Rachel R. Mourão

The boys on the timeline: Political journalists’ use of Twitter for building interpretive communities

During the 2012 presidential election, Twitter emerged as a key reporting tool for journalists on the campaign trail. Through a textual analysis of over 5700 tweets from 430 political journalists, this study sought to understand how the platform was used as a channel for community building during the first 2012 presidential debate. Building upon Zelizer’s definition of journalists as interpretive communities and Goffman’s dramaturgical model, results reveal that journalists used the online tool for constructing narratives. In addition, online interactions uncover facets of campaign reporting previously confined to backstage regions. Narrative-building, interpretive community discourses, and backstage behaviors were found in tweets in which journalists gave opinions about the political process and used humor to construct the traits of a professional group. Findings suggest that Twitter coverage helps establish new professional boundaries for political communication.

I love Big Bird: How Journalists Tweeted Humor during the 2012 Presidential Debates

During the 2012 elections, several narratives built around humor, zingers, and gaffes blurred the lines between news and entertainment. This paper examines how political journalists used humor on Twitter during the first 2012 presidential election debate. This study also explores the character of such humor, how jokes relate to other forms of Twitter interactivity, and who, or what are the targets of these jokes. Twitter use by political reporters during a presidential debate might offer evidence of a deviation from traditional reporting norms. Recent scholarship on journalism practice and new media technologies suggests that journalists tend to “normalize” new media affordances; journalists often adapt long-standing routines to new technological platforms. Normalization offers a solid construct to guide inquiry on how social media might, or might not, affect change in the delivery and style of contemporary political news. A content analysis of tweets posted by 430 political journalists during the debate reveals widespread use of humor by journalists on Twitter, especially associated with the retweet function. About one-fifth of the journalists’ tweets included jokes, suggesting a growing acceptance of the rhetorical device on Twitter. Results also reveal that journalists and commentators pointed their jokes toward political figures, but more sophisticated satirical comments were aimed at the news media or the debate process at large. Overall, political journalists tended to avoid humor as a means of criticism. Implications regarding the role of humor in politics, the nature of reporting on Twitter, and areas of potential future research are discussed.

Talking Politics on Twitter: Gender, Elections, and Social Networks

As campaign discussions increasingly circulate within social media, it is important to understand the characteristics of these conversations. Specifically, we ask whether well-documented patterns of gendered bias against women candidates persist in socially networked political discussions. Theorizing power dynamics as relational, we use dialectic configurations between actors as independent variables determining network measures as outcomes. Our goal is to assess relational power granted to candidates through Twitter conversations about them and whether they change depending on the gender of their opponent. Based on more than a quarter of a million tweets about 50 candidates for state-wide offices during the 2014 US elections, results suggest that when a woman opposes a man, the conversation revolves around her, but she retains a smaller portion of rhetorical share. We find that gender affects network structure—women candidates are both more central and more replied to when they run against men. Despite the potential for social media to disrupt deeply rooted gender bias, our findings suggest that the structure of networked discussions about male and female candidates still results in a differential distribution of relational power.

Political Journalists’ Normalization of Twitter: Interaction and new affordances

Journalists are frequently doing some of their daily work on social media, spaces they did not create but have appropriated for journalistic purposes. Building on previous studies of how political journalists use social media, this study examines how news professionals and organizations are employing new affordances of the platform as they engage their audiences on Twitter. We expand on previously established narratives of normalization and negotiation of journalism’s boundaries by providing a snapshot of these processes in mid-stream, during the 2016 US presidential campaign. Our goal is to analyze how interaction-based affordances are being used by journalists and how audiences react to them. Results suggest retweets are used to promote their organization, quote tweets to comment on the work of peers at other news organizations, and replies mostly to bypass the 140-character limitation. When it comes to audiences, tweets containing multimedia and policy issues are more likely to generate engagement. Findings reveal that older forms of interaction (tweets and retweets) are more normalized than newer forms (replies and quote tweets) and journalists largely ignore members of the public, preferring to talk amongst themselves in social media echo chambers.

Twitter as a tool for and object of political and electoral activity: Considering electoral context and variance among actors

ABSTRACT In recent years, journalists, political elites, and the public have used Twitter as an indicator of political trends. Given this usage, what effect do campaign activities have on Twitter discourse? What effect does that discourse have on electoral outcomes? We posit that Twitter can be understood as a tool for and an object of political communication, especially during elections. This study positions Twitter volume as an outcome of other electoral antecedents and then assesses its relevance in election campaigns. Using a data set of more than 3 million tweets about 2014 U.S. Senate candidates from three distinct groups—news media, political actors, and the public—we find that competitiveness and money spent in the race were the main predictors of volume of Twitter discourse, and the impact of competitiveness of the race was stronger for tweets coming from the media when compared to the other groups. Twitter volume did not predict vote share for any of the 35 races studied. Our findings suggest that Twitter is better understood as a tool for political communication, and its usage may be predicted by money spent and race characteristics. As an object, Twitter use has limited power to predict electoral outcomes.

Reporting in Latin America: Issues and Perspectives on Investigative Journalism in the Region

This study investigates challenges faced by investigative journalists in Latin America, one of the most dangerous places in the world for reporters. Guided by the hierarchy of influences model, we analyzed answers from 1,543 journalists, journalism educators, and journalism students in the region. We identified both single and multilevel constraints impeding investigative reporting in Latin America. Single-level influences are those that are better analyzed by focusing on one level of the hierarchical model. These included individual (lack of training), routine (relationships with sources), organizational (media ownership), and institutional influences (censorship). However, results also suggest there are certain types of influences that are better suited for analysis combining all levels. Despite two decades of media liberalization, crime and corruption, state violence against the press, and the lack of a free-speech culture cut across all layers, posing severe constraints to investigative reporting in Latin America.

Second Screening as Convergence in Brazil and the United States

Second screening is widespread worldwide, particularly in younger populations. We analyze a survey of college students in Brazil and the United States to compare second screening frequency, types, platforms, and motivations between the two countries. Despite lower Internet penetration, Brazilians second screen significantly more than Americans, a result of the country’s tradition of interacting with producers of television. In both countries, those who use the interactive affordances of social media are more likely to second screen. As such, we posit this unique audience-driven act works to bridge Web-connected devices and television to create a converged atmosphere.

Second Screening Donald Trump: Conditional Indirect Effects on Political Participation

As second screening becomes more widespread, this study addresses its mediating role on the impact of TV news in political participation online and offline, and how this impact varies across groups. We expand the existing line of research by assessing the moderating role of support for Donald Trump on the established mediated model. Through a cross-lagged autoregressive panel survey design applied to the communication mediation model, our results support the link between second screening and political participation—but the mediating role of second screening is contingent upon attitudes towards Trump. For those who do not view Trump favorably, second screening during news leads to a decrease in political participation, both online and offline. As such, this article adds to the communication mediation model by suggesting that discussion and elaboration may not always be positive antecedents to political participation. When individuals disagree with the message dominating TV news and social media, deliberation via second screening leads to political disengagement.

Personalization and Gender: 2014 Gubernatorial Candidates on Social Media

On June 25, 2013, the Senate chamber of the Texas state capitol became the scene of a remarkable political showdown. For 13 hours, citizens at the capitol—along with over 100,000 viewers via a live web stream and thousands more on Twitter—watched and waited for the conclusion of a contentious filibuster of Senate Bill 5 (SB 5), which would impose numerous restrictions on abortion access and clinic facilities. Standing at the center of the filibuster showdown, state senator Wendy Davis became a national political celebrity literally overnight. Her pink running shoes, worn to withstand hours in which she could not relinquish the podium, quickly became an online meme.

How App Are People to Use Smartphones, Search Engines, and Social Media for News?: Examining Information Acquisition Tools and Their Influence on Political Knowledge and Voting

The growing use of tablet and smartphone news applications, search engines, and online social media for political and news information deserves attention because of the political implications. Using data from a statewide Texas opt-in poll from February 2012, this study tests the direct versus the differential hypothesis for each of the information acquisition tools with respect to political knowledge and voting. Results indicate a direct effect for search engine use and political knowledge. Suggestions for future research are provided in light of limitations of the current study and the possibility that information acquisition tool use will continue to grow.