scholarly journals A typology of alternative online political media in the United Kingdom: A longitudinal content analysis (2015–2018)

Journalism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146488492110595
Author(s):  
Declan McDowell-Naylor ◽  
Stephen Cushion ◽  
Richard Thomas

Alternative online political media (AOPM) have become increasingly prominent elements of the media system in many countries. In response, numerous academic studies have examined the nature of these newer forms of alternative media. In line with this recent scholarship, in this study we carry out a longitudinal and systematic content analysis of nine AOPM websites in the United Kingdom (UK) ( N = 3452) between 2015 and 2018. Overall, we found a diversity of content, contrasting values and degrees of partisanship, which we develop into a typology of outlets. This includes four overlapping areas: electoral hyperpartisans, cultural partisans, political cycle specialists and vernacular macro-blogs. We conclude by recommending that scholars need to develop more detailed content analyses in order to better understand online alternative media, their interactions with the wider media system, and the system itself.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 177-194
Author(s):  
Nathan Stephens Griffin

This article examines the media framing of the 2018 ‘paid to lie’ campaign of Lush, a high-street ethical cosmetics firm. The viral nature of Lush’s intervention into the undercover policing of activism in the United Kingdom highlights the significance of media reporting in the construction of narratives surrounding policing and activism. A qualitative content analysis was undertaken of articles published online in the immediate aftermath of the campaign launch. Based on this analysis, this article argues that the intensely polarised debate following Lush’s ‘paid to lie’ campaign is representative of a wider discursive framing battle that continues to persist today. Within this battle, the state and police establishment promote ‘rotten apple’ explanations of the undercover policing scandal that seek to individualise blame and shirk institutional accountability (Punch 2003). This is significant, as identifying systemic dimensions of the ‘spycops’ scandal is a key focus for activists involved in the ongoing Undercover Policing Inquiry (Schlembach 2016).


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miklós Hajdu ◽  
Boróka Pápay ◽  
Zoltán Szántó ◽  
István János Tóth

The article presents and summarizes some results from extensive cross-national content analysis of media coverage of corruption. The authors examined a sample containing 12,742 articles published in France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2013. A limited number of studies have been done thus far to reveal how the media deals with corruption cases in certain countries, and cross-national comparative analyses are exceedingly scarce. The core focus of the study is to reveal the significant differences in the corruption cases covered by the media according to the countries under analysis. We assume that some differences exist between the media coverage of corruption in the new and the old European Union member states and also that by classifying countries into groups based on their perception of the level of the corruption, some dissimilarities will be revealed between them. We conclude that the distinction between countries based on whether they are old or new European Union members does not wholly determine the nature of reporting on international or national corruption cases, for example, Italy was more similar to the old European Union member states in this sense. Considering the level of institutionalization of corruption cases, Italy appears to be more similar to the other old European Union members, but we should clarify that differences based on this feature of the cases are not clearly highlighted in the interaction model. However, if we use the variable perceptions of corruption to classify countries, we find that countries with a ‘cleaner’ environment (the United Kingdom, France) place more focus on reporting corruption cases in the international arena.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zlatina Dimitrova ◽  
◽  
◽  

The theoretical research focuses on the educational experience for the formation of media literacy among school-age children in different countries around the world. The article presents various options for the formation of media literacy, based on three educational models. According to the first model, media education is represented in the form of a compulsory subject in schools, which is studied by students in different grades. According to the second educational model, media habits are acquired within the interdisciplinary (integrated) approach – the use of the media in traditional school subjects, including native and foreign languages, literature, social sciences. The third model offers practical and informal integration of media education as a supplement and replacement of specific subjects or the intersection between them. The article examines in detail the media training opportunities offered in Canada, the United Kingdom, Finland and Spain, as their experience in media education is applied in a number of other countries around the world. Special attention is paid to the first steps in the introduction of media literacy training among students in Bulgaria, which is carried out only in the last 5-6 years.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxana Bratu ◽  
Iveta Kažoka

This article explores the symbolic dimension of corruption by looking at the metaphors employed to represent this phenomenon in the media across seven different European countries (France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom) over 10 years (2004–2014). It focuses on the media practices in evoking corruption-related metaphors and shows that corruption is a complex phenomenon with unclear boundaries, represented with the use of metaphorical devices that not only illuminate but also hide some of its attributes. The article identifies and analyses the metaphors of corruption by looking at their sources and target domains, as well as unpacking the contexts in which media evoke corruption-related metaphors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Babu Karavadra ◽  
Andrea Stockl ◽  
Edward Prosser-Snelling ◽  
Paul Simpson ◽  
Edward Morris

Abstract Background The aim of this national survey was to explore pregnant women’s perceptions of COVID-19 and their healthcare experiences. Methods Through patient and public involvement, a questionnaire was developed and advertised via the BBC website, Twitter and other online media during May 2020. The findings were analysed by qualitative thematic analysis. Women who are currently pregnant, or who have delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic were invited to partake in a national online survey. Results One thousand four hundred fifty-one participants replied to the online questionnaire. Participants provided significant insight into the perceived barriers to seeking healthcare during this pandemic. These include ‘not wanting to bother anyone’, ‘lack of wider support from allied healthcare workers’ and the influence of the media. Other concerns included the use of virtual clinics antenatally and their acceptability to patients, the presence of birthing partners, and the way in which information is communicated about rapidly changing and evolving services. The influence of the media has also had a significant impact on the way women perceive hospital care in light of COVID-19 and for some, this has shaped whether they would seek help. Conclusions This is the first ever reported study in the United Kingdom to explore pregnant women’s perceptions of COVID-19 and their subsequent healthcare experiences. It has also provided insight into perceived barriers into seeking care as well as maternal concerns antenatally, intrapartum and postpartum.


2020 ◽  
pp. 194016122092502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Ines Langer ◽  
Johannes B. Gruber

This article examines the roles of the media in the process of political agenda setting. There is a long tradition of studies on this topic, but they have mostly focused on legacy news media, thus overlooking the role of other actors and the complex hybrid dynamics that characterize contemporary political communication. In contrast, through an in-depth case study using mixed-methods and multiplatform data, this article provides a detailed analysis of the roles and interactions between different types of media and how they were used by political and advocacy elites. It explores what happened in the different parts of the system, and thus the paths to attention that led to setting this issue in the political and media agendas. The analysis of the case, a partial policy reversal in the United Kingdom provoked by an immigration scandal known as the “Windrush scandal” reveals that the issue was pushed into the agenda by a campaign assemblage of investigative journalism, political and advocacy elites, and digitally enabled leaders. The legacy news media came late but were crucial. They greatly amplified the salience of the issue and, once in “storm mode,” they were key for sustaining attention and pressure, eventually compelling the government to respond. It shows that they often remain at the core of the “national conversation” and certainly in the eye of a media storm. In the contemporary context, characterized by fierce battles for attention, shortening attention spans and fractured audiences, this is key and has important implications for agenda setting and beyond.


2019 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 00130
Author(s):  
Irina Volkova ◽  
Leila Algavi ◽  
Shuanat Kadyrova ◽  
Natalya Rastorgueva

This paper is the second part in the series of studies into the media impact on the transformation of the social and cultural structures in which societies operate. The authors (International Research Group KVAR) describe the results of a quantitative and qualitative analysis of transcripts of twenty-seven episodes of the “Vesti Nedeli” television program (Rossiya 1, 2018) depicting the mysterious poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. The aim of this study is to find out in what way the journalists of “Vesti Nedeli” narrate and interpret the events in Salisbury. Based on C. Booker‘ classification, the authors explore the specific traits of the story plot about the Skripals case. The analysis leads to the conclusion that it is not the Skripals who are at the center of the narration but the United Kingdom and its attitude to Russia. The study identifies the narrative force drivers and the main actors and their subject-object roles: this is one of seven basic plots.


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