Book reviews

Guided by uses and gratifications theory and prior research on cross-cultural adaptation (CCA), this article investigated how loneliness influenced Chinese students’ Internet use and CCA. The results showed that chronically lonely, situationally lonely and non-lonely groups were significantly different in their motives for Internet use. Non-lonely Chinese students were more likely to use the Internet for acculturation and less likely to use it for passing time and companionship than did chronically lonely Chinese students. Moreover, loneliness was a significant negative predictor of both sociocultural adaptation and psychological adaptation. Consistent with previous research on CCA, the findings lent support to the uses and gratifications paradigm which posits that individual differences influence people's motivation for media use. Implications of the results for uses and gratifications and CCA research are discussed.     

#SocialJournalism: Local News Media on Twitter

A content analysis of 4,507 tweets from 60 local news organizations in the United States was conducted to examine Twitter strategies used by the local news industry. Results indicate that local news organizations in the United States mainly used Twitter as an additional platform for news dissemination. While local TV stations and newspapers differed significantly in their use of tweet structures, content, and strategies, both followed the similar practices of their traditional media portals. In addition, the number of followers and total tweets of a news organization’s Twitter account, use of photos, hashtags, usernames, and tweet content predicted audience engagement with the site. Overall, local news organizations in the United States did not appear to use Twitter to cross-promote and/or supplement their traditional business practices. This research calls for more systematic, multi-dimensional social media management in local newsrooms.     

Muslim Women’s Use of Internet Media in the Process of Acculturation in the United States

This study examines how Muslim women use Internet-based media in the process of acculturation in the United States. Grounded theory methodology (Glaser, 1992) and Sam and Berry’s (2006) model of acculturation were used as theoretical and analytical frameworks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 Muslim women to learn about their media use and experiences in forming and maintaining relationships in the United States. Educational opportunities were an emerging theme in the determining factors of immigrating to the United States. The data indicated that Muslim women use a variety of Internet-based media such as Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Viber for communicating with family and friends locally and abroad. A majority of the participants reported that social media allowed them to express a part of their identities. The data suggests that the participants attained the level of acculturation defined as integration. The participants use these media to build and create relationships in their new communities. The combined relationships the participants maintain both locally and abroad seem to play a role in the creation of balance in their lives, which allows them to thrive in their new communities, at school, and at work.     

美国华文报纸新探

在世界新闻传播领域里 ,华文传媒是大中华文化圈的重要媒介 ,同时是华人与所在国不可或缺的沟通桥梁 ,美国是海外华文传媒最发达的地区之一 ,本文针对华人聚集最多的加利福尼亚洲 ,透过访问及调查研究 ,分析华文报纸发展原因、现状和发展范式     

How college students evaluate and share “fake news” stories

The spread of “fake news” stories online has become a pressing concern in the United States and around the world in recent years. Social media platforms enable the rapid spread of such misinformation and also make evaluating the credibility of online information more difficult. Since college students are frequent users of social media, they are particularly likely to be exposed to fake news. A survey was conducted with 63 undergraduate students in which they identified and evaluated examples of both fake and real news stories and reported their associated information behaviors. Results showed correlations between accurate identification of fake news stories and specific critical evaluation behaviors and strategies. However, students were unable to accurately evaluate their own skills, and their willingness to share fake news stories on social media was not related to accurate identifications or evaluations of trustworthiness. This study contributes to the understanding of not just how accurately students evaluate fake news stories, but of the specific information-seeking behaviors and critical evaluation strategies that are associated with accurate identifications and evaluations and with willingness to share news stories on social media. Implications for educators and directions for future research are discussed.     

News or Noticias: A Social Identity Approach to Understanding Latinos’ Preferred Language for News Consumption in the United States

For Latinos in the United States, decisions reflecting which language they prefer for news media consumption can have substantial effects on the quality of the content they receive. However, little is known about what influences Latinos’ language preferences for news media consumption. This project looks to fill that void to the immediate appeal of academics and media analysts by asking, What influences Latinos’ language preference for news? This project builds on social psychology theories highlighting the role played by social identity and self-categorization for inspiring culturally consistent behaviors. This social identity approach focuses on the embrace of Latino characteristics and the complementary nature of Spanish-language media outputs relative to those characteristics. Using the 2006 Latino National Survey, the role of identity is explored. The results indicate that language preferences for news consumption are indeed related to various social identity measures among Latinos in the United States.     

Second Screening and Political Persuasion on Social Media

This article seeks to explain political persuasion in relation to second screening—people’s use of a second screen (i.e., smartphone/laptop) while watching television to access further information or discuss TV programs. Employing a two-wave-panel survey in the United States, results show this emergent practice makes people more open to changing their political opinions, particularly among those who habitually use social media for news or frequently interact with others in social media contexts.     

Why Users Share the News: A Theory of Reasoned Action-Based Study on the Antecedents of News-Sharing Behavior

Social media have become an integral part of online news use, affecting how individuals find, consume, and share news. By applying the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), this study investigates the effects of motives, attitude, and intention on news-sharing behavior among German social media users (n = 333). Findings show that news-sharing attitude and subjective norms have a positive effect on news-sharing intention, which in turn has a positive effect on actual news-sharing behavior. Taken together, we see that a new media behavior in the early phases of its societal diffusion—like social media news sharing in Germany in 2015—can mainly be explained by a rational choice logic and is rooted in the motives of socializing and information seeking. This finding thus reflects the double nature of social media as a means for both information retrieval and social grooming.     

Measuring the effect of political alignment,platforms, and fake news consumption on voter concern for election processes

Fake news, propagated on social media platforms, is regularly used as a tool to influence political beliefs. In this paper, we investigate the impact of fake news on perceptions of election processes by drawing on the theory of motivated reasoning. We use survey data on partisan alignment, news consumption habits, and voting methods collected before and after the 2020 United States general election. Our pre-election results indicated that political alignment and the type of news a voter consumes influences their trust perceptions of election processes. These findings were replicated in the post-election results. We also found that Facebook users were more likely to consume fake and hyper-partisan news, whereas people who directly navigate to news websites consume primarily mainstream news sources. Implications for research and policy are discussed along with opportunities for future research on the impacts of fake news.     

Taking our Pictures

This qualitative research project explores the specific ways in which 12 traditional television, print and internet news organizations in the United States integrated user-generated visual content into news coverage over the course of an ordinary week, June 8–14, 2014. Framed from a cultural materialist perspective, we found that user-generated visual content constituted a minimal part of the print, broadcast and online news coverage. Based on our research, we suggest that traditional media outlets marginalized the use of citizen photojournalism in an effort to control news production, maintain their influence and power, and to reinforce the reliance on ideological notions of accurate, responsible and relevant journalism.     

NEWS ACCURACY IN SWITZERLAND AND ITALY

Nearly 80 years of accuracy research in the United States has documented that the press frequently errs, but empirical study about news accuracy elsewhere in the world is absent. This article presents an accuracy audit of Swiss and Italian daily regional newspapers. Replicating US research, the study offers a trans-Atlantic perspective of news accuracy. To compare newspaper accuracy in Switzerland and Italy to longitudinal accuracy research in the United States, the study followed closely the methodology pioneered by Charnley (1936) and adapted by Maier (2005). News sources found factual inaccuracy in 60 percent of Swiss newspaper stories they reviewed, compared to 48 percent of US and 52 percent of Italian newspapers examined. The results show that newspaper inaccuracy—and its corrosive effect on media credibility—transcends national borders and journalism cultures. Nowadays, digitization offers new ways of implementing correction policies. Media organizations need, however, to adapt to these changes and to adapt their structures in particular to new forms of participative and interactive two-way communication.     

PREPARING FOR AN AGE OF PARTICIPATORY NEWS

In a time of declining public trust in news, loss of advertising revenue, and an increasingly participatory, self-expressive and digital media culture, journalism is in the process of rethinking and reinventing itself. In this paper, the authors explore how journalism is preparing itself for an age of participatory news: a time where (some of) the news is gathered, selected, edited and communicated by professionals and amateurs, and by producers and consumers alike. Using materials from case studies of emerging participatory news practices in the Netherlands, Germany, Australia and the United States, the authors conclude with some preliminary recommendations for further research and theorize early explanations for the success or failure of participatory journalism.     

State–press relations revisited: a case study on how American media portray the post-war Vietnam

This study revisited the state–press relations theory by analyzing the coverage of Vietnam over the 30 years between 1980 and 2009 in two leading American news magazines, Time and Newsweek . A contribution of this research is its context of the long-term and volatile relationship between these two countries. Despite progress in the diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam, the portrayal of Vietnam in US media remained unchanged. This finding indicates that American media do not always support the US government's political stance when covering international news. It suggests a new direction for future research applying this theory.     

U.S. News Coverage of Global Terrorist Incidents

A slew of gruesome executions by terrorist groups in 2014–2015 renewed interest in the public relations strategies of terrorists. As a case in point, the Islamic State group’s escalating brutality reflects their efforts as a relatively nascent extremist group to ensure a high and sustained volume of media coverage, especially among Western outlets. But what characteristics of events actually prompt coverage from major U.S. news media? Using a rich data set of terrorist incidents and coverage from six major broadcast and cable U.S. networks, we model coverage of terrorist incidents as a function of event proximity from U.S. soil, target country affinity with the United States, number of total and U.S. casualties, and the characteristics of the terrorist group. Our findings largely corroborate expectations set forth by the literature on norms and routines of journalism and economics of news. When it comes to terrorism, coverage by U.S. major media outlets is largely dependent on proximity to and affinity with the United States, weapons of mass destruction, and the number of global and U.S. casualties.     

The study of research methods in LIS education: issues in Korean and U.S. universities

This study investigates the current state of research methods education in Korean library and information science (LIS) programs and compares research methods education between Korea and the United States. The definition of research methods is consistent and homogeneous across Korean schools, whereas research methods are defined loosely and differently in the United States. Research methods in both the United States and in Korea appear to be in a state of methodological uncertainty where dominant methods may be taught but not necessarily applied by graduate students. Research methods, as shared knowledge, offer fields the tools needed to investigate problems and understand the process by which they are studied. Thus, if LIS wants to increase its research capacity and improve its research quality, then it will need to require research methods of all students. While the range of topics covered in Korean research methods courses may need to be expanded, those in the United States may need greater depth of coverage.     

Friends from Afar?

This research characterizes American media coverage of China’s Confucius Institutes and their related activities in the United States since their emergence more than 12 years ago. Although there are now more than 100 Confucius Institutes and 300 associated classrooms in the country, to date there has been no systematic study of how these Chinese government-sponsored organizations are portrayed in the American press. This study presents a content analysis of 426 articles mentioning these efforts at the heart of China’s public diplomacy endeavors since 2003. Determining that fewer than half of the articles did more than mention these organizations, we dedicate particular attention to the 183 examples that do focus specifically on Confucius Institute and classroom activities across the country. While results point to some differences in tone, framing and sources across university, local, state, national and international news outlets, we find that the majority of coverage focuses uncritically on these Chinese institutions without providing broader context about China’s rationale for engaging in such activities. The implications for China’s public diplomacy efforts in the United States are considered.     

THE INTERNET,MOBILE PHONES AND BLOGGING

This research examines adaptations within traditional journalistic practice that are a result of the varied use of new media among both journalists and the public. Observations in newsrooms and 40 interviews with journalists from eight major news organisations in the United Kingdom and Canada highlight three significant changes: (1) shifts in traditional news flow cycles; (2) heightened accountability; and (3) evolving news values. Rising public documentation via mobile phones inserts a new element into traditional news flow cycles while material from bloggers acting as “citizen journalists” occasionally aids reporting of contested topics or regions fraught with accessibility issues. Elevated public scrutiny also obliges news organisations to contend with increasingly effective flak-producers. Some journalists have modified their daily routines to reflect the opportunities enabled by new media but altered organisational notions of immediacy significantly constrain time spent gathering the news, particularly within 24-hour programmes. Largely as a means of securing audiences, organisations are turning to their websites to offer interactivity and transparency.     

Adopting an Integrated Behavioral Model Approach to the Study of News Media Exposure: A Focus on Experiential and Instrumental Attitudes Toward Politics

Stepping beyond traditional mass communication and political communication frameworks, this study utilizes the integrated behavioral model to predict traditional broadcast and print news media exposure. Specific focus is given to experiential (Is politics interesting?) and instrumental (Is politics important?) attitudes. A secondary analysis is performed on 2010–2014 World Values Survey data (N = 6,961) consisting of representative samples collected from the United States, Germany, Australia, and Sweden. Interest is a statistically significant predictor of both types of news media exposure, but importance and Interest × Importance are statistically significant for broadcast only. The positive predictive value of political interest for broadcast is isolated to only those individuals who perceive politics to be of low personal importance. Discussion focuses on task difficulty when comparing broadcast and print news media exposure and the theoretical implications of the study’s findings. In addition, a research agenda based on the integrated behavioral model is proposed for the study of news media engagement.     

Why We Watch: Factors Affecting Exposure to Tragic Television News

This study explored the reasons people expose themselves to news depicting tragic events. A total of 376 undergraduates completed anonymous questionnaires about their responses to news coverage of the events of September 11. The study examined the extent to which individual differences in empathy gave rise to news viewing motives (surveillance, reassurance, curiosity), and how these variables, as well as negative emotional responses (anger, sadness, fear), were related to news interest and exposure. Both empathy and emotional responses were associated in predictable ways with interest in news coverage and selective exposure to specific types of news stories (e.g., casualty news, positive news). The results demonstrate that considering affective motivations can enrich our understanding of how and why people use news media. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Online Media Relations as an Information Subsidy: Quality of Fortune 500 Companies' Websites and Relationships to Media Salience

This study probes relationships among corporate financial resources, web-based corporate media relations, and media attention to corporations to determine whether online media relations functions as an effective information subsidy in the agenda-building process. It compares the quality of online press rooms of Fortune 500 companies with the number of news articles about those same companies published by five major news outlets in the United States. A causal model was supported predicting that resource-rich companies have better-operating online newsrooms with more diverse informational and interactive components, which in turn generate more news stories about the companies. This result suggests that the effectiveness of corporate Web activities depends on financial and professional resources and contradicts earlier expectations that the dominance of resource-rich organizations in communication would be undermined by the Internet.