Authorship and context : writing and text production as situated activities

In this chapter, the authors examine the study of text production in relation to the ways that agency, author, and social context intersect, examining such questions as who are the agents of text production and how do they act in contemporary institutions of individual and organizational text production? In addition to outlining several related theoretical frameworks (Realist Social Theory, Activity Theory, Critical Discourse Analysis), the authors address the ways that research methodologies are inextricably linked to the theoretical perspectives informing them. Highlighting the interplay of socio-cultural contexts with authoring activities, the authors use two examples from the traditions of media linguistics and new literacy studies to address the ways that understanding context is crucial in analyzing and interpreting authors as agents of text production

“It’s a matter of age” : four dimensions of youths’ news consumption

News media in Switzerland are confronted with the challenge of not reaching young people, as youth-specific news platforms and formats are not used by the target group. Our study aims to determine how and where young people can be reached with news. It uses a mixed methods approach to analyze the expectations of young people towards news content and formats and to determine their news consumption patterns. The results show that young people’s news consumption is characterized by four dimensions: 1. duration and times of consumption, 2. news consumption habits and behavior, 3. restrictions, 4. media literacy. The significance of these dimensions varies between three age groups determined through the study. The news consumption of the 12-to-14 year-olds is strongly restricted by parents and school. This group consumes news mainly through media available at home. In the group of 15- to-17 year-olds, parental influence and restrictions decrease, while peer influence increases. This age group spends a lot of time on social media platforms where young people stumble upon news rather accidentally. Between 18 and 20 years of age, news consumption stabilizes, and individual patterns emerge. This age group accesses news via selected apps and social media channels. Young people in Switzerland prefer visual formats like pictures, videos, and memes. When scrolling through social media platforms, they come across news content which arouses their interest in certain information and leads them to search for it on media websites. Swiss Youth wants to be informed about relevant news or topics that are “in vogue”