An exploration of South African news organisations’ #FeesMustFall tweet-activity on the Twitter networked public sphere
| dc.contributor.advisor | Botma, Gabriel | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Baillie-Stewart, Adrian | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-11-06T20:14:00Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-12-11T10:44:07Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-11-06T20:14:00Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-12-11T10:44:07Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-12 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2017. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study contributes towards the study of journalism in the age of social media and the role of the news organisation in the Twitter networked public sphere. The convergence of news media and social networks has resulted in the media industry being “challenged by a complex environment” (Villi, Matikainen & Khaldarova, 2016: 289). The primary focus of the study was to explore South African news organisations’ #FeesMustFall tweet-activity that took place on the Twitter networked public sphere for the period 15 to 23 October 2015. On 22 October 2015 the #FeesMustFall hashtag was trending on Twitter and featured prominently in news-media articles, stories and news reports. On 23 October 2015, President Zuma announced a zero fee increase for the 2016 academic year (Hosken, 2015). Relevant to the #FeesMustFall debate, this study endeavoured to determine how South African news organisations played their journalistic role (or not) on Twitter. This was facilitated by investigating South African news organisations’ use of the Twitter platform’s unique microblog features (e.g., direct messaging (DM), @mentions, and URL links) in their tweets. The theoretical paradigms of media functionalism, the information society and the networked public sphere were combined to establish a unique hybrid theoretical model that best-informs and best-supports the academic analysis of phenomena specific to this study. The study employed the use of a mixedmethods computer-assistive methodology, using the Tableau® software application in order to process South African news organisations’ tweets that featured the “#FeesMustFall” hashtag. The findings reveal some shortcomings and inconsistencies in news organisations’ quality of journalistic-type information that was published on Twitter. The study concludes with a discussion and a set of recommendations on three levels: the empirical, theoretical and methodological levels. The primary recommendation is that South African news organisations might wish to relook their current Twittercontent publishing strategy and refine their best practices for Twitter usage. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie dra by tot ‘n veld van ondersoek in die joernalistiek midde in ’n era van die gebruik van sosiale media, insluitend die rol van nuusorganisasies en die toenemende gebruik van Twitter in die openbare domein. Die konvergensie van nuusmedia en sosiale netwerke het tot gevolg dat die media-industrie toenemend uitgedaag word deur meer komplekse omgewings (sien Villi, Matikainen & Khaldarova, 2016: 289), en dus fokus die studie primêr op ’n ondersoek na Suid-Afrikaanse nuusorganisasies se #FeesMustFall Twitter aktiwiteite gedurende die tydperk van 15 tot 23 Oktober 2015. Op 22 Oktober 2015 was die #FeesMustFall handvatsel (hashtag) ‘n gewilde onderwerp in media-artikels, mediaberigte en nuusverslaggewing en teen 23 Oktober 2015 kondig president Zuma aan dat daar geen verhoging in studentegelde sou wees vir die 2016 akademiese jaar nie (Hosken, 2015). Relevant tot die #FeesMustFall debat poog die studie om vas te stel hoe Suid-Afrikaanse nuusorganisasies ’n joernalistieke rol gespeel het (of nie gespeel het nie) via Twitter. Die ondersoek is voorts ondersteun deur ’n ondersoek na Suid-Afrikaanse nuus-organisasies se gebruik van die Twitterplatform se unieke mikroblog eienskappe (byvoorbeeld ‘direct messaging’, ‘@mentions’ en URL skakels) in Tweets. Die teoretiese paradigmas van media funksionalisme, die inligtingsamelewing en die openbare netwerksfeer is gekombineer en benut in die studie om ’n unieke hibriede teoretiese model te ontwikkel wat die wetenskaplike analise van die studiefenomeen moontlik kon maak. Metodologies is ’n gemengde metode rekenaargesteunde benadering (die Tableau® sagteware-toepassing) benut om Twitterboodskappe van Suid-Afrikaanse nuus organisasies te ontleed wat aan die #FeesMustFall gesprek deelgeneem het. Die studiebevindinge dui op enkele tekortkominge en inkonsekwenthede rakende nuus organisasies se gehalte van joernalistieke inligting wat op Twitter gepubliseer is. Die studie sluit af met ’n bespreking en ’n stel aanbevelings op drie vlakke, naamlik die empiriese, die teoretiese en die metodologiese. Die primêre aanbeveling vanuit die studie is egter dat Suid-Afrikaanse nuusorganisasies moontlik moet herbesin oor hul huidige publiseerstrategieë met betrekking tot Twitterinhoud sowel as om hul praktyke vir Twittergebruik beter te verfyn. | af_ZA |
| dc.format.extent | 156 pages : illustrations | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/102707 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Social networks | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | en_ZA | |
| dc.subject | UCTD | |
| dc.title | An exploration of South African news organisations’ #FeesMustFall tweet-activity on the Twitter networked public sphere | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |