Abstract Purpose Due to existing Disney fandom and the increased popularity of online travel documentation, there is an opportunity to study brand internationalization, online video culture, and fandom. There are questions of whether video based social media allows for more humane representations of cultural others and to what extent the topic of content shapes representation. Methodology In this study, an inductive qualitative method is applied to top YouTube travel videos and TikToks to analyze how non-Chinese visitors to Shanghai Disneyland represent their experience and mediate cultural difference. Findings Videos often exhibit the technologically advanced attractions of the park, inspiring awe and envy in comments. A minority of videos discuss the behavior of Chinese guests and mark them as non-normative and different from expected Disney guest behavior. However, there are differences in representation on YouTube and TikTok from sub-genres, comments, gazes, and closeness to brand. Practical implications Brands entering the Chinese market must also be aware of how their accommodations appear to loyal non-Chinese online fandoms. This study shows how reoccurring tropes of travel writing influence online travel media, which also shapes perceptions of China, and is reinforced by platform incentives for controversy and sampling diverse cultures. Social implications Technological awe and critiques of guest behavior are structured by Disney fan culture, which includes a possessive protectiveness over the brand due to its close association with identity. These elements play out slightly differently on the platforms of YouTube and TikTok. Top YouTube videos tend to feature outward-focusing gazes, whether they are disembodied ride-throughs or cultural “education.” Top TikToks turn the gaze inward and focus on experience. Value This study contrasts use of two major platforms, YouTube and TikTok, to examine mediation of Shanghai Disneyland. Studies contrasting platform use of the same topic are rare, as is the area of focus. This study shows the usefulness of comparing platforms on the same topic.
{"title":"YouTube and TikTok as Platforms for Learning about Others: The Case of Non-Chinese Travel Videos in Shanghai Disneyland","authors":"Arthur D. Soto-Vásquez","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0012","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Purpose Due to existing Disney fandom and the increased popularity of online travel documentation, there is an opportunity to study brand internationalization, online video culture, and fandom. There are questions of whether video based social media allows for more humane representations of cultural others and to what extent the topic of content shapes representation. Methodology In this study, an inductive qualitative method is applied to top YouTube travel videos and TikToks to analyze how non-Chinese visitors to Shanghai Disneyland represent their experience and mediate cultural difference. Findings Videos often exhibit the technologically advanced attractions of the park, inspiring awe and envy in comments. A minority of videos discuss the behavior of Chinese guests and mark them as non-normative and different from expected Disney guest behavior. However, there are differences in representation on YouTube and TikTok from sub-genres, comments, gazes, and closeness to brand. Practical implications Brands entering the Chinese market must also be aware of how their accommodations appear to loyal non-Chinese online fandoms. This study shows how reoccurring tropes of travel writing influence online travel media, which also shapes perceptions of China, and is reinforced by platform incentives for controversy and sampling diverse cultures. Social implications Technological awe and critiques of guest behavior are structured by Disney fan culture, which includes a possessive protectiveness over the brand due to its close association with identity. These elements play out slightly differently on the platforms of YouTube and TikTok. Top YouTube videos tend to feature outward-focusing gazes, whether they are disembodied ride-throughs or cultural “education.” Top TikToks turn the gaze inward and focus on experience. Value This study contrasts use of two major platforms, YouTube and TikTok, to examine mediation of Shanghai Disneyland. Studies contrasting platform use of the same topic are rare, as is the area of focus. This study shows the usefulness of comparing platforms on the same topic.","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"315 - 338"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42582806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"《网络媒体与全球传播》1(1): 中文翻译卷首语与文章摘要","authors":"陈沛芹 (Peiqin Chen)","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0017","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"195 - 203"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44713995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"وسائل الإعلام عبر الإنترنت والتواصل العالمي ١ (١): المقدّمة والتلخيص للبحوث Online Media and Global Communication","authors":"Yiqing Shen","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0023","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"187 - 194"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41411151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Онлайн-Медиа и Глобальная Коммуникация 1(1): Предисловие и аннотации статей на русском языке","authors":"Сюцзюань У (Xiujuan Wu)","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0020","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"217 - 229"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67230480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Online Media and Global Communication/Medios de comunicación online y comunicación global 1(1): Prólogo y resúmenes de artículos en español","authors":"Jingting Zhang","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0021","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"230 - 242"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45149979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Online Media and Global Communication 1(1): Essai éditorial et résumés d’articles en français","authors":"Wenxin Wang","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0022","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"204 - 216"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42888149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Purpose Publishers are innovating their practices in the face of global platform companies’ growing dominance on journalism. This study examines how publishers innovate their editorially oriented activities vis-à-vis third-party platforms with respect to six stages of news production. In doing so, this article introduces and advances platform configuration as a conceptual framework. Design/methodology/approach This five-year longitudinal case study of a Singaporean legacy news publisher uses a mix-method qualitative approach. It includes in-depth interviews with 35 staff, newsroom observations and close monitoring of the publisher’s website and apps. Findings This study offers three key findings about the publisher’s platform configuration. First, multidirectionality: the publisher simultaneously leveraged on platforms’ capacities (building platform presence), while also reducing dependence on them (platform counterbalancing). Second, specificity: the publisher added, removed and/or modified editorially oriented activities with respect to the six stages of news production. Third, commitment: the publisher calibrated its commitment to specific activities oriented towards either building platform presence and/or platform counterbalancing. Practical implications This article introduces a 2 × 2 platform configuration matrix that classifies and explains how and why publishers engage in platform configuration. Theoretical and social implications Scholars can draw on platform configuration to study and advance theorizing on the evolving publisher-platform interrelationship. Platform configuration is useful for understanding how publishers reconcile their innovation practices and strategize their commitment to news activities in relation to platforms with broader journalistic and financial objectives. Originality/value This is the first study that introduces and advances the concept of platform configuration with regard to publishers’ innovation practices. Both the platform configuration concept and matrix allow researchers to classify and operationalize future longitudinal and short-term studies into the publisher-platform dynamic.
{"title":"Platform Configuration: A Longitudinal Study and Conceptualization of a Legacy News Publisher’s Platform-Related Innovation Practices","authors":"Sherwin Chua, O. Westlund","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Purpose Publishers are innovating their practices in the face of global platform companies’ growing dominance on journalism. This study examines how publishers innovate their editorially oriented activities vis-à-vis third-party platforms with respect to six stages of news production. In doing so, this article introduces and advances platform configuration as a conceptual framework. Design/methodology/approach This five-year longitudinal case study of a Singaporean legacy news publisher uses a mix-method qualitative approach. It includes in-depth interviews with 35 staff, newsroom observations and close monitoring of the publisher’s website and apps. Findings This study offers three key findings about the publisher’s platform configuration. First, multidirectionality: the publisher simultaneously leveraged on platforms’ capacities (building platform presence), while also reducing dependence on them (platform counterbalancing). Second, specificity: the publisher added, removed and/or modified editorially oriented activities with respect to the six stages of news production. Third, commitment: the publisher calibrated its commitment to specific activities oriented towards either building platform presence and/or platform counterbalancing. Practical implications This article introduces a 2 × 2 platform configuration matrix that classifies and explains how and why publishers engage in platform configuration. Theoretical and social implications Scholars can draw on platform configuration to study and advance theorizing on the evolving publisher-platform interrelationship. Platform configuration is useful for understanding how publishers reconcile their innovation practices and strategize their commitment to news activities in relation to platforms with broader journalistic and financial objectives. Originality/value This is the first study that introduces and advances the concept of platform configuration with regard to publishers’ innovation practices. Both the platform configuration concept and matrix allow researchers to classify and operationalize future longitudinal and short-term studies into the publisher-platform dynamic.","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"60 - 89"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42131949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Since China officially gained access to the Internet in 1994, Internet-based communication has gradually become the dominant form of communication within Chinese society and between China and the international community. Understanding the Internet and its impact on China is not only a key to understanding modern China and its relationship with the world, but also a powerful complement to the classical topics of communication and an indispensable observation on new developments. Combing through the transformation of Internet-based communication research in China, this paper summarizes the achievements in five key areas, reflects on the failures, and makes a call to return to the core relationship between communication and people.
{"title":"A Review of Internet-Based Communication Research in China","authors":"Yong Hu, Lei Chen","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0009","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Since China officially gained access to the Internet in 1994, Internet-based communication has gradually become the dominant form of communication within Chinese society and between China and the international community. Understanding the Internet and its impact on China is not only a key to understanding modern China and its relationship with the world, but also a powerful complement to the classical topics of communication and an indispensable observation on new developments. Combing through the transformation of Internet-based communication research in China, this paper summarizes the achievements in five key areas, reflects on the failures, and makes a call to return to the core relationship between communication and people.","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"124 - 163"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47351624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Online Media and Global Communication: A Vision to be an Innovative Global Academic Publishing Model and an Olympic Game of Communication Scholars","authors":"Louisa Ha","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0011","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"1 - 5"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45682340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shahira S Fahmy, Basma Mostafa Taha, Hasan Karademir
Abstract Purpose Using a mixed-method approach, this comparative study unpacks the way journalists personalized the controversial Yemen Civil War by examining the patterns of visual framing on Twitter. It further explores the influence of the individual level factor (home country or foreign identity of the journalist) and organizational level factor (countries affiliated with news organizations directly or indirectly involved in the conflict), on images shared on the Twitter platform. Design/methodology/approach A content analysis and a semiotic analysis of 2880 image tweets were used to investigate the different visual narratives related to the conflict and the extent of personalized journalism on Twitter. Findings The content analysis showed that while journalists offered some personalized reporting, by and large, they preferred to adopt a neutral stance when reporting the conflict. The semiotic analysis complemented the findings and identified more broadly that the image tweets analyzed emphasized the classic war-as-a-tragedy narrative, while at the same time shedding some light on the political conflict. Practical implications Researchers are given guidance into journalistic practices on social media and a deeper understanding of the extent and role of personalized journalism of conflict on Twitter. Social implications This study captured the fluctuating role of journalists on Twitter. Journalists occasionally fluctuated in their visual roles between being neutral observers and moral agents. These fluctuations were likely influenced by an array of factors, including the journalist’s home country or foreign identity and the country affiliation of news organizations they were working for. Originality/value This is the first study to show that journalists from different backgrounds have remained somehow obliged to carry on with their journalistic roles on Twitter. It also sheds light on different levels of influences on personalized war coverage on social media and extend the hierarchy of influence model (Shoemaker, Pamela & Stephen Reese. 1996. Mediating the Message; Theories of influence on mass media content. New York: Longman) in the context of personalized reporting on Twitter. It thus adds to the growing body of knowledge on how this model plays out in an online-first era, especially in non-western contexts.
{"title":"Journalistic Practices on Twitter: A Comparative Visual Study on the Personalization of Conflict Reporting on Social Media","authors":"Shahira S Fahmy, Basma Mostafa Taha, Hasan Karademir","doi":"10.1515/omgc-2022-0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0008","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Purpose Using a mixed-method approach, this comparative study unpacks the way journalists personalized the controversial Yemen Civil War by examining the patterns of visual framing on Twitter. It further explores the influence of the individual level factor (home country or foreign identity of the journalist) and organizational level factor (countries affiliated with news organizations directly or indirectly involved in the conflict), on images shared on the Twitter platform. Design/methodology/approach A content analysis and a semiotic analysis of 2880 image tweets were used to investigate the different visual narratives related to the conflict and the extent of personalized journalism on Twitter. Findings The content analysis showed that while journalists offered some personalized reporting, by and large, they preferred to adopt a neutral stance when reporting the conflict. The semiotic analysis complemented the findings and identified more broadly that the image tweets analyzed emphasized the classic war-as-a-tragedy narrative, while at the same time shedding some light on the political conflict. Practical implications Researchers are given guidance into journalistic practices on social media and a deeper understanding of the extent and role of personalized journalism of conflict on Twitter. Social implications This study captured the fluctuating role of journalists on Twitter. Journalists occasionally fluctuated in their visual roles between being neutral observers and moral agents. These fluctuations were likely influenced by an array of factors, including the journalist’s home country or foreign identity and the country affiliation of news organizations they were working for. Originality/value This is the first study to show that journalists from different backgrounds have remained somehow obliged to carry on with their journalistic roles on Twitter. It also sheds light on different levels of influences on personalized war coverage on social media and extend the hierarchy of influence model (Shoemaker, Pamela & Stephen Reese. 1996. Mediating the Message; Theories of influence on mass media content. New York: Longman) in the context of personalized reporting on Twitter. It thus adds to the growing body of knowledge on how this model plays out in an online-first era, especially in non-western contexts.","PeriodicalId":29805,"journal":{"name":"Online Media and Global Communication","volume":"1 1","pages":"23 - 59"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48341283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}