News Sources and Framing of Responsibility on Devolution in Kenya, 2013–2017

The present research examines two aspects of newspaper coverage of devolution during a 4-year period between March 27, 2013, and May 28, 2017: first, through the lens of attribution of responsibility, who the news media most blamed for problems facing devolution; second, whether reliance on official sources in reporting of devolution mirrors the indexing hypothesis. Findings show that the most-blamed actor and dominant news source on devolution is the county executive. Journalists continue to rely on the elite as their main news source and as a result they shape the discourse on devolution.

Information Networks and Collective Action: Evidence from the Women’s Temperance Crusade

How do social interactions shape collective action, and how are they mediated by networked information technologies? We answer these questions studying the Temperance Crusade, a wave of anti-liquor protest activity spreading across 29 states between 1873 and 1874. Relying on exogenous variation in network links generated by railroad accidents, we provide causal evidence of social interactions driving the diffusion of the movement, mediated by rail and telegraph information about neighboring activity. Local newspaper coverage of the crusade was a key channel mediating these effects. Using an event-study methodology, we find strong complementarities between rail and telegraph networks in driving the movement’s spread. (JEL D83, J16, L92, L96, N31, N41, N71)

Media Framing on 2018 General Election: A Comparative Content Analysis on Newspapers Coverage Toward Political Parties in Malaysia

This article explores the mainstream media favorability towards political parties in the context of newspaper coverage in Malaysia during the 14th general election in 2018 (GE-14). The newspapers selected for this study are three Malay, two English, two Mandarin and two Tamil newspapers namely: 'Utusan Malaysia,' 'Berita Harian', 'Sinar Harian', 'New Straits Times', 'The Star', 'Nanyang Siang Pau', 'Sin Chew Daily', 'Nanban' and 'Osai'. The background of the newspapers was explored in order to understand the ownerships and approaches in covering the news about GE-14. This study was carried out in two separate phases, in which the data were derived from both periods before and after the GE-14. The data were classified into few categories based on reports on Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan (PH), Gagasan Sejahtera (GS) through the frequencies and percentages of the positive, negative, and neutral forms of coverage. The result of this study implies that in 2018, most of the mainstream media reporting was pro-government, which attributed to the linkage to political parties. Surprisingly, the unprecedented victory of the opposition can be seen to relate to the growth of positive coverage towards Pakatan Harapan, subsequently after the general election. Through content analysis of these selected newspapers, the author discussed gender-related coverage and general issues during the chosen period of the study. Keywords: Mainstream media, media ownership, political partisanship, general election, Malaysia.

Anti-Muslim Voting and Media Coverage of Immigrant Crimes

We study how news coverage of immigrant criminality impacts voting in one of the most controversial referendums in recent years – the 2009 Swiss minaret ban. We combine a comprehensive crime detection dataset with detailed information on newspaper coverage. We first document a large upward distortion in media reporting of immigrant crime during the prereferendum period. Exploiting quasi-random variations in crime incidence, we find a positive first-order effect of news coverage on support for the ban. Quantification shows that, in absence of the media bias, pro-ban vote would have decreased from 57.6% to 53.5% at the national level.

Understanding the Present Through the Past: A Comparison of Spanish News Coverage of the 1918 Flu and COVID-19 Pandemics

Through a comparative analysis of Spanish newspaper coverage of the 1918 flu and COVID-19 pandemics, this article explores the parallels between them, their roles in reflecting and facilitating public perceptions of infectious diseases, the national dialogues they incite, and the search for solutions in a global health crisis. I use qualitative analysis to interpret media themes of contagion as they shift from societal complacency to panic as disaster unfolds. In weaving together Philip Strong’s model for epidemic psychology and Jim A. Kuypers’s rhetorical approach to news framing, I analyze how newspapers communicate changing assumptions about epidemiologic risks during pandemics.

Humbug and outrage: A study of performance, gender and affective atmosphere in the mediation of a critical parliamentary moment

In a Parliament called back following its unlawful prorogation in September 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson touched a raw nerve by stating that the ‘best way to honour Jo Cox’s memory is to get Brexit done’. Johnson had earlier dismissed concerns about threats to Members of Parliament which echoed his inflammatory language as ‘humbug’. We examine this critical parliamentary moment in the context of broader discussions about emotionality, toxic discourse and polarisation in the United Kingdom. The study combines performance analysis of the Hansard transcripts and UK Parliament YouTube coverage of the debate, with discourse analysis of national and local newspaper coverage from 25 September to 1 October 2019. We contend that in-depth examination of this moment, alongside the subsequent journalistic commentary, contributes an original case study which works to illuminate the intersections of political performance, affective atmospheres and gender in contemporary mediated political culture.

Setting the agenda in environmental crisis: Relationships between tweets, Google search trends, and newspaper coverage during the California drought

Nuanced public responses to droughts and other chronic environmental crises reflect today’s increasingly complex communication ecosystem. At once global and infinitely customizable, this vast array of media and information channels requires existing theory to address the implications of interactions among social media, “traditional” mass media outlets, and information-seeking tools such as search engines. How do these channels intervene in public conversation? What might the agenda-setting perspective have to say? Data collected during peak years of the California drought, 2013–2015, indicate that California residents responded to worsening drought conditions Twitter first, which was the only media behavior directly stimulated by environmental stressors. Google searches stimulated newspaper coverage and Twitter activity, revealing the centrality of search behaviors in this environmental crisis. The findings suggest significant changes to the communication landscape as individual and collective users become increasingly dependent on non-mainstream media channels for information in chronic crisis situations.