticism, naturalness, and healthiness. Campaign strategies range from membership relations in marketing products to the use of opinion leaders and coalition building. The research also documents several innovative campaign tactics.

2921| Violent Frames. Analyzing Internet Movie Database Reviewers’ Text Descriptions of Media Violence and Gender Differences from 39 Years of U.S. Action, Thriller, Crime, and Adventure Movies.

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) is the largest and most successful website for movie information, yet crowdsourced contents of sites like these have rarely been studied. Therefore, using IMDb synopsis texts, reviewers’ movie descriptions were analyzed regarding movie contents that have been the subject of many previous media studies: the violent behavior and victimization of male and female film characters over time. Analysis of 1,396 synopsis texts reveals that both perpetrators and victims are mainly male (both 80%) and, against expectation, violence becomes less severe and more often nonlethal over the years. For the first time, our study using IMDb texts identifies male and female stereotypes and suggests that viewers’ descriptions of what they have seen could match the findings of traditional content analyses and actual crime figures.

Celebrity Political Endorsement Effects: A Perspective on the Social Distance of Political Parties

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article examines the advertising effects of celebrity political endorsement (CPE) on young Taiwanese voters’ attitudes and voting behaviors. Based on construal-level theory, the moderating effect of consistency between an ad-recommended party and voters’ party preferences on different celebrity endorser types is also explored. Experimental results indicate the following: (1) Political messages delivered by political figures, regular citizens, and idols belong to different construal levels; (2) the preference-consistency party (versus the preference-inconsistency party) reduces voters’ perceived social distance from the party and causes voters to construe party-related information in lower-level construals; (3) CPE effects are greater than non-CPE effects; and (4) voters respond better to political ads that recommend a preference-inconsistency party using political figure endorsements, and voters respond better to political ads that recommend a preference-consistency party using idol endorsements.

Media Market Research on Immigrant Audiences: Lessons Learned From a Critical Analysis of the Spanish Media Survey

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Immigration has become an increasingly significant social phenomenon in Spain. The immigrant population has proven to be a potentially powerful target audience for advertisers. However, media research concerning immigrant audiences in Spain is still developing. The objective of this paper is to identify the most common difficulties encountered in immigrant-related media research, and to make recommendations regarding how advertisers and media planners can design and implement an effective media survey to investigate immigrant audiences. In this context, we consider the Spanish General Media Survey (EGM) as an instructive case study and analyze its methodology and data.

Education and Language-Based Knowledge Gaps Among New Immigrants In the United States: Effects of English- and Native-Language Newspapers and TV

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This study analyzed the impact of pre- and postimmigration use of English- and native-language newspapers and TV on the relative size of education- and language-based political knowledge gaps among new U.S. immigrants. Results from a nationally representative survey of new immigrants in the United States (N = 3,319) suggested that pre-immigration use of English-language newspapers widens political knowledge gaps between immigrant groups with higher and lower English proficiency and groups with higher and lower preference to use English in social interactions. However, the gap in political knowledge between immigrant groups with higher and lower levels of education was leveled by post-immigration use of English-language TV. Interestingly, use of native-language media also had a leveling effect on the knowledge gap. Specifically, pre-immigration use of native-language newspapers and TV decreased the gap in political knowledge between groups with high and low education, and pre-immigration use of native-language TV decreased the knowledge gap between groups with high and low preference to use English. Implications are discussed.

Understanding Popular Arab Bloggers: From Public Spheres to Cultural Citizens

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article addresses the usefulness of the concepts public sphere, counterpublics, and cultural citizenship for understanding some of the most popular noncommercial Lebanese, Egyptian, and Kuwaiti bloggers in the period 2009–2010. It compares the political and media landscapes, drawing on semi-structured interviews and the most common blogging themes in these three contexts. While the notion of counterpublics was found useful for understanding some types of blogging community, cultural citizenship stands out as a more flexible, process-oriented concept capturing how bloggers acculturate information and entertainment as sources of empowerment, resistance, and community belonging. The popular bloggers can be characterized as having consumerist, civil society, or formal politics trajectories, each challenging traditional power structures in ways that can be traced to specific national contexts.

Music Aggregators and Intermediation of the Digital Music Market

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, the advent of the Internet has not made intermediaries in the music market obsolete. Individual artists and independent record labels who want to sell their music in digital music stores must deliver their records via third-party companies called music aggregators. Drawing on the concepts of new institutional economics, the article demonstrates that the emergence of music aggregators is a market response to the high level of transaction costs and bargaining asymmetry associated with selling digital music online. The conclusion suggests that the major music conglomerates may seek ownership links with music aggregators, leading to the emergence of vertically integrated companies, which may have profound consequences for cultural markets.

Protest News Framing Cycle: How The New York Times Covered Occupy Wall Street

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

This article introduces a protest news framing cycle and presents the results of a longitudinal analysis of news attention and framing of protest movements. To identify the frame-changing dynamic occurring over time, a content analysis of the news coverage of Occupy Wall Street was conducted on 228 articles and 37 editorials in The New York Times from the start of the protest in September 2011 until long after the protest had subsided in July 2014. The article identifies longitudinal changes in news frames about the economic substance of the protest and the ensuing conflict between protesters and city officials during the occupation. Findings suggest that conflict had a significant impact on the number of news stories about the protest. Further, the results demonstrate how news framing opportunities changed as the movement reached different stages of the news attention cycle. As the movement grew, journalists focused on the movement’s economic grievances, including economic inequality, bank bailouts, and foreclosures. As the movement peaked, news attention shifted to the intensifying conflict between city officials and protesters.

Beyond the Public/Commercial Broadcaster Dichotomy: Homogenization and Melodramatization of News Coverage in Chile

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Television studies have traditionally highlighted the differences between public and commercial broadcasters’ news coverage. Research also suggests that increases in commercial competition within oligopolistic television markets affects diversity, with public networks adopting features of commercial broadcasters. This article examines commercial news coverage in Chile based on the characteristics attributed to melodrama in the Latin American theoretical tradition. A content analysis of two constructed weeks of newscasts from four Chilean networks (one publicly owned, three commercial) suggests that changes in the competition context were related to a homogenization of the networks’ coverage and a general increase of melodramatic features. These results support the hypothesis that news coverage analysis must consider contextual factors, such as changes in rating leadership, beyond networks’ ownership structures.

Affording Immediacy in Television News Production: Comparing Adoption Trajectories of Social Media and Satellite Technologies

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Scholars have added nuance to debates about technology’s effects on journalism by exploring how news organizations adopt technologies. Extending this work, this article argues that technological adoption occurs at the intersection of technological affordances, journalism practice, and internal power relations. It uses interviews and observations with over 100 journalists at eight mainstream television news organizations in the United Kingdom and Canada to compare the adoption of social media and satellite technologies and their affordance of immediacy, a central television news value. Adoption trajectories and use of each set of technologies are found to vary in three respects: the extent to which they afford and shape immediacy; top-down versus bottom-up investment strategies; and effects on news-gathering and transmission practices.

Enemies Also Get Their Say: Press Performance During Political Crises

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

The literature on press–state relations has shown that a high degree of consensus among officials limits the appearance of dissenting voices in news coverage. In the present article, we examine this proposition with regard to the debate in the Israeli media concerning how Israel should have reacted to Hamas’ victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections. The data presented here show that even though the debate within the Israeli leadership was limited, national newspapers did produce counterviews that strongly challenged the government’s position of penalizing the Palestinian Authority. In addition, the longer the debate continued, the larger the proportion of oppositional actors, especially Palestinian, that were heard. Finally, the study also points to the important role that the journalists themselves can play in preventing official control by presenting their own views on the issue.

Early Birds and Night Owls: Differences in Media Preferences, Usages, and Environments

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

Morningness-eveningness is an individual difference that explains variations in rhythmic expression of biological and behavioral patterns. Based on an online survey of 1,210 Internet users, this study explores differences between day and night persons in their media preferences, uses, and environments. Findings indicate that morning persons are inclined toward using traditional media in traditional environments, whereas night persons reported significantly higher preference for and use of new media in more varied locations. Results remained significant after controlling for sociodemographics. The findings suggest that night persons, previously described as “socially jet-lagged,” are also “technologically jet-lagged” individuals who tend to be ahead of others in terms of new technologies. This technological jet lag may represent a coping strategy that promotes adjustment to societal clocks.

A Toxic Crisis: Metaphorizing the Financial Crisis

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

The recent financial crisis has been covered in newspapers with metaphors such as toxic assets and toxic loans. Although these groups of related metaphors (i.e., metaphor families) may strengthen the intended images on the topic under discussion, they have been only seldom studied in metaphor research. This article investigates the ways in which metaphor families fulfill a translator role for emerging terminology in financial discourses. We explore the expansion and evolution of the toxic metaphor family, revealing subtle changes of metaphor use in three newspapers over time. Our results show a transition from generic image-creating metaphors toward financial-instrument-targeted metaphors. Overall, the evidence brought by this study is a stepping-stone for further research on metaphor families.

A Hush Falls Over the Crowd: Diminished Online Civic Expression Among Young Civic Actors

2015-07-30T11:42:25-07:00

An earlier investigation of civically engaged youth’s online civic expression, conducted by the authors, revealed that most youth expressed their off-line civic views in their online lives. But do youth change their online civic expression over time? If so, how and why? A follow-up study of the original participants about two years later provides a longitudinal perspective on online civic expression. Survey responses from 41 U.S.-based civic youth reveal that over 40% changed their expression patterns over the two-year period, with most quieting or silencing expression. These changes correspond to a group-level shift: Withholding civic expression on social media is most common at the time of our follow-up study. Key rationales for individual shifts, as stated by participants, are described.

External-National TV News Networks’ Way to America: Is the United States Losing the Global “Information War”?

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Hillary Clinton declared in 2011 that the United States is losing the global “information war.” Her principal concern was with what she perceived as declining U.S. news media hegemony overseas, and she specified Al Jazeera, CCTV, and RT as examples of threats. Drawing upon the history of these networks, the U.S. market’s reception, and their recruiting strategies, we find that the limited reception of these networks renders them of only marginal significance. While they exhibit some variation from the U.S. mainstream, their potential for diversity or even challenge to hegemonic narratives is considerably constrained by the goal and perceived economic necessity of gaining acceptance within the mainstream, coupled with substantial reliance on Western media information resources. These features appear to be a characteristic, not simply of these channels’ U.S. initiatives, but also of their foreign market orientation globally. They are therefore better seen as exemplifying a continuity of, not an alternative to, the dominant status of the Anglo-American model in the global news landscape.

The Prominence of Weak Economies: Factors and Trends in Global News Coverage of Economic Crisis, 2009–2012

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

This study investigates what makes a country newsworthy in economic news around the world. Employing Web-mining techniques on 35 leading news sites in the 10 most popular Internet languages, we calculated and tracked the relative prominence of countries in the world’s economic news from 2009 to 2012, a time of economic recession. Our findings suggest that major changes in GDP, even in relatively small economies, are no less important than overall GDP in explaining countries’ prominence in world economic news. Time-lag analysis of change in GDP and in news prominence identified three types of relation between news prominence and economic performance, reflecting the extent of world interest, press freedom, and the availability of reporting facilities. Network analysis of country co-mentions revealed three ripples when crisis hit noncore European countries, extending first to Europe’s leading economies, then global leading economies, and finally global developing economies. We discuss our findings’ implications for future research in the field.

Public Opinion, Thinly Sliced and Served Hot

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Perception Analyzer dial-meter technology has been increasingly deployed to track and display aggregate plots of focus group members’ real-time responses to argumentation in televised political debates convened in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and elsewhere. This article examines data cited to establish the Perception Analyzer’s reliability and validity; traces the tool’s historical roots to a Cold War machine nicknamed “Little Annie”; explores recent public controversies surrounding the tool’s use; and reflects on how real-time dial metering shapes the political terrain through a hidden curriculum that teaches contestable notions of public debate spectatorship and citizenship.

Stereotypes of Chinese by American College Students: Media Use and Perceived Realism

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

This study explores American college students’ stereotypes about Chinese and the influences of mediated information sources and perceived realism of media messages on those stereotypes. Results showed that American college students had positive stereotypes about Chinese but also perceived China as a potential threat to the United States. Students’ use of media sources alone did not predict these stereotypes, whereas perceived realism and the interaction between it and media use were important predictors.

Qualitative Political Communication| Introduction ~ The Role of Qualitative Methods in Political Communication Research: Past, Present, and Future

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

This article makes the case for a new era of qualitative research to contribute to the study of political communication at a time of rapid media change. We detail the history of a tradition of mixed-methods research in the United States from the 1920s to the 1960s, and chart the rise of the currently dominant quantitative methodological consensus from the 1970s onward. We examine key works within this older tradition of mixed-methods research for examples of how scholars used field research and other qualitative methods to build theory and analyze social life. We conclude with a discussion of the ways qualitative research, including the articles in this special section, can complement quantitative work and advance the field of political communication.

Qualitative Political Communication| Managing the Digital News Cyclone: Power, Participation, and Political Production Strategies

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

This research investigates the perspectives and practices of political consultants dealing with the information abundance, speed, and participatory culture of today’s communication environment. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 38 elite operatives, this article illuminates their roles in and strategies for managing news cycles, designing campaign output, and utilizing social media opportunities. It charts their thinking and demonstrates how they have adapted and evolved in their designs on communication power as older media logics persist and inform their tactics for political production in newer media spaces.

Qualitative Political Communication| To Implement or Not to Implement? Participatory Online Communication in Swiss Cities

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Social media platforms and other digital interactive media hold great potential for political communication. This study explores perceptions about this potential and the motivations to adopt participatory tools and assesses both motivations and challenges that local administrations face in the process of technology adoption for political communication. Switzerland is a critical case for local communication, because, on the one hand, media structures, media usage patterns, political culture, and legal regulations make it likely to find high levels of participatory online communication. On the other hand, the formalized participation opportunities of direct democracy may undermine the potential of online participation. Our analysis, based on interviews and document analysis, addresses the implementation of participatory online communication from the theoretical perspectives of rational choice and neoinstitutionalism. We found diffuse rather than specific motivations, role conflicts, frictions between informal online participation and formal decision-making processes, and low demand and resonance from citizens to be important challenges to the implementation of online participation.

Qualitative Political Communication| Backstage Media-Political Elite Negotiations: The Failure and Success of Government Pitch

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Media pressure on government and public administration has intensified radically in recent years. This article analyzes the behind-the-scenes processes of a strategic government pitch that aims to push the success and core values of Norwegian immigration policies in the media. The study brings attention to the complex and often conflicting demands on government officials engaged in proactive media strategies. It examines how the officials adapt to the news media logic, perceive the competition with other strategic actors, and simultaneously pay regard to the constraints inherent in a bureaucratic ethos. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, the article illuminates how bureaucrats legitimize proactive strategies; the risks involved; and how these strategies modify the distinctive roles of political leaders and civil servants, challenging traditional bureaucratic values such as impartiality, neutrality, and loyalty.

Qualitative Political Communication| Sharing the News: Journalistic Collaboration as Field Repair

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Organized journalism in every era offers examples of news sharing: cooperative practices by which rival news outlets work together to produce or distribute news. Today, this behavior is being institutionalized by certain emergent news organizations. To understand news sharing, we argue, requires attention to how these journalists seek to not only practice but repair the field of journalism. This article analyzes news sharing as a form of field repair, drawing on ethnographic studies of investigative news nonprofits and professional fact-checking groups. We argue that journalism’s “high-modern” era, with its broad alignment of economic and professional goals, highlighted competitive rather than collaborative elements of newswork. As that alignment unravels, journalists are engaging in explicit news sharing in pursuit of two intertwined goals: to increase the impact of their own reporting and to build institutional resources for public-affairs journalism to be practiced more widely across the field.

Qualitative Political Communication| Labor Unions, Social Media, and Political Ideology: Using the Internet to Reach the Powerful or Mobilize the Powerless?

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

How can we account for two similar labor unions that used Internet platforms at dramatically different rates? This study harnesses the power of qualitative research to understand the ideological mechanisms of differential social media use between two unions. Differences in political strategies shape digital activism. The reformist union had an active Internet presence. It practiced representative democracy and embraced the Internet primarily as a conduit to those in power. The radical union had low levels of digital engagement. It was more bottom-up and participatory, and it viewed the Internet as one of many tools to organize the powerless, rather than a way to reach the powerful.

Qualitative Political Communication| Understanding the Impact of the Transnational Promotional Class on Political Communication

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

This article is an overture to political communication researchers to broaden their categories and contexts of analysis when assessing the role of promotional practices in political life. It aims to make both methodological and empirical contributions to qualitative political communication research. Drawing on ongoing research into the proliferation of political communication strategies around the exploitation of oil in Canada and the United States, the article analyzes efforts by promotional intermediaries to achieve legitimacy for their clients in three sites: Montreal, Canada; Houston, Texas; and Fort McMurray, Alberta. Bringing to light the tools, techniques, and claims to authority of promotional actors and their practices, the article demonstrates the importance of field research to the analysis of political communication. By getting inside the social worlds of the actors and processes involved, researchers can make sense of the ways that political communication is defined, understood, and acted upon by interlocutors and audiences. The article also addresses specific methodological challenges of undertaking this research.

Qualitative Political Communication| From Wizards and House-Elves to Real-World Issues: Political Talk in Fan Spaces

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Political talk enables citizens to form opinions and understand the significance of the political world. Yet young people in particular may find political talk intimidating or divisive, and may require alternative spaces to discuss politics. This article presents an ethnographic examination of political talk within the context of a face-to-face Harry Potter fan discussion group, as a case of a “third space” where shared popular culture interests serve as a starting point for political discussion. The analysis suggests three mechanisms explicating the process through which popular culture contexts can engender political talk: scaling up, broadening the political, and mobilization. Connections between popular culture and political communication are found to be particularly important for the political socialization of young people.

Qualitative Political Communication| Locating the Politics in Political Consumption: A Conceptual Map of Four Types of Political Consumer Identities

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Political consumption is widely assumed to have a positive relationship with civic and political engagement, and considerable scholarly work indicates marketplace-based politics align neatly with contemporary norms of engaged citizenship. However, few studies examine whether political consumers themselves think of their shopping choices as political. Using depth interviews, this study uses schema theory to understand how individuals think about their political consumer roles. I argue that political consumption represents a collection of orientations varying according to two dimensions: responsibilities and rights. The language political consumers use to talk about their behaviors serves to situate them within one of four types of political consumers, each adhering to a different orientation of rights and responsibilities.

Qualitative Political Communication| Trace Interviews: An Actor-Centered Approach

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

The current communications environment is characterized by a complex and hybrid system. Individuals use multiple digital platforms in various ways to communicate politically. This presents both theoretical and methodological challenges. As a response, we propose trace interviewing, an actor-centric method that employs visualizations of a user’s digital traces during the interview process. Trace interviews are useful for enhancing recall, validating trace data-generated results, addressing data joining problems, and responding to ethical concerns that have surfaced in the current era of surveillance and big data. If the challenges of the method are successfully navigated, trace interviewing could allow researchers to respond creatively to new questions about the current, complex political communication environment.

Selfies Introduction ~ What Does the Selfie Say? Investigating a Global Phenomenon

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| The Gestural Image: The Selfie, Photography Theory, and Kinesthetic Sociability

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| The Selfie Assemblage

2015-08-03T13:29:52-07:00

Selfies| Feminism Reads Big Data: "Social Physics," Atomism, and Selfiecity

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies|The Selfie and the Other: Consuming Viral Tragedy and Social Media (After)lives

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Selfies: Witnessing and Participatory Journalism with a Point of View

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| #NaMo: The Political Work of the Selfie in the 2014 Indian General Elections

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| The Selfie of the Year of the Selfie: Reflections on a Media Scandal

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Self(ie)-Discipline: Social Regulation as Enacted Through the Discussion of Photographic Practice

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Selfies, Sexts and Sneaky Hats: Young People's Understandings of Gendered Practices of Self-Representation

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Odes to Heteronormativity: Presentations of Femininity in Russian-Speaking Pregnant Women’s Instagram Accounts

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Virtual Lactivism: Breastfeeding Selfies and the Performance of Motherhood

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| The Lonely Selfie King: Selfies and the Conspicuous Prosumption of Gender and Race

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Selfies as Charitable Meme: Charity and National Identity in the #nomakeupselfie and #thumbsupforstephen Campaigns

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Bae Caught Me Tweetin’: On the Representational Stance of the Selfie

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Selfies at Funerals: Mourning and Presencing on Social Media Platforms

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Empowering the Marginalized: Rethinking Selfies in the Slums of Brazil

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| In the Eye of the Beholder: Subjective Views on the Authenticity of Selfies

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Selfies| Selfies and Photo Messaging as Visual Conversation: Reports from the United States, United Kingdom and China

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Public Service Media| Introduction ~ Public Service Media and Exposure Diversity

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Exposure diversity is a relatively new and as yet to be explicitly formulated objective of contemporary media policy. While it holds certain potential—in particular in the messy digital space characterized by abundance and exponentially increased user choices—it comes with certain risks too. The role of public service media in ensuring exposure diversity is an underexplored yet important topic of media policy and law. This article introduces the special section on public service media and exposure diversity and outlines the key motivation behind it. It briefly presents the main contributions and a summary of their arguments, as well as the red line that holds them together.

Public Service Media| Merely Facilitating or Actively Stimulating Diverse Media Choices? Public Service Media at the Crossroad

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Personalized recommendations provide new opportunities to engage with audiences and influence media choices. Should the public-service media use such algorithmic profiling and targeting to guide audiences and stimulate more diverse choices? And if they do, is this a brave new world we would like to live in? This article outlines new opportunities for the public-service media to fulfill their commitment to media diversity and highlights some of the ethical and normative considerations that will play a role. The article concludes with a call for a new body of “algorithmic media ethics.”

Public Service Media| Contemplating a “Public Service Navigator”: In Search of New- (and Better-) Functioning Public Service Media

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

The article is set against the backdrop of the reform of public-service broadcasting (PSB) institutions and results from the wide spread of digital technologies. It seeks to answer whether, in a transformed information and communication environment, it would be apt for new PSBs, regardless of their precise organizational design, to assume the role of a “public-service navigator” (PSN). This article shows that there is a need for this new type of editorial intelligence that links users with content in a way that advances conventional media objectives, particularly exposure diversity. The paper clarifies what a PSN project may look like given the practical reality of searching for and consuming content in the digital space.

Public Service Media in the Digital Age| Diversity by Choice: Applying a Social Cognitive Perspective to the Role of Public Service Media in the Digital Age

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Hopes for a new abundance of diverse media content have long been tied to the rise of the Internet. Ensuring diversity remains a fundamental objective of media policy. However, media policy is still largely focused on public service media. In this article, we introduce a new theoretical perspective to inform media policy, focusing on the concept of diversity experience and users’ motivation, awareness, and ability to seek diverse content in a transforming media environment. We argue that our understanding of and regulatory approaches to media pluralism must be adapted to technological advances. Based on social cognitive theory, we propose an extension of the diversity debate by considering user cognition. We analyze challenges to users’ diversity experiences on a motivational, perceptual, and capability level. Given the (over)abundance of content available online, users must be willing and able to seek out diverse and serendipitous information. We derive a user-centric approach to media pluralism and diversity. Based on this framework, we outline criteria for changing the role of public service media in the digital age to focus on empowering users to actually experience media diversity.

Public Service Media| Active Pluralism: Dialogue and Engagement as Basic Media Policy Principles

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Although pluralism is widely accepted as a basic characteristic of democratic media, its manifestation in media pluralism policy is generally characterized by a passive approach to dialogue and engagement. Media pluralism policy is typically focused on the mere availability of information resources, and it usually stops short of contemplating how those resources can be created or how they are to be used, even though the underlying assumption is that they will in fact be deployed to the benefit of democratic understanding and decision making. This article examines some normative inferences from theories of political pluralism, and their implications for transforming such a passive form of media pluralism policy to one that is explicitly more active, and analyzes a series of relevant policy measures. It is suggested that such measures should have a much more significant role in liberal democratic media policy to counter increasing trends for new forms of media activity to become more fragmented and yet more narrow.

Public Service Media| Five Theses on Public Media and Digitization: From a 56-Country Study

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

This article examines developments at public-service and state-administered media organizations based on a global sample of country case studies and selected secondary data. Most public-service and state media organizations have experienced a decline in revenue and audience and a tendency to weaken the program remit, but the overall direction of change is not one of uniform, marked, or irreversible decline. Although successful models of public service for the digital age have emerged, recent evidence suggests that neither the weakening of state broadcasters nor their reform into independent public-service media are inevitable results of digitization.

Public Service Media| Youth Online and News: A Phenomenological View on “Diversity”

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

As the amount of information consumed daily by young Internet users increases, researchers and policymakers have begun challenging conventional understandings of diversity exposure. Drawing upon findings from two mixed-method studies conducted in 2011 and 2013 by the Youth and Media project at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, this article argues that a phenomenological approach to diversity that takes into account a broad range of developments in the digitally networked environment, including behavioral trends related to seeking, sharing, and creating information, might be a helpful starting point for discussing both the problems and solutions related to different facets of the diversity concept. Following the case study on youth interaction with online news, this article analyzes a spectrum of transformations: changing definitions of news, changes in news reading (such as new forms of participation, changing access modalities, and new types of gatekeepers), developments in social media practices, and emerging genres (such as memes). Throughout, this article discusses some of the conceptual challenges that emerge when applying current diversity frameworks to a real-world scenario and highlights complex behavioral patterns that should be taken into account before considering any interventions aimed at increasing diversity.

Opinion Leadership| Editorial Introduction | Opinion Leadership Revisited: A Classical Concept in a Changing Media Environment

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Along with the media landscape, the patterns of opinion leadership have changed profoundly. The concept of opinion leadership, which was established in the 1940s and has been used in numerous studies since, has been challenged by the intermingling of old and new media. This special section of the International Journal of Communication analyzes what kinds of opinion leadership can be found in contemporary media environments and to what extent extensions or adaptations of the original concept might be necessary. The special section presents three empirical studies focusing on different facets of opinion leadership—on the opinion leaders themselves, on opinion leadership in parasocial relations, and on influence and selection processes in adolescent networks—as well as a commentary by Elihu Katz.

Opinion Leadership| Mediatized Opinion Leaders: New Patterns of Opinion Leadership in New Media Environments?

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

The study analyzes which forms opinion leadership takes in contemporary media environments where communication channels have increased and started to permeate interpersonal interaction. Some scholars assume that opinion leadership becomes more important under these conditions, as more media are available to enact it, and that more orientation is needed. Others argue that opinion leadership loses its importance as online media target audiences directly without interaction from opinion leaders. This study demonstrates that opinion leadership still exists in contemporary media environments. Using a cluster analysis of German online survey data, three clusters were identified that resemble communicative roles from earlier studies: Opinion Leaders, Followers, and Inactives. An additional fourth cluster, Mediatized Opinion Leaders, was also found. Individuals in this cluster exhibit the strongest and most diverse use of media and communication channels both for informing themselves and for communicating with followers.

Opinion Leadership| Parasocial Opinion Leadership Media Personalities‘ Influence within Parasocial Relations: Theoretical Conceptualization and Preliminary Results

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Personalities in the media both influence and restrict topics of discussion and the amount of information available, thus exerting a substantial influence on the formation of the audience’s political opinion. The present study examines this impact by integrating the theoretical concepts of parasocial relationship and opinion leadership. The resulting phenomenon, parasocial opinion leadership, is based on viewers’ perceptions and emerges if (a) a media user ascribes certain attributes to a media communicator based on a parasocial relationship, which (b) allows for a gradual influence of the media personality on the user’s opinions and attitudes by fulfilling at least one of three functions: information and reduction of complexity, orientation, or arousal of interest. A qualitative survey among TV users confirms the main assumptions of the concept.

Opinion Leadership| Influence Versus Selection: A Network Perspective on Opinion Leadership

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Over the past decades, research on opinion leaders has been based on an implicit assumption that the structure of social networks is stable and that only attitudes and behavior are subject to change in a diffusion process. The finding that social groups often display similar attitudes or behavior was therefore regarded as evidence of opinion leaders’ influence. However, network autocorrelation also can emerge due to social selection processes in which likeminded people establish new ties and cut dissonant ties. In fact, without controlling for social selection processes, one is likely to overestimate the power of influence processes. Stochastic actor-oriented modeling of dynamic social networks allows disentangling and quantifying these two processes. This reanalysis of a four-wave panel survey of adolescents’ conversation networks and their TV use is the first to do this on the level of specific TV programs. The results demonstrate that influence of opinion leaders may become insignificant if parameters for social selection and general patterns of program preferences are included in the analysis. Overall, this study challenges an overly simplistic view of opinion leadership and illustrates the power of longitudinal social network analysis for disentangling social influence and social selection processes.

Opinion Leadership| Commentary ~ Where Are Opinion Leaders Leading Us?

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

Piracy & Social Change| Introduction: Piracy and Social Change—Revisiting Piracy Cultures

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

This article introduces the contributions to this special section of the journal, frames the scope of contemporary digital piracy research in the social sciences and humanities, and relates the research project to neighboring fields in communication and media studies.

Piracy & Social Change| Crack Intros: Piracy, Creativity and Communication

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

This article deals with “crack intros,” short animated audiovisual presentations that reside at the crossroads of software piracy, creativity and communication. Since the beginning of the home computer era in the late 1970s, users have copied and shared software with each other. Informal swapping between friends quickly evolved into organized piracy, known as “the warez scene,” which operated across borders. Starting from the early 1980s, pirated games were often accompanied by screens where groups boasted their accomplishments and sent messages to others. The screens soon turned into flashy intros that contained animated logos, moving text, and music. In this article, we take a look at crack intros from three different perspectives: first, through their history; second, by treating them as creative artifacts; and finally, by considering them as a communication medium. The three perspectives offer a novel peek into the practices of early software piracy and its little-known creative aspects.

Piracy & Social Change| Piracy Versus Privacy: An Analysis of Values Encoded in the PirateBrowser

2015-07-30T11:42:26-07:00

The PirateBrowser is a Web browser that uses Tor privacy-enhancing technology to circumvent nationally implemented Internet filters blocking access to The Pirate Bay. This article analyzes the possible consequences of a mass influx of copyright pirates into the privacy domain. The article addresses the effects of the uptake of strong privacy technologies by pirates on copyright enforcement and on free speech and privacy technology domains. Also discussed are the norms and values reflected in the specific design choices taken by the developers of the PirateBrowser.

Piracy & Social Change| Russian Media Piracy in the Context of Censoring Practices

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

This article suggests that media piracy in Russia is a cultural phenomenon caused largely by long-standing state ideological pressures. It also questions the common approach that considers the issue of piracy in economic or legal terms. In Russia, piracy historically concerned not only copyright issues but also censoring practices, and the sharing of pirated content is a socially acceptable remnant of Soviet times. This article uses an institutional approach to show how state anticopyright policy was used in the Soviet era to curtail freedom of speech. Analysis of the new antipiracy law reveals that current state policy intended to protect copyright may also be used to control content; moreover, this analysis concludes that the new policy is not likely to curb piracy.

Piracy & Social Change| From Orkut to Facebook: How Brazilian Pirate Audiences Utilize Social Media to Create Sharing Subcultures

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Grounded in case studies in Brazil, this research explores how pirate audiences create an effective parallel system of informal television viewing and distribution. From August 2010 to November 2012, two specific case studies were examined: the informal distribution of U.S. TV shows through downloading websites and Orkut downloading communities, and amateur subtitlers. Informal TV downloading practices are evolving, along with the notions of audiences, television content, television viewing, and piracy. These practices are also incorporated into people’s everyday lives. The article establishes a framework around media practices and proposes that many pirates are members of audiences. Thus, the aims of this article are twofold: (1) to document TV sharing infrastructures in Brazil; and (2) to draw attention to contemporary practices of watching television. The findings fill a gap in the Brazilian research literature on television downloading cultures and contribute to current literature on pirate cultures.

Piracy & Social Change| From File Sharing to Free Culture: The Evolving Agenda of European Pirate Parties

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

In this article, we explore the challenge of shaping Pirate policies to match political context: how to safeguard the unity of digital rights, freedom of expression, privacy, and access while adapting to local political realities. The article examines the political programs of the Pirate Party in five countries to present a representative image of contemporary Pirate politics. The analysis shows that the Pirate Party platform has extended to more broad notions of culture, participation, and self-expression. While the trinity of digital rights persists, a process of reframing and reconfiguring Pirate politics is detectable where the political arm of the movement has gradually drifted apart from core activists holding on to the idea of preserving digital rights as a single issue.

Piracy & Social Change| You Are Not Welcome Among Us: Pirates and the State

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

In a historical review focused on digital piracy, we explore the relationship between hacker politics and the state. We distinguish between two core aspects of piracy—the challenge to property rights and the challenge to state power—and argue that digital piracy should be considered more broadly as a challenge to the authority of the state. We trace generations of peer-to-peer networking, showing that digital piracy is a key component in the development of a political platform that advocates for a set of ideals grounded in collaborative culture, nonhierarchical organization, and a reliance on the network. We assert that this politics expresses itself in a philosophy that was formed together with the development of the state-evading forms of communication that perpetuate unmanageable networks.

Piracy & Social Change| The Pirate Party and the Politics of Communication

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

This article draws on a series of interviews with members of the Pirate Party, a political party focusing on copyright and information politics, in different countries. It discusses the interviewees’ visions of democracy and technology and explains that copyright is seen as not only an obstacle to the free consumption of music and movies but a threat to the freedom of speech, the right to privacy, and a thriving public sphere. The first part of this article briefly sketches how the Pirate Party’s commitment to the democratic potential of new communication technologies can be interpreted as a defense of a digitally expanded lifeworld against the attempts at colonization by market forces and state bureaucracies. The second part problematizes this assumption by discussing the interactions between the Pirate movement and the tech industry in relation to recent theories on the connection between political agency and social media.

Piracy & Social Change| Dialogic Comedy in Pirate Rhetoric

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

This article analyzes how the groups of the Swedish Pirate movement (specifically the Piratbyrån, The Pirate Bay, the Missionerande Kopimistsamfundet, and the Piratpartiet) use dialogical comedy to counter the rhetoric of the copyright lobby. By appropriating the discourse, slogans, and even names of pro-copyright groups, the Swedish groups position themselves as the natural respondents to antipiracy campaigns. This positioning helps them to publicize onerous copyright legislation and prompt discussion on infringement, free speech, and digital rights. The reclamation of the term piracy and the subversive doubling of antipiracy rhetoric in parody, irony, and satire allows for the resignification of piracy and the recontextualization of incorrect and alarmist statements by industry representatives. As a rhetorical strategy, dialogic comedy counters hegemonic discourse, facilitates social learning, and inaugurates debate and dialogue.

Media Audiences| Introduction ~ Audiences Across Media: A Comparative Agenda for Future Research on Media Audiences

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Contemporary media constitute an increasingly global, digital environment of communication, but audiences remain geographically and culturally situated. Research documenting and comparing audience practices around the world has been limited beyond commercial and cultural statistics not only because of the sheer cost of the necessary empirical infrastructure but also due to methodological difficulties of how to study the same medium in the context of different social structures and cultural practices. This special issue presents empirical findings and methodological implications from a nine-country comparative study of media use in Europe and outlines potentials and perspectives for further comparative and cross-continental research.

Media Audiences| The Media Landscapes of European Audiences

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

This article provides an overview of findings from a European study of media use patterns in nine different countries, and presents a typology of European media audiences. The first section offers a brief review of previous research on audiences’ uses of “new” and “old” media, individually and in combination, specifying the analytical perspective of the comparative study. The following three sections detail three aspects of the findings: a mapping of the landscape of media in which European audiences move in terms of their choice of and time spent on different media types; a cluster analysis of the distinctive ways in which different sociodemographic groups locate themselves in the media landscape overall; and a further analysis and interpretation of how media are integrated by audiences into the contexts of their everyday lives. The conclusion notes some theoretical lessons of the project, and considers ways of conceptualizing and operationalizing the communicative practices of audiences in future research.

Media Audiences| The Internet as a Cultural Forum: A European Perspective

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Jensen and Helles’ model for studying the Internet as a cultural forum describes six prototypical communicative practices based on synchronicity and number of participants. This study seeks to examine the validity of their model in a broader intercultural setting. Using data from a large-scale, cross-European research project, the study reveals that mass media, particularly the synchronous media (television and radio), maintain their place as the most time-consuming communicative practice, and that there is a somewhat greater intensity of many-to-many practices than one-to-one practices. Many significant differences among subsegments of the sample are also reported. The results reflect inclinations and trends that were well documented in recent audience research. Consequently, they support the applicability of the model and demonstrate its strength.

Media Audiences| Digital Mediascapes, Institutional Frameworks, and Audience Practices Across Europe

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

This article explores the relationship between the media-use patterns of European audiences and the institutional contexts of digital media systems in a multilevel, cross-national comparative research design. A theoretical model is proposed for describing contemporary digital media systems, applied through cluster analysis to a set of 22 European countries. Four digital media system clusters are identified. Regression analysis shows the influence of macro-level media systems on micro-level audience preferences for different media. The media system clusters are related to data on media use from the nine countries in the “audiences across media” study. The findings strongly support the explanatory power of structural aspects at the macro-institutional level for audience choices in terms of both legacy and Internet-based media.

Media Audiences| Is Print Really Dying? The State of Print Media Use in Europe

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

The controversy concerning the future displacement of print media is an ongoing dispute among stakeholders and academic experts. Based on the model of displacement or resilience of a given medium, this study explores the print media audience, primarily by comparing the time spent reading print media with that allotted to consuming their digital equivalents and other media. The study compares nine European democratic countries that have undergone the same technological changes but that also manifest disparate cultures that may explain variance in consumption patterns. The study’s main findings demonstrate that print media are still an important component of the new communications environment among European audiences. Reasons for print media’s resilience are suggested in the discussion.

Media Audiences| Between Old Broadcast Media and New Networked Media: Materiality and Media Consumption Practices

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Past tensions between content and materiality have prevented communication researchers from forming a deeper conceptualization of the role played by the material character of communication technologies in shaping social arrangements and cultural forms of expression. Drawing on the findings of a comparative research project on European audiences, we examine the interrelation between material facets of media technologies and the practices they afford on the audience side. Relations between “old” mass media, such as television, and “new” networked and individualized media, such as the Internet, are discussed, focusing on the transitions between different media technologies and the processes of substitution or supplementation occurring in these transitions.

Media Audiences| Spaces Across Europe: Where People Use Media

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

This article focuses on the various spaces hosting the communication activities of European citizens in nine different countries. In contemporary societies, characterized by the pervasiveness of mobile devices and other media, space is key to understanding the everyday uses of media. Where people use media holds important implications for not only the daily routines of media usage but the meaning-making processes that media enable and sustain. On a theoretical level, this article introduces two interrelated concepts of domesticity and mobility to account for the contemporary configuration of private and public spaces of media use. On an empirical level, the article characterizes these configurations in the nine countries of the European study, identifying five patterns of media use across social spaces, and relating these patterns to sociodemographic as well as cross-national factors.

Media Audiences|Changing Patterns of Media Use across Cultures: A Challenge for Longitudinal Research

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

This article places the 2013 European audience survey in the wider historical context of the ongoing societal appropriation of digital media. To better understand longitudinal changes in the patterns of media use, the article compares the technological, industrial, and cultural factors that, together, shape the observable patterns of media use. Because Internet diffusion does not occur at exactly the same time in all countries, comparisons of audiences across the nine countries of the survey can be interpreted in terms of changes over time. The article, further, reports longitudinal evidence from Belgium, Denmark, and Germany, which sheds additional light on current changes at the country level. Building on these findings, the article finally addresses key challenges for future longitudinal research on media use across cultures.

The Index and the Moon: Mortgaging Scientific Evaluation

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

The Passing of a Pioneer: Professor Tamar Liebes, 1943–2015

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Sinking the Flagship: Why Communication Studies Is Better Off Without One

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Report: 2013–2014 “More better …”

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Communication Scholars and Fair Use: The Case for Discipline-Wide Education and Institutional Reform

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Graham Murdock and Jostein Gripsrud (Eds.), Money Talks: Money, Markets, Crisis

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Amanda D. Lotz, Cable Guys: Television and Masculinities in the 21st Century

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Patricia Keeton & Peter Scheckner, American War Cinema and Media Since Vietnam: Politics, Ideology, and Class

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Kristin Demetrious, Public Relations, Activism, and Social Change: Speaking Up

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Nikki Usher, Making News at The New York Times

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Tim Jordan, Information Politics: Liberation and Exploitation in the Digital Society

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Todd Wolfson, Digital Rebellion: The Birth of the Cyber Left

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Amanda D. Lotz, Cable Guys: Television and Masculinities in the 21st Century

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Myria Georgiou, Media and the City: Cosmopolitanism and Difference

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Julie Passanante Elman, Chronic Youth: Disability, Sexuality, and U.S. Media Cultures of Rehabilitation

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Jason Middleton, Documentary’s Awkward Turn: Cringe Comedy and Media Spectatorship

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Monique W. Morris, Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-First Century

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Cristina Archetti, Understanding Terrorism in the Age of Global Media: A Communication Approach

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Gabriella Coleman, Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Regina Lee Blaszczyk, The Color Revolution

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Meg McLagan and Yates McKee (Eds.), Sensible Politics: The Visual Culture of Nongovernmental Activism

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Winnie Won Yin Wong, Van Gogh on Demand: China and the Readymade

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Unpacking Asian Queer Masculinity in Theatre and Cinema: Postcolonial Imagination and Pleasure of Bottomhood

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Larry Gross & Jay Ruby (Eds.), The Complete Sol Worth

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Rodney Benson, Shaping Immigration News: A French-American Comparison

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Laura Ellingson, Communicating in the Clinic: Negotiating Frontstage and Backstage Teamwork

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Nick Couldry, Media, Culture, World: Social Theory and Digital Media Practice

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Brenton J. Malin, Feeling Mediated: A History of Media Technology and Emotion in America

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Catherine R. Squires, The Post-Racial Mystique: Media and Race in the Twenty-First Century

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Nick Couldry, Media, Society, World: Social Theory and Digital Media Practice

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00

Sarah Sharma, In the Meantime: Temporality and Cultural Politics

2015-07-30T11:42:27-07:00