外文橱窗 | 政治传播研究前沿

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1

Intergroup Contact in Deliberative Contexts: Evidence From Deliberative Polls

协商背景下的群际联系：来自协商民意调查的证据

Nuri Kim, James S. Fishkin, Robert C. Luskin

Abstract

Structured, intergroup communication that occurs in a deliberative discussion context can be an effective method for improving intergroup relations. Conceptualizing this unique kind of communication as deliberative contact, this study experimentally examined its effect and mechanisms based on two Deliberative Polling projects, conducted in two different countries: Australia (N = 339) and Bulgaria (N = 230). Results indicated that deliberative contact with a minority group member during small-group discussions increased support for policies that were beneficial to the minority group. This effect of deliberative contact was marginally stronger among those who had more negative contact experiences with the minority group in the past. Furthermore, deliberative contact effects were mediated by altered perceptions about the minority group’s structural disadvantages in society, but not by an increase in factual knowledge about the outgroup.

SOURCE

Journal of Communication, 29 October 2018

https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqy056

2

The Backbone Structure of Audience Networks: A New Approach to Comparing Online News 

Consumption Across Countries

受众网络的骨干结构：网上新闻消费的跨国比较新路径

Sílvia Majó-Vázquez, Rasmus K. Nielsen& Sandra González-Bailón

Abstract

Measures of audience overlap between news sources give us information on the diversity of people’s media diets and the similarity of news outlets in terms of the audiences they share. This provides a way of addressing key questions like whether audiences are increasingly fragmented. In this article, we use audience overlap estimates to build networks that we then analyze to extract the backbone—that is, the overlapping ties that are statistically significant. We argue that the analysis of this backbone structure offers metrics that can be used to compare news consumption patterns across countries, between groups, and over time. Our analytical approach offers a new way of understanding audience structures that can enable more comparative research and, thus, more empirically grounded theoretical understandings of audience behavior in an increasingly digital media environment.

KEYWORDS

online news, audience networks, fragmentation, 

comparative research, legacy media, digital-born media

SOURCE

Political Communication, Published online: 13 Dec 2018

https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2018.1546244

3

Is Any Publicity Good Publicity? Media Coverage, Party Institutions, and Authoritarian Power-Sharing

任何宣传都是好宣传吗？ 媒体报道，党组织和威权分享

Fengming Lu& Xiao Ma

Abstract

Existing literature identifies nonofficial media as a tool for rulers to gather information from below. We argue that such media also help identify threats among elites. Motivated by profit, partially free media tend to cover politicians who challenge implicit norms of the regime. These political elites are perceived as threats to the power-sharing status quo, which leads peers to sanction them. We test this argument with evidence from the Chinese Communist Party’s intraparty elections of alternate Central Committee members in 2012 and 2007. With Bayesian rank likelihood models, we find that candidates who appeared more frequently in various partially free media received fewer votes from the Party Congress delegates, and this pattern is robust after accounting for a series of alternative explanations. Detailed case studies also show that low-ranked candidates have more partially free media coverage because they broke party norms.

KEYWORDS

 authoritarianism, power-sharing, election, authoritarian party institutions, media in non-democracies

SOURCE

Political Communication, Published online: 01 Dec 2018

https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2018.1490836 

4

Blood and ink: the relationship between Islamic State propaganda and Western media

血与墨：伊斯兰国宣传与西方媒体的关系

Audrey Courty, Halim Rane & Kasun Ubayasiri

Abstract

This study examines Western media’s unwitting complicity in spreading Islamic State (IS) propaganda using the November 2015 Paris attacks as a case study. While numerous studies have examined IS propaganda material, less attention has been devoted to the Western media’s role in disseminating the group’s key narratives, crucial to its ability to recruit new members, intimidate opponents, and promote its legitimacy as an Islamic ‘state’. We group IS’ key messages under two broader narratives: 1) ‘formidable foe’, which characterises IS as a brutal and indomitable force; and 2) ‘clash of civilisations’, which sees the West is waging a war against Islam and Muslims. A content analysis was conducted on news coverage of the Paris attacks across four newspapers: New York Times, The Times, Daily Mail, and Le Figaro. Our findings suggest these news sources replicated IS’ propaganda directly and indirectly to varying degrees. Alarmist and sensationalist reporting as well as saturation coverage fed the ‘formidable foe’ narrative, while the media’s conflation of Islam and Islamism, Muslims and terrorists, reinforced the ‘clash of civilisations’ narrative.

KEYWORDS

 Terrorism, media, propaganda, Islamic State, Islamism, content analysis, newspapers

SOURCE

The Journal of International Communication, Published online: 04 Dec 2018

https://doi.org/10.1080/13216597.2018.1544162 

5

News finds me perception and democracy: Effects on political knowledge, political interest, and voting

“新闻发现我的感知”与民主：对政治知识，政治利益和投票的影响

Homero Gil de Zúñiga, Trevor Diehl 

Abstract

Recent scholarship suggests that overreliance on social networks for news and public affairs is associated with the belief that one no longer needs to actively seek information. Instead, individuals perceive that the “news will find me” (NFM) and detach from the regular habit of traditional news consumption. This study examines effects of the NFM perception on political knowledge, political interest, and electoral participation. Drawing on a nationally representative panel survey from the United States (N = 997), this study finds that the NFM perception is negatively associated with both political knowledge and political interest across two time periods. The NFM perception also leads to negative, indirect effects on voting as the relationship is mediated through lower reported levels of political knowledge and interest in politics. The findings add to current conversations about the ability of personalized information networks to adequately inform and engage the public.

KEYWORDS

News finds me perception effects, political interest, political knowledge, political participation, social media news, voting behavior

SOURCE

New Media & Society，December 12, 2018 

https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818817548

6

Media, Social Ontology and Intentionality: Notes from Meta-Theoretical Borders

媒体，社会本体论和意向性：元理论边界的说明

Paško Bilić

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present a meta-theoretical analysis of three broadly defined areas of academic work with substantial internal complexity and difference: mediatisation, reflexive modernisation and critical political economy of communication. Each developed a complex set of ideas and concepts for explaining elements of media, communication and/or social change. The main argument is that by looking at the intersection between these areas, a more complete argument can be made for explaining the complexity of media and social change in the twenty-first century. Two philosophical concepts aid in untangling the connections and differences between these areas. First, social ontology or the understanding of what society is and what is it made of. Second, intentionality or the understanding of the experiences of actors about society as well as their role in media and communication change. By looking at the boundaries and connecting points between mediatisation, reflexive modernisation and critical political economy of communication the paper offers an analysis of multiple ontological dimensions: cultural and social constructivist, social and sociotechnical and political-economic.

KEYWORDS

Meta theory, mediatisation, reflexive modernisation, political economy of communication, social ontology, intentionality

SOURCE

Javnost - The Public，Published online: 30 Nov 2018

https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2018.1529495 

7

Political Homophily in a Large-Scale Online Communication Network

大规模网络传播中的政治同质化

Robert M. Bond, Matthew D. Sweitzer

Abstract

As communication increasingly occurs in online environments, it is important to know the structure of such conversations in social networks. Here, we investigate patterns of conversation in online forums concerning politics, as well as patterns of cross-ideological interactions in forums that are not expressly political. First, we demonstrate a method for measuring the latent ideological preferences of more than 690,000 individuals using patterns of political commenting. Using this measure, we find that communication between ideologically dissimilar individuals becomes more common in periods of increased engagement with politics, that political homophily decreases as more individuals contribute to a conversation, and that forums dedicated to nonpolitical topics exhibit substantially less homophily than political forums. Theoretical implications for political communication on online platforms are discussed.

KEYWORDS

social media, political communication, social networks, big data, political homophily

SOURCE

Communication Research，Published December 3, 2018

https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650218813655

8

Political hashtag publics and counter-visuality: a case study of #fertilityday in Italy

政治标签公众和反视觉：关于意大利#fertilityday的案例研究

Stefania Vicari&Laura Iannelli& Elisabetta Zurovac

Abstract

In 2016 the Italian health ministry launched the ‘Fertility Day’ campaign, aimed at tackling Italy’s low birth rate. Under the accusation of delivering sexist and racist messages, the campaign became a trending topic on Twitter, and a protest was launched to be held during Fertility Day. By applying a combination of digital methods and visual content analysis to the #fertilityday Twitter stream, this paper contributes to existing research on the deliberative strength of political hashtag publics, with a particular focus on their power structures, communication patterns and visual content use. Findings on gatekeeping dynamics downsize optimistic views on the democratising potential of Twitter’s socio-technical infrastructure as they point to the emergence of online satirical media and ‘tweetstars’ – along with mainstream news media– as main producers of spreadable content, with ordinary users only surfacing when traditional media elites and new satirical actors lack or lose interest in the debate. Results confirm that political hashtag publics follow acute event communication patterns, with users highly engaged in retweeting and referencing external material and visual content playing a key role in these gatewatching practices. The transient counter-visuality – or critical stance – of tweets with user-manipulated images, however, also suggests that the deliberative potential of these publics is not easily sustainable over time.

KEYWORDS

Gatekeeping, hashtag publics, public sphere, Twitter, visual data

SOURCE

Information, Communication & Society，11 Dec 2018

https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1555271 

9

China’s Cultural Diplomacy: A Great Leap Outward with Chinese Characteristics? Multiple Comparative Case Studies of the Confucius Institutes

中国的文化外交：中国特色的大跃进？对孔子学院的多元比较研究

Xin Liu

Abstract

This article explores the prominent features of China’s state-led campaign of cultural diplomacy. Through multiple comparative case studies of its flagship project of the Confucius Institute (CI), it aims to identify and contextualise the various variables affecting its effective operation. It finds that this dependent variable is mainly determined by the independent variable of the CI’s ability to localise its product and process to suit different target audiences, along with a number of extraneous variables, including ideology, nationalism and the media environment in the destinations. People-to-people interaction is also an important mediator that contributes to facilitating mutual understanding. All the variables and the complexity of their inter-relations constitute the Chinese characteristics and are charted out in a diagram.

SOURCE

Journal of Contemporary China, Published online: 26 Dec 2018  

https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2018.1557951 

10

Better off without You? How the British Media Portrayed EU Citizens in Brexit News

没有你会更好吗？ 英国媒体如何在英国脱欧新闻中描绘欧盟公民

Stefanie Walter

Abstract

The United Kingdom is the first country to withdraw its membership from the European Union (EU). Immigration featured high on the Brexit news agenda and EU citizens’ rights to work and live in the United Kingdom are likely to be affected by the country’s exit from the EU. This study analyzes how salient EU citizens were in Brexit news, and investigates whether there was a relationship between the negative portrayal of EU citizens and the type of news outlet. The analysis is based on 19,367 news stories published between June 1, 2015, and June 23, 2016. Automated content analysis was used to determine whether EU citizens were mentioned. The results do not reveal a divide between tabloids and broadsheets, but between national and regional papers. It is only in regional papers from England and Wales that EU citizens were more likely to be mentioned if the tone of a news story was more negative. The findings also suggest that the news media presented the Brexit referendum as a vote about migration in general rather than about intra-EU migration.

KEYWORDS

 Brexit, negativity, EU citizens, news reporting, popular press, local news, automated text analysis

SOURCE

The International Journal of Press/Politics, January 2, 2019 Research Article  

https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161218821509

11

The Populist Radical Right and the Media in the Benelux: Friend or Foe?

比利时民粹主义者的激进权利和媒体：朋友还是敌人？

Léonie de Jonge

Abstract

Although most scholars acknowledge that the media play an instrumental role in furthering or limiting the spread of populism, the exact nature of the relationship between right-wing populist parties (RWPPs) and the media remains poorly understood. This article analyzes the various ways in which the media choose to deal with RWPPs in the Benelux region (i.e., Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg). Using evidence from interviews with media practitioners (n = 46), the findings suggest that in the absence of a credible right-wing populist challenger, media practitioners in Luxembourg and Wallonia adhere to strict demarcation, whereas the Dutch and Flemish media have become gradually more accommodative to RWPPs. This study makes two contributions to the field. First, it systematically theorizes the different ways in which the media can approach the populist radical right. Second, it provides illustrative, comparative evidence about the rationale for why some media provide space for RWPPs while others deny it, thereby illuminating the under-researched topic of societal responses to the populist radical right.

KEYWORDS

populism, radical right, Benelux, media, cordon sanitaire

SOURCE

The International Journal of Press/Politics, December 29, 2018 Research Article 

https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161218821098

12

Favorable Opportunity Structures for Populist Communication: Comparing Different Types of Politicians and Issues in Social Media, Television and the Press

民粹主义交往的良好机会结构：社会媒体，电视和报刊中不同类型政治家及其问题的比较

Nicole Ernst, Frank Esser, Sina Blassnig，Sven Engesser

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore favorable opportunity structures for populist communication of politicians in Western democracies. We analyze the content and style of 2,517 statements from 103 politicians from six countries (France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States) who differ in their party affiliation (populist versus nonpopulist) and hierarchical position (backbencher vs. frontbencher). To learn more about their media strategies and chances of success, we investigate four communication channels (Facebook, Twitter, talk shows, and news media) that systematically differ in their degree of journalistic intervention and examine fourteen often-raised topics that differ in their suitability for populist mobilization. Our content analysis shows the highest probability of populist communication comes from (1) members of populist parties and (2) backbenchers who address (3) mobilizable issues in (4) social media or newspaper articles. We conclude by explaining why populists have become so successful in getting their messages into newspapers.

KEYWORDS

populist issues, populist actors, backbenchers, Facebook, Twitter View access options

SOURCE

The International Journal of Press/Politics, December 22, 2018 Research Article  

https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161218819430

13

Chinese Newspaper Groups in the Digital Era: The Resurgence of the Party Press

数字时代的中国报业集团：党报的复兴

Haiyan Wang  Colin Sparks

Abstract

This article reviews the impact of digital technologies on Chinese newspapers. The diffusion of the smartphone has precipitated severe economic problems for the printed press. There have been falls in both readership and advertising revenues, which have had an effect on the structure of provincial-level press groups. The decline in economic viability has been felt most acutely by the commercially-oriented titles, while the more politically-oriented papers have led the way in finding new sources of funding. These sources tend to tie journalism more tightly to political and economic power, and lead to commercial goals replacing journalistic ones. This shifting balance of economic power has important consequences for the possibility of independent and critical journalism. The empirical material is specific to China, but it highlights more general theoretical questions as to the political economy of the media.

SOURCE

Journal of Communication, 19 December 2018  

https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqy061

14

Information before information theory: The politics of data beyond the perspective of communication

信息理论前的信息：超越传播视角的数据政治

Colin Koopman

Abstract

Scholarship on the politics of new media widely assumes that communication functions as a sufficient conceptual paradigm for critically assessing new media politics. This article argues that communication-centric analyses fail to engage the politics of information itself, limiting information only to its consequences for communication, and neglecting information as it reaches into our selves, lives, and actions beyond the confines of communication. Furthering recent new media historiography on the “information theory” of Shannon and Wiener, the article reveals both the primacy of communication in midcentury information theory, and also a striking resonance between these postwar communication theories and Habermas’s more recent communicative theory of democracy. To achieve a critical perspective beyond communication, the article proposes a media genealogy of the politics of subjects as a methodology for developing an analysis of how information formats us as subjects of data.

KEYWORDS

Communication, data, formats, Foucault, Habermas, infopower, information, Shannon, Wiener

SOURCE

New Media & Society, January 4, 2019 

https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444818820300

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摘录：于淑婧、赵洁

编辑：薛茹方

校对：李书龄