User experiences with editorial control in online newspaper comment fields

This article investigates user experiences with editorial control in online newspaper comment fields following the public backlash against online comments after the 2011 terror attacks in Norway. We analyze data from a survey of online news consumers focusing on experiences and attitudes towards editorial control set against a spectrum between “interventionist” and “noninterventionist” positions. Results indicate that interventionist respondents rate the quality of online comments as poor, whereas noninterventionist respondents have most often experienced being the target of editorial control measures and feel that editorial control has intensified after the terror attacks. We conclude that newspapers should pay attention to the different needs of participants when devising strategies for editorial control. Media professionals should also consider changes to increase the transparency of moderation practices

Contesting the Mainstream:Understanding Alternative News Media and Its Contribution to Diversity

In this introduction to the special issue Contesting the Mainstream: Understanding Alternative News Media, we discuss how and to what extent alternative news media contribute to news diversity. We elaborate on the concept of diversity, the democratic role of media, and the normative implications of alternative media in the wider media sphere. Based on the articles published in this special issue, that offer new and revealing empirical insights into a wide range of alternative media sites and their practices, from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North America, and Latin America, we argue that it becomes increasingly clear that awareness about normative positions within alternative media research is imperative. This is because an appreciation of the normative purpose of alternative media guides our ability to understand their role in society. The necessity for thinking through such positions is particularly exemplified by the most radical alternative media actors, and how they are debated and studied in different political systems

‘Friends call me racist’: Experiences of repercussions from writing comments on newspaper websites

acceptedVersio

Media ownership regulation: global trends and national solutions : a comparative analysis of the regulations regimes in Norway and South Africa

The focus of this thesis is directed at media ownership regulation. It forwards normative principles used to legitimise ownership regulation and places these within a distinction between societal and industry regulation. The thesis presents the argument that there is a tendency on a global level, following processes of globalisation and convergence, that ownership regulation legitimised on industrial perspectives is taking prevalence over regulation with a societal orientation. On an analytical level two objectives are forwarded. First, it carries out an analysis aiming to see if there has been a shift from societal regulation to industry regulation in South African media ownership regulation. Then it conducts a comparative analysis where the outcome of the analysis is discussed with research on Norwegian media ownership regulation, done by Åse Kringstad (2004). The thesis forwards the argument that while developments, recognised by convergence and globalisation, have made regulation regimes in Norway and South Africa move towards industrial principles, regulation is still predominantly based on national concerns of a societal nature

Folkejournalistikk i NRK – redaksjonelle valg og utøvelse av kontroll

Abstract A central aim within the field of public journalism is to include the views of «ordinary» people and to let them take part in the agenda-setting process. In this article, I examine the execution of control within an editorial department that produced a discussion programme based on the participation of ordinary people. The article points to challenges for the editorial staff in terms of the level of control that can take place within a public journalistic project through looking at the selection processes behind the themes discussed and the participants chosen to be part of the panel

Chapter 13. Right-wing alternative media in the Scandinavian political communication landscape

The competition to set the public agenda has become increasingly tough. In this chapter, we explore the role of right-wing alternative media. This kind of news provider constitutes a relatively modest, but distinct, actor in the Scandinavian political communication landscape. Several sites have managed to gain attention through successful social media strategies and controversial reporting, often focusing on topics like immigration, crime, and Islam. In this chapter, we outline how alternative media are conceptualised and theorised in the literature, and how the boundaries between professional and alternative media are drawn and negotiated. Pointing to studies conducted in a Nordic context, we outline key characteristics of the right-wing alternative media scene in Scandinavia. From a research perspective, we argue that there are notable challenges associated with research on right-wing alternative media which are particularly related to fluidity, moving targets, and methodological limitations

Policy windows and converging frames: a longitudinal study of digitalization and media policy change

This study analyzes how media industry players have influenced media political solutions to digitalization, using data from the daily press and policy documents in the period from 1998 to 2017 as sources. It concentrates on two specific areas of media policy: public service broadcasting (PSB) and press subsidies. Based on a media policy field approach, this study identifies key collective frames and the players that promote them, and shows how policy windows are created. The study finds that there is strong continuity in terms of the basic frames used to discuss media policy and in the actors involved in creating collective frames, which means that the incumbents maintain their positions. Converging frames that include several industry problems are activated to an increasing degree to initiate and influence media policy actions.Policy windows and converging frames: a longitudinal study of digitalization and media policy chang

“What we write is used against us”: The participants' views on tightened control in online debate after the Oslo terrorist attacks

This paper investigates the participants' experience of changes in the editorial control with online debate after the 22 July 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway. Through a large-scale web survey and in-depth interviews with a small group of respondents it is uncovered that a majority of the respondents experience a tightening of editorial control, and a reduction in their freedom to participate in the debate. The participants express suspicion and a lack of understanding of the moderation policies of the newspapers, indicating a need for the media organisations to improve the transparency of moderating practices towards participants. Furthermore, participants express a strong preference for being able to comment anonymously, and fear of potential repercussions if being forced to use their real names when commenting, indicating that taking away the possibility to be anonymous may curb participation in online debate

EXPERIENCES OF REPERCUSSIONS FROM PARTICIPATION IN ONLINE DEBATE

Based on data from a survey among contributors (n=3470) to the online comments sections of four Norwegian newspapers, we investigate the following research question: How do contributors to online comments sections in newspaper websites describe their experiences of repercussions from participation in debates? Through analysis of two survey questions asking respondents whether they have experienced problems in everyday life after participating in online comments, we find that women to a larger degree report such problems. However, when studying the types of problems reported, we fail to replicate earlier findings about gender differences associated with different types of problems. Instead, we find a surprising dominance of relatively inconsequential issues, leading to a discussion about the communicative competencies of participants, and the challenge in facilitating online debate for people with limited knowledge and experience about what kind of repercussions to expect when posting controversial opinions in a public forum