Online Public Forums Within Private Institutions

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Online Public Forums Within Private Institutions

• Young-Gil Chae
• Radio-TV-Film
• UT at Austin

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Public Forum

• A place or space in which persons come together
  to discuss issues, form opinions or plan action
• conversational arena in which people can
  talk with each other in pubic settings about
  public issues
• a communication space that allows for
  many-to-many communication in which citizens can
  treat of public affairs in public
• Space/ Participant/ Issue

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Online Public Forum
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Technological Aspect

• Interactivity
• Inclusion of users
• Promoting reciprocity enhancing conversation
  between users
• Deliberation
• Providing opportunity to have critical-rational
  reflection

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Psychological Aspect

• User Anonymity
• Meaningless and uncertain relation?
• Internalize and reinforce opinions of users
• Help form collective identity
• Reflection
• Enabling user to observe and contemplate
  conversations
• The power of lurkers
• Passive free riders? Or Active users?

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Social Aspect

• Public Policy
• Digital divide
• Censorship
• Market values
• Forms and uses of technology
• Other regulators
• Norms/ Law

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Research Purpose

• How is a communication technology constructed and
  used for public sphere in U.S?
• What are the characteristics of the technological
  aspects of the online forums in online
  newspapers?
• Forms Format and Usability
• Uses Interactivity and Deliberation

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Methodology

• Content analysis
• Sampling
• Frame Whos who (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Samples
• Forum 25 local online newspapers out of 5
  publications (N 12)
• Message War in Iraq, Sep. 29 and Oct. 1, N 83,
  The Star Ledger and Trenton Times (Advance)

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Sampled newspapers

• Advance Publications
• Allentown Times, Star-Ledger, Trenton Times,
  Plain Dealer, Post-Standard
• Cox Enterprises, Inc.
• Daily Advance, Rocky Mount Telegram, Middletown
  Journal, Austin American-Statesman, Atlanta
  Journal-Constitution
• Gannett
• Journal and Courier, Clarion-Ledger, Rochester
  Democrat and Chronicle, Argus Leader, Sheboygan
  Press
• Hearst Corporation
• Beaumont Enterprise, Houston Chronicle, Laredo
  Morning Times, Midland Reporter, San Antonio
  Express-News
• Knight-Ridder
• Charlotte Observer, News-Sentinel, El Nuevo
  Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, Wichita Eagle

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Measurement
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Findings (Form)

• Adoption of online forum 52

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.

• Format
• Threaded 58 (Advance, COX)
• Serial 42 (Garnett, Hearst, Knight-Ridder)
• Sharing technology
• Same template Advance (5/5), COX (2/3)
• Same forum Star-Ledger, Trenton Times (Advance)

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• Location and Procedure
• 100 User authentication process (Login in)
• 75 to view a message, at least 3 links from the
  main page
• 67 to post message, at least 5 links from the
  main page (Newspapers of Advance 6 links)

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Findings (Uses)

• Low use
• 41 has less than 5 users
• 33 has more than 10 users
• Frequent uses by Regulars
• Posting ratio Number of messages per user
• (M 2), Advance (M 2.3)

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.

• Interactivity the ratio of responsiveness to
  both the previous user and the message
• Ratio 3.5 (Lead 18 Response 64)
• Deliberation the degree of embedded knowledge or
  logic in the messages
• Not deliberative (emotional or bashful) 27.8
• Deliberative (knowledgeable or logical) 72.2

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Examples (1)

• D Frst coalition in the first iraq war the
  French sent the second largest number of military
  vehicules after the us flew the second largest
  number of flights after the us and in 2 days of
  combat captured 50000 iraqi prisoners , in
  afghanistan they are leading the 6000 man euro
  corps and in liberia it was french marines who
  went in and freed the american missionaries
  because we were stretched so thin France has
  65000 troops in africa we do need them and I bet
  that if Kerry is elected you will see a
  considerable change in our allies attitudes it
  not us they dont like its bush they dont trust .
  In the first coalition there were 700000 troops
  we dont even have a third now so dont talk about
  a coalition its us . If you asked the dutch
  british danes poles italians those people want
  out did you see the polls in britain 80 percent
  want bush to lose and its worse elsewhere with
  bush we are stuck
• E Impressive numbers. Where do you get your
  stats from?
• D Available from the us army geopolitical
  studies stats are true I did not mention that the
  US uses the French Naval base in Djibouti as a
  staging are or that France has the second largest
  number of naval units in that area

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Examples (2)

• A I know not to send my children there, if your
  grammar and spelling capacity is indicative of
  Widener students!
• B Your kids more than likely will not go to
  college with a remark like that. Hintertux made
  no Dont to what so ever he made a point if you
  dont like it Dont be sour but Dont be an
  insulting moron, Hey hintertux your better than
  this person, keep up the good work in school.

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Examples (3)

• C I've been reading and contributing to this
  board for about two years. Not ONCE have I seen a
  "liberal" tell a neo-con that he should leave the
  country because his views were not welcome. (I
  HAVE seen neo-cons invited to join the conflict
  in Iraq, but not to just "get out!") On the other
  hand, it is a frequent suggestion to me and
  others branded as "AntiAmerican" and "Liberal". I
  have explained numerous times that we, too, love
  our country and speak out against the corruption
  of our American values, the rape of the economy
  by elected officials in cooperation with
  corporate raiders and the perversion of our
  foreign policy by lackeys of foreign governments
  precisely because we DO love our country.
  Neo-cons seem to unanimously believe that its "MY
  WAY or the HIGHWAY." Even though that con

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Example (4)

• F Historically polls have not been the deciding
  factor in elections, dont get me wrong they have
  an impact but they don't decide elections. Its
  just more meat for the Media. Bush lost the
  debate on the style side just as it came to no
  surprise that everyone knew he would. Kerry's
  foreigin policies really in all dont differ much
  from Bush's accept for the North Korean Issue I
  do not agree with. We've been there for nearly 50
  years its time that Japan, China, Russia and
  South Korea have answered to that problem
• G The irony of the debate is that it's really
  geared to a very small of the population. If
  you have a preference in this election, you'll
  probably believe your candidate won the debate. I
  don't believe too many supporters of a candidate
  can be swayed to the other based on the
  debate.The "target" in the debate is the
  undecided voter. I wonder if any of the networks
  have access to this group as far as who they
  think "won".

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Conclusion

• Technology follows the market structure
• Publication company determines the Creation,
  Format and Usability of online forums in
  affiliated local newspapers
• High tech for Less
• Low adoption rate of online public forums
• Closed forum on Open network
• Low participation High Interactivity
• Deliberative discussion among regulars

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Discussion

• Articulating methodology for online Journalism
  research
• Need to incorporate study on psychological and
  social aspect in addition to technological aspect
  of new communication technology
• Need to articulate the process of constructing
  public opinion
• Extending the concept and roles of users
• International comparison about the forms and uses

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Example
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• Thank You