A Textual Analysis of Online Newspapers Readers' Comments on the Coverage of Chibok School Girls Kidnap

This paper analyzes the comments of online newspapers readers' comments on the Chibok secondary school girls' kidnap. Public Deliberation Theory, an offshoot of Habermas concept of the 'public sphere' was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. The researcher used Mckeess post-structuralist approach and made educated guesses about the contextual meaning of the comments. Online versions of two newspapers, Daily Trust and Vanguard were used as the stimulus for the study. Data for the study were compiled over a three week period through purposive sampling technique. Findings revealed that online comments are often influenced by ethnic, religious and cultural affiliations. Also, banality, frustration and hostility are present in the tones of commenters. Keywords: Internet, Public Sphere, Commenters, Online Newspaper, MainstreamMedia

A Textual Analysis of Online Newspapers Readers' Comments on the Coverage of Chibok School Girls Kidnap

This paper analyzes the comments of online newspapers readers' comments on the Chibok secondary school girls' kidnap. Public Deliberation Theory, an offshoot of Habermas concept of the 'public sphere' was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. The researcher used Mckeess post-structuralist approach and made educated guesses about the contextual meaning of the comments. Online versions of two newspapers, Daily Trust and Vanguard were used as the stimulus for the study. Data for the study were compiled over a three week period through purposive sampling technique. Findings revealed that online comments are often influenced by ethnic, religious and cultural affiliations. Also, banality, frustration and hostility are present in the tones of commenters. Keywords: Internet, Public Sphere, Commenters, Online Newspaper, MainstreamMedia

SPARC 2019 Fake news & home truths : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2019 SPARC conference. This year we not only celebrate the work of our PGRs but also our first ever Doctoral School Best Supervisor awards, which makes this year’s conference extra special. Once again we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 90 presenters, the conference truly showcases a vibrant, innovative and collaborative PGR community at Salford. These abstracts provide a taster of the inspiring, relevant and impactful research in progress, and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. Find an abstract that interests you, and say “Hello” to the author. Who knows what might result from your conversation? With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. To meet global challenges, high impact research needs interdisciplinary collaboration. This is recognised and rewarded by all major research funders. Engaging with the work of others and forging collaborations across subject areas is an essential skill for the next generation of researchers. Even better, our free ice cream van means that you can have those conversations while enjoying a refreshing ice lolly

Assessing the Effects of Celebrity Endorsements of Political Parties: an Empirical Study of Nigerian 2019 Presidential Elections

This research aims to examine the impact of celebrity endorsement on Political Parties and its influence on electorates to vote for a particular Party's candidate. The mediating role of Political Brand Credibility (PBC) and Political Brand Equity (PBE) towards Voting Intention (VI) relationships were also examined. The study's conceptual framework was developed using The Source Credibility, The Associative Network Memory Model, and the Brand Signalling Theory. Primary survey data was collected online and analysed through Structural Equation Modelling. Findings suggest that Endorser Credibility has a direct positive significant relationship with Political Brand Credibility. However, there is no significant direct correlation between Endorser Credibility and Political Brand Equity and Voting Intention. Nevertheless, indirect relationship was established. Findings from the study has proven that the endorsement of celebrities alone does not necessarily influence electorates to vote for political candidates, rather the Credibility of the Party and its Equity play a pivotal role with regards to the Voting Intention of voters. Practically, this study has given us insights into the endorsement of celebrities of political candidates, which the Political Party leaders should consider before bringing on board any celebrity to endorse their candidates. Future research opportunity and limitations were also discussed. &nbsp