Editor’s Introduction

Abstract

April’s issue of the Journal of Communication Inquiry includes five original research articles and one book review. This issue begins with J. David Wolfgang’s article titled “When Fringe Hate Goes Mainstream: How White Nationalist Discourse Manifests in Online News Commenting.” Wolfgang explains that days after protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia clashed over the planned removal of a confederate general statue, President Trump did not decry white nationalists. Wolfgang analyzes white nationalism through the online comments that emerged after this event. By using conceptions of ideology, discourse, and framing, Wolfgang explores questions such as “in what ways does white nationalist discourse emerge in mainstream news commenting sections?” and “how do commentors respond to white nationalism in mainstream news commenting sections?” The author notes that if white nationalist discourse is unchallenged, “this trend could prompt more sympathizers to speak out and could further legitimize white nationalism in mainstream society.” In the second article, titled “Attribution of Responsibility for Pick Up Artist Issues in China: The Impacts of Journalist Gender, Geographical Location, and Publication Range,” Shilin Xia and Tianen Chen explore how issues related to pick-up artists (PUAs) who use evolutionary psychology strategies to exploit women emotionally, sexually, and financially, have been portrayed in Chinese online news media. The authors give particular focus to the attribution of responsibility. Analysis for this study includes a content-analysis of 115 Chinese online news articles. “Afrofuturism Revelation and Revolution; Voices of the Digital Generation” by Peggy Peattie investigates contemporary voices of Afrofuturists “at the intersection of Afrofuturism, social justice, and digital tech.” Peattie argues that the voices of artists are absent from past Afrofuturism analyses. Further, the author notes that “the digital generation has the potential to introduce this unique art movement and all that it embodies to a greater audience than has previous generations.” Next, Brant Burkey explores cultural heritage institutions (namely, museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies) and how digital heritage initiatives creates fresh ecosystems for both cultural heritage and collective remembering in the article “From Bricks to Clicks: How Digital Heritage Initiatives Create a New Ecosystem for Cultural Heritage and Collective Remembering.” Burkey notes that when cultural heritage institutions use digital heritage initiatives and social media platforms to connect, a fresh Editorial