Search Results (55)

Push notifications are a digital strategy for outlets to provide news and a convenient way for audiences to absorb information. Past research shows the effectiveness of push notifications and how they are framed, but few studies have explored their relationship with clickbait. However, clickbait often has a negative connotation. Through an exploratory mixed methods study involving textual analysis of push notifications (n = 639) sent by three credible mainstream media outlets, namely The Associated Press, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and a survey of readers’ (n = 368) perception of push notifications and clickbait, this research explores how credible news outlets directly engage with their respective audiences by framing push notifications in the form of clickbait. This study builds on framing theory by proposing the concept of credible clickbait and illustrating how push notifications shape readers’ immediate perceptions of content being shared with them by news outlets they subscribe to. This research also aims to be a resource for journalists to increase audience interaction and foster sustained attention with stories. Full article

This study introduces MediaWatchers4Climate, a methodological framework that leverages machine learning to evaluate the accuracy and rhetorical framing of climate change narratives in Greek online media. The model is designed to analyze large-scale textual data from over 1500 certified digital outlets registered in the Greek Online Media Registry. Through keyword-based filtering, thematic clustering, and content comparison techniques, the framework aims to detect discursive shifts, trace the replication of news stories, and identify misinformation patterns. While the current phase focuses on model development and data structuring, preliminary observations suggest significant content repetition across sources and a lack of original reporting on climate issues. The project ultimately seeks to promote evidence-based reasoning and enhance public resilience to misinformation related to the climate crisis. Full article

The rise of digital heritage and immersive technologies like extended reality (XR) is reshaping how people experience culture and history. For older adults, these innovations offer exciting possibilities to explore and connect with their heritage in new ways. However, scientists and stakeholders still know little about how they engage with these technologies, what draws them in, what challenges they face, and how it impacts them emotionally and cognitively. This study aims to contribute to closing that gap by sharing insights from a survey on older adults’ interactions with digital heritage through XR. By exploring their experiences, we aspire to uncover the importance of making XR tools more accessible, intuitive, and meaningful for this audience. This article also highlights how older adults can contribute their rich perspectives to cultural heritage initiatives, enhancing not only their own engagement but the broader cultural narrative. Ultimately, this work calls for thoughtful design that ensures everyone, regardless of age, can connect with, and gain knowledge from the stories that shape our world. Full article

The UK government has detailed guidelines for assessing and guiding LGBTQI+ asylum seekers through the asylum process in the UK. This is an explorative paper assessing whether post the enactment of the Nationalities and Boarders Act 2022 the media narrative around queer refugees has had any influence on UK government policy. It does this by laying out the baseline UK LGBTQ+ asylum seeker legislative and UK civil service guidance and analysing UK newspapers in a media data analysis of mainstream UK media websites to see if there is any media influence on legislation or guidance post-enactment of the NBA 2022. These findings indicate there was no discernible influence on UK government policy towards LGBTQ+ asylum seekers by mainstream UK news media (Mainstream media for this research is defined as national newspapers with large website traffic, such as The Guardian, The Times, and The Daily Mail. These sources were chosen due to their digital footprint and searchability, which enabled textual analysis of the content) post-enactment of the NBA 2022 on 28 April 2022. In addition, the doctrinal analysis shows that the UK government is both opaque about LGBTQ+ asylum statistics and the outcome of Stage 1 asylum decisions, making it difficult to judge what sources influence these decisions and data. This makes it difficult for the UK media to cover these stories with clarity unless a claimant waives their right to anonymity, or a leak happens. Given the available data, it is also apparent that there has been a year-on-year decrease in LGBTQ asylum appeals, suggesting that while the media narrative may not be influencing policy, the New Plan itself may be having a chilling influence on LGBTQ asylum claims. More research over a longer period of time is required to explore this. Full article

Social media use is commonplace for journalists in newsgathering, including reporting newsworthy deaths. Journalists have revised their death knock practice of physically doorknocking bereaved families to a preference for digital methods to solicit comment and context for stories about fatal incidents. This is gleaned from social media. A 2021–2022 Australian mixed-methods study, including a survey and semi-structured interviews, found that journalists use social media as a tool to find, contact, and interview people, and as a source of facts, photographs, and comments for stories. Journalists are at risk of moral injury, which occurs when they breach their own moral code, including through institutional betrayal. This article argues the digital death knock increases the risk of moral injury because unfettered access to, and sanctioned use of, social media material creates new ethical complexities. It proposes that fundamental to the journalist’s risk of moral injury is their view of the journalist–source relationship, which might in turn reflect their underlying ethical framework. The journalist who preferences utilitarian ethics—the greatest good for the greatest number—may see a source as means to an end; however, the journalist who preferences deontological ethics—respect for persons as an end in themselves—may owe the source a greater duty of care, which, if breached, may make them vulnerable to moral injury. Full article

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney depicts a love story between Frances, a Dublin college student, and Nick, a married, middle-class actor. The author creatively integrates film narrative and digital media narrative into the novel, thus employing different media for expression. When the novel was successfully adapted into a TV series in 2022, fan participation, media interviews, and actors’ interpretations fleshed out the characters, extending the process of cross-media remediation. Frances gradually accomplishes self-construal in the process of cross-media narrative, searching for the individual self, relational self, and collective self. In this article, Frances’ individual, collective, and relational selves are analyzed by exploring the effects of film and digital media narrative and cross-media remediation. We develop new perspectives on the interaction of multiple media and the intersection of narrative techniques. In breaking down the barriers between the text and the real world, millennials’ breakups, adherence to communist ideals, and awakening of female consciousness are well depicted. Due to Rooney’s cross-media narrative, the novel’s features could also bring the readers a film-like experience, thus making it suitable for visual adaptation. Full article

Racial justice rhetoric is approached via collaborative auto-ethnography and oral interpretation, demonstrating how race, place, and faith intersect in a community devoted to religion and education. Community narratives wield immense power, but they are never complete. Stories and the cultures that retell them are alive and growing, so finding a voice can influence change. When racial justice voices are gradually over-written and forgotten, archival research and a commitment to engaged scholarship can identify and hold up historical leaders as role models. This article reintroduces a largely forgotten Catholic leader, Monsignor Thomas G. Fahy, into higher education’s narrative on race. Freie’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed provides a theoretical frame for an auto-ethnography relating pentimento “un/re/discovery” of Fahy leading to a digital oral/aural performance of some of his most enlightened speeches. Northern New Jersey saw widespread civil unrest and violence in the 1960s, and rather than turn away, Fahy turned “right out the gate” to listen and collaborate with Newark’s racial justice activists. Conclusions include a need for sustained attention to historical justice leaders in nurturing positive futures and the socio-political power of storytelling as a digital/oral rhetorical form. Full article

Podcasts have established themselves in the digital media landscape as an integral part of information gathering and opinion formation for many users. The number of podcast users has stabilized at a high level in recent years. However, podcast producers, including podcast journalists, remain a largely unexplored group. This study focuses on podcast journalists and aims to identify the perceptions, motivations, and quality standards relating to their roles in podcasting. It is based on the results of an online survey of 378 podcast journalists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Against a background of the concept of pioneer journalism, this article argues that podcast journalists are innovative contributors to the journalism ecosystem and have positioned themselves as new actors within the field. The findings of this study show that podcast journalists create, produce, and present journalistic content, for instance news or background stories, in the form of audio episodes, and see themselves as both educators and entertainers. They use the creative freedom of podcasting to engage deeply with their audiences and achieve high levels of listener loyalty. While financial gain is not their primary motivation, they have innovated new revenue models. They are committed to the quality of their content and emphasize comprehensibility and accuracy of information. Full article

This paper addresses the problem of how Spanish digital media reported income inequality during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this way, the goal was to study the framing of definition, contextual aspects, and depth. For this article, a tool was designed to analyse the content of the items. An analysis of news published by six digital media in Spain from March 2020 to February 2021 was conducted using content analysis. Within a sample of 2727 media stories in which there was a connection between the coronavirus and inequality, a stratified sample was used (n = 958) according to the content production by quarter and by media. The results of this study show that income inequality was the most common type of inequality reported in the media, and they cantered more on the micro level. Also, it appeared to be linked to the social gap and showed poverty as the main consequence. The frame was focused on social issues, international and national contexts, and expert sources. Finally, different levels of depth can be observed in the news items analysed, depending on the frame. Full article

Transmedia storytelling combines various concepts and respective strategies that were originally intended for the expansion of fictional storyworlds. Gradually, technological convergence and the digitization of information facilitated their adoption by the field of journalism. This study examines if and how transfictionality and its extensions are incorporated into transmedia journalistic projects, with the aim of expanding non-fictional storyworlds. The research methodology follows the scheme of qualitative content analysis in a sample of six essays of the online special issue of The 1619 Project, a transmedia journalistic venture published by The New York Times. In this context, Scolari’s taxonomy of extensions (2009) was used as an objective research tool through which the research sample was analyzed and interpreted. The research findings reveal that the research sample includes various stories whose functions are similar to those of extensions while audience actively participates in the construction of the represented storyworld. Moreover, the whole project incorporates ‘expansion’, a form of transfictionality that extends fictional storyworlds, by using extensions (e.g., sequels, prequels). Therefore, it seems that the field of transmedia journalism adopts both transfictionality and extensions, with the aim of expanding non-fictional storyworlds, enhancing the development of collaborative transmedia journalistic efforts. Full article

Crowdsourcing applications that integrate storytelling and geotagging capabilities offer new avenues for engaging the public in cultural heritage. However, standardised evaluation frameworks are lacking. This paper presents an applied evaluation methodology involving the analysis of relevant web-based tools. Towards this goal, this paper presents the development of crowdsourcing applications using, as a case study, the collection of myths and legends associated with the monumental heritage site of the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes in Greece. Additionally, the paper presents an evaluation conducted through a criteria-based approach and user-based survey. The study reviews the concepts of crowdsourcing and digital storytelling within digital heritage, along with current concepts of living heritage and folklore, and examines relevant initiatives. The evaluation follows a four-stage methodology: (i) initial web-based tool selection based on the minimum requirements of web compatibility, crowdsourced data display, and map-based storytelling capability; (ii) application development using the selected web-based tools; (iii) a five-criteria assessment, based on the factors of open access, usability/tool support, participatory content/story creation, metrics provision and metadata model usage; and (iv) a crowd-based survey, indicating the most effective option. Findings from 100 respondents reveal limited exposure to participatory storytelling applications but interest in contributing content. Social media and influential figures serve as key channels for promoting crowdsourcing open calls. The results highlight gaps in understanding user expectations and perceptions, suggesting future research for gaining insights into engagement rates. Full article

Digital technologies are reshaping traditional static urban typologies, as the museum, urging a rethinking of how Cultural Heritage (CH) is experienced. The work presents the PALIMPSEST Project, an Interreg V-A Greece–Italy funded project, which proposes a dynamic, interactive, participatory, and personalized museum experience in the urban context of Ioannina, Greece, establishing an open-air, immaterial, immersive museum route in the city. The project’s innovative approach involved three methodological stages. In the first stage, a collection of past stories of the city was achieved through transgenerational collaboration of students and older generations. In the second stage, the collected material was organized to create an interactive mobile app, allowing users to access existing and add new stories, fostering bottom-up development. In the last stage, a museum experience was built around interactive installations from selected stories through co-creation processes and dispersed throughout the city’s public space, activated by the visitors via the app. PALIMPSEST established a hybrid, open-air museum route, connecting the ICH with the urban landscape, and creating personalized and unexpected experiences of the city. The project offers a novel way to reconceptualize the museum by integrating digital technologies, arts, storytelling, and active participation, bringing the museum into the open urban space. Full article

This paper shares the first insights of the Digital Storytelling Hubs research project held by the School of Primary Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation. It is a still in-progress action research study that comprises two action research cycles. The aim of the present paper is to outline the dynamic role that digital storytelling could play in building learning communities. The research program includes the creation of three hubs, one digital and two physical, for transferring higher education research practice to primary and secondary education, and for disseminating digital storytelling as an innovative learning tool. During the pilot cycle, digital storytelling was implemented in two experimental schools in Greece, while during the main cycle, a total of 50 elementary and secondary teachers were involved. Data sources include students’ and teachers’ participation statistics, the digital stories created by students so far, the students’ answers in questionnaires and teachers’ semi-structured interviews after the pilot interventions in class. The findings suggest the dynamics of digital storytelling workshops to create vivid and powerful learning communities that foster both classic and new literacies and enhance a creative and critical attitude towards modern media culture. Full article

Location-based games (LBGs) are an effective tool to enhance engagement in cultural heritage experiences. Especially for digital natives (i.e., Generation Z), LBGs are a new way to experience cultural heritage. However, combining the heterogeneous experiences of cultural heritage and gaming without losing control of the game is a challenge for LBG development. This qualitative study proposes a model for combining cultural heritage experiences and gaming in LBGs based on the experiences of Generation Z. Fifteen research participants were asked to play-test the LBG Jungdong Milseo, and the findings were derived through the methodology of the constructivist grounded theory. The study focused on two research questions: “How can the heterogeneous experiences of cultural heritage and gaming be combined in LBG?” and “How does Generation Z perceive cultural heritage experiences through LBG?” The findings revealed that Generation Z wanted LBGs to include historical and cultural information that can only be experienced through games. This study, which combines cultural heritage experiences and games in LBG based on the experiences of Generation Z, proposes a model centered on the elements of site-based play, loose story, and mutually pervasive environment, and is expected to serve as a practical guide for LBG development. Full article

Information and communication technologies have grown globally in the past two decades, expanding the reach of news networks. However, the credibility of the information is now in question. Credibility refers to a person’s belief in the truth of a subject, and online readers consider various factors to determine whether a source is trustworthy. Credibility significantly impacts public behaviour, and less credible news spreads faster due to people’s interest in emotions like fear and disgust. This can have negative consequences for individuals and economies. To determine the credibility factors in digital news stories, a Multivocal Literature Review (MLR) was conducted to identify relevant studies in both white and grey literature. A total of 161 primary studies were identified from published (white) literature and 61 were identified from unpublished (grey) literature. As a result, 14 credibility factors were identified, including “number of views”, “reporter reputations”, “source information”, and “impartiality”. These factors were then analysed using statistical tests and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for decision-making to determine their criticality and importance in different domains. Full article