?
Mediatization of Twitter? Traditional and online media in ad hoc discussions on inter-ethnic conflicts
With growth of Internet communication, hopes rose that online discussions will
equalize ordinary users and institutional discussants. But what roles tr
aditional media play in
online discussions remains under
-
researched. We argue that mediatization of Twitter discourse is
worth studying, as activity of registered media in online discussions may play a role in preserving
the “offline” deliberative inequali
ties. To assess the roles of media in Twitter discussions, we look
at two structural aspects of their presence: posting activity and users’ sharing of media content
–
within heated
ad hoc
Twitter discussions on inter
-
ethnic conflicts in Russia, the USA, an
d
Germany. Our findings show huge national differences in mediatization patterns, including the
roles of political media. But also we see that, in all the three cases, the discourse is shaped by
“white majority media”, and outlets that would represent the
oppressed minority are virtually
absent in both posting and link sharing patterns.With growth of Internet communication, hopes rose that online discussions will
equalize ordinary users and institutional discussants. But what roles tr
aditional media play in
online discussions remains under
-
researched. We argue that mediatization of Twitter discourse is
worth studying, as activity of registered media in online discussions may play a role in preserving
the “offline” deliberative inequali
ties. To assess the roles of media in Twitter discussions, we look
at two structural aspects of their presence: posting activity and users’ sharing of media content
–
within heated
ad hoc
Twitter discussions on inter
-
ethnic conflicts in Russia, the USA, an
d
Germany. Our findings show huge national differences in mediatization patterns, including the
roles of political media. But also we see that, in all the three cases, the discourse is shaped by
“white majority media”, and outlets that would represent the
oppressed minority are virtually
absent in both posting and link sharing patterns.With growth of Internet communication, hopes rose that online discussions will
equalize ordinary users and institutional discussants. But what roles tr
aditional media play in
online discussions remains under
-
researched. We argue that mediatization of Twitter discourse is
worth studying, as activity of registered media in online discussions may play a role in preserving
the “offline” deliberative inequali
ties. To assess the roles of media in Twitter discussions, we look
at two structural aspects of their presence: posting activity and users’ sharing of media content
–
within heated
ad hoc
Twitter discussions on inter
-
ethnic conflicts in Russia, the USA, an
d
Germany. Our findings show huge national differences in mediatization patterns, including the
roles of political media. But also we see that, in all the three cases, the discourse is shaped by
“white majority media”, and outlets that would represent the
oppressed minority are virtually
absent in both posting and link sharing patterns.