Social Media and the Public Sphere

Social media has become a key term in Media and Communication Studies and public discourse for characterising platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Wordpress, Blogspot, Weibo, Pinterest, Foursquare and Tumblr. This paper discusses the role of the concept of the public sphere for understanding social media critically. It argues against an idealistic interpretation of Habermas and for a cultural-materialist understanding of the public sphere concept that is grounded in political economy. It sets out that Habermas’ original notion should best be understood as a method of immanent critique that critically scrutinises limits of the media and culture grounded in power relations and political economy. The paper introduces a theoretical model of public service media that it uses as foundation for identifying three antagonisms of the contemporary social media sphere in the realms of the economy, the state and civil society. It concludes that these limits can only be overcome if the colonisation of the social media lifeworld is countered politically so that social media and the Internet become public service and commons-based media.Acknowledgement: This paper is the extended version of Christian Fuchs’ inaugural lecture for his professorship of social media at the University of Westminster that he took up on February 1st, 2013. He gave the lecture on February 19th, 2014, at the University of Westminster.The video version of the inaugural lecture is available at:https://vimeo.com/97173645

The Role of Twitter in Opening New Domains of Discourse in the Public Sphere

International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change ◽

10.4018/ijissc.2020070101 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

Badreya Nasser Al-Jenaibi

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Public Sphere ◽

Public Discourse ◽

Arab World ◽

Arabian Gulf ◽

The Public ◽

New Public ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

Flow Of Information

The use of Twitter to coordinate political dialogue and crisis communication has been a vital key to its legitimization. In the past few years, the users of Twitter were increased in the GCC. Also, the use of social media has received a lot of ‘buzz' due to the events that unfurled in the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt during the Arab Spring. Although not as dramatic as overthrowing a regime, the use of social media has been revolutionary in most areas of the Middle East, especially in the most conservative societies that have been relatively closed to the flow of information. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, for example, now have the largest-growing Twitter community of all the nations in the Arabian Gulf. Known for its tight rein on public discourse and the flow of information, even elements of the current regime are opening doors to a new public discourse, due in large part to the influence of social media. This paper explores the social media phenomenon that has had such an impact on the relatively closed societies of the Arab world, examining how it has changed the nature of the public sphere. The researcher used content analysis of four GCC journalists' accounts for four months. The paper concludes that the use of Twitter is shifting the Arab public's discourse and opinions in the region because those opinions are being heard instead of censored. Social media is having a major impact on the conservative Saudi, Qatar, and UAE societies.

Fear Control in Media Discourse

Southeastern Europe ◽

10.1163/18763332-03702005 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 200-219

Author(s):

Davor Marko

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Public Space ◽

Power Relations ◽

Public Discourse ◽

Media Discourse ◽

Public Language ◽

The Public ◽

The Media ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

And Control

This article deals with how fear is misused in media discourse. Pursuing the claim that it is impossible to eliminate fear from the public sphere, this paper argues that fear control is a technique widely used by certain interest groups to generate and spread uncertainty among people in order to create an atmosphere in which their goals are easily reachable. This paper will discuss the concepts of discourse, hegemony, and power relations in order to show how public language (both written and spoken) in media discourse reflects, creates, and maintains power relations. In this sense, fear, which is a crucial “energizing fuel” of such public language, could be considered and further elaborated as both a contextual variable and as a tool for facilitating power relations by applying various techniques. Aiming to show how media use and control the nature and level of fear in public discourse, I will discuss two techniques – the commercialization of fear and the method of “othering.” While commercialization implies the mass (re)production and (re)appropriation of fear in a public space, “othering” has been applied when the object of reporting is an out-group individual or community and self-group is using the media as a tool for their negative portrayal, thus creating boundaries and provoking discrimination and violence. The case of Serbia will be used to indicate how techniques of “othering,” linked with the regime’s propaganda, may contribute to the creation of an atmosphere of fear, and make a people seek protection and become easy prey for manipulation.

Public Service Media for Critical Times: Connectivity, Climate, and Corona

10.16997/book60.d ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 69-111

Author(s):

Graham Murdock

Keyword(s):

Political Economy ◽

Public Sphere ◽

Public Service ◽

The Political ◽

The Public ◽

Advance Information ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

Communication Approach ◽

Climate Crisis

In this chapter, Graham Murdock analyses the role of public service media in the contemporary times of crisis that have been shaped by connectivity, the climate crisis, and the COVID-19 crisis. Using lots of examples, the political economy of communication approach, and Habermas’s concept of the public sphere, the chapter points out that Public Service Media is not something of the past, but is needed for guaranteeing a vivid and democratic public sphere in the digital age. The chapter points out the potentials of public service media for creating and maintaining digital public spaces that advance information, education, entertainment, and participation. This chapter is a written and amended version of a talk by Graham Murdock that he gave on 15 February 2021 at a webinar that was part of the AHRC project “Innovation in Public Service Media Policy” (https://innopsm.net/) and its research focus on “Envisioning Public Service Media Utopias”. A video of the talk is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4dJSzyW_GM.

To Whom Do Politicians Talk and Listen? : Mapping Swiss Politicians’ Public Sphere on Twitter

Computational Communication Research ◽

10.5117/ccr2020.2.003.kell ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 175-202

Author(s):

Tobias R. Keller

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Public Sphere ◽

The Public ◽

Automated Content Analysis ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

The Media ◽

Twitter Users ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

Mps I ◽

Ordinary Citizens

Abstract Politicians use social media platforms such as Twitter to connect with the public. However, it remains largely unknown who constitutes the public sphere to whom politicians actually connect, talk, and listen. Focusing on the Twitter network of all Swiss MPs, I identified 129,063 Twitter users with whom politicians connected (i.e., their follower‐followee network) or with whom they interacted (e.g., [were] replied to or retweeted). I qualitatively analyzed top connected, talking, and listening MPs, and conducted a semi-automated content analysis of the Twitter users to classify them (N = 70.589). Politicians’ audience consists primarily of ordinary citizens, who also react most often to the politicians’ messages. However, politicians listen more often to actors close to politics and the media than to ordinary citizens. Thus, politicians navigate between engaging with everyone without losing control over the communication situation and address key multipliers such journalist to get their messages out.

Fenomena Seleb Hijrah: Tendensi Ekslusivisme dan Kemunculan Kelompok Sosial Baru

MUHARRIK: Jurnal Dakwah dan Sosial ◽

10.37680/muharrik.v3i01.222 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (01) ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Rahmi Nur Fitri ◽

Indah Rama Jayanti

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Young People ◽

Public Sphere ◽

Religious Identity ◽

Social Self ◽

Religious Behavior ◽

The Public ◽

The Media ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

Society Today

Religious behavior nowadays has became a sector which has a lot of change. Modernity and globalization formed a society that was worried on their religious identity. This problem deliver to a new trend amongst young people and Indonesian celebrities. Campaigns of movement extensively spread on media social, self convertion to religious individuals also known as “seleb hijrah”. The massive movement of hijrah lead by various groups that caused alteration the meaning of it and increased activities of religion commodification. Society today has liberation to select literature of hijrah concept that are available in the media. Media extention facilitate spreading of the existence of seleb hijrah which eventually form new communities such as “Kajian MuSaWaRah”. Data obtain through social media, various video and articles discussing the same topic. This paper aims to scientifically explore and critically examine the phenomenon of seleb hijrah that have occurred among artists in recent years. Examine further the emergence of tendency of exclusivism in modern social circle. In addition, the article also explain the tendency of religious commodification in artists circle, in which called them selves with preacher. Nadirsyah Hosen said that hijrah activity amongst celebrities should not only be a popular trend to moving stage in seek of audiences. The majority of artists who are members of the group, innovate to maintain their existence in the public sphere. Keywords: hijrah, artist, exclusivism, identity Abstrak Perilaku keagamaan masa kini telah menjadi bidang yang banyak mengalami perubahan. Modernitas dan globalisasi kemudian membentuk masyarakat yang terguncang akan identitas keagamaannya. Kekhawatiran ini kemudian menghasilkan tren baru di kalangan anak muda dan selebriti Indonesia. Kampanye gerakan untuk menjadi pribadi religius yang dilakoni para artis kemudian marak ditemukan di media sosial atau yang juga dikenal dengan seleb hijrah. Gerakan massif hijrah yang dilakukan oleh berbagai kalangan, menyebabkan terjadinya pergeseran makna hijrah serta meningkatnya aktivitas komodifikasi yang menjadikan agama sebagai obyeknya. Masyarakat dewasa ini bebas untuk memilih referensi hijrah dari sekian banyak sumber yang telah tersedia di media. Ekstensi media mempermudah penyebaran eksistensi artis hijrah yang akhirnya membentuk sebuah komunitas baru seperti Kajian MuSaWaRah. Data didapatkan melalui media sosial, berbagai video kajian serta artikel-artikel yang membahas topik yang sama. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk menelusuri dan mengkritisi secara ilmiah fenomena seleb hijrah yang terjadi di kalangan artis beberapa tahun terakhir. Menelaah lebih jauh munculnya kecenderungan ekslusivisme kelompok sosial modern. Selain itu, artikel juga memaparkan terjadinya kecenderungan komodifikasi agama di dalam kelompok artis yang mulai mengidentifikasikan diri sebagai kelompok pendakwah. Mengutip tulisan Nadirsyah Hosen, aktivitas hijrah di kalangan artis seharusnya tidak hanya menjadi tren populer perpindahan panggung dalam mencari audiensi. Mayoritas artis yang tergabung ke dalam kelompok ini kemudian berinovasi untuk tetap mempertahankan eksistensi mereka di ranah publik. Kata kunci: hijrah, artis, eksklusivisme, identitas

Introduction

10.16997/book60.a ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Christian Fuchs ◽

Klaus Unterberger

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Public Service ◽

The Internet ◽

Dominant Form ◽

The Public ◽

Starting Point ◽

The Media ◽

The Creation ◽

The Public Sphere

This chapter introduces the book’s context. It describes the process that led to the creation of the Public Service Media and Public Service Internet Manifesto. The basic starting point was the insight that the survival of public service media is in danger, that the dominant form of the Internet and Internet platforms undermines the democratic public sphere, and that we need new forms of the Internet and the media in order to safeguard and renew democracy and the public sphere.

Film Criticism in Germany Today: A Report on Practice

New German Critique ◽

10.1215/0094033x-8607591 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 59-71

Author(s):

Claudia Lenssen

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Public Sphere ◽

Digital Age ◽

Film Criticism ◽

Traditional Media ◽

The Public ◽

Social Unity ◽

The Media ◽

Market Driven ◽

The Public Sphere

Abstract As traditional media in Germany have lost their relevance in the digital age, so has the perpetually embattled authority of film criticism diminished. The article addresses current debates about the state of criticism while critics are confronting the collapse of the media having traditionally defined their work. What does it mean that writing on film is supposed to function as the “taste tester for cultural gastronomy” (Wolfram Schütte)? Do social media marginalize critical expertise? How does film criticism work under the omen of changing concepts of the public sphere? The article discusses the prospects of film criticism “at a time when the architectonic, mythic, and social unity of film is no longer self-evident and has ceased to function hegemonically” (Georg Seeßlen). What does it mean that “writing about the audiovisual must change” and young film critics open up spaces to win back film criticism as a counterbalance to market-driven film policies?

AMPLIFICATION OF ISLAMIC DOCTRINES IN HADITH MEMES PROHIBITION OF WOMEN TRAVELS WITHOUT A MAHRAM ON INDONESIAN SOCIAL MEDIA

Jurnal Studi Ilmu-ilmu Al-Qur an dan Hadis ◽

10.14421/qh.2021.2201-11 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 230

Author(s):

Miski Miski

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Public Sphere ◽

Classical Literature ◽

Social Phenomena ◽

The Public ◽

The Media ◽

The Creation ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

Contemporary Context

This paper is a netnographic study of hadith memes prohibition women from traveling without mahram on Indonesian social media. there are three main questions that are in focus: 1) how does classical literature record hadiths related to this theme? 2) how does this hadith exist in memes on Indonesian social media? 3) how did this phenomenon give birth to the amplification of Islamic doctrine? By using content analysis, this study shows: 1) the hadith in this theme is a hadith that is widely known among the Companions of the Prophet and the gatherers of the hadith, and is considered mutually reinforcing, 2) on social media, the hadith exists in various memes; besides the media factor, also the factors of its users which still carry theological aspects, 3) the massive spread of memes in this theme triggers the creation of the Islamic doctrine, and has an effect on the neglect of other more essential aspects of Islamic doctrine. This study also found that the existence of the meme hadith is a re-actualization of classical discourse that is intended as resistance to a variety of religious social phenomena that are deemed deviant, especially in relation to women's freedom in the public sphere. To this point, it must be acknowledged that the memes that are spread are methodologically problematic or irrelevant in a contemporary context. Beyond these findings, the existence of memes with different interpretations but in limited quantities and intended as a counter to memes that have been widespread will further enrich the discourse of hadith studies. Keywords: hadith, memes, netnographic study, mahram

A Critical Analysis of the Public Sphere in the Digital Age: The Case of the Petrocaribe Challenge Movement

Etkileşim ◽

10.32739/etkilesim.2021.4.8.139 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (8) ◽

pp. 90-107

Author(s):

Marc-Henry Pierre ◽

Mehmet Güzel

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Political Economy ◽

Public Sphere ◽

Critical Discourse Analysis ◽

Political Communication ◽

Critical Analysis ◽

Social Inequalities ◽

The Public ◽

Research Findings ◽

The Public Sphere

While studies that address the relationship between social media and social movements generally use the functionalist paradigm, the critical analysis of the public sphere in the era of distributed media emphasizes the importance of political economy and political communication. Based on the critical political economy analysis of distributed media, this study examined the Twitter-mediated protest "Petrocaribe Challenge" in relation to a possible political public sphere in Haiti. To this end, a qualitative method based on critical discourse analysis was used in the study. Also, 163 tweets purposely selected by the researchers were analyzed. The research findings showed that the Twitter-mediated Petrocaribe Challenge is a political protest with no leadership and a significant lack of online engagement and communication. Besides, the study found that in a political sphere characterized by extreme social inequalities, universal participation is crucial to the formation of a critical public sphere. Although most educated people in Haiti use social media, the majority of Haitians do not have access to these online platforms, which goes against the principles of the public sphere. While the findings of the present study do not allow for generalization, they make up a significant contribution to the critical analysis of social media as a public sphere