Work

Changing Deliberative Norms on News Organizations' Facebook Sites

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: Comments posted to news sites do not always live up to the ideals of deliberative theorists. Drawing from theories about deliberation and group norms, this study investigates whether news organizations can affect comment section norms by engaging directly with commenters. We conducted a field study with a local television station in a top-50 Designated Market Area. For 70 political posts made on different days, we randomized whether an unidentified staff member from the station, a recognizable political reporter, or no one engaged with commenters. We assessed if these changes affected whether the comments (n = 2,403) were civil, were relevant, contained genuine questions, and provided evidence. The findings indicate that a news organization can affect the deliberative behavior of commenters.

Source: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication

DOI: 10.1111/jcc4.12104

Authors: Natalie Jomini Stroud, Joshua M. Scacco, Ashley Muddiman, Alexander L. Curry

Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, Purdue University West Lafayette, University of Wyoming

Language: English

Topic: Social Media and Politics

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: bronze

OpenAlex ID: W1963974095