Abstract
There is an ongoing debate as to whether the Internet broadly, and social media specifically, has radicalized or normalized existing patterns of participation in discussions of public affairs. Previous studies of traditional media's coverage of polluting industries have found media in less structurally pluralistic, more economically dependent communities are less likely to be critical in their coverage of industrial pollution. This study examines whether or not the influence of local community structure was normalized in Gulf Coast Twitter users' tweets about the 2010 BP oil spill. While it has been suggested that the Internet “overrides” the influences of local geography, like journalists, the producers of online content still live and work in local geographic communities. Thus, this study examines whether Twitter users in less pluralistic, more economically dependent communities are less critical of BP and its response to the crisis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 581-600 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2 2014 |
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Normalizing Community Structure’s Restraint on Critical Tweets About a Polluting Industry. / Watson, Brendan R.
In: Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Vol. 58, No. 4, 02.10.2014, p. 581-600.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Normalizing Community Structure’s Restraint on Critical Tweets About a Polluting Industry
AU - Watson, Brendan R
PY - 2014/10/2
Y1 - 2014/10/2
N2 - There is an ongoing debate as to whether the Internet broadly, and social media specifically, has radicalized or normalized existing patterns of participation in discussions of public affairs. Previous studies of traditional media's coverage of polluting industries have found media in less structurally pluralistic, more economically dependent communities are less likely to be critical in their coverage of industrial pollution. This study examines whether or not the influence of local community structure was normalized in Gulf Coast Twitter users' tweets about the 2010 BP oil spill. While it has been suggested that the Internet “overrides” the influences of local geography, like journalists, the producers of online content still live and work in local geographic communities. Thus, this study examines whether Twitter users in less pluralistic, more economically dependent communities are less critical of BP and its response to the crisis.
AB - There is an ongoing debate as to whether the Internet broadly, and social media specifically, has radicalized or normalized existing patterns of participation in discussions of public affairs. Previous studies of traditional media's coverage of polluting industries have found media in less structurally pluralistic, more economically dependent communities are less likely to be critical in their coverage of industrial pollution. This study examines whether or not the influence of local community structure was normalized in Gulf Coast Twitter users' tweets about the 2010 BP oil spill. While it has been suggested that the Internet “overrides” the influences of local geography, like journalists, the producers of online content still live and work in local geographic communities. Thus, this study examines whether Twitter users in less pluralistic, more economically dependent communities are less critical of BP and its response to the crisis.
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U2 - 10.1080/08838151.2014.966359
DO - 10.1080/08838151.2014.966359
M3 - Article
VL - 58
SP - 581
EP - 600
JO - Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media
JF - Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media
SN - 0883-8151
IS - 4
ER -