COMM 750 - Advanced Media Theory

Andrea Hackl

COMM 750 - Advanced Media Theory

Reading Summaries

October 30, 2013

Webster, J.G. & Ksiazek, T.B. (2013). The Dynamics of Audience Fragmentation: Public Attention in an Age of Digital Media. Journal of Communication, 62(1), 39-56

The study revolves around the much-debated impacts of digital media on audience fragmentation. Webster and Ksiazekpoint out that fragmentation is driven by an increase innumber of media providers, different preferences of media users and media measures as means of media providers to attract consumers. The scholars identify three different approaches to studying audience fragmentation. The media-centric approach analyzes audiences of individual media outlets as compared to the user-centric approach that investigates individuals’ use of individual media outlets. At the center of the current study is the audience-centric approach that investigates audiences’ media use across outlets.

For the purpose of the study, Webster and Ksiazekutilized network analysis to investigate audiences’ complementary use of television programs and the Internet (see Figure 3, p.47). Each node in the network is a respective media outlet and links demonstrate “audience duplication” across sources, e.g. the complementary use of a respective television channel and Internet provider or website. A degree score was calculated that represents frequency of links to individual media outlets. Data was derived from Nielsen’s TV/internet Convergence Panel in March 2009 analyzing individual media consumption of a national representative sample of 2,771 participants.

Results provide insight into both audience distributions across TV channels and Internet brands respectively as well as cross-media use. According to the study’s results, CBS Affiliates, Fox Affiliates and CW Affiliates attracted the largest numbers of television viewers. The most popular Internet brands in the selected time frame were Google, AOL Media Network and EBay. In respect to “audience duplication”, results suggest a high degree of cross-media use. Popularity of respective TV channels and Internet brands, however, did not automatically result in higher degrees of “audience duplication”, with CBS Affiliates, CW Affiliates and Yahoo the nodes most likely to be linked to the use of other media sources. Webster and Ksiazek argue that the results contradict scholarship suggesting that media users increasingly turn to a segmented number of media outlets consistent with their own ideology. The current study shows that media audiences ”have varied media repertoires” (p.51) utilizing different media outlets across platforms. However, Webster and Ksizaek point out that digital media will likely increase the dominance of large media providers.

Discussion Question:

A few weeks ago, we discussed the changing nature of journalism, with a majority of newspapers now providing content online. What do you think would be the results of a study on the cross-media use of newspapers and the Internet? Do you think the Internet would be used as a complementary source of information or as replacement for print newspapers?

Hindman, D. (2009). Mass Media Flow and the Differential Distribution of Politically Disputed Beliefs: The Belief Gap Hypothesis.Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 86, 790-808.

In the article, Hindmanexpands theknowledge gap hypothesis by investigating the effects of education and ideology on beliefs about the existence and causes of climate change. For the purpose of the study, the scholar ties the results of five national representative phone interviews to the quantitative assessment of broadcast news coverage of climate change. With his study, Hindman aims to find how the knowledge gap hypothesis applies to polarizing political issues. The study isbased on a theoretical framework discussing the knowledge gap hypothesis in light of growing polarization and media fragmentation. While polarization refers to the growing disparities between individuals of different political beliefs and ideology, media fragmentation is understood as the increasing use of partisan media. Introduced in the 1970s by Tichenor et al., the knowledge gap hypothesis assumes the unequal societal distribution of knowledge as individuals of higher socioeconomic status are more likely to use mass mediated knowledge to their advantage as compared to those of lower socioeconomic status (Hindman, 2009).

Results are based on five national representative phone interviews conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press between 2006 and 2008. In order to analyze media impacts on beliefs about climate change, the surveys’ findings were tied to the quantitative assessment (note: not content analysis) of coverage of climate change in broadcasting news programs. Results suggest that ideology was a greater predictor of acknowledging the existence of climate change than education. However, both ideology and education were significant in considering climate change a result of human activity. In this context, liberal and higher educated respondents were more likely to consider human activity the cause for climate change than conservative and lower educated respondents. The study’s findings further suggest that increase in media coverage had only little impacts on beliefs about climate change. Rather, an increase in media coverage widened gaps in beliefs between liberals and conservatives, demonstrating the effects of partisan media use in the light of beliefs about climate change. The study further suggests that belief gaps between liberals and conservatives are likely to grow over time.