More relevant today than ever: past, present and future of media performance research

Media performance is constitutive for functioning democracies. But what is the situation regarding media performance in the age of digitalisation? And how can media performance continue to be assured under the current difficult economic conditions for the news industry? In this essay, we give a short overview of how media performance research has developed from the introduction of private broadcasting to the spread of the Internet and social media. In the course of this development, the initial focus of media performance research on media content has broadened to include media quality from the user perspective. We show how the contributions to this thematic issue relate with existing lines of media performance research, but also add new facets to them. Finally, we point to the directions in which research on media performance should evolve in order to keep pace with current developments in the media market

Two Half-Truths Make a Whole? On Bias in Self-Reports and Tracking Data

The pervasive use of mobile information technologies brings new patterns of media usage, but also challenges to the measurement of media exposure. Researchers wishing to, for example, understand the nature of selective exposure on algorithmically driven platforms need to precisely attribute individuals’ exposure to specific content. Prior research has used tracking data to show that survey-based self-reports of media exposure are critically unreliable. So far, however, little effort has been invested into assessing the specific biases of tracking methods themselves. Using data from a multimethod study, we show that tracking data from mobile devices is linked to systematic distortions in self-report biases. Further inherent but unobservable sources of bias, along with potential solutions, are discussed

Why We Should Distinguish Between Mobilization and Participation When Investigating Social Media

In the recent past, social media has become a central channel and means for political and societal mobilization. Mobilization refers to the process by which political parties, politicians, social movements, activists, and other political and social actors induce citizens to participate in politics in order to win elections, convince others of their own positions, influence policies, and modify rulings. While not sufficient on its own for facilitating participation, mobilization is necessary for participation to occur, which justifies examining mobilization specifically to understand how people can be involved in politics. This thematic issue of Media and Communication presents various perspectives on the role of social media in mobilization, embracing both its recruitment side (traditional and non-established political actors, social and protest movements) and its network side (the ways citizens respond to mobilization appeals). Taken together, the thematic issue highlights the multifaceted nature and scholarly fruitfulness of mobilization as an independent concept

Keratin Isotypes Control Desmosome Stability and Dynamics through PKCα

Expression and interaction of desmosomal components and keratins provide stable cell cohesion and protect the epidermis against various types of stress. The differentiation-specific isotype composition of the keratin cytoskeleton and desmosomes is regarded as a major determinant of adhesive strength. In support, wound healing is characterized by a transient decrease in desmosomal adhesion accompanied by increased expression of keratins K6/K16/K17 at the expense of K1/K10. The significance of altered keratin expression for desmosomal composition and adhesion remains incompletely understood at a mechanistic and functional level. Here, we investigated the respective contribution of K5/K14 or K6/K17 to desmosome adhesion, on their stable re-expression in keratinocytes lacking all keratins. This revealed that K5/K14 filaments support stable desmosomes, whereas “wound healing” keratins K6/K17 induce elevated protein kinase C alpha–mediated desmosome disassembly and subsequent destabilization of epithelial sheets. Moreover, our data suggest that K5/K14 sequester protein kinase C alpha in the cytoplasm, whereas K6/K17 or the absence of all keratins enables protein kinase C alpha translocation to the plasma membrane and induction of desmosome disassembly. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments support a major role of K5 in desmosome stability control via protein kinase C alpha. Our data show that keratin isotypes differently and specifically regulate wound healing and invasion by modulating intercellular adhesion

Die Arbeitszufriedenheit des kommunikations- und medienwissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses: Einfluss der Betreuung und Auswirkungen auf die Publikationsleistung

Zusammenfassung: Die Wissenschaftslandschaft ist einem starken Wandel unterworfen, doch das Nachwuchsproblem der Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft bleibt bestehen. Um ihm auf den Grund zu gehen, beleuchtet die vorliegende Untersuchung die Arbeitsbedingungen der Promovierenden und Postdocs im Fach. Sie knüpft damit an die Vorgängerstudien von Wirth et al. (2005, 2008) an. Besonderes Augenmerk liegt auf der Arbeitszufriedenheit, da diese wohl erheblich zu der Entscheidung beiträgt, in der Wissenschaft zu verbleiben oder nicht. Eine Online-Befragung unter 504 Promovierenden und Postdocs ergibt, dass der Nachwuchs insgesamt mit seiner Arbeit zufrieden ist. Ein großes Problem ist jedoch die berufliche Unsicherheit. Regressionsanalysen zeigen, dass Betreuungssituation und Vertragsbedingungen die Arbeitszufriedenheit am stärksten beeinflussen. Den größten Anteil an der Betreuungszufriedenheit haben die vorgesetzten Professoren. Der Zusammenhang zwischen Arbeitszufriedenheit und Publikationsleistung erweist sich als komplizierter als erwartet. Auf der Grundlage der Ergebnisse werden Handlungsempfehlungen formuliert

Health vs. privacy. How Norwegian public authorities and news media framed the newly developed digital contact tracing app “Smittestopp” under the COVID-19 pandemic

In spring 2020, shortly after the outbreak of the Coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19), Norway introduced the digital contract tracing app “Smittestopp” (“Stop infection”) as a measure to combat the pandemic. The launch was accompanied by scientific uncertainties about the technology: the app had been developed at lightning speed and hardly been tested, and its effects were unclear. It did not become a success, was strongly underused and soon had to be discontinued due to privacy issues. Our study starts from the assumption that in this situation of uncertainty about the technology, combined with and resulting from a lack of user experience, the app's public portrayal was a decisive factor for this outcome. We investigate the framing of “Smittestopp” in press releases by Norwegian public authorities and in news articles. By means of a qualitative content analysis, we identify 11 frames and uncover the opposition between health considerations and privacy concerns as central conflict line. In their press releases, the public authorities did not use frames very strategically. The news media provided diverse frames but at the same time focused relatively strongly on privacy issues that ultimately led to the app's discontinuation

Messung von Personalisierung in computervermittelter Kommunikation

Das Ziel personalisierter Online-Angebote ist, Rezipienten bei der Informationssuche zu unterstützen. Dabei greifen sie zwangsläufig in deren Auswahlentscheidungen ein und müssen deshalb als eigenständiger Einflussfaktor empirisch erschlossen werden. Die dahinterstehenden Algorithmen kommerzieller Anbieter sind für die Forschung größtenteils eine intransparente "Black Box". Automatisierte Online-Experimente stellen eine selten eingesetzte Methode dar, die durch systematische Simulation von Nutzerverhalten die Funktionsweise von Personalisierungsalgorithmen ermitteln kann. Der Beitrag diskutiert zunächst Auswirkungen und Funktionsweise von Personalisierung und stellt daraufhin ein automatisiertes Online-Experiment am Beispiel der Google-Suche dar. Die vorgestellte Methode ermöglicht einen sozialwissenschaftlichen Zugriff auf die Funktionsweise und Inhalte von personalisierten Angeboten und fördert gleichzeitig Validität, Transparenz und Replizierbarkeit von Nutzungsstudien.Personalized web pages are explicitly designed to curate the information available to their users. By definition, they influence users' selectivity and need to be considered as a new factor affecting selection decisions. In most cases, the algorithms that determine recommendations are "black boxes" whose precise functionality remains opaque to researchers. Drawing on a pilot study of Google Search, this chapter argues that the rarely employed automated online experiment represents a promising method for studying "personalization effects". The method presented not only gives researchers access to the effects and contents of personalized web pages, but it also reinforces scientific rigor through higher validity, transparency and replicability of studies on selection behavior

Missed opportunity to connect with European citizens? Europarties’ communication on Facebook during the 2019 European election campaign

The digitization of political communication and major transformations in the European Union (EU) have altered the conditions for European election campaigns. Whereas national political parties remain highly visible political actors in the EU, Europarties attract relatively little attention from the media and citizens. Social media could provide Europarties with an opportunity to raise awareness among European citizens. In our study, we investigated the social media campaign strategies of Europarties by conducting a manual quantitative content analysis comparing their Facebook posts with the posts of national parties from 12 European countries, focusing on the communication elements used to inform and mobilize citizens, especially in relation to the lead candidates. Our results revealed that some Europarties employed the concept of European lead candidates by emphasizing their candidates in their Facebook posts. However, in their relative inactivity on Facebook compared with national parties, Europarties did not seem to counteract the oft-cited lack of a European public sphere

Between anger and love: A multi-level study on the impact of policy issues on user reactions in national election campaigns on Facebook in Germany, Hungary, and Norway

Eliciting user reactions is an important tactic for political actors using social media like Facebook to seek attention for campaign messages on policy issues. Still, little is known about policy issues’ effect on user reactions and how structural factors play into this relationship. Applying a standardized manual content analysis on Facebook posts from political parties and their top candidates during the German, Hungarian, and Norwegian national election campaigns in 2021/2022 (N = 4988), we investigate the relationship between policy issues and two of Facebook’s “emotional reactions” (“angry” and “love”). We find that posts addressing the economy, energy policy, and foreign policy drive more “angry” reactions, while environmental posts drive more “love” reactions. While effects are largely uniform across different party types, there are more variations between countries. Our analyses suggest that differences between individual parties and candidates and situational factors are vital to understanding the relationship between policy issues and user reactions.publishedVersio

Neutralität, Transparenz und Kompetenz: rechtliche Ansatzpunkte für eine Neuregulierung des Suchmaschinenmarktes

Die Frage nach den gesellschaftlichen Implikationen der Google-Dienste steht schon länger auf der wissenschaftlichen Agenda. Auch die Rechtswissenschaft hat sich dieser Frage in der Vergangenheit bereits angenommen: Ansatz waren dabei häufig Fragen des Datenschutzes und des Rechts der Nutzer auf informationelle Selbstbestimmung. Eine Evaluierung der Relevanz des Suchmaschinendienstes als ein zentrales Funktionselement im Internet für die öffentliche Meinungsbildung steht allerdings noch aus. Dieser Frage versucht sich der Aufsatz unter Rückgriff auf neue Forschungsergebnisse aus der Kommunikationswissenschaft rechtswissenschaftlich zu nähern. Danach ist die Suchmaschine wegen ihrer Relevanz für die Meinungsvielfaltssicherung in eine gesellschaftliche Verantwortung hineingewachsen, deren Erfüllung der Gesetzgeber aufgrund seiner Gewährleistungsverantwortung absichern muss. Hierfür werden erste Regulierungsansätze vorgeschlagen, an denen sich eine Neuregulierung orientieren könnte.Scientific research on the societal implications of Google’s manifold set of services has a long-standing tradition. Legal scholars have so far mainly focused on data protection, privacy and the "right to informational self-determination". Search engines’ role in opinion formation, however, has rarely if ever been the subject of a rigorous analysis. This article draws on recent research from mass communication research in order to provide a first assessment of the necessity and possible approaches to search engine regulation from the perspective of media law and plurality