Abstract: A recent wave of studies has focused on the identities of communication scholars, quantifying the degree to which Whites, men, and Americans dominate the discipline.This study analyzes the communication citation elite (CCE)—a group of 1,675 highly cited scholars in communication research—in terms of race, gender, and country of employment over 20 years. Applying computational methods and content analysis, we find that 91.5% of first-author CCE members are White, 74.3% are men, and 78.6% work in the United States. Longitudinal analyses of each identity category reveal only minor shifts, most prominently slight gains for women and non-U.S. scholars. White representation among first authors decreased less than 4 percentage points over the study period (from 95.1% to 91.2%), with Black representation ending lower than it began (0.61% to 0.54%). Data from the International Communication Association indicate that the CCE is substantially more American and male than the organization’s full membership as of 2021.

Abstract: The pervasiveness of digital media renders people constantly connected. Digital inequality theory tends to focus on how socio-digital factors link to technology access, skills, uses, and opportunities derived from such use. It is not clear, however, whether this theoretical lens applies to a time of heightened connection when privilege may also explain intended disconnection. Drawing on data from 1,551 U.S. adults surveyed during the pandemic, we find that younger age, higher education, frequent Internet use, less dependable access, and better skills are related to partaking in voluntary nonuse (e.g., having technology-free moments, switching off the Internet). As digital disconnection emerges from a place of socio-digital privilege as well as disadvantage, in a society of technology abundance, new inequalities arise around who has the freedom to use it in moderation rather than use it at all. Our study extends theoretical notions from digital inequality to the realm of voluntary digital nonuse.

Abstract: Social media metrics allow media outlets to get a granular, real-time understanding of audience preferences, and may therefore be used to decide what content to prioritize in the future. We test this mechanism in the context of Facebook, by using topic modeling and longitudinal data analysis on a large dataset comprising all posts published by major media outlets used by American citizens (N≈2.23M, 2015–2019). We find that while the overall effect of audience engagement on future news coverage is significant, there is substantial heterogeneity in how individual outlets respond to different kinds of topics. A handful of right-wing media outlets are more likely to respond to audience engagement metrics than other outlets, but with partisan politics topics and not with entertainment-oriented content. Our research sheds new light on how social media platforms have shaped journalistic practices and has implications for the future health of journalism in the United States.

Abstract: We develop and test a theory of gendered political times, which argues that the gendered political climate during an election shapes the extent to which female candidates emphasize feminine or masculine traits in campaign messages. We measure gendered electoral contexts through rigorous analyses of public opinion data and news media content of the top issues during an election, and we complement these data with an analysis of the gendered traits candidates emphasize in campaign messages during U.S. congressional election cycles from 2000 through 2018. Our results suggest that feminine electoral contexts do not necessarily lead female candidates, or male candidates, to rely on feminine traits. We find that masculine electoral contexts lead female candidates to rely more heavily on feminine traits. Our results have important implications for understanding the forces that shape the way candidates develop strategic campaign messages, and the factors that ultimately influence women’s under-representation in politics.

Abstract: For decades, the theory of cultural proximity, which states that audiences prefer culturally proximal content (Straubhaar, 1991), has remained a major framework to explain audience preferences. We show how transnational media flows have challenged its contemporary applicability. To probe this, we focus on a recent, intriguing, and still understudied development: the success of Turkish television dramas (dizi) in Latin America, the land where the telenovela was born. Drawing from 25 interviews conducted in 2018 and 2019 in Argentina, we develop the notion of “entangled proximities” to explain different viewership positionalities. Moreover, we show that audiences adopt a “resigned agency”: they experience pleasure while recognizing the role of market forces. Finally, we build on the cultural proximity theory by arguing that these contemporary audiences are instead driven by a desired proximity with both the past genre of the telenovela and with the past society depicted in it.

Abstract: With their power to shape public discourse under unprecedented scrutiny, social media platforms have revamped their speech control practices in recent years by building complex systems of content moderation. The contours of this tectonic shift are relatively clear. Yet, little work has systematically documented, examined, and theorized this process. This article uses digital methods and web history to trace the evolution of objectionable content on Twitter content moderation policies and practices between 2006 and 2022. Its conclusions suggest that, more than abandoning an Americanized view of freedom of speech, Twitter has aimed at building a crisis-resistant speech architecture that can withstand external shocks, criticisms, and shifting speech norms. This kind of modulated moderation, as we term it, hinges on a form of normative plasticity, whose goal is not necessarily adjudicating content as more or less acceptable, but moderating it on the basis of evolving and ever contingent public conceptions of objectionability.

Abstract: Understanding information diffusion is vital to explaining the good, bad, and ugly impacts of social media. Two types of processes govern information diffusion: broadcasting and viral spread. Viral spreading is when a message is diffused by peer-to-peer social connections, whereas broadcasting is characterized by influences that can come from outside of the peer-to-peer social network. How these processes shape public discourse is not well understood. Using a simulation study and real-world Twitter data (10,155 users, 18,000,929 tweets) gathered during 2020, we show that broadcast spreading is associated with more integrated discourse networks compared to viral spreading. Moreover, discourse oscillates between extended periods of segregation and punctuated periods of integration. These results defy simple interpretations of good or bad, and instead suggest that information diffusion dynamics on social media have the capacity to disrupt or amplify both prosocial and antisocial content.

Abstract: This article explores the uses and abuses of traumatic memory within the context of the multifaceted discursive representation of the Holocaust on social media. Combining computational, quantitative, and qualitative methodologies, the article offers a comprehensive mapping of the mnemonic spectrum extending beyond memory work conducted during official commemorative occasions. To do so, we examined a unique case: the Twitter manifestations of one Hebrew expression—“and their collaborators” (ATC)—which echoes the Israeli “Law for punishing Nazis and their collaborators.” In contrast to the complete phrase, the truncated collocation appears in a variety of contexts across Hebrew Twitter. Thus, our investigation shows that alongside traditional awe-inspiring commemorative (“good”) uses of ATC, the conjunction between social media affordances and user practices brings to the discursive forefront exploitative political (“bad”) ATC uses and misuses that contribute to political polarization; and a plethora of playful and ironic (inappropriate-“ugly”) uses, that call for moral and aesthetic scrutiny.

Abstract: Numerous studies have shown that individuals’ belief sensitivity—their ability to discriminate between true and false political statements—varies according to psychological and demographic characteristics. We argue that sensitivity also varies with the political and social communication contexts in which they live. Both battleground state status of the state in which individuals live and the level of partisan segregation in a state are associated with Americans’ belief sensitivity. We leverage panel data collected from two samples of Americans, one collected in the first half of 2019 and the other during the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign season. Results indicate that the relationship between living in battleground states and belief sensitivity is contingent on political ideology: living in battleground states, versus in Democratic-leaning states, is associated with lower belief sensitivity among conservatives and higher belief sensitivity among liberals. Moreover, living in a less politically segregated state is associated with greater belief sensitivity. These relationships were only in evidence in the election year.

Abstract: As environmental and societal crises increase in numbers, severity, and urgency, online forums for so-called “doomsday preppers” have seen a concomitant surge in membership. Beginning from the perspective of communicative constitution of organization, we explore the sociotechnical communities that emerge on such forums. Methodologically, we use netnographic observations to show that online prepper communities are organizational, in the sense of being networks of communicative episodes that use common narratives to build identities around material objects and physical practices. However, the online prepper communities do not move from the enactment of organization to acting as organizations. This observation leads us to conceptualize online prepper communities as atomizations whose communicative constitution does not entail a capacity for collective action, but only manifests the similarity of disparate individuals. The communicative constitution of atomization, we argue, is symptomatic of an underlying social logic, which promotes individualized responses to collective problems.

Abstract: Abstract Political knowledge is fundamental to democratic politics. I develop a group-centered theory of political knowledge acquisition in the current media environment, which includes both high- and low-choice media, in this article. I argue that group identity prompts selective exposure to media content, which gives rise to specialized group-relevant political knowledge. This specialized knowledge is deeply relevant to the group and cannot be measured with indicators of general political knowledge. I show that selective exposure is the crucial mechanism facilitating specialized knowledge: Both selective exposure to Black-oriented content and use of high-choice media (the Internet) increase group-relevant knowledge among Black issue publics. This research speaks to scholarship examining the role of digital media in democratic politics and illustrates that the affordances of the Internet, and particularly selective exposure, are crucial to marginalized groups, who do not see their interests represented in mainstream media content, but who can access such information online.

Abstract: Recent theorizing on deliberative democracy has put political listening at the core of meaningful democratic deliberation. In the present experiment (N = 827), we investigated whether news media can improve diverse political listening in the United States via a reduction in party cue salience. Although Republican (Democratic) participants showed a strong preference for listening to speeches given by Republican (Democratic) politicians when party cues were highly salient, this bias in selective political listening was reduced or even absent when news items provided no or only low-salience cues. Conditional process analysis indicated that (automatically activated) implicit and (overtly expressed) explicit party attitudes mediated this effect. There are important implications: Current journalism practices tend to exacerbate tribal us-vs-them thinking by emphasizing partisan cues, nudging citizens toward not listening to political ideas from the other political camp. A more helpful news-choice architecture tones down partisan language, nudging citizens toward more diverse political listening.

Abstract: As social media scholarship pervades the communication discipline, it is time to reflect on the good, bad, and ugly of social media. The theme for this special issue is inspired in part by the 1966 film, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.” Like its portrayal of the American Civil War, we again face deep divisions. The question is what role is social media helping us to heal those divides versus fragmenting us further? The seven articles in this issue reflect the complexity of the answer. Although we aimed for diversity, this issue focuses on the Global North. This reflects the field and the need to decenter Western epistemology. Nevertheless, the articles help us see that social media is not easily reduced to simplistic framings, but instead enables new connections and collective action, while also risking further fragmentation of our information environment and greater polarization—while technology companies profit.

Abstract: Abstract This study proposes that science fiction (sci-fi), a specific entertainment genre or theme, can facilitate self-transcendence (i.e., moving beyond self-boundaries) by inducing epistemic humility (i.e., awareness of one’s epistemic limits accompanied by epistemic openness). Through increasing self-transcendence, sci-fi engagement can further promote prosocial intentions in a real-world context. We conducted three studies with different paradigms to test our hypotheses. Through a retrospective design, Study 1 found that sci-fi (vs. comedy or romance) films were recalled as eliciting stronger self-transcendence. Studies 2a and 2b, using an experimental design, revealed that sci-fi (vs. realistic) narratives induced stronger epistemic humility, and consequently led to heightened self-transcendence. Study 3, extending the findings in the pandemic context through a three-wave longitudinal design, demonstrated that sci-fi engagement within one month predicted the subsequent increase in self-transcendence, which in turn promoted coronavirus disease (COVID)-related prosocial intention over time. The potential of sci-fi to foster self-transcendence and prosociality is discussed.

Abstract: Guided by the Social Identity Model of Collective Action, the current research utilizes a three-wave longitudinal study collected pre and post the 2020 U.S. Presidential election to examine the motivations underlying Latino Americans’ group-based social media engagement (N = 1,050). Results revealed that Time 1 group (Latino) identity increased Time 2 perceptions of social media as efficacious in improving group outcomes, which in turn increased Time 3 group-based social media engagement. Although T1 Latino identification was not significantly associated with T2 perceptions of personal or group-based injustice, the former (but not the latter) increased T3 group-based social media engagement. Our findings reflect that marginalized group members engage with social media in part because they believe it is efficacious in improving their disadvantageous group status. This may be an especially attractive strategy for those who face individual experiences of unjust treatment.

Abstract: Drawing upon the theory of reasoned action, the protection motivation theory, and theories of regret, this study proposes and examines three communication strategies to curb the overuse of low-value cancer screening: (a) highlighting negative affective consequences of screening; (b) providing information about diagnostic uncertainty, and (c) using a noncancer disease label. An online survey-based experiment using a 2 (affective message: absent vs. present) × 2 (diagnostic uncertainty information: absent vs. present) × 2 (disease label: thyroid cancer vs. a borderline thyroid neoplasm) full-factorial between-subject design with a control condition was conducted. A total of 612 South Korean women participated. As predicted, the affective message and diagnostic uncertainty information significantly reduced positive attitudes toward screening uptake and anticipated regret regarding screening nonuptake, respectively, thereby reducing screening intention. The noncancer label also reduced screening intention by lowering perceived severity and positive attitude in sequence.

Abstract: Journal Article Navigating the seas of inclusivity: a collaborative voyage at the helm of a communication flagship journal Get access David R Ewoldsen, David R Ewoldsen Michigan State University, University of Zurich, Seoul National University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Natascha Just, Natascha Just Michigan State University, University of Zurich, Seoul National University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Email: joc.editors@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Chul-joo “C J” Lee, Chul-joo “C J” Lee Michigan State University, University of Zurich, Seoul National University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt Michigan State University, University of Zurich, Seoul National University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9268-3969 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Communication, Volume 73, Issue 6, December 2023, Pages 533–538, https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqad038 Published: 14 December 2023 Article history Received: 25 September 2023 Accepted: 25 September 2023 Published: 14 December 2023

Abstract: Journal Article Introducing: the JOC academic posse cut Get access Charlton McIlwain, Charlton McIlwain Media, Culture, and Communication, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York, NY, USA Corresponding author: Charlton McIlwain. Email: cdm1@nyu.edu Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Nikki Usher Nikki Usher Department of Communication, College of Arts and Sciences, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7297-4427 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Communication, Volume 73, Issue 6, December 2023, Page 620, https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqad037 Published: 14 December 2023 Article history Received: 25 September 2023 Accepted: 25 September 2023 Published: 14 December 2023

Abstract: Abstract Digital innovation is the future of work. The ongoing and interlinked transformation of digital technologies, work, communication, and organizing raises important theoretical questions. Integrating recombination-based innovation theory and institutional theory of communication, this article contributes a novel framework that specifies the theoretical linkages between macro-level institutions and digital innovation: Social actors negotiate tensions arising from multiple institutional logics through (a) attention allocation; (b) sensemaking; and (c) external, boundary-spanning networking. The framework can advance the study of communication by (a) reconciling conflicting and inconclusive empirical findings; (b) targeting research efforts; and (c) responding to critiques of communication scholarship as failing to address social contexts. By focusing on digital innovation and the interplay between societal structures and communicative action in shaping it, this article advances scholarly discussions on the future of work, conceptualizing digital innovation as an institutional as well as communicative accomplishment.

Abstract: Abstract In the scholarly literature on journalism and political communication, there has been an expectation that fact-checkers would play an important role in ensuring democratic accountability, especially during pivotal political moments. This piece scrutinizes the level of agreement between five Brazilian fact-checking groups and the reasons for divergences in their verdicts during the presidential debates of the 2022 campaign. The emphasis is on claims checked by two or more organizations. Through a mixed-methods approach, it shows a widespread lack of consistency among fact-checkers, which is explained by their conflicting methods and interpretations of candidates’ words. This study adds to the existing scholarship by challenging the dominant framework on fact-checking, putting into question its democracy-building role in critical circumstances, as well as the epistemology it relies on to assess the veracity of political discourse. Complementary, it introduces a valuable methodology for studying the rationale underlying fact-checking ratings.

Abstract: Using the theory of resilience and relational load, this study examined how married individuals’ baseline communal orientation (CO) and relational load (RL) at the beginning of the pandemic predicted their stress, conflict, mental health, and flourishing during quarantine. Using a Qualtrics Panel, married individuals (N = 3,601) completed four online surveys from April to June 2020. Results revealed the initial levels of CO brought to quarantine predicted less stress and conflict, and better mental health and flourishing at baseline, and these outcomes remained relatively stable across the next 3 months. RL at baseline did the exact opposite for these outcomes, making coping more difficult. We also hypothesized CO and RL moderate the impact of stress (T1) on mental health 3 months later by reducing conflict. Rather than serving as buffers, CO and RL at baseline directly affected conflict (T2/T3) and mental health (T4) throughout quarantine.

Abstract: The media portray various social groups stereotypically, and studying the effects of these portrayals on prejudice is paramount. Yet, audience selectivity—inherent within today’s high-choice media environments—has largely been disregarded. Relatedly, the predominance of forced-exposure designs is a source of concern. This article proposes the integration of audience selectivity into media stereotype effects research. Study 1 (N = 1,166) indicated that prejudiced individuals tended to approach prejudice-consistent stereotypical news and avoid prejudice-challenging counter-stereotypical news. Using a forced-exposure experiment, study 2 (N = 380) showed detrimental effects of prejudice-consistent news and beneficial effects of prejudice-challenging news. Relying on a self-selected exposure paradigm, study 3 (N = 1,149) provided evidence for preference-based reinforcement. Study 4’s “net-effect perspective” (N = 937) indicated that operationalizing exposure as forced or self-selected can lead to different interpretations of actual societal effects. The findings emphasize the key role played by audience selectivity when studying media effects.

Abstract: Algorithms play a critical role in steering online attention on social media. Many have alleged that algorithms can perpetuate bias. This study audited shadowbanning, where a user or their content is temporarily hidden on Twitter. We repeatedly tested whether a stratified random sample of American Twitter accounts (n ≈ 25,000) had been subject to various forms of shadowbans. We then identified the type of user and tweet characteristics that predict a shadowban. In general, shadowbans are rare. We found that accounts with bot-like behavior were more likely to face shadowbans, while verified accounts were less likely to be shadowbanned. The replies by Twitter accounts that posted offensive tweets and tweets about politics (from both the left and the right) were more likely to be downtiered. The findings have implications for algorithmic accountability and the design of future audit studies of social media platforms.

Abstract: Journal Article Response to "Gender Diversity at Academic Conferences—The Case of the International Communication Association (ICA)" Get access Paula Gardner Paula Gardner Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Corresponding author: Paula Gardner, PhD, Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Email: gardnerp@mcmaster.ca Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Communication, Volume 73, Issue 6, December 2023, Pages 616–619, https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqad033 Published: 14 December 2023 Article history Received: 08 September 2023 Revision received: 22 September 2023 Accepted: 24 September 2023 Published: 14 December 2023

Abstract: Journal Article At the nexus of technology, identity, and norms Get access Deen Freelon Deen Freelon Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA Corresponding author: Deen Freelon. Email: dfreelon@upenn.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5055-0316 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Communication, Volume 73, Issue 6, December 2023, Pages 627–629, https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqad036 Published: 14 December 2023 Article history Received: 25 September 2023 Accepted: 25 September 2023 Published: 14 December 2023

Abstract: In this article, we create and validate a measure of moral intuition salience developmentally appropriate for use among children and adolescents. This measure allows researchers to apply moral foundations theory and the model of intuitive morality and exemplars to child and adolescent moral development and media use, an important addition to the literature, as to date, this theory and its measurement have generally only been used among college-aged and adult participants. Following five pilot tests (total N = 713) that demonstrated face, concurrent, and predictive validity of our measure among young adults, we present validation data from 8- to 17-year-olds (N = 577), demonstrating the developmental nature of these moral intuitions and linking them with media use. This measure can be used to understand how children’s moral intuition salience relates to their media and content choices, as well as how media relates to the moral intuitions most salient to the child.

Abstract: Abstract This article considers the Turing test as a problem of communication, particularly by asking how the language of artificial intelligence (AI) appears to human experience in comparison to the language of the Other. This question is approached through Levinas’ philosophy, by considering the possibility of AI as an absolute alterity, rather than reducing its alterity to the Same. This perspective diverges from traditional accounts of AI, which are more concerned with identifying structures of consciousness in the machine that are analogous to those evident in firsthand experience. This article asks how exactly AI appears to human consciousness, and whether this appearance precludes the appearance of AI as a thinking-being. In the final analysis, the author argues that AI diverges from Levinas’ understanding of alterity, which centers around the exteriority of the Other. The alterity of AI, in contrast, centers around anteriority, defined as the appearance of language's origin-in-itself.

Abstract: Abstract Gender diversity and the lack of women in leadership in academia have been issues of academic interest for decades. However, little is known about gender diversity at academic conferences as an essential aspect of academia. We investigated 86,719 contributions to International Communication Association (ICA) conferences over the past 18 years with regard to female and male authorship and how it changed following the introduction of childcare, during the global pandemic, and under female division leadership. Lastly, we analyzed divisions/interest groups, authors’ gender, and national affiliation. We found that the proportion of female authors is high in all conference years and is representative of ICA membership. We found differences in how women and men are represented across divisions, countries of author affiliation, based on the availability of childcare, and during the global pandemic. We discuss implications at societal, organizational, and individual levels.

Abstract: Social relational theory proposes that children and parents socialize each other, particularly when knowledge, beliefs, and identities diverge. For families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) teens, identity-relevant media depictions may spark moments of mutual socialization, including attempts to mediate each other’s viewing and discussions of the teen’s identity. U.S. data from 200 LGBTQ teens (aged 13–18) and one of their parents indicated that 83% of dyads reported that media content had elicited identity-related conversations. Both teens and parents perceived teens to mediate more often than parents, though latent profile analyses suggested distinct dyadic profiles. Although all teens were out to their parent, those with more identity certainty engaged in and received more frequent mediation. For parents, the frequency and positivity of “media moments” were associated with greater support for their teen’s identity. For teens, positivity (but not frequency) of such moments was associated with perceptions of more parental support for their identity.