Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Local News Deserts In China: The Role Of Social Media And Personal Communication Networks, Zixue Tai, Bai He, Jianping Liu

Journalism and Media Faculty Publications

The field of local news is often associated with news deserts, commonly defined as geo‐based communities without news‐ papers or other legacy media as providers of locally oriented news and civic information. This phenomenon is expanding in global society due to the diminishing presence of newspapers at moments of accelerated digitization. This study examines the multiplex nature of news deserts in rural and suburban areas in China. Data were collected through a multi‐methods approach combining two focus groups and 44 semi‐structured in‐depth interviews. Patterns of engagement among inter‐ viewees reveal that smartphone‐based social media applications and digital platforms function as …

Social Media And Contentious Action: The Use And Users Of Qq Groups In China, Zixue Tai

Journalism and Media Faculty Publications

This article presents an analysis of a netnographic study of QQ groups engaged in contentious activities in China. Informed primarily by semi‐structured in‐depth interviews of 34 participants and field observations through years of grounded research, the findings shed light on the communicative dynamics and mobilization strategies of QQ groups in nurturing contentious action and motivating mass participation in social protest. In‐group communication stays highly focused on the respective mission of the groups, and it cultivates a sense of shared awareness conducive to collective action. There is also a noticeable contagion effect that transfers the spirit of contestation in terms of …

Anatomy Of Front Pages: Comparison Between The New York Times And Other U.S. Major Metropolitan Newspapers, Yung Soo Kim, Deborah S. Chung

Journalism and Media Faculty Publications

Using content analysis, this article compares the front-page elements of The New York Times with six major metropolitan national newspapers to assess how different news organizations package and present their most important page to the public. Findings reveal that The New York Times featured more international and national news stories, depended more frequently on its own staff for both stories and images, and used smaller headlines on its front pages compared with the other major metropolitan newspapers.

Who’S Following Twitter? Coverage Of The Microblogging Phenomenon By U.S. Cable News Networks, Deborah S. Chung, Mina Tsay-Vogel, Yung Soo Kim

Journalism and Media Faculty Publications

Through data captured in a digital content analysis (DCA) lab, we examine coverage of Twitter across three 24-hour U.S. cable news channels: CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. This investigation tracked Twitter coverage from its initial stage, followed by its rise to a massively used tool and its subsequent diffusion into society, evident through its plateauing coverage. News stories covering Twitter, as it penetrated into society, were more likely to use benefit/gain frames when discussing the technology, highlighting its positive social, communicative, political, and participatory impact. Benefit frames were also likely to associate Twitter with journalism. Patterns …

Distribution Of News Information Through Social Bookmarking: An Examination Of Shared Stories In The Delicious Website, Deborah S. Chung, Kwan Yi

Journalism and Media Faculty Publications

Introduction. This study examined the selection and sharing of news stories from Delicious, a popular social bookmarking site, in order to identify the most frequently consulted news information sources and news topics.

Method. Targeting US-specific sources through initial computer screening of URLs, we employed content analysis to further analyse story topics and sources that were unclassified through the initial computer screening method.

Analysis. After examining frequencies and percentages of the variables, a qualitative analysis was employed to assess relationships between story sources and story topics.

Results. Findings document the diverse nature of stories from both traditional and new media …