scholarly journals The simple regularities in the dynamics of online news impact

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matúš Medo ◽  
Manuel S. Mariani ◽  
Linyuan Lü
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Online News ◽  
Power Law Distribution ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Popularity Dynamics ◽  
Universal Applicability ◽  
The Impact

AbstractOnline news can quickly reach and affect millions of people, yet we do not know yet whether there exist potential dynamical regularities that govern their impact on the public. We use data from two major news outlets, BBC and New York Times, where the number of user comments can be used as a proxy of news impact. We find that the impact dynamics of online news articles does not exhibit popularity patterns found in many other social and information systems. In particular, we find that a simple exponential distribution yields a better fit to the empirical news impact distributions than a power-law distribution. This observation is explained by the lack or limited influence of the otherwise omnipresent rich-get-richer mechanism in the analyzed data. The temporal dynamics of the news impact exhibits a universal exponential decay which allows us to collapse individual news trajectories into an elementary single curve. We also show how daily variations of user activity directly influence the dynamics of the article impact. Our findings challenge the universal applicability of popularity dynamics patterns found in other social contexts.

scholarly journals Expressions of Doubt in Online News Discussions

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110341
Author(s):  
Anthony M. Evans ◽  
Olga Stavrova ◽  
Hannes Rosenbusch ◽  
Mark J. Brandt
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Public Life ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Online News ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Current Events

Online discussions about politics and current events play a growing role in public life, and they can foster positive outcomes (e.g., civic engagement and political participation) and negative outcomes (e.g., hostility and polarization). The present research examines how the use of doubtful (vs. confident) language influences behavior in online discussions of current events. We examine the effects of doubtful language on comment popularity (i.e., recommendations from other users) and the use of emotional language in subsequent replies. We examine data from 1.9 million user comments from the New York Times website. Comments containing doubtful language were less popular, receiving fewer user recommendations. Additionally, replies to doubtful comments were less emotional (containing fewer positive emotions and fewer negative emotions). These results suggest that although doubtful authors are less likely to be recommended by other users, they may play an important role in helping to foster civility in online discussions.

scholarly journals Separated by a common language: How Breitbart and The New York Times produce different meanings from common words

Politics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 026339572110129
Author(s):  
Federico Mor ◽  
Erin J Nash ◽  
Fergus Green
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Public Deliberation ◽  
Linguistic Relativity ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Common Language ◽  
The New York Times ◽  
Multilingual Societies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Negotiation

We build on the work by Peled and Bonotti to illuminate the impact of linguistic relativity on democratic debate. Peled and Bonotti’s focus is on multilingual societies, and their worry is that ‘unconscious epistemic effects’ can undermine political reasoning between interlocutors who do not share the same native tongue. Our article makes two contributions. First, we argue that Peled and Bonotti’s concerns about linguistic relativity are just as relevant to monolingual discourse. We use machine learning to provide novel evidence of the linguistic discrepancies between two ideologically distant groups that speak the same language: readers of Breitbart and of The New York Times. We suggest that intralinguistic relativity can be at least as harmful to successful public deliberation and political negotiation as interlinguistic relativity. Second, we endorse the building of metalinguistic awareness to address problematic kinds of linguistic relativity and argue that the method of discourse analysis we use in this article is a good way to build that awareness.

To Eat or Not to Eat: Framing of GMOs in American Media and Its Effects on Attitudes and Behaviors

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 747-775
Author(s):  
Ivanka Pjesivac ◽  
Marlit A. Hayslett ◽  
Matthew T. Binford
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Actual Behavior ◽  
Washington Post ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
American Media ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
The Impact

This study examined the framing of genetically modified organisms in two American newspapers, The New York Times and the Washington Post (2000-2016) and tested the impact of risk and opportunity framing on attitudes and behaviors regarding genetically modified organisms. The content analysis ( N = 165) showed that the two newspapers did not have a dominant frame type in their coverage. A randomized three-condition experiment ( N = 182) showed that the type of framing significantly affected individuals’ attitudes and was able to change them. The type of framing affected individuals’ behavioral intentions through postexposure attitudes but was not able to significantly affect actual behavior.

From Afghanistan to Chechnya: News Coverage by Izvestia and the New York Times

2000 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga V. Malinkina ◽  
Douglas M. McLeod
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
New York Times ◽  
The United States ◽  
The New York Times ◽  
Media System ◽  
Russian Media ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Impact

This study analyzed newspaper coverage of conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya by the New York Times and the Russian newspaper Izvestia to examine the impact of political change on news coverage. The Soviet Union's dissolution included dramatic changes to the Russian media system. In addition, the dissipation of the Cold War changed the foreign policy of the United States. A content analysis revealed that the changes to the media system in Russia had a profound impact on Izvestia's coverage, but political changes had little impact on the New York Times' coverage.

scholarly journals Is the future of meat palatable? Perceptions of in vitro meat as evidenced by online news comments

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 2457-2467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linnea I Laestadius ◽  
Mark A Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
New York ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
New Technology ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Online News ◽  
News Article ◽  
National Public Radio

AbstractObjectiveTo understand current public perceptions of in vitro meat (IVM) in light of its potential to be a more environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional meat.DesignA qualitative content analysis of the comments made on online news articles highlighting the development of IVM and the world’s first IVM hamburger in August 2013.SettingNews article comment sections across seven US-based online news sources (The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Cable News Network and National Public Radio).SubjectsFour hundred and sixty-two commenters who made eight hundred and fourteen publicly available online comments addressing IVM.ResultsKey themes in commenter perceptions of IVM included environmental and public health benefits, but also negative themes such as IVM’s status as an unnatural and unappealing food. Overall, the tone of comments was more negative than positive.ConclusionsFindings suggest that while the environmental and public health motivations for developing and in turn consuming IVM resonate with some segments of the population, others find that reasoning both uncompelling and problematic. Concerns about IVM as an unnatural and risky product also appear to be a significant barrier to public acceptance of IVM. Supporters of IVM may wish to begin to develop a regulatory strategy for IVM to build public trust and explore messaging strategies that cast IVM as a new technology with benefits to individuals rather than primarily a solution to global challenges. Those in the public health nutrition field can make an important contribution to the emerging public discussion about IVM.

Exploring the Determinants of Broadway Show Success

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srinivas K. Reddy ◽  
Vanitha Swaminathan ◽  
Carol M. Motley
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Daily News ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Ticket Prices ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Better Than

This study investigates the determinants of success of an experiential good: Broadway shows. The authors focus on the sources and types of information used in the selection of an artistic event and discuss the impact of critics’ reviews on the length of a show's run and attendance. In addition, the authors empirically determine the influence of other variables, such as previews, newspaper advertising, ticket prices, show type, talent characteristics, and timing of opening. The results indicate that New York newspaper theater critics have a significant impact on the success of Broadway shows. It is also found that the newspaper critics have a differential impact, with the critic from the New York Times yielding nearly twice as much influence as critics from the Daily News or the New York Post. Theater critics, it appears, are not only predictors but influencers as well. Among the various show types, musicals appear to fare better than other categories of shows. Previews have a significant impact on the attendance, but not on the longevity, of Broadway shows. Advertising also has a significant impact on both longevity and attendance. However, the characteristics of the key talent do not have a consistently significant influence on show success. In addition, ticket prices do not have a significant relationship with either longevity or attendance. The results indicate that there is an overwhelming impact of information sources, particularly the influence of critics’ reviews, on the success of Broadway shows. The authors discuss the implications of these results for the theater industry.

A Hit on American Football: A Case Study of Bottom-up Framing Through Op-Ed Readers’ Comments

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis R. Bell ◽  
Jimmy Sanderson
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
National Football League ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Online News ◽  
American Football ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Tackle Football

In December 2015, the movie Concussion was released. The film portrayed the story of Dr Bennet Omalu, who is credited with discovering chromic traumatic encephalopathy in the brains of deceased National Football League players. Before the release, on December 7, 2015, Omalu penned an op-ed in The New York Times in which he opined that children should not play tackle football. This research explores 114 reader comments on Omalu’s op-ed through the lens of Nisbet’s bottom-up framing. Using a mixed-methods approach, the results indicated that participants framed the issue through health and safety, American cultural values, parenting liability, and skepticism. Linguistic analysis revealed that comments contained a negative tone, with women’s comments being more negative than men’s. The analysis suggests that online news forums function as spaces where public deliberation around the viability of children playing tackle football occurs and illustrates the tensions around risk, sport participation, and health and safety that confront parents as they grapple with the decision to let their children play tackle football

scholarly journals (Sub)titles in cinematic virtual reality: a descriptive study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belén Agulló ◽  
◽  
Anna Matamala ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
The State ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Content Creation ◽  
Standard Practices ◽  
The Impact

Virtual reality has attracted the attention of industry and researchers. Its applications for entertainment and audiovisual content creation are endless. Filmmakers are experimenting with different techniques to create immersive stories. Also, subtitle creators and researchers are finding new ways to implement (sub)titles in this new medium. In this article, the state-of-the-art of cinematic virtual reality content is presented and the current challenges faced by filmmakers when dealing with this medium and the impact of immersive content on subtitling practices are discussed. Moreover, the different studies on subtitles in 360º videos carried out so far and the obtained results are reviewed. Finally, the results of a corpus analysis are presented in order to illustrate the current subtitle practices by The New York Times and the BBC. The results have shed some light on issues such as position, innovative graphic strategies or the different functions, challenging current subtitling standard practices in 2D content.

Investigating status hierarchies with media analysis: Muslims, Jews, and Catholics in The New York Times and The Guardian headlines, 1985–2014

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Bleich ◽  
Hasher Nisar ◽  
Cara Vazquez
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
The New York Times ◽  
Media Portrayals ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
The Guardian ◽  
The Impact

Media analyses can help expand our understanding of how hierarchies are expressed and of how they evolve across time and place. In this article, we compare coverage of Muslims, Jews, and Catholics in The New York Times and The Guardian headlines over a 30-year time period. In aggregate, our data show that media portrayals of groups are relatively stable over the span of decades rather than highly sensitive to the impact of events at any given point in time. In keeping with the findings of surveys, Muslims are generally associated with more negativity than Catholics or Jews. At the same time, our data also reveal information that nuances what traditional surveys have shown. For example, Jews are portrayed consistently more positively than Catholics in our analysis; in addition, while headlines about Catholics are more positive than those about Muslims in The New York Times, the tone of headlines about the two groups is indistinguishable in The Guardian. The methods and the findings introduced here contribute to the research agenda of scholars concerned with identifying, tracking, and understanding status hierarchies.

scholarly journals Media Ownership and Bias: Evidence by the Washington Post’s Reporting after Amazon’s Acquisition in 2013

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tongyi Jin ◽  
Altynay Abilgaziyeva ◽  
Tsz Ting Lam
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Washington Post ◽  
Media Ownership ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
The New York Times ◽  
Publication Time ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of ownership change on media coverage by investigating the impact of Jeff Bezos's (Amazon's owner) purchase of the Washington Post (WP) in October 2013. We collect all articles that have Amazon mentions published by WP and the New York Times (NYT) for 12 months before and 12 months after the acquisition. Then, we use the difference-in-differences method to compare changes in sentiment, length, and time of publication of the articles reported by WP compared to NYT. From the comparison, we show that Amazon's acquisition has posed a certain extent of influence on the publication time of the articles. Our findings highlight that ownership change limits the media's ability to fulfill its role as a watchdog without interference. 

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document