Y Moyano The visibility of political discourse on the Internet (original) (raw)
2009
Research has shown consistently that news consumption both online and offline is related positively to interpersonal discussion, political involvement and political engagement. However, little consideration has been given to the role that new sources of information may exert on different forms of political engagement. Based on secondary analysis of data collected by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, this article contrasts the influence of traditional sources of information online with that of emergent sources (blogs) in predicting further political discussion, campaigning and participation in both the online and the offline domains. The results show that the use of traditional sources online is related positively to different types of political engagement, both online and offline. Most interestingly, the article finds that blog use emerges as an equally important predictor of political engagement in the online domain. new media & society Copyright © 2009 SAGE Publications Lo...
Spring 2012: The Internet, Politics and Society
Course Description: This seminar examines how the internet is transforming the way people around the world participate in politics and define themselves as political actors. We will look at specific controversies in online politics such as the Wikileaks scandal, Iran's "Twitter revolution", the role of social media in the Arab uprisings, #OccupyWallStreet, and the "Great Firewall of China", as well as investigate broader questions of how people obtain knowledge, communicate, and mobilize in the digital age. Students will think critically about the internet as a communicative medium and comparatively analyze how it is employed in different cultural contexts. Topics covered include: national and transnational political movements; state secrets and political transparency; dictatorship and revolution; media and censorship; memory and knowledge; and digital personhood.
Pre- and post-election 2010 online: What happened to the political conversation?
Following the trend of election campaigns in the US in 2000, 2004, and particularly the 2008 Obama Presidential campaign and the 2010 UK election, Australians went to the polls in August 2010 in a media-hyped flurry of ‘tweeting’, YouTube videos, Facebook befriending and ‘liking’, blogging, and other social media activities. Research found that the volume of political communication through social media increased by more than 100 per cent in the 2010 Australian federal election compared with 2007. However, a question that has not been adequately explored is what happens with online political communication after the cacophony of electioneering fades away? Do the thousands of blogs, social networks, Twitter accounts, and photo and video sharing sites of politicians and political parties continue to seek citizen engagement, or do they fall silent once the prize of election has been won or lost? This article reports quantitative and qualitative content analysis of social media use by politicians during the 2010 federal election and analysis of Twitter use by the 10 most active social media users among Australian federal politicians in the 60 days immediately following the 21 August 2010 election to explore the extent to which social media are a permanent part of the mediated public sphere and, if so, how they are used outside of election periods as well as during electioneering.
Rethinking political communication in the digital sphere
The Journal of International Communication, 2020
Twenty-five years after the first emergence of the Internet in its World Wide Web format, the nexus between the digital sphere and the political communication sphere is no longer disputed. This paper examines the vibrant changes of the relationships between the digital sphere and political communication from the mid-1990s till today. We highlight four stages in this evolving linkage, the last of which is still going through its initial formation process. We will examine this fourth phase as a continuation of an evolutionary process, with a special focus on the 'fake news' phenomenon. Finally, we suggest that the shifts currently underway may warrant a reexamination by communication scholars of early communication theories.
The Internet As a Tool For Political Activism and Political Campaigning.
With the commercialisation of the Internet in the late 80"s, the transition from traditional media platforms (television, radio, newspapers) to modern, digitalised forms of media was inevitable, due to the society"s ceaseless desire to be informed instantly, effectively, easily and at extremely low costs. Arguably, this technological convergence established Internet as one of the greatest inventions of the past 50 years, as it has revolutionised modern societies, the media, politics and the way the three coexist, at a time where media institutions are more democratised than ever and the public has a say. Although the traditional media had long been associated with political propaganda, distorting and informational gate-keepingall of which led to societal control and manipulationthe Internet broke most of these barriers to a certain extent, raised public awareness and formed political thinking, becoming the beam of light to social and political evolution through various of different formats.