Daniela V. Dimitrova

The Effects of Digital Media on Political Knowledge and Participation in Election Campaigns: Evidence From Panel Data

While the majority of previous research suggests there are positive relationships between digital media use and political participation and knowledge, most studies have relied on cross-sectional surveys and have thus not been able to firmly establish the chain of causality. Also, there is little research investigating use of different forms of digital media and their relative effects on political participation and knowledge. This study examines (a) the effects of digital media use on political participation and knowledge and (b) whether different forms of digital media use affect people differently. Drawing on two representative panel surveys, the study demonstrates that there are only weak effects of digital media use on political learning, but that the use of some digital media forms has appreciable effects on political participation.

Profiling the Adopters of E-Government Information and Services

This exploratory study examines the effects of nondemographic characteristics on the adoption of e-government services in the United States combining two main theoretical perspectives: diffusion of innovations and the technology acceptance model. The results of a national survey suggest that nondemographic audience characteristics influence e-government adoption. The study adds to previous research in the area by identifying several sociopsychological characteristics that play a role in the adoption process: perceived usefulness, perceived uncertainty, and civic mindedness. The study also ascertains the influence of interpersonal communication and mass media channels on e-government adoption. Theoretical implications for future researchers and policy implications for producers of governmental web sites are discussed.

Mission Accomplished? Framing of the Iraq War in the Elite Newspapers in Sweden and the United States

This study investigates the framing of the 2003 Iraq War in the elite newspapers in Sweden and the US, Dagens Nyheter and The New York Times. The content analysis revealed significant differences between the two papers: the military conflict frame was more common for the US war coverage while the responsibility and anti-war protest frames were more common for the Swedish war coverage. Both newspapers offered human interest stories and media self-references. The US newspaper, however, relied more heavily on official government and military sources. In addition, the tone of war coverage differed across the two nations, with Swedish reporting being more negative overall. Implications of the differences in war coverage as well as possible reasons rooted in the national media and political systems are discussed.

Political and Media Systems Matter A Comparison of Election News Coverage in Sweden and the United States

This study compares the news coverage of election campaigns in three Swedish newspapers at the time of the 2002 national election and three U.S. newspapers at the time of the 2004 presidential election. The results from the content analysis show that the metaframe of politics as a strategic game was more common in the U.S. newspapers, while the metaframe of politics as issues was more common in the Swedish newspapers. U.S. articles were also more likely to use the horse-race and political strategy frames. While U.S. coverage was predominantly descriptive in focus, an interpretive journalistic style was more often dominant in the Swedish articles. The results also show that the U.S. news stories were triggered by the words and actions of the campaigns more often than the Swedish news stories.

Mediatization and Media Interventionism: A Comparative Analysis of Sweden and the United States

Although mediatization as a term is commonly used in the academic literature, it is rarely defined well and there are almost no studies that explicitly seek to investigate the mediatization of politics. Drawing on the literature on mediatization, media interventionism, political news journalism and related areas, the purpose of this article is to develop indicators of the degree to which news content is mediatized, and test these in a comparative content analysis of how Swedish and US television news covered the 2006 Swedish and 2008 US election campaigns. The results show that election news on US television is more mediatized than that on Swedish television, as expected. However, few differences were found across commercial and public service television news within Sweden. The study also suggests that the mediatization of news content may be moderated by national journalism cultures, political news cultures and political communication cultures.

War on the Web: The Immediate News Framing of Gulf War II

This study examined the immediate coverage of the 2003 Iraq War on the home pages of 246 international news Web sites. The results show that most of these online publications provided coverage and made Gulf War II their top story only hours after the war began. However, foreign news sites framed the war differently than U.S. sites. Domestic news sites focused more heavily on the military conflict, human interest, and media self-coverage while the responsibility frame was more common for international sites. Also, online news coverage in countries officially supporting the war was more positive than in the countries opposing the war. The implications of these differences are discussed, and examples to illustrate the differences are offered.

The levels of visual framing

Abstract While framing research has centered mostly on the evaluations of media texts, visual news discourse has remained relatively unexamined. This study surveys the visual framing techniques and methods employed in previous studies and proposes a four-tiered model of identifying and analyzing visual frames: (1) visuals as denotative systems, (2) visuals as stylistic-semiotic systems, (3) visuals as connotative systems and (4) visuals as ideological representations. These four tiers are defined and the process of identifying frames at each level is explicated. The proposed system can be applied to analyzing any type of visual media content or audiences’ perception of that content.

A Tale of Two Wars: Framing Analysis of Online News Sites in Coalition Countries and the Arab World during the Iraq War

The Iraq War was a defining media event. This study used quantitative content analysis to explore the websites of prestige news media in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as Egypt and Qatar, examining both the frames used by news media in their coverage of the conflict, as well as the voices heard—and unheard—throughout the coverage. The analysis showed that the “tale of war” was constructed differently by the different international media. Arab online news media were more likely to use the military conflict and violence of war frame, whereas Coalition media emphasized the rebuilding of Iraq frame. Differences in the tone of coverage and the use of sources across the four news media were also found.

Online Journalism and the War in Cyberspace: A Comparison Between U.S. and International Newspapers

The 2003 Iraq War was the first military conflict in which online media played a significant role. Traditional news organizations from around the world provided extensive coverage of the conflict on their websites, reaching global audiences and adding new dimensions to traditional war reporting. This study explores how the Internet disseminated news about the war by comparing 26 international newspaper sites (N = 791) and their use of Web-specific features such as hyperlinks, animations, multimedia content, and interactive elements. By proposing a three-stage model of online journalism and applying it to the online war coverage, the analysis suggests that online journalism has not yet reached the state of convergence. The differences in online news coverage between the United States and international websites and their implications are also discussed.

Electronic Government and Online Engagement: Citizen Interaction with Government via Web Portals

This exploratory study examines civic engagement with e-government via Web sites. It provides an analytical framework that integrates both the supply and the demand sides of citizen interaction with e-government. In modeling three dimensions of online civic engagement (government information access, service transactions, and contributing to government policy-making processes), the study framework incorporates a number of variables, including political activism, civic involvement, perceived benefits and difficulties, information channels, and demographic characteristics. Based on a national sample of Internet users, the study highlights the importance of the supply side (availability of e-government) for promoting civic engagement. Furthermore, political activism is found to be related positively to accessing government policy information and contributing to policy-making processes. The study results also confirm the significant impact of perceived benefits in fostering online civic engagement. Future research can benefit from this study by utilizing a more comprehensive model, treating various dimensions of online engagement separately, and conducting an in-depth analysis of the elements of perceived benefits.