91 research outputs found

    Online Audiences and Gatekeeping: User Comments and Their Infuence on Editorial Processes in Newsrooms in Kenya

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    In Kenyan newsrooms, there has been a debate about whether to keep the comment section on news websites in the aftermath of Social Media Networks, which allow the media to still collect user opinion without the risk of unregulated third-party comments. This paper sought to establish the nature and influence user comments have on editorial processes as well as explain what value media houses that have retained the comment section are receiving. To investigate this, the researchers adopted mixed methods research approach (quantitative and qualitative) and concurrent mixed methods research designs. The targeted population was journalists working in media houses that operate in print, broadcast, and digital news website in Nairobi County. The targeted media houses were: Nation Media Group (NMG), Standard Group (SG), and Radio Africa Group (RAG). Sample size comprised of 252 participants for quantitative data, 9 key informants for in-depth interviews, and 84 articles for direct content analysis. Survey and directed content analysis were used as strategies of inquiry. These strategies were aided by questionnaires, in – depth interviews, and code sheet as data generation tools.   Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM/SPSS) was used to analyse quantitative data. Quantitative data was presented using tables and pie-charts. Qualitative data was thematically analysed and presented in form of themes. The findings show that, contrary to popular belief, discussions in news website comment sections are frequently marred by incivility. Instead, the majority of the comments were deliberative in nature, with audience members just looking for a forum to express themselves in a civil manner. However, in cases where there were reported incidences of incivility, the sources quoted were the main trigger. Journalists have been shown to use user input in the comment section to gauge the quality of the content they produce, while media companies use audience knowledge to make strategic decisions. The results shed light on how newsrooms may give the public a platform to discuss and give their input on the news and still maintain deliberative debates

    Online Audiences and Gatekeeping: User Comments and Their Influence on Editorial Processes in Newsrooms in Kenya

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    In Kenyan newsrooms, there has been a debate about keeping the comment section on news websites in the aftermath of Social Media Networks. This allows the media to still collect user opinions without the risk of unregulated third-party comments. This paper sought to establish the nature and influence user comments have on editorial processes and explain what value media houses that have retained the comment section are receiving. To investigate this, the researchers adopted mixed methods research approach (quantitative and qualitative) and concurrent mixed methods research designs. The targeted population was journalists working in media houses that operate in print, broadcast, and digital news websites in Nairobi County. The targeted media houses were: Nation Media Group (NMG), Standard Group (SG), and Radio Africa Group (RAG). The sample size comprised 252 participants for quantitative data, nine key informants for in-depth interviews, and 84 articles for direct content analysis. Surveys and directed content analysis were used as strategies of inquiry. These strategies were aided by questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and code sheets as data generation tools.   Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM/SPSS) was used to analyse quantitative data. Quantitative data was presented using tables and pie charts. Qualitative data was thematically analysed and presented in the form of themes. Contrary to popular belief, the findings show that discussions in news website comment sections are frequently marred by incivility. Instead, most of the comments were deliberative, with audience members just looking for a forum to express themselves civilly. However, in cases with reported incidences of incivility, the sources quoted were the main trigger. Journalists have been shown to use user input in the comment section to gauge the quality of their content, while media companies use audience knowledge to make strategic decisions. The results shed light on how newsrooms may give the public a platform to discuss and give their input on the news while maintaining deliberative debates

    Online Audiences and Gatekeeping: User Comments and Their Infuence on Editorial Processes in Newsrooms in Kenya

    Get PDF
    In Kenyan newsrooms, there has been a debate about whether to keep the comment section on news websites in the aftermath of Social Media Networks, which allow the media to still collect user opinion without the risk of unregulated third-party comments. This paper sought to establish the nature and influence user comments have on editorial processes as well as explain what value media houses that have retained the comment section are receiving. To investigate this, the researchers adopted mixed methods research approach (quantitative and qualitative) and concurrent mixed methods research designs. The targeted population was journalists working in media houses that operate in print, broadcast, and digital news website in Nairobi County. The targeted media houses were: Nation Media Group (NMG), Standard Group (SG), and Radio Africa Group (RAG). Sample size comprised of 252 participants for quantitative data, 9 key informants for in-depth interviews, and 84 articles for direct content analysis. Survey and directed content analysis were used as strategies of inquiry. These strategies were aided by questionnaires, in – depth interviews, and code sheet as data generation tools.   Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM/SPSS) was used to analyse quantitative data. Quantitative data was presented using tables and pie-charts. Qualitative data was thematically analysed and presented in form of themes. The findings show that, contrary to popular belief, discussions in news website comment sections are frequently marred by incivility. Instead, the majority of the comments were deliberative in nature, with audience members just looking for a forum to express themselves in a civil manner. However, in cases where there were reported incidences of incivility, the sources quoted were the main trigger. Journalists have been shown to use user input in the comment section to gauge the quality of the content they produce, while media companies use audience knowledge to make strategic decisions. The results shed light on how newsrooms may give the public a platform to discuss and give their input on the news and still maintain deliberative debates

    Narratological Limitations Of Telling Trauma: A Case Study Of Lorena Bobbitt And Sexual Assault

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    There are many barriers that women face when they tell their stories of sexual assault, namely—that they will not be believed. A number of factors hinder believability, many of them related to the broader relationship that narrative plays in our lives. Narrative expectation, cultivated by the texts we consume, shapes what we find believable or “tellable” in the words of scholar Amy Shuman. Difficult narratives are often rendered “untellable” because they contain unfamiliar patterns or because they fall outside recognizable frameworks of understanding. Sexual assault narratives are rendered untellable for many reasons, including social misunderstanding of the problem and the limitations imposed by trauma and PTSD which hinder a teller’s ability to impart a complete and cohesive narrative. Compounding these problems is the tendency of others to appropriate stories of sexual assault, sometimes for entertainment purposes. The flexible nature of narrative means that different versions of the same story may circulate at once, but audience expectation and social discourse will dictate which narrative is believed. The most believed version of a narrative is not always the most accurate. This dissertation explores the narratological limitations that women face when telling their stories of sexual assault, tracing the problems back to their discursive roots, then providing pedagogical approaches for addressing these problems. Using the Lorena Bobbitt story as a grounding case study, this dissertation analyzes the various barriers that Lorena faced while bringing those issues forward with contemporary case studies that mirror her struggle and reflect some of the current barriers to believability women face

    Technical assistance in the field of risk communication

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    This report assesses peer-reviewed and grey literature on risk communication concepts and practices, as requested by the European Commission to support the implementation of a ‘General Plan for Risk Communication’, i.e. an integrated framework for EU food safety risk assessors and risk managers at Union and national level, as required by the revised EU General Food Law Regulation. We conducted a scoping review of social research studies and official reports in relation to risk communication in the following areas: understanding and awareness of risk analysis roles and tasks, reducing misunderstanding of the different meaning of the terms ‘hazard’ and ‘risk’, tackling misinformation and disinformation, enhancing confidence in EU food safety, taking account of risk perceptions, key factors in trade-offs about risks, audience segmentation and tools, channels and mechanisms for coordinated risk communications. We structured our findings as follows: i) definitions of key concepts, ii) audience analysis and information requirements, iii) risk profiling, models and mechanisms, iv) contributions to communication strategies. We make several recommendations for consideration by the Commission, both in terms of actions to support the design and implementation of the general plan, and research needs that we consider crucial to further inform appropriate risk communication in the EU. EFSA carried out a targeted consultation of experts and a public consultation open to all interested parties including the general public, in preparing and finalising this report

    Powerful Prose: How Textual Features Impact Readers

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    What makes a reading experience »powerful«? This volume brings together literary scholars, linguists, and empirical researchers who tackle the question by investigating the effects and reader responses generated by selected extracts of literary prose. The twelve contributions theorize this widely-used, but to date insufficiently studied notion, and provide insights into the therefore still mysterious-seeming power of literary fiction. The collection explores a variety of stylistic as well as readerly and psychological features responsible for short- and long-term effects - topics of great interest to those interested or specialized in literary studies and narratology, (cognitive) stylistics, empirical literary studies and reader response theory

    Small acts of audience engagement interrupting content flows

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    Chapter in Report; This report has been produced by the CEDAR network which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, to run between 2015-2018

    Powerful Prose

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    What makes a reading experience »powerful«? This volume brings together literary scholars, linguists, and empirical researchers to elucidate the effects and reader responses to investigate just that. The thirteen contributions theorize this widely-used, but to date insufficiently studied notion, and provide insights into the therefore still mysterious-seeming power of literary fiction. The collection investigates a variety of stylistic as well as readerly and psychological features responsible for short- and long-term effects - topics of great interest to those interested or specialized in literary studies and narratology, (cognitive) stylistics, empirical literary studies and reader response theory

    Divided by a common language : English across national, social, and cultural boundaries

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    Publikacja recenzowana / Peer-reviewed publicationZe wstępu: This monographic volume presents ten selected studies exploring the multiple interrelationships between language and the communities of speakers who sustain it, focusing on the various roles that language plays for its users, both native and non-native. On the empirical side of things, the studies included in this volume focus on the English language and its socio-cultural and educational contexts. The multifarious relationships between language and the communities of its users are addressed here from different perspectives and points of view. All the different threads fi nd their synthesis in the ways in which language, a carrier of culture and marker of national, social and cultural identity, refl ects the changes taking place in the communities using it as a tool for interpersonal communication, accumulation, storage and dissemination of information, social interactions, transmission of culture, and many other purposes, which are the focus of this volume. The diverse topics explored by the authors speak to the richness and complexity of the social and cultural meanings of language and the importance of questions of language ownership, language attitudes, and linguistic as well as cultural diversity

    Communication management: Theory and practice in the 21st century

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    The current volume “Communication Management: Theory and Practice in the 21st Century” consists of the articles presented at the international scientific conference of the same name, which was held in Sofia in June 2019. The event was organized by the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, in cooperation with the ECREA Central and East European Network and the CEECOM Consortium.Both the scientific forum and the current volume are dedicated to an important anniversary for the Bulgarian scientific and academic community – 45 years of the founding of the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication (FJMC) at the Sofia University as an independent academic unit with the aim to educate students in the fields of social communication, journalism and media
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