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Journal ArticleDOI

Com(ple)menting the news on the financial crisis: The contribution of news users’ commentary to the diversity of viewpoints in the public debate:

07 Jul 2014-European Journal of Communication (SAGE Publications)-Vol. 29, Iss: 5, pp 529-548
TL;DR: In this paper, the interpretations of the current financial crisis in the online coverage of five German newspapers and the subsequent commentary of news users were analyzed using an innovative strategy to identify the interpretative repertoires constructed by news and user frames, assessing how user commentary deviated from those viewpoints represented in the news.
Abstract: Does news users’ commentary contribute to widening the diversity of viewpoints represented in the news? This article comparatively analyses the interpretations of the current financial crisis in the online coverage of five German newspapers and the subsequent commentary of news users. Using an innovative strategy to identify the interpretative repertoires constructed by news and user frames, it assesses how user commentary deviates from those viewpoints represented in the news. Findings show that user accounts mostly remain within the wider interpretative repertoires offered by the media. However, they utilize media frame fragments rather freely to construct their own views, shifting focus and elaborating upon new aspects. While no consistent alternative repertoires were constructed, users thus valuably complemented the diversity of concerns discussed on news websites.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the coverage of specific, salient conflict events and found that media have been shown to focus on violence, and that most existing scholarship has focused on violence.
Abstract: In its search for media influences in violent conflict, most existing scholarship has investigated the coverage of specific, salient conflict events. Media have been shown to focus on violence, sid...

67 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examined diversity in online news with special attention paid to the role of different types of media ownership and media systems (meso level) and discussed the economic implications of ownership and market conditions for diversity.
Abstract: This paper examines diversity in online news with special attention paid to the role of different types of media ownership (meso level) and media systems (macro level). After identifying relevant perspectives and operationalizations of diversity, and discussing the economic implications of ownership and market conditions for diversity, the study tests four hypotheses with a content analysis of 1660 stories from 48 news sites in six countries (United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland). Findings show that online news attains the highest levels of diversity (measured with three different indices) in national environments with strong public service media, and that even in the internet age, public broadcasters add considerably to the diversity of political news. The much discussed category of made-for-Web outlets (including the Huffington Post and Rue89) revealed considerable variety in ownership and escape simple explanations with regard to diversity.

64 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study how to study media diversity and find that algorithmic filtering and a shift of audiences from legacy media to new intermediaries decrease diversity in the media landscape.
Abstract: How to study media diversity has become a major concern in today’s media landscape. Many expect that algorithmic filtering and a shift of audiences from legacy media to new intermediaries decrease ...

56 citations


Cites background from "Com(ple)menting the news on the fin..."

  • ...” Media, Culture and Society 37 (7): 1042–1059....

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  • ...” Information Communication and Society 21 (7): 940–958....

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  • ...” Information, Communication and Society 21 (7): 959–977....

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  • ...” Expert Systems with Applications 41 (7): 3168–3177....

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  • ...” Information Communication and Society 19 (7): 875–891....

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References
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Book
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: The character of the academy and its role in society are examined in the light of authoritative reports and the results show that the academy has become more aggressive in recent years.
Abstract: 1. Introduction 2. Enacting authoritative reports 3. Attacking advisory reports 4. The character of the academy 5. Conclusion.

337 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Dec 2000

302 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...…Boltanski and Thévenot’s (2006) argument that most evaluative judgments are based on a limited set of seven distinct evaluative logics (see also Thévenot et al., 2000): In their view, objects can be evaluated as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ because they are (or aren’t) ‘inspired’, ‘popular’, ‘moral’,…...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examined the implicit rules by which reporters determined the slant of news coverage of U.S. foreign policy crises from 1945 to 1991 and found that the single most important rule was that reporters, as Lance Bennett has maintained, tended to "index" their coverage to reflect the range of views that exists within the government.
Abstract: This article examines the implicit rules by which reporters determined the slant of news coverage of U.S. foreign policy crises from 1945 to 1991. The single most important rule was that reporters, as Lance Bennett has maintained, tended to “index” their coverage to reflect the range of views that exists within the government. A series of narrower and more situational rules also appeared to hold, such as a tendency of reporters to be more hawkish than official sources when the United States faced a communist foe and more dovish when the United States suffered a military setback.

274 citations


"Com(ple)menting the news on the fin..." refers background in this paper

  • ...First, many content-analytic studies have traced the range of sources and, less frequently, the range of frames (see below) quoted in the news coverage on controversial issues (Althaus et al., 1996; Bennett, 1996; Benson, 2009; Benson and Hallin, 2007; Hayes and Guardino, 2010; Van Gorp, 2005; Zaller and Chiu, 1996)....

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  • ...…studies have traced the range of sources and, less frequently, the range of frames (see below) quoted in the news coverage on controversial issues (Althaus et al., 1996; Bennett, 1996; Benson, 2009; Benson and Hallin, 2007; Hayes and Guardino, 2010; Van Gorp, 2005; Zaller and Chiu, 1996)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The article compares the levels that are most strongly structured and most influential for the wider society: the mass media and communication as organized by search engines, and finds that internet communication does not differ significantly from the offline debate in the print media.
Abstract: Normative theorists of the public sphere, such as Jurgen Habermas, have been very critical of the ‘old’ mass media, which were seen as unable to promote free and plural societal communication. The advent of the internet, in contrast, gave rise to hopes that it would make previously marginalized actors and arguments more visible to a broader public. To assess these claims, this article compares the internet and mass media communication. It distinguishes three levels of both the offline and the online public sphere, which differ in their structural prerequisites, in their openness for participation and in their influence on the wider society. Using this model, the article compares the levels that are most strongly structured and most influential for the wider society: the mass media and communication as organized by search engines. Using human genome research and analysing Germany and the USA, the study looks at which actors, evaluations and frames are present in the print mass media and on websites, and finds that internet communication does not differ significantly from the offline debate in the print media.

267 citations


"Com(ple)menting the news on the fin..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…(Althaus et al., 1996); (2) the balance norm in journalism, resulting in the indexing of binarily (or few) opposing positions (Bennett, 1996; Gerhards and Schäfer, 2010); (3) the pro-active frame-setting by few resourceful communicators (Böcking, 2009; Hutchins and Lester, 2006); (4) the…...

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  • ...Among these, the balance norm produces at least limited diversity, as journalists occasionally seek or construct counter-elites where no opposing viewpoint is offered by established sources (Gerhards and Schäfer, 2010)....

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  • ..., 1996); (2) the balance norm in journalism, resulting in the indexing of binarily (or few) opposing positions (Bennett, 1996; Gerhards and Schäfer, 2010); (3) the pro-active frame-setting by few resourceful communicators (Böcking, 2009; Hutchins and Lester, 2006); (4) the scarcity of resources (specifically, time and money) available for thorough journalistic research (Gamson and Modigliani, 1987;...

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Book
15 Jul 2009
TL;DR: Hobolt et al. as mentioned in this paper developed a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding voting behavior in referendums and presented a comparative analysis of EU referendum from 1972 to 2008 using survey data, content analysis of media coverage, survey experiments, and elite interviews.
Abstract: Comprehensive comparative analysis of EU referendums from 1972 to 2008 Variety of sources used including survey data, content analysis of media coverage, experimental studies, and elite interviews not found elsewhere in the literature How do voters decide in referendums on European integration? Direct democracy has become an increasingly common feature of European politics with important implications for policy-making in the European Union. Attempts to reform the EU treaties have been stalled, and even abandoned, due to no-votes in referendums. Europe in Question sheds new light on the pivotal issue of electoral behaviour in referendums and provides a major contribution to the study of democracy in the European Union and voting behaviour more generally. Hobolt develops a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding voting behaviour in referendums and presents a comparative analysis of EU referendums from 1972 to 2008. To examine why people vote the way they do, the role of political elites and the impact of the campaign dynamics, this books relies on a variety of sources including survey data, content analysis of media coverage, survey experiments, and elite interviews. The book illustrates the importance of campaign dynamics and elite endorsements in shaping public opinion, electoral mobilization and vote choices. Referendums are often criticized for presenting citizens with choices that are too complex and thereby generating outcomes that have little or no connection with the ballot proposal. Importantly this book shows that voters are smarter than they are often given credit for. They may not be fully informed about European politics, but they do consider the issues at stake before they go to the ballot box and they make use of the information provided by parties and the campaign environment. Readership: Scholars and students of political science, especially those interested in political behaviour, political parties, and European studies.

257 citations


"Com(ple)menting the news on the fin..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…in the high salience of economic interdependencies in the debate; the intergovernmental mode of decision making contributes the bulk of references to political activity; and both repertoires contribute to the salience of depoliticized technocracy (Althaus et al., 1996; Bennett, 1996; Hobolt, 2009)....

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