Electronic News 2018 Abstracts
Media Use and Political Participation: A Comparative Study of U.S., Kenya, and Nigeria • Oluseyi Adegbola, Texas Tech University; Sherice Gearhart, Texas Tech University • This study compares whether news use across media platforms is differently related to online and offline political participation in the U.S., Nigeria and Kenya. Through secondary analysis of data collected from a worldwide survey of adults (N = 1,775), this study found country-specific differences in how both views on national politics and media use predicted political participation. Specifically, there were differences in the effects of traditional and new media on online and offline political participation.
Poles Apart: Influence of Ideology, Partisan Social Media Use, Discussion and Polarization on Belief Gaps • Tom Johnson, University of Texas at Austin; Heloisa Aruth Sturm, University of Texas at Austin; Lourdes Cueva Chacón, University of Texas at Austin; Jordon Brown • The role of social media in the 2016 election shows the need to study its influence on the belief gap. This study examines the extent to which ideology, partisan social media use, polarization, and political discussion on social media influence false beliefs toward race and immigration. We found that partisan social media use is linked to affective polarization, conservative social media use increases belief gaps on immigration, and issue polarization is linked to belief gaps on both immigration and race.
Factors Motivating Customization and Echo Chamber Creation Within Digital News Environments • Brooke Auxier, University of Maryland, College Park; Jessica Vitak, University of Maryland • In today’s digital environment, news consumers may experience information overload. To combat feelings of unease associated with the influx of news content, some consumers tailor their news ecosystems. This study explores customization and identifies motivating factors. Results from an online survey (N=317) suggest that consumers who diversify their online news streams report lower levels of anxiety related to current events. Findings also suggest differences in reported anxiety levels and customization practices across the political spectrum.
Real Time Political Deliberation on Social Media: Can Televised Debates Lead to Rational and Civil Discussions on Broadcasters’ Facebook Pages? • Lindita Camaj, University of Houston • As broadcast news organizations partner with social media to generate real time reactions to live political debates, this article explores how this trend impacts discussions among their Facebook page users. Data from the 2016 U.S. elections suggest that comments posted on the Facebook pages of ABC and NBC were more rational and civil than comments posted on the Facebook pages of CNN and Fox News. Moreover, discussions prompted by candidate acclaims and policy issues resulted in more deliberate conversations than discussions prompted by opponent attacks and candidate character.
Small Station with Big Voices: Giving a Microphone to Communities Through Student-Citizen Collaborations • Deborah Chung, University of Kentucky; Mike Farrell, University of Kentucky; Kakie Urch, University of Kentucky; Yung Soo Kim • This study offers insights into citizens working with emerging reporters in a journalism capstone course at a U.S.-based university from the perspective of journalism as process and collaboration. Their joint efforts resulted in radio news stories airing on local broadcast stations. Through a series of conversations, unchanged views were found regarding the roles each group was viewed to perform, but mutual respect was developed as citizens gained skills/journalistic style; students gained community connections/general life lessons.
“I know from personal experience”: Shared news consumption and citizen knowledge exchange on Reddit • Corinne Dalelio, Coastal Carolina University; Wendy Weinhold • This study is an investigation into aspects of citizen knowledge sharing around news in the informal online “community of practice” found on Reddit.com/r/news, such as tacit vs. explicit knowledge sharing, tone and incivility, and knowledge questioning. It was found that: 1) incivility was not a hindrance to knowledge exchange, 2) tacit and explicit knowledge sharing occur with equivalent frequency, and 3) knowledge of other participants was questioned more often than that of an outside source.
Personalized news in the age of distraction • Lisa Farman, Ithaca College • This experiment explored the extent to which the cognitive load experienced during multitasking affects attitudes toward and recall of personalized online news. Personalization led to more positive attitudes toward news, and distraction led to worse news topic recall but better detail recall. Distraction also led to less perceived credibility of the news website, which led to more negative attitudes toward the news. No interaction effects were observed, and there were no differences based on multitasking habits.
Technical Frames, Flexibility and Online Pressures in TV Newsrooms • Victor García-Perdomo, Universidad de La Sabana • This research takes a socio-technical approach to understanding TV changes brought by online video platforms. This paper explains how online professionals working for TV stations are implementing digital technologies into their newsrooms to reinforce their online presence. Through participant observation and in-depth interviews, it shows how socio-economic forces and journalistic practices shape technology but, at the same time, it reveals how platforms impose their logic on news production and make producers to lose some control.
How do Lebanese television channels engage with Twitter? An exploratory study into its uses • Claudia Kozman, Lebanese American University; Raluca Cozma, Kansas State University • Through a content analysis of tweets belonging to local television channels in Lebanon, this study sought to examine patterns of their Twitter usage. Guided by the uses and gratifications framework, the current research found that Lebanese broadcast media use Twitter as a one-way tool to disseminate information, rarely making use of its interactivity features. These media tended to discuss news more than any other function, focusing mainly on politics and public affairs.
Frames and sources of links in the climate discussion on Twitter, 2012-2015 • JA Lavaccare, Michigan State University; Kjerstin Thorson, Michigan State University; Luping Wang, Cornell University • We analyzed the 200 most tweeted links during 10 major events related to the climate change issue to find what media sources were most commonly shared, and how this changed over time (2012-2015) and across events. We find that mainstream news media remain dominant. In the second phase of the study, we analyzed framing of the climate issue in widely shared news stories, and how the popularity of frames has changed over time. Notably, a Morality frame was boosted by two major speeches from Pope Francis.
When Everything Else Fails: Radio Journalism during Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico • Yadira Nieves; BRUNO TAKAHASHI, Michigan State University; Manuel Chavez, Michigan State University • In an era of over-reliance on online media technologies in disasters this research assesses the journalistic functions played by Puerto Rican AM radio stations in Hurricane Maria. Throughout the emergency there was total loss of electricity and communications nonetheless local radio maintained operations. This study is one of a few that explore journalistic practices during a disaster in the context of a Spanish-language media system. Through a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews to radio workers researchers found that in spite of having preparedness plans the magnitude of the disaster led to improvisation and the embracing of alternative journalistic roles. While radio workers were also victims of the disaster they were forced to take on first responder roles.
Prosodic elements for content delivery in broadcast journalism: A quantitative study of vocal pitch • Shawn Nissen, Brigham Young University; Quint Randle, Brigham Young University; Jenny Lynnes, Brigham Young University; Jared Johnson, Oklahoma State University • Through a quantitative analysis, this exploratory study examined the prosodic elements of mean pitch, pitch variability and pitch range in a sample of 450 voiceovers and throws from 90 male and female broadcast reporters and anchors from larger markets across the United States. Findings indicate that compared to typical speakers in the general population male broadcasters actually speak with an elevated mean pitch, more pitch variability and use more range. However, female broadcasters were found to speak at slightly lower mean pitch levels when compared to other female speakers in the general population (but like males with more variability and range). It is hoped that this study will serve as a starting point in moving broadcast vocal coaching from that of just an art to a bit more of a science.
Rehash or Reset? Examining the intermedia agenda setting effect between Twitter and newspapers on climate change • Yan Su, Washington State University • The purpose of this study was to explore the intermedia influence between Twitter’s and newspapers’ agenda on climate change. Accordingly, using Trump’s announcement of withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement as a dividing point, the current study compares the issue agendas on Twitter and newspapers before and after the announcement, analyzing both rank-order correlation and cross-lagged correlations between the two platforms. Results suggested that newspapers influenced Twitter before the announcement, while Twitter conversely influenced newspapers’ agenda within five days after the announcement was released, which challenged the assertion that individuals often discuss online within a few days of the reported news coverage. However, although reciprocity appeared, Twitter’s influence was found ephemeral, newspapers regained the dominant role in intermedia agenda setting from the sixth day after the announcement.
Reactance to fact checking: Facebook users’ evaluations of and intentions to share fake news • Shawna White; Nicole Lee, North Carolina State University • Fake news has become a prominent topic since the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Facebook developed a fact-check warning system designed to identify misinformation. We conducted a 2 (warning/no warning) x 2 (RNC/DNC) between-subjects online experiment (N = 235) to test the efficacy of this system, and to investigate whether psychological reactance produces backfire effects. Results revealed the negative outcomes outweighed the positive, explained in part by reactance, particularly when retracted misinformation aligned with partisan predispositions.
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