Why Do Journalists Face Varying Degrees of Digital Hostility? Examining the Interplay Between Minority Identity and Celebrity Capital

Abstract

This study compares two explanations why some journalists are targeted more than others, both by general digital hostility and specifically by identity-based hostility, job-related hostility, and severe hostility such as threats and repeat offences. The first explains targeting by identity, especially of historically disadvantaged groups such as women and migrants; the second explains targeting by celebrity: journalists with larger audiences, greater social media presence, more television work, and focus on political coverage are targeted more. A Swiss survey of 568 journalists shows that celebrity mainly explains targeting with general hostility, whereas the effects of identity vary for different types of hostility. Additional interactions suggest that historically disadvantaged groups tend to experience more digital hostility, but only with increasing celebrity capital. This study emphasizes how hostility types differentiate explanatory values. Further, it contributes an innovative celebrity explanation and demonstrates how interactions can illuminate the tangled relation between identity, visibility, and hostility.