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Redefining Media Agendas: Topic Problematization in Online Reader Comments

Author

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  • Olessia Koltsova

    (Laboratory for Internet Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia)

  • Oleg Nagornyy

    (Qiwi Bank, Russia)

Abstract

Media audiences representing a significant portion of the public in any given country may hold opinions on media-generated definitions of social problems which differ from those of media professionals. The proliferation of online reader comments not only makes such opinions available but also alters the process of agenda formation and problem definition in the public space. Based on a dataset of 33,877 news items and 258,121 comments from a sample of regional Russian newspapers we investigate readers’ perceptions of social problems. We find that the volume of attention paid to issues or topics by the media and the importance of those issues for audiences, as judged by the number of their comments, diverge. Further, while the prevalence of general negative sentiment in comments accompanies such topics as disasters and accidents that are not perceived as social problems, a high level of sentiment polarization in comments does suggest issue problematization. It is also positively related to topic importance for the audience. Thus, instead of finding fixed social problem definitions in the reader comments, we observe the process of problem formation, where different points of view clash. These perceptions are not necessarily those expressed in media texts since the latter are predominantly “hard” news covering separate events, rather than trends or issues. As our research suggests, problematization emerges from readers’ background knowledge, external experience, or values.

Suggested Citation

  • Olessia Koltsova & Oleg Nagornyy, 2019. "Redefining Media Agendas: Topic Problematization in Online Reader Comments," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(3), pages 145-156.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v:7:y:2019:i:3:p:145-156
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jacob Groshek & Megan Clough Groshek, 2013. "Agenda Trending: Reciprocity and the Predictive Capacity of Social Networking Sites in Intermedia Agenda Setting across Topics over Time," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 1(1), pages 15-27.
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    Cited by:

    1. Olessia Koltsova & Svetlana S. Bodrunova, 2019. "Public Discussion in Russian Social Media: An Introduction," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(3), pages 114-118.

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