scholarly journals Social Media and Political Dissent in Russia and Belarus: An Introduction to the Special Issue

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 205630512110634
Author(s):  
Svetlana S. Bodrunova
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Media ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Political Dissent ◽  
The Public ◽  
Comparative Media ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Impact

The special issue focuses on the roles of socially mediated communication in expressing, aggregating, and shaping political dissent and discontent in Russia and Belarus at the borderline between the 2010s and 2020s. Lately, these post-Soviet countries have demonstrated the growth of restrictive trends in both politics and the public sphere reciprocated by increasing street protest and online polarization. The six papers of the special issue come from the Seventh Annual Conference “Comparative Media Studies in Today’s World” of April 2019. They address the differences between autocracies and democracies in the impact of social media on protest participation, appearance of critical publics, and new media-like gatekeepers on YouTube, Instagram, VKontakte, and other platforms, and cumulative patterns in socially mediated deliberation. The papers demonstrate various manifestations of political disagreement, critique, and moral struggle, including politicization of the mundane, accumulation of self-criticism, and alternation of media consumption habits, thus uncovering the post-Soviet public spheres as vibrant and diverse, even if polarized and constrained.

scholarly journals Rethinking science communication in a changing landscape

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (03) ◽  
pp. E
Author(s):  
Frank Kupper ◽  
Carolina Moreno-Castro ◽  
Alessandra Fornetti
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Selection Of

Science communication continues to grow, develop and change, as a practice and field of research. The boundaries between science and the rest of society are blurring. Digitalization transforms the public sphere. This JCOM special issue aims to rethink science communication in light of the changing science communication landscape. How to characterize the emerging science communication ecosystem in relation to the introduction of new media and actors involved? What new practices are emerging? How is the quality of science communication maintained or improved? We present a selection of papers that provide different perspectives on these questions and challenges.

scholarly journals The Demise of Moderate Islam: new media, contestation, and reclaiming religious authorities

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Wahyudi Akmaliah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Digital Platform ◽  
The Public ◽  
Religious Issues ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Desk Research

The landscape of the Indonesian public sphere amidst the rise of new media has opened both opportunities and threats dealing with Islamic teaching. This condition shapes a danger for the two largest of moderate Muslim Organisations (Muhammadiyah and Nahdatul Ulama/NU), in which they do not engage a lot of this development of the digital platform. Consequently, dealing with religious issues, their voices become voiceless. By employing desk research through some relevant references and collecting information from social media, specifically Instagram and Youtube, this article examines the role of the Islamic organization of moderate Islam in the rapid of the digital platform as the new of the public sphere. The article finds that they have difference respond to dealing with the presence of the new religious authorities. In comparison, while Muhammadiyah is more accepting of them calmly, NU is more reactively in responding.Lanskap ruang publik Indonesia di tengah muncunya media sosial membuka kesempatan sekaligus ancaman terkait dengan dakwah Islam. Hal itu merupakan ancaman bagi dua organisasi besar Moderat Islam di Indonesia (Muhammadiyah dan NU), di mana mereka menjadi kelompok minoritas dalam aktivitas dakwah online. Akibatnya, berkaitan dengan issu-isu keagamaan, suara mereka menjadi tidak terdengar/didengarkan. Dengan melakukan riset studi literatur yang relevan dan informasi yang didapatkan dari akun media sosial, khususnya Instagram dan Youtube, artikel ini menjelaskan peranan organisasi Islam moderat di tengah cepatnya platform digital di ruang publik. Artikel ini menemukan bahwa Muhammadiyah dan NU memiliki respon yang berbeda terkait dengan kehadiran otoritas keagamaan baru. Sebagai perbandingan, penerimaan Muhammadiyah terhadap kehadiran mereka terlebih lebih biasa ketimbang dengan NU yang reactif.

scholarly journals Re-Defining Polyphony in Media Text for Public Relations Discursive Practices in Organization

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Ana-Maria Teodorescu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Media Relations ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

The research explores the new media tools manifested in communication and public relations discursive practices in organization, marked by Bahtinian polyphony in media relations texts. The study of organization theory can be defined, analyzed and evaluated as dialogic organization constructed in and by dialogues as discursive practices [Hatch 2006, Grunig, 2002, Castells 2011]. Redefining polyphony consists in analyzing the original definition as “one self - concept is formed part from the social relationship we have with others and from others’ responses to what we say and do…….Because the self is constructed out of our need to balance on our own needs with those of others, the self is necessarily dialogic or make in concert with others”.[Bahtin, 1981] But having the keys for reading the self – concept as the social identity of an organization, the social relationships with others, namely the public(s) as groups of interests validated in the public sphere, and the roles and relations starting from the organization to and from the public(s). Thus evaluating the main levels offered by the framework in organization, the current research has identified: the intentional level created in the communicative contract by the organization in the context the new media have been used; the impact upon the public(s) - audience and/or communities throughout the means of new media and social media, analyzing their posts, comments; the rules of structuring the sequential configuration of the messages in media text as dialog, trilog or polilog in the polyphony of discursive media relations practices in organization’s site, blog, social media units-Facebook, Twitter, You Tube.

scholarly journals Playing possum: Straws in the wind of the blogosphere

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Nash
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Opinion Polls

This article discusses the blog Possum Pollytics that became very well regarded by its readers, other bloggers and journalists over the course of the 2007 Australian federal election campaign, and examines it for harbingers of the impact of new media on journalists and their publics. The article commences with an account of the main features of the blog, with special reference to its analysis of the voting trends evident in the pre-election opinion polls. It then discusses two issues with respect to the challenge posed by new media uses to professional journalism: firstly, the way that the anonymity highlights the challenge by some bloggers on behalf of publics to the brandname mastheads and journalistic personalities, particularly in the challenging circumstances of no business model for new media; and secondly, that Habermas’ early theorising of the public sphere might re-emerge as a valuable way to understand the current developments.

Thanks for (actually) responding! How citizen demand shapes politicians’ interactive practices on Twitter

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 676-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Tromble
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Twitter Activity ◽  
The Impact

Social media are frequently touted for their potential to strengthen democratic processes by bringing politicians and citizens into dialogue with one another. Social media may enrich the public sphere and improve democratic decision-making by allowing politicians and constituents to discuss matters of political import directly, free from intermediaries. But what factors impact whether this potential is realized? Previous research has focused on politicians’ structural incentives for strategic communication online but neglected the impact of citizen demand for politicians’ attention. I examine the role of citizen demand using an original dataset comprising the Twitter activity from and to members of the lower legislative houses in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States during the latter half of October 2013. The data suggest that citizen demand plays a crucial role in determining the presence, as well as the extent, of politicians’ reciprocal engagement with members of the public.

Public Theology in the Age of Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-328
Author(s):  
Bryan K. M. Mok
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
The Public ◽  
Patterns Of Communication ◽  
Contemporary Life ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The ubiquity of social media is a defining characteristic of our contemporary life. It has significantly changed the patterns of communication and altered the landscape of the public sphere. As a consequence the discipline of a public theology needs to reconsider its methodologies. With the aid of the study of political and media scholars, this article contends that the traditional public sphere, which is relatively stable and homogeneous, is experiencing a process of destabilization and pluralization under the impact of social media. The theoretical foundation of the widely adopted bilingual approach to public theology has been shaken. This article proposes that a transformational approach that attempts to shift public perception with the language of faith as its resource may fit the changing landscape of the public sphere better.

#INCLUSION – THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION ON THE LEGITIMACY OF ARMED FORCES

2019 ◽  
pp. 43-60
Author(s):  
EVA MOEHLECKE DE BASEGGIO ◽  
OLIVIA SCHNEIDER ◽  
TIBOR SZVIRCSEV TRESCH
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Media Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Legitimation ◽  
Social Media Communication ◽  
The Impact

The Swiss Armed Forces (SAF), as part of a democratic system, depends on legitimacy. Democracy, legitimacy and the public are closely connected. In the public sphere the SAF need to be visible; it is where they are controlled and legitimated by the citizens, as part of a deliberative discussion in which political decisions are communicatively negotiated. Considering this, the meaning of political communication, including the SAF’s communication, becomes obvious as it forms the most important basis for political legitimation processes. Social media provide a new way for the SAF to communicate and interact directly with the population. The SAF’s social media communication potentially brings it closer to the people and engages them in a dialogue. The SAF can become more transparent and social media communication may increase its reputation and legitimacy. To measure the effects of social media communication, a survey of the Swiss internet population was conducted. Based on this data, a structural equation model was defined, the effects of which substantiate the assumption that the SAF benefits from being on social media in terms of broadening its reach and increasing legitimacy values.

The impact of the new media on public relations in the public administration in Kurdistan Region

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 268-288
Author(s):  
Dlan Ismail Mawlud ◽  
Hoshyar Mozafar Ali
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
New Media ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Management System ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Kurdistan Region ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
The Impact

The development of technology, information technology and various means of communication have a significant impact on public relations activity; especially in government institutions. Many government institutions have invested these means in their management system, in order to facilitate the goals of the institution, and ultimately the interaction between the internal and external public. In this theoretical research, I tried to explain the impact of the new media on public relations in the public administration, based on the views of specialists. The aim of the research is to know the use of the new media of public relations and how in the system of public administration, as well as, Explaining the role it plays in public relations activities of government institutions. Add to this, analyzing the way of how new media and public relations participate in the birth of e-government. In the results, it is clear that the new media has facilitated public relations between the public and other institutions, as it strengthened relations between them

New Wars and Their Visual Representation: Dead Bodies without Graves/Mourne

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Tuncay Şur ◽  
Betül Yarar
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Visual Representation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Public ◽  
Photographic Images ◽  
War Photography ◽  
New Wars ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

This paper seeks to understand why there has been an increase in photographic images exposing military violence or displaying bodies killed by military forces and how they can freely circulate in the public without being censored or kept hidden. In other words, it aims to analyze this particular issue as a symptom of the emergence of new wars and a new regime of their visual representation. Within this framework, it attempts to relate two kinds of literature that are namely the history of war and war photography with the bridge of theoretical discussions on the real, its photographic representation, power, and violence.  Rather than systematic empirical analysis, the paper is based on a theoretical attempt which is reflected on some socio-political observations in the Middle East where there has been ongoing wars or new wars. The core discussion of the paper is supported by a brief analysis of some illustrative photographic images that are served through the social media under the circumstances of war for instance in Turkey between Turkish military troops and the Kurdish militants. The paper concludes that in line with the process of dissolution/transformation of the old nation-state formations and globalization, the mechanism and mode of power have also transformed to the extent that it resulted in the emergence of new wars. This is one dynamic that we need to recognize in relation to the above-mentioned question, the other is the impact of social media in not only delivering but also receiving war photographies. Today these changes have led the emergence of new machinery of power in which the old modern visual/photographic techniques of representing wars without human beings, torture, and violence through censorship began to be employed alongside medieval power techniques of a visual exhibition of tortures and violence.

Correcting Misperceptions About Genetically Modified Food on Social Media: Examining the Impact of Experts, Social Media Heuristics, and the Gateway Belief Model

2020 ◽  
pp. 107554702098137
Author(s):  
Leticia Bode ◽  
Emily K. Vraga ◽  
Melissa Tully
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scientific Consensus ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Belief Model ◽  
The Impact

We experimentally test whether expert organizations on social media can correct misperceptions of the scientific consensus on the safety of genetically modified (GM) food for human consumption, as well as what role social media cues, in the form of “likes,” play in that process. We find expert organizations highlighting scientific consensus on GM food safety reduces consensus misperceptions among the public, leading to lower GM misperceptions and boosting related consumption behaviors in line with the gateway belief model. Expert organizations’ credibility may increase as a result of correction, but popularity cues do not seem to affect misperceptions or credibility.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document