College of Communication, School of Journalism

Due to the mobility and portability, mobile technology enables users to gather political information and discuss with others conveniently through applications. Scholars have examined the interplay of news media use and interpersonal discussion to predict political engagements, but few studies have focused on the role of mobile applications as news sources. Based on Differential Gains and Communication Mediation Model, this study tested the influence of mobile application toward political participation. Results indicated that online discussions both mediated and moderated the relationship from mobile application use and political participation. Offline discussions showed limited capacity as a mediator.

Leung, L., & Zheng, P. (2012). Net Generation. In Zheng, Y. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Cyber Behavior. IGI Global.

The new digital media are at the heart of a culture and a grown-digital-generation who, in profound and fundamental ways, learn, work, play, communicate, shop, and create communities very differently than their parents (Livingstone, 2002; Tapscott, 1998, 2009). This grown-digital-generation, the group following on the heels of Generation X, is being called the Net Generation. In 2011, they are adolescents and young adults between the ages of 14 and 34. In many ways, this generation feels more comfortable with computers than do their parents, so they are more likely to be online consumers and users of social media. Bombarded with information and being media savvy, this generation has grown up understanding the digital economy. More than any previous generation, they are conversant with a communications revolution transforming business, education, health care, social relations, entertainment, government, and every other institution.
Previous research has estimated this group represents 27 percent of the population in the United States (Tapscott, 2009), making it a consumer group potentially larger than the baby boomers. Net Geners are more numerous, more affluent, better educated, and more ethnically diverse than any generation (Howe & Strauss, 2000). As Internet is the medium of choice for the Net Geners, a better grasp on how the characteristics of this cohort are linked to their Internet behavior would help marketers and designers to effectively use the medium. This article examines the Net Generation attributes and its relationships to their cyber behaviors especially in learning, entertainment, and social relationships.

How narcissism, communication anxiety, and gratifications impact SNS use and social capital was examined through a survey of Net-geners in China (N=568). Firstly, factor analysis identified four gratifications-sought from SNS: self-presentation, peer pressure, social network maintenance, and information seeking. Then regression analyses showed that narcissism significantly predicted all gratifications and intensity of SNS use, while communication anxiety only related to peer pressure and information seeking motivations. Narcissism, network maintenance motive, and intensity of SNS use were positively related to social capital, whereas communication anxiety and peer pressure motivation negatively predicted social capital. Theoretical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This study assesses the scope and applicability of the " protest paradigm " in non-Western contexts by examining the news coverage of Brazilian, Chinese, and Indian protests in their domestic media. Two publications from each nation, one conservative and one progressive, are content analyzed for adherence to a series of marginalization devices that have often been used by the U.S. media to ridicule protest movements and portray them as violent. The Indian media emerge as the least likely to follow the protest paradigm, while Brazilian and Chinese media conform to it in moderate levels. Comparative analysis suggests the historical legitimacy of informal power negotiations in a political culture makes news media more willing to take protesters seriously and limits adherence to the protest paradigm. In contrast, a news organization's ideological affiliation with the government of the day, rather than any ideology per se, makes it relatively more likely to conform to the protest paradigm. Marginalization devices such as circus, appearance, and eyewitness accounts are rarely used in any of these nations. But disparity of sources, (non)reference to protesters' causes and violence, and violence blame appear to be abiding features of news coverage of protests everywhere.

Satire represents a form of public discourse that invites critical judgment of some
sociopolitical folly, absurdity, or contradiction. Through devices like exaggeration, irony,
and imitation, a satirical text aspires to cut through spin, deception, and
misrepresentation in order to spotlight a given state of affairs as they are or could be.
That is, satire is propelled by an impulse to elucidate; to highlight some truth. In many
respects, journalism’s normative aspirations are similar to that of satire. Journalism’s
guiding principles are commonly discussed in light of a central mission to seek and report
the best obtainable version of the truth. Though satirical and journalistic endeavors are
often carried out with contrasting tones of sobriety, both forms of discourse exhibit
idealism in offering unblinking assessments of social realities. Accordingly, it is hardly
surprising that satire and journalism have an extensive history of interplay, dating back to
some of the earliest venues of modern journalism. Given satire’s penchant to freely draw
from the conventions and norms of a wide range of cultural practices in its pursuit of
mounting social critiques, it follows that satire would frequently leverage the tools of
journalism for its purposes. The journalism profession has long laid claim to privileged
legitimacy in the public sphere, positioning itself as a voice of authority in interpreting
public affairs events and issues. Journalism’s traditional (though certainly not
uncontested) position of privilege has proven useful to satirists. Likewise, satire’s
entertaining and attention-getting qualities have long enticed news media actors.
Academic scholarship centered on the interplay of satire and journalism emanates from a variety of research orientations, employs a diversity of methods, and focuses on a wide
range of topics and cultural contexts. The bulk of this body of research highlights satirical
work that draws from journalism-based conventions and practices (for example, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), but pockets of scholarship also consider conventional
journalism’s engagement with satire. Still other scholars focus more on how the
convergences of journalism and satire spawn hybrid forms of discourse that contribute to public culture in meaningful ways. Building on the insights afforded by these diverse lines of research, future satire–journalism scholarship would be well served by continuing to draw from across these multifaceted research streams.