Identifying the Bargaining Values of a Digital Movement

The idea for this column started with a tweet. Both of us are active on Twitter, the social media website where users can share messages, or tweets, of 140 characters or less. While Twitter has swept around the world, a small but growing fraction of scientists are using it to establish collaborations or exchange information. More importantly, side effects of Twitter include a narrowing of the gaps between academic or industrial scientists, a burgeoning movement of science communicators, and a public very interested in science and technology. As the saying goes: we're here to help. We propose that scientific publications include a short section, akin to the acknowledgments at the end, which lists several outreach activities related to the paper. These could be new resources that the authors have created, or existing resources that are related to the paper's subject(s) - the goal is to reach out across that gap and help non-expert readers understand the work. Yes, we know that writing a paper is hard enough. But if publishing scientists don't continue to help non-scientists (or even non-specialists in our areas) engage with our work, then disturbing trends will continue. Right now many of us bemoan the lack of science coverage in mainstream media - if we don't constantly work to translate our science, the coverage will continue to disappear. In addition, we will fail to give non-experts the tools and resources that will help them understand research and fact-check suspicious claims. Publishing scientists will also be increasingly unable to compete successfully against other demands for either governmental or philanthropic funds. Engagement even allows us to understand our own work better. If scientists can't summarize their work in a one-minute elevator pitch or in a phone call to their family, our experience suggests they'll have a harder time keeping pace with their peers. Increasing numbers of grant proposals require a section on education or outreach; our proposal could help you find the materials - or inspiration - you need for your next funding application. Finding material for this section will not be as difficult as you might think: many scientists may not be aware that the past few years have seen an explosion in high-quality, multimedia resources in science communication. Consider the 2012 Flame Challenge, hosted by the Center for Science Communication in NY, USA and the actor Alan Alda. Participants were challenged to explain with scientific accuracy, but speaking to an 11-year-old, what exactly a flame is. Entries included written text, videos, graphics and animations (viewable at http://flamechallenge.org/). The winning entry is definitely worth a watch and ends with a rocking chorus of pyrolysis - chemiluminescence - oxidation - incandescence in front of both molecular-block diagrams of the process and a guitar-playing Lucifer. Not exactly a paper in a high-profile journal, but scientifically accurate and more likely to be retained in the mind of an 11-year-old.

Social media are often perceived as platforms enabling more direct connection between politicians and citizens. While there is certainly potential for this, it is also important to investigate how these social media platforms are impacting the role and working of the mainstream media. While media logic is a well-studied phenomenon, less is known about social media logic. This contribution questions to what extent social media alter politicians’ dependency on mainstream media and/or generate new dependencies. Social media, in this context, are considered as non-neutral platforms, which are distinct from, yet interact with, mainstream media. The research presented draws on a qualitative approach focusing on the analysis of politicians’ use of Facebook and Twitter, including in-depth interviews with them about their social media behavior. We are particularly interested in how social media function and are perceived in relation to the politicians’ campaigning objectives. In this context, specific attention is given to the use of social media and (1) mainstream media coverage; (2) virality on social media; (3) the power of “likes”; (4) content as a process; and (5) the selectivity of audiences. Despite the “small data” approach and the exploratory character of the research presented within this chapter, our analysis does enable us to reflect upon the interdependencies that the hybrid media ecology produces.

Social media, such as blogs, are often seen as democratic entities that allow more voices to be heard than the conventional mainstream media as well as a balancing force against the arguably slanted elite media. A systematic comparison between social and mainstream media is necessary but challenging due to the scale and dynamic nature of modern communication. We propose empirical measures to quantify the extent and dynamics of social (blog) and mainstream (news) media bias. We focus on a particular form of bias|coverage quantity|as applied to stories about the 111th US Congress. We compare observed coverage of Members of Congress against a null model of unbiased coverage, testing for biases with respect to political party, popular front runners, regions of the country, and more. Our measures suggest distinct characteristics in news and blog media. A simple generative model, in agreement with data, reveals differences in the process of coverage selection between the two media.

Although the theory of agenda-setting is a pillar of political communication research, understanding the dynamics of public attention remains an important challenge as the communication system becomes increasingly fragmented. The development of ideologically oriented niche media and the ability of the mainstream media to carefully track the interests of their audience suggest that both public interest and niche media attention to an issue could affect the mainstream media’s agenda itself. We develop and test the theory of agenda-uptake to isolate when mainstream media influences both public and niche media attention to issues and when public interest and niche media attention influence the mainstream media to cover an issue. Analyzing mainstream and niche media coverage along with Google Trends individual search data for 4 issues in 2008, we provide evidence that the dynamics of agenda-uptake are crucial to understanding the character and content of the information environment in the 21st century.

INTRODUCTION Using a known platform to share content which is often overlooked by scholarly communication networks, The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) LibGuide from the University of New Mexico Libraries facilitates access to Native American perspectives on the #NODAPL movement through inclusion of social media content and primary source materials. This LibGuide highlights Native American voices and stories, content that is difficult for people outside Native American communities to find and shares a different view of the protest movement absent from most mainstream media coverage. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT Rather than a comprehensive listing, a majority of the guide content comes from Native American media outlets and Native American social media accounts by individuals and groups instead of library resources behind paywalls. Non-Native mainstream and alternative media sources are listed if authored by a Native American or if much of the source features a named individual using first-hand accounts. The DAPL LibGuide is the most viewed guide at UNM and was replicated at a small number of other academic libraries. NEXT STEPS Libraries can support the democratic process by highlighting similar types of community created content shared outside of scholarly communication networks, giving space to voices regularly unheard. The DAPL guide may be considered, along with similar social justice and topical guides as the beginnings of a new model which reimagines the possibilities of the LibGuide resource.

The spread of health misinformation poses a threat to public health as it can influence individuals’ health beliefs and, potentially, behaviors, and their support for public health policies. The mainstream news media have the potential to inadvertently increase the salience of misinformation through their reporting. This study explores the agenda-setting effects of mainstream news media coverage on public salience of public health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed the association between news media coverage and public salience – as measured by Google Trends relative search volume – of three different pieces of COVID-19 misinformation: (1) hydroxychloroquine is a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19; (2) the COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility; and (3) ivermectin is a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19. We plotted news coverage of each piece of misinformation against Google Trends relative search volume over time. Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were used to account for autocorrelation and analyze the relationship between the two time series. News media coverage volume was a significant predictor of same-day relative search volume for hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. The relationship between news media coverage and searches for COVID-19 vaccines and infertility was not significant. These findings indicate mainstream news media coverage may contribute to the public salience of misinformation. Mainstream media outlets should contextualize their reporting on misinformation with verification from scientific consensus.

Social Media and Newsroom Production Decisions

In recent years, mainstream media coverage has integrated mobile social networking and micro-blogging tools such as Facebook and Twitter. These interactive communication channels have transformed our interpersonal relationships as well as our links with organizations and content including news and entertainment. In particular, our experience of the news has become mediated through these platforms. These tools have transformed one-way transmission channels into two-way interactive media. While there has been significant discussion of the role of online forums, listservs and blogs as arenas for democratic participation and citizen journalism, there has been less analysis of how micro-blogging social networking tools are transforming the social practices around news and information. Drawing on James Carey’s ritual view of communications, this chapter will analyze the role of these tools in the experience of our daily lives as well as our consumption of news and participation in significant media events of our time. First, this chapter will describe the changing habits of individual users in their daily news rituals. Second, this chapter will describe the ways in which news is represented on Facebook and Twitter as well as how these channels are reintegrated with mainstream media broadcasts. Third, this chapter will describe the use of CNN’s Facebook plug-in during political media events such as the 2008 Presidential election and the Obama inauguration in 2009. Finally, this chapter will recommend future directions for the use of mobile social networking in mainstream media coverage.

Research Article| July 01 2011 “Instants of Truth”: The “Kill Team” Photos and the Depravity of Aesthetics Henry A. Giroux Henry A. Giroux HENRY A. GIROUX holds the Global TV Network Chair Professorship at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Afterimage (2011) 39 (1-2): 4–8. https://doi.org/10.1525/aft.2011.39.1-2.4 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Henry A. Giroux; “Instants of Truth”: The “Kill Team” Photos and the Depravity of Aesthetics. Afterimage 1 July 2011; 39 (1-2): 4–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/aft.2011.39.1-2.4 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAfterimage Search This content is only available via PDF. © 2011 Afterimage/Visual Studies Workshop, unless otherwise noted. Reprints require written permission and acknowledgement of previous publication in Afterimage.2011 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

This chapter attempts to unfold the trend and nature of mainstream and social media coverage on mental health issues in Nepal through suicide case of Yama Buddha, a popular musician. Using the securitization theory and concepts of threat construction and threat neutralization, major findings through content analysis and key informant interviews reveal reputed mainstream media following cautious route towards threat neutralization and therefore, maintaining a level of journalistic professionalism. However, especially in the other online media, blogs, and other social media, there were sensationalist words and tone used to attract the audience, triggering various sorts of emotional responses, thereby fulfilling the act of securitization. Major recommendations from this chapter include more awareness and understanding about the nature and type of mental health problems; capacity building of journalists and media professionals to better understand and report on mental health problems; development and proper implementation of media guidelines on reporting mental health issues.

Social media have become central to the organizational and logistic dynamics in contemporary social contention. Not only have they eased centralized processes of information sharing between social movement entrepreneurs and social movement publics, they have also bolstered the crowdsourced management of public discussion around social contention. This article investigates the use of social media for public reasoning around issues related to social contention. By investigating Twitter streams with reference to the Italian chapter of the 15 October 2011 polycentric protest for global change, this study specifically addresses the use of this medium in the aftermath of protest events of high impact for the general public. The quantitative analysis of longitudinal progression, networking mechanisms and processes of meaning construction in over 8000 tweets shows that Twitter does bolster public reasoning around social contention. It does so as a news medium rather than a conversational platform, primarily providing a space to share information alternative to that available in mainstream media coverage.

The emergence of the term new media is very closely related to the presence of the internet in human life. Even though in its development, new media is not only limited to the Internet, but the Internet is a tool or media that is used in the era of new media, such as in the events of Bela Islam 212 in Indonesia. The Islamic defense action is known as the Gerakan 212 in coverage in many secular mainstream media and community media among diverse Muslims. The Gerakan Bela Islam 212 was later appreciated as a peaceful act. That is because the action was demonstrated through such a large mass mobilization. This study aims to analyze and study how the dominance of the Internet in public spaces over the spread of discourse on the 212 Islamic movements in Indonesia. The results of this study found that the Internet and social media are new media, with its users able to easily participate, share, and create new spaces in distributing news and discourse on Gerakan Bela Islam 212. Stable Internet penetration and also the use of media networks online is a form of social control tool in a democratic system. Social media is considered capable of mobilizing the masses of the Gerakan Bela Islam 212 in Indonesia to be actively involved and present at the Jakarta Monas. This proves that the Internet dominates public spaces related to the issue of reporting and discourse of Islamic action by the use of social media networks.

Homonationalism, the instrumentalization of LGBTI acceptance for nationalist, xenophobic, or Islamophobic purposes, has become widespread in Flanders. This dissertation sets out to investigate homonationalism through the lens of journalism, investigating its characteristics and prevalence in a mediatized context. This dissertation engages with the notion of inclusive journalism to analyze journalistic practices regarding LGBTI topics. Chapter 1 sets out to provide a comprehensive view of the Flemish media landscape regarding LGBTI topics by analyzing 1,570 articles published by thirteen Flemish news outlets in 2021. To this end, an inductive framing analysis was combined with quantitative content analysis. The findings indicate that most articles are framed inclusively, but also demonstrated the large share of homonationalist frames. Chapter 2 provides a critical discourse analysis of othering discourses in mainstream and alternative news media coverage of an alleged homophobic murder in March 2021. This study highlights the differences between mainstream media, which anchor the gay-friendly position of Belgium, and right-wing alternative media, that extend this discourse with overt Islamophobia. Chapter 3 features a thematic analysis of 1,127 user comments under articles of PAL NWS, a far-right medium that frequently positions LGBTI topics in a culture war discourse. This chapter highlights how homonationalism and LGBTI-phobia coincide and even reinforce each other, resulting in discriminatory discourses about Muslims and non-homonormative LGBTI people. Chapter 4 moves away from news content and investigates how journalists view their role in inclusive coverage, and how they reconcile this with notions of objectivity. Through seventeen semi-structured interviews, this study shows that perspectives between journalists differ between an objectivity model, an inclusivity model, and an advocacy model. This chapter also lists three challenges to more inclusive coverage: implementing guidelines, providing room for reflexivity, and removing intersectional shortcomings. Taken together, the findings underscore the critical role of journalism in shaping public discourse on LGBTI issues and the importance of inclusive journalistic practices. The presence of homonationalist discourses in mainstream media highlights the need for ongoing critical scrutiny and the promotion of alternative narratives that challenge exclusionary ideologies. Additionally, the investigation into journalistic practices reveals that fostering inclusivity requires a commitment to reflecting diverse perspectives and addressing social justice issues comprehensively.

This study aimed to explore the coverage of different news categories in daily Dawn and Twitter. For comparative content analysis of news coverage, the researcher drew upon two news categories: econo-political news, and socio-cultural news. The econo-political news category was further divided into three subcategories: national politics, international politics, and economics. The socio-cultural category was divided into five sub-categories: health, education, arts, sports, and environment. The ‘priming’ in agenda setting theory paved the way for the researcher to explore the dominant news categories. For daily Dawn, the headlines of news stories published in February were selected. For twitter, all top trends in the month of February between 11am to 8 pm daily were recorded; they were accessed via an online website. The data was divided into four weeks. The comparative analysis supported both hypotheses: the results indicated that mainstream media gives more coverage to econo-political affairs than social media; whereas, social media is better at highlighting socio-cultural issues than mainstream media.

Neo-Gnosticism and the American Dissident Right