Philip Merrill College of Journalism
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1629
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.
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Item Trends and Strategies of News on Social Media in the U.S.: A Multimethod Analysis(2019) Herd, Maria; Yaros, Ronald; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)There is growing interest in how social media and news interact, but much of that information is not widely available because news organizations pay third party analytics services for proprietary data. This study, however, employs a multimethod design to explore the issue. First, a quantitative analysis of audience data and social media trends is based on an aggregate of metrics (Parse.ly) from hundreds of news organizations to identify the most popular news categories on the top social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Reddit). Second, qualitative interviews are conducted with social media strategists at four U.S. news organizations to capture emerging trends of best social media practices within newsrooms, including humanizing content, shifting coverage, training, encouraging subscriptions, third-party tools, and crowdsourcing.Item Understanding Sticky News: Analyzing the Effect of Content Appeal and Social Engagement for Sharing Political News Online(2018) Xu, Boya; Oates, Sarah; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation investigates the concept of news stickiness and why certain news stories are shared more than others in an online environment. Building on theories of framing, uses and gratifications, and social psychology, the study is guided by the perspective that sharing behavior is considered a joint product of informational and personal factors. Previous research in the investigation of sharing motivations were usually one-sided, focusing on one particular attribute that contributes to the behavior; however, this dissertation argues the two key factors that drive news sharing each play a role in moving the audiences from content “internalizing” to content “externalizing.” Additionally, the dissertation also considers that the act of news sharing is carried out by humans and therefore, driven by the innate human needs that extend beyond content captivation. To bridge the gap in existing research, this dissertation adopts a mixed methods approach consisting of the following: 1) Framing analysis of the “most shared articles of the day” on the New York Times website, examining shared content characteristics; and 2) online experiment testing whether the content features concluded from the framing analysis would make news stories more likely to be shared, with a post-experiment questionnaire evaluating the audience’s psychological motivations for sharing. Findings revealed that news personalization, particularly the use of emotional testimony, localized identification, and partisan provocation, constitutes the key content appeal shared by all articles sampled. Moreover, social engagement appeal is made up of five elements that help explain sharing behavior: reciprocal value, individual interest, information utility, persuasion potential, and the bandwagon effect. This dissertation is a step forward toward better understanding of how to make news sticky, in a sense that the news will not only be read but will also be shared extensively. It provided recommendations for news organizations seeking to analyze web traffic data and produce content that deeply resonates with their audiences. This study further contributed to the theoretical frameworks in audience engagement by associating human psychology with news sharing and ultimately confronted concerns such as an attraction to ‘fake news’ or a lack of interest in critical news on key issues.Item THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY: A CASE STUDY OF THREE FACEBOOK GROUPS(2018) Gachau, James; Steiner, Linda; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)As far back as 1918, John Dewey cautioned that democracy should not be identified with “economic individualism as the essence of freedom of action” (Dewey, 1954). He saw freedom as grounded socially in the human experience of “communicative (not merely economic) exchange through which individuals orient themselves to the world” (Couldry, 2010, p. 133). These communicative exchanges are necessary for people to live an authentically human life. In the widely dispersed societies of the twenty-first century, journalism and mass communication are necessary for this communicative exchange. This dissertation argues that Facebook, through purposefully designed and organized groups, can facilitate such communicative exchanges for social classes that are given short shrift by the mainstream media. I posit that due to their ability to select, control, and filter media content according to their specified needs and concerns, rather than have media fare dictated to them by the dominant classes, social media users in general, and Facebook groups composed of subordinate classes in particular, have the capacity to cultivate and nurture discourses that challenge the views and opinions of the dominant publics in which these groups are located. Using counterpublic theory à la Nancy Fraser, Catherine Squires, and Michael Warner, this dissertation analyzes the media content that members of three Facebook groups shared on their groups’ Facebook walls, and how this content helped them articulate oppositional voices and identities. Based in Kenya, the first group, Freethinkers Initiative Kenya (FIKA), identifies with freethought and atheism in a society that is predominantly Christian. The second group, Pan-African Network (PAN) promotes the interests of Africans across the globe, campaigning for the advancement of a proud black identity in a world increasingly perceived as hostile to Blacks and people of African descent. The third group, Women Without Religion (WWR), espouses a feminist atheist identity that opposes “white male supremacy,” and speaks against the perceived oppression of women occasioned by the patriarchal religions of the Judeo-Christian heritage.Item SOFT POWER OF INTERNATIONAL NEWS MEDIA: AMERICAN AUDIENCES’ PERCEPTIONS OF CHINA’S COUNTRY IMAGE MEDIATED BY TRUST IN NEWS(2017) Yuan, Yacong; Yaros, Ronald A.; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This experimental study explores the concept of “soft power” in the context of international news management and concepts that may influence soft power, such as trust in news. Specifically, this study investigated how a news source (Chinese versus American) and the valence of a news story (positive versus negative news) affect an audience’s perception of a country’s image along with several dimensions. Theories on social categorization from psychology and image management theory from public relations were synthesized with branding and international politics in a cross-cultural communication context. Hypotheses predicted that positive images or “soft power” for a foreign country would be mediated by the audience’s perceived trust in news coverage. Results suggested that regardless of the source or valence of a news story, the aspects of China’s image in the contexts of responsibility and leadership - were enhanced significantly by mere exposure to news about China. However, positive news about China did not always work in favor of the country’s image. When comparing effects of source, negative news about China from a Chinese source enhanced Americans’ perceived image of China as a socially responsible country while the identical news story presented with a U.S. news source had little effect. American participants also perceived negative news stories to be more objective (regardless of its source). Finally, American participants perceived the American news source as more accurate and objective as compared to when the identical news story was presented with a Chinese media source.Item Can photojournalism enhance public engagement with climate change?(2017) Margueritte Nurmis, Joanna Paulina; Oates, Sarah A; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)News photographs have the potential to influence public engagement, affecting awareness and attitude, and leading the public not only to be better informed but more emotionally engaged with important issues relating to the common good. News photographs are particularly well suited to communicating about international issues across borders, since they rely on an understanding that may be culturally bound, but does not require discursive interpetation. Alongside war, terrorism, and poverty, climate change is an issue of undeniable scope and import at this threshold “last chance” moment to avoid catastrophic warming – commonly thought of as 2 degrees above historical average temperature. This dissertation asks how photojournalism frames climate change and what potential news images hold for engaging the public with climate change. The mixed methods approach adopted throughout the thesis allows for a multifaceted view of the visual framing of climate change. After discussing the current state of research in this burgeoning and highly active field, I investigated a particularly pervasive visual frame, called here “the apocalyptic sublime.” This frame is described in detail, a set of criteria to identify it is provided, and occurrences of it on front pages of national newspapers are discussed. In the second research component, I conducted a series of 14 interviews with Californian and national photo editors yielding insight into the decision-making process that results in the existing visual framing of climate change in newspaper photography as predominantly aesthetics-driven and focusing mainly on the adverse impacts of climate change, rather than the root causes or the possible solutions. Third, I carried out a content analysis of 500 social media shared images of climate change in California, showing that climate change is deeply embedded in people’s everyday lives, and that mitigation behaviors are inextricable from self-promotion. Finally, an experimental study of the effect of certain attributes of climate change news photos was conducted online, with 161 participants. Post-test survey results were partly inconclusive and partly unexpected, calling for more detailed future research into image effects, especially the effects of an “apocalyptic sublime” frame. The work aims both to decipher the challenges and pitfalls of photographic communication about climate change and to provide a resource for media practitioners who wish to make the most judicious, informed, and context-conscious choices in their use of climate news images. Beyond this particular pressing issue, applications can be found in broader visual communication about issues of public importance.Item Political blogs and the changing discourse of public persuasive communication: A textual analysis of pre-primary coverages of 2016 U.S. Presidential Elections(2016) Pattanayak, Saswat; McAdams, Katherine C; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the weeks leading to the primary of 2016 U.S. Presidential elections, the blogosphere was filled with new kinds of informal ramblings and profanities rarely witnessed in public discourses. The present study undertook content (textual) analysis of blogs and traditional news articles to examine a few research questions: If there were any noticeable shifts in languages and discourse of traditional news that seem to reflect the blogosphere; if the comparisons between blogs and traditional news indicate shifts in journalistic norms; the characteristics of intersecting relationship between traditional journalism and blogs; the possible impacts of blogs on journalistic standards of objectivity; and in the final analysis, in what ways does the influence of the blogosphere appears to be reflected in the headlines and language of non-blog journalism texts, whether overt or more implicit. The study analyzes 300 news items and indicates that blogs and traditional media have an influence on one another in unanticipated ways. In conclusion, it encourages continuous explication of changing norms in news coming from, and influencing, alternative media. The study also proposes the “Blogosphere Model” following critical analysis of the mass media historiography.Item Augmented Dissent: The Affordances of ICTs for Citizen Protest (A Case Study of the Ukraine Euromaidan Protests of 2013-2014).(2016) Lokot, Tetyana; Oates, Sarah; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation research project uses the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine to inform and shape a theory of augmented dissent to help explain the complex ways in which protest participants guided by the political, social, and cultural contexts engage in dissent augmented by ICTs in a reality where both the physical and the digital are used in concert. The purpose of this research is to conceptualize the use and perception of ICTs in protest activity using the communicative affordances framework. Through a mixed-method research approach involving interviews with protest participants, as well as qualitative and thematic analysis of online content from social media pages of several key Euromaidan protest communities, the research project examines the role ICTs played in the information and media landscape during the Euromaidan protest. The findings of the online content analysis were used to inform the questions for the 59 semi-structured, open-ended interviews with Euromaidan protest participants in Ukraine and abroad. The research findings provide in-depth insights about how ICTs were used and perceived by protest participants, and their role as vehicles for information and civic media content. The study employs the theoretical framework of social media affordances to interpret the data gathered during the interviews and content analysis to better understand how digital media augmented citizens’ protest activity through affording them new possibilities for dissent, and how they made meaning of said protest activity as augmented by ICTs. The findings contribute towards shaping a theory of digitally augmented dissent that conceptualizes the complex relationship between citizens and ICTs during protest activity as an affordance-driven one, where online and offline tools and activity merge into a unified dissent space and extend or augment the possibilities for action in interesting, and sometimes unexpected ways. Such a conceptual model could inform broader theories about civic participation and digital activism in the post-Soviet world and beyond, as ICTs become an inseparable part of civic life.Item Elements of Disbelief: A Case Study of 9/11 Truthers and the Persistence of Misinformation in the Digital Age(2014) McIntyre, James Jon; Chinoy, Ira H; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This thesis examines the essential question: "Do facts matter?" By analyzing the persistence of false beliefs surrounding the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon and the resiliency of alternative counterfactual narratives, this thesis attempts to bring about a better understanding of why myths and misinformation persist so long after clear evidence and common sense would seem to discredit them. The perspective includes the author's personal experience as inadvertent grist for the mill of conspiracy theorists, those who call themselves "9/11 truthers." While it has certainly always been the case that false beliefs can become commonly held misconceptions, this thesis will argue that the Internet has served as a "force-multiplier," giving some nonsensical beliefs virtual eternal life. But the Internet also can, and often does, serve a corrective function, through crowd-sourcing and fact-checking. Still, the question of the efficacy and persuasiveness of fact-based reporting is paramount if one believes a healthy and functioning democracy depends on a well-informed citizenry, and that journalists play a vital, sometimes unique, role in informing the public.Item WHAT'S IN A "LIKE"? INFLUENCE OF NEWS AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT ON THE DELIBERATION OF PUBLIC OPINION IN THE DIGITAL PUBLIC SPHERE.(2014) Oh, Soo-Kwang; Steiner, Linda; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation is a mixed methods study of the influence of the "like" feature on how people discuss and understand online news. Habermas's notion of the public sphere was that an inclusive, all-accessible and non-discriminating forum enables participants to deliberate on topics of concern. With increased interactivity and connectivity introduced by new media, commenting features have been heralded as a means to expand and accommodate discussions from audiences. In particular, by allowing people to provide feedback to each other's ideas via "up-voting" and indicating popular "top" comments, the "like" button shows promise to be a quick and convenient way to increase participation and represent public opinion. This dissertation, however, questions whether this is true. It raises concerns about the new media landscape, asking whether the resulting digital culture helps in the proper functioning of the public sphere. To address these questions, this dissertation adopts a mixed methods approach consisting of the following: 1) Framing analysis of "top" comments and sub-comments that were posted in response to articles about recent presidential elections, examining how audiences' framing of issues influences discussions and what strategies were used to increase "likable" traits; 2) ranking analysis of chronological order, testing whether chronological order of comments is a significant factor for number of "likes," regardless of content; 3) controlled experiment, testing assumptions about cognitive and behavioral responses from individuals regarding the "like" feature and how they perceive public opinion; and 4) focus group sessions with college student news audiences and interviews with media professionals, making in-depth inquiry about people's attitudes and perceptions of "likes." Furthermore, this dissertation paid attention to cultural differences, and compared the U.S. to Korea, with its advanced information technologies and highly utilized online commenting forums. Findings from each of the four methods as well as triangulation of the results showed that "likes" and "top" comments influence people's perceptions of public opinion. The problem was that these "top" comments were "liked" due to certain "likability" factors that had nothing to do with substantive issues and contributed little to the discussion. Also, avid commenters and "likers" tended to hold more extreme viewpoints, therefore promoting skewed perspectives. Moreover, the "top" comments may suggest priority of the ideas promoted in those top comments over others, thus hindering a full deliberation on topics in the public sphere. Across the findings, intercultural differences in both perspectives and behaviors were observed between U.S. and Korean data. Specifically, Korean participants showed higher susceptibility to "likes" and various characteristics regarding "likable" factors as well as "top" comments. The ideals of the public sphere can and will be important for how public opinion can be garnered in the digital setting. Nonetheless, this dissertation posits that the public sphere functions differently in the digital environment and thus its parameters and concepts need to be rethought. Because the public sphere is an abstract ideal, it lacks practicality and adaptability; it requires additional theorization based on cultural differences, various contexts under which audiences' new engagement take place, and rapidly changing technologies and modes of usage within digital culture.Item DIGITAL ROOMS OF THEIR OWN: WOMEN'S VOICES ONLINE ABOUT THE POLITICS OF WOMEN, FAMILY AND MATERNITY IN FOUR WESTERN DEMOCRACIES(2014) Eckert, Stine; Steiner, Linda; Chadha, Kalyani; Journalism; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation examined the experiences of 109 women with varying backgrounds who blog or write online about the politics of women, family and maternity in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland. This dissertation argues that a broader definition of what counts as political needs to be applied to the voices of women online to capture their political expressions in Western democracies. An analysis of in-depth interviews found that 84 percent of interviewees considered their blogging to be political. A statistically significant relationship was found to exist between women bloggers/writers online who identified as feminist and who considered their blogging to be political. Rather than categorizing the personal styles of women who blog/write online (in and outside my sample) as "just" "personal journaling," the fluidity of topics they address needs to be recognized as a feature of fluid public clusters online, which are tied to their lives offline. This dissertation argues that it is necessary to amend the theories of public spheres to capture the political expressions and experiences of women who use social media to write about their concerns publicly. This dissertation suggests a new theory of fluid public clusters. This new theory expands on the idea of a multitude of publics rather than the often-criticized singularity of the original Habermasian public sphere. It emphasizes that publics are messy, overlapping and changing over time. It also highlights that offline social hierarchies of power and identities migrate online. This dissertation concludes that national contexts shape the expressions of women bloggers/writers online and that these were particularly apparent in the fluid public clusters that were salient in each country. One key finding was that Switzerland differed significantly from the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. In the latter three countries women - across a wide variety of backgrounds - have (or at least are not denied) ample opportunities to make their voices heard. In Switzerland, women's voices online have been constrained in number and range of perspectives to center around traditional understandings of motherhood while feminist/progressive views remain rare. While 73 percent of interviewees said they had negative experiences due to blogging/writing online, all 109 interviewees said they had at least one positive experience due to blogging/writing online. These included personal, professional and, in some cases, also commercial benefits. Interviewees cherished having a digital room of their own to write what they want in a space for which they set the rules. Interviewees dealt with negative experiences mostly on a personal level, as police, state and lawmakers have been slow in recognizing and prosecuting online discrimination and abuse leveled against women. Positive experiences are nearly guaranteed but negative interactions remain and are more likely to happen to women who identify as feminists and/or say that their writing is political. This dissertation offers insights into the discourse among women about the democratization of democracies via social media. Seventy-two percent of interviewees remained skeptical about the democratic potential of social media. Most interviewees had concerns about internet access, internet literacy, online harassment and which voices get heard or amplified. Yet, interviewees also shared examples of starting or contributing to (national) public debates over issues of their concern. The democratic potential of social remains haphazard. Finally, this dissertation argues that women, who have been under-represented and misrepresented in (news) media content and production, need to keep blogging, tweeting and writing online. By doing so, women will tap into the haphazard democratic potential of social media. This will make Western democracies more democratic. To encourage women to blog, this dissertation offers recommendations to women on managing blogs/sites (safely).
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