Social networking sites and the public sphere

1. Social networking sites and the public sphere The US presidential election campaign on Digg, Reddit, Newsvine and Propeller. András Szabó Tampere, 18.4.2008 -

2. Social news sites? • community of editors, free of direct influence (in theory)‏ • filters or aggregators of content • news and discussion

3. SNS and the public sphere • the two entry points: • social news sites accommodate discussion, and • they also set – at least their own – agenda.

4. The strength of SNS • discussions that matter • the democratic principle • as opposed to blogs, discussion forums • common ground (with credibility issues)‏ • an advocacy domain of media (Dahlgren)‏ • cf. the strange economy of the internet

5. The overall research plan • 3-pronged approach: • content analysis of social news sites • narratives, agenda-setting, sources, practicalities • critical discourse analysis of social news sites and blogs • critical discourse analysis of discussion forums

6. Digg, Reddit Reddit 2.5 million unique visitors / month (1.7 m from US)‏ owned by Condé Nast (Wired, The New Yorker, GQ, Vogue...)‏ • Digg • 25 million unique visitors / month (of which 15 m from US)‏ • private company (Digg, Inc.)‏

7. Newsvine, Propeller Propeller 6 million unique visitors / month (3.7 million from US)‏ owned by AOL LLC, belongs to the Time-Warner media conglomerate • Newsvine • 1 million unique visitors / month (840 thousand from US)‏ • owned by MSNBC, a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft

8. Samples and elections Why the elections? important widely covered fixed + variable elements large enough to include a variety of themes but small enough to remain comparable • sampling principles: • daily and weekly • from “politics” or “elections” category • aim: the 4 most popular (relevant) news items from each site, every day

9. My questions • Agenda-setting • How important is the campaign? (public agenda)‏ • Can it influence the agenda of MSM? (agenda building)‏ • Narratives • What is covered in the news, and how does it differ from that of MSM? • Sources • How many and what kind of sources do SNS use? • Practicalities • How fast are sns, and what is their “added value”?

10. Base of comparison • The PEJ (Project for Excellence in Journalism) News Coverage Index • network TV, newspapers, online news sites (but no blogs or social news sites), radio, cable news • subsets: campaign coverage index, talkshow index • One question: what is being covered in the news media? • http://www.journalism.org

11. Elections? What elections?

12. And now... ...something completely different.

13. Primary, secondary sources • 348 articles • How many primary sources? • note that 1 submitted (secondary) source might use several primary sources

14. Primary sources • 4 weeks, 348 news items • 150 (133) different primary sources

15. Secondary sources • 4 weeks, 348 news items • 152 (114) different sec. sources – about 2.2 item / source

16. Sources – summary • largely diverse, fragmented pool of both primary and secondary sources • including: The Rolling Stone, HBO, radio shows and Wikipedia • the role of independent private individuals compares to that of the most influential sources • though: is this really news production? (news vs opinion)‏ • no conclusive evidence of ownership influence on the use of sources

17. Quickness • “afternoon edition”? • delayed, but expanded content • convenient archives

18. The narratives – week 8 (18th - 24th February)‏ • Obama continues winning streak (Hawaii, Wisconsin), McCain explains lobby ties • prominent only on social news sites: Ralph Nader, BO vs HRC senate record

19. The narratives – week 9 (25th Feb - 2nd March)‏ • Obama under closer scrutiny, McCain starts to disappear • prominent only in MSM: Clinton's experience, Mike Huckabee • MSM picks up on Nader, senate record comparison • prominent only on SNS: Antoin Rezko

20. The narratives – week 10 (3rd - 9th March )‏ • Clinton makes comeback (Texas, Ohio), Democrats' deadlock? • MSM picks up on Rezko case • social news sites pick up on Clinton's experience

21. The narratives – week 11 (10th - 16th March )‏ • a narrative of racial tension: Wright, Ferraro • prominent only on – some - SNS: John Hagee (reaction); Clinton's experience • overshadowing the campaign in MSM: the Spitzer-scandal

22. Media exposure by party • average difference: 2.66 percentage points • “other” parties: 2.28% vs 3.06% • questioning the narrative altogether: 3 stories on social news sites (0.86% of the newswhole)‏

23. Narratives and agenda setting • largely corresponding agendas (within the topic of the 2008 campaign)‏ • (though further analysis needed to study the effects of fragmentation)‏ • however, social news sites have the potential to overtake the conventional media: • the “Grassrootsmom”-file, Ralph Nader, the Rezko-case • Is there a causal relationship? There might be.

24. Summary • social news sites use a large variety of sources – a main contributor to healthy “advocacy media” • the role of independent private individuals is important (both as primary and as secondary source) – civic journalism is treated equally • social news sites are quick • they largely mirror the agenda of the mainstream media – but also show potential to (at least) influence it

25. What's missing? • Framing – the qualities of representation. How are issues presented, what are the underlying ideologies? Bias / objectivity of the sites? • What's the context of the practice of using a social news site? Do they complement or strive to substitute traditional media organs? • Analysis of discussion. Critical argument vs shouting abuse?

26. Thank you. • Project for Excellence in Journalism: • http://www.journalism.org • Reach me at: • andras.szabo@student.uwasa.fi • http://raatali.wordpress.com