An exploratory test of an intuitive evaluation method of perceived argument strength

According to Mercier and Sperber (2009, 2011, 2017), people have an immediate and intuitive feeling about the strength of an argument. These intuitive evaluations are not captured by current evaluation methods of argument strength, yet they could be important to predict the extent to which people accept the claim supported by the argument. In an exploratory study, therefore, a newly developed intuitive evaluation method to assess argument strength was compared to an explicit argument strength evaluation method (the PAS scale; Zhao et al., 2011), on their ability to predict claim acceptance (predictive validity) and on their sensitivity to differences in the manipulated quality of arguments (construct validity). An experimental study showed that the explicit argument strength evaluation performed well on the two validity measures. The intuitive evaluation measure, on the other hand, was not found to be valid. Suggestions for other ways of constructing and testing intuitive evaluation measures are presented.

Populist online communication: Interactions among politicians, journalists, and citizens (Dissertation summary)

The recent rise of populist politicians in Western democracies is often associated with their allegedly successful use of digital media. However, for a long time, there has been little research specifically on populist online communication. To address this substantial research gap, the thesis pursues two major research aims: First, it investigates drivers of populist communication in politicians’ online self-presentation and online news media representation. Second, the thesis examines the effects of populist online communication on citizens’ behavior in the form of user reactions to politicians’ social media posts and reader comments on online news articles. Based on five internationally comparative studies and the overarching synopsis, the cumulative thesis demonstrates that populist online communication is driven by the reciprocal interactions among politicians, journalists, and citizens and is influenced by various factors on the macro, meso, and micro level. Furthermore, it shows that populist online communication resonates with citizens and is multiplied by them – specifically by citizens with prior strong populist attitudes. By analyzing the interactions of three key actor groups – politicians, journalists, and citizens – and by following a multimethod approach the dissertation connects research on both the supply and demand side of populism.

Stephan Russ-Mohl (Hrsg.). Streitlust und Streitkunst. Diskurs als Essenz der Demokratie

Unser Planet wird von globalen Krisen erschüttert. Wir erleben «Wandel» derzeit hautnah, auf ganz verschiedenen Ebenen. Die Frage, wie wir kommunizieren, ist deshalb von elementarer Bedeutung. Mittels Kommunikation bewahren oder entwickeln wir im Angesicht von Risiken gemeinsame Denk- und Handlungsspielräume. Es sind deshalb alle Initiativen zu begrüssen, die den kommunikativen Austausch zwischen Individuen und Institutionen beleuchten und kritisch hinterfragen. Zum einen, weil vieles in unseren herkömmlichen Kommunikationspraxen dringender Anstrengungen zur Verbesserung bedarf. Zum anderen aber auch, weil genauso vieles dringend restaurierungs bzw. erneuerungswürdig ist. In diesem Sinn wirft diese Rezension einige Schlaglichter auf eine vielversprechende Buchreihe, die im Kölner Herbert van Halem-Verlag erscheint und vom emeritierten Professor für Journalistik und Medienmanagement Stephan Russ-Mohl kuratiert wird. Es geht im Folgenden also um die «Schriften zur Rettung des öffentlichen Diskurses».

La comunicazione di Matteo Salvini durante la pandemia: l’immigrazione e la delegittimazione dell’avversario politico

Following the critical discourse analysis approach, this article intends to highlight how the anti-immigration perspective is (re)produced within the Facebook page of the Italian political leader Matteo Salvini during the pandemic scenario between March 2020–March 2021. Quantitative and qualitative analysis have been applied to Salvini’s posts and users’ comments aiming at identifying the linguistic strategies that contribute to instrumentalizing the emergency and aim to reinforce the process of “securitization” of national borders as well as the re-legitimation of national identities. Findings suggest that the main discursive strategies used by the political leader do not include migrants as a danger for the spread of the virus. Rather, Salvini systematically organized the migratory narration on negative campaigning blaming political opponents and recontextualized the moralization of borders. The contribution helps to reveal how the anti-migration discourse is reproduced during the COVID-19 outbreak and how the politicization of the migration serves as a context for the normalization of migrant’s exclusion.

Critical perspectives on migration in discourse and communication: An introduction

While these lines were written, Taliban were conquering Afghanistan, establishing a regime of terror in the country, while concurrently provoking a wide conflict in the Western public sphere about responsibilities and consequences of this situation. More specifically, Europe witnesses a racist and xenophobic wave of discourses against a new possible escape of refugees toward Europe; presently such discourses abound in politics and the media. It is more than a truism nowadays that, in crisis-stricken Europe, there is an increasing politicization of migration, which takes place against the background and mutual overlapping of diverse crises. More specifically, migration has become a focal and quite polarizing issue in the European public sphere especially since the numbers of refugees, escaping from conflict territories of the Middle East (e. g., Syria), crossing the Mediterranean, dramatically increased starting in 2014 (Bevelander & Wodak, 2019a). The so-called “refugee crisis,” as this movement was portrayed by mainstream media and powerful political figures in Europe (Krzyżanowski, Triandafyllidou, & Wodak, 2018), contributed to social and economic tensions (such as the Eurozone “debt crisis”) that took place in the European Union and played into Brexit that followed.

Nachruf auf Michael Schanne. Wissenschafts-, Risiko- und Gesundheitskommunikation als zentrale Forschungsfelder

Michael Schanne (27.6.1948–30. 8. 2021) studierte Soziologie, Publizistikwissenschaft und Politikwissenschaft an der Universität Zürich und schloss sein Studium 1977 mit Lizentiat bei Prof. Peter Heintz in Soziologie ab. Danach war er Assistent am Seminar für Publizistikwissenschaft bei Prof. Ulrich Saxer bis Mitte der 1980er Jahre. 1987 gründete er mit Werner A. Meier die AGK – Arbeitsgruppe für Kommunikationsforschung und -beratung und führte u. a. im Rahmen von Evaluationen zahlreiche Inhaltsanalysen durch sowie qualitative Forschungsprojekte basierend auf Experteninterviews. Von 2001 bis zu seiner Pensionierung 2013 forschte und lehrte er an der ZHAW – Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften zusammen mit Vinzenz Wyss an der Professur für Journalistik.

Editorial

We are pleased to announce several innovations at SComS. In July, SComS was added to the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). This gives our young open access journal more visibility and connects us even better with the growing community dedicated to developing open access journals and making scientific knowledge accessible. In addition, there are technical innovations on the Submission Platform. Authors can now directly enter their ORCID ID as part of the submission process and link their papers to their unique researcher ID. In case you are not familiar with ORCID, you can find more information on https://orcid.org. Let us now turn our attention from future issues to this issue of SComS. It contains four articles in the General Section, a Thematic Section entitled “Critical perspectives on migration in discourse and communication,” and two book reviews in the Reviews and Reports Section. In addition, the Community Section contains the summary of Sina Blassnig’s dissertation, which was awarded the 2021 Dissertation Prize of the Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research (SACM). On a sad occasion, the issue also contains an obituary of the communication and media scientist Michael Schanne.

The “refugee crisis” as an opportunity structure for right-wing populist social movements: The case of PEGIDA

Current research on right-wing populist communication is often confined to political parties, with social movements receiving much less attention. To help fill this research gap, we examine the frames and master frames of the PEGIDA movement and the role of the 2015 “refugee crisis” in shaping them. Using qualitative content analysis of speeches held at PEGIDA rallies between 2014 and 2016, we identify two distinct master frames, each consisting of five particular frames. Besides an initial master frame about the allegedly looming Islam- ization of Europe, a second master frame dealing with the Perils of Asylum emerge during the “crisis” – ultimately, both converge, with the latter incorporating central elements of the former. These findings buttress our interpretation of the “crisis” as an opportunity structure that helped right-wing populist social movements to revitalize their message and broaden their audience. However, its long-term impact still appears limited as PEGIDA’s influence has greatly waned in recent years.

Vertical and horizontal communication on the Facebook pages of 2014 Brazilian presidential candidates

Social networking sites can be defined as online services that allow users to create public or private profiles and, among other things, create connections, share opinions, news, and affections. In 2014, many electors in Brazil were engaged in the presidential campaign on these virtual spaces as never before. In this context, the research question guiding this study is: What are the communication strategies employed by electors and the three main presidential candidates in the online interaction processes during the 2014 Brazilian elections? To address this question, empirical research was employed using a qualitative approach to analyze comments posted in the candidates’ Facebook fan pages during that electoral process. Based on the research and theory in this field, two types of communication in the virtual space were investigated: (a) vertical communication through interaction between Internet users and campaign staff; and (b) horizontal communication among electors in the comments section. We conclude that, although the comments section of the candidates’ pages on Facebook is frequently used as a space both for mutual support and incivility against opponents, it is still used creatively for discussion on the candidates’ government plans, the situation of the country, attempts of engagement in the electoral process and exposure to ideologically crosscutting viewpoints.

Schönhagen, Philomen, Meißner, Mike. «Kommunikations- und Mediengeschichte. Von Versammlungen bis zu den digitalen Medien»

Philomen Schönhagen legt zusammen mit Mike Meißner eine Kommunikations- und Mediengeschichte vor, die den Fokus vor allem auf die Schweiz legt. Das fehlte bisher. Es gibt Medien- und Journalismusgeschichten Frankreichs, Deutschlands, Italiens, weltweit, es gibt das Handbuch der Mediengeschichte von Helmut Schanze, aber an eine Gesamtschau für die Schweiz hat sich seit langem niemand gewagt. Philomen Schönhagen, avec l’aide de Mike Meißner, propose une histoire de la communication et des médias qui met l’accent sur la Suisse. Cela manquait jusque-là. Il existe des histoires des médias et du journalisme en France, en Allemagne, en Italie et dans le monde entier, il y a le manuel d’histoire des médias de Helmut Schlanze, mais il y avait longtemps que personne n’avait tenté de livrer une vue d’ensemble de la situation en Suisse. Philomen Schönhagen, insieme a Mike Meißner, presenta per la prima volta una ricerca sulla storia della comunicazione e dei media incentrata principalmente sulla Svizzera. Fino ad oggi esistono studi sulla storia dei media e del giornalismo in Francia, Germania, Italia e a nivello mondiale, oltre al manuale sulla storia dei media di Helmut Schanze.