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Krieger Thesis FINAL.pdf (1.34 MB)

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Social Media Comment Sections and Their Effect on Message Framing: Implications for Political Communication and Public Relations

Krieger, Andrew
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1447954894

Abstract Details

2015, MA, Kent State University, College of Communication and Information / School of Media and Journalism.
Social media platforms are rapidly becoming an indispensable communication tool in today's political environment as strategists and public relations practitioners each attempt to use these interactive communication channels in the hope of influencing public opinion. While previous studies have used framing theory to study political communication and journalism, few have discussed the role social media's interactive functions may have in how frames are interpreted. Analysis of this relationship is important for determining best practices in strategic communication, as well as determining if social media has shifted power and influence from media elites to the public. This study first summarizes framing theory and its prior applications to similar research, establishing its utility in studying social media messaging. An online survey experiment via Amazon Mechanical Turk is then used to measure the influence Facebook comment sections have on user sentiment towards the original post. Before the survey, subjects are exposed to comments manipulated so that they will be either overwhelmingly positive or negative. Results of the experiment suggest that Facebook users are more influenced by comments than a manipulation in a headline. The findings of this study also suggest that social media has shifted more persuasive power to the public at the expense of media elites.
Chance York, Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair)
Jeff Fruit (Committee Co-Chair)
James Ponder, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
69 p.
Communication; Journalism
Facebook; framing; social media; commenting; astroturfing; cascading activation; agenda-setting; political communication; public relations; strategic communication

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Krieger, A. (2015). Social Media Comment Sections and Their Effect on Message Framing: Implications for Political Communication and Public Relations [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1447954894

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Krieger, Andrew. Social Media Comment Sections and Their Effect on Message Framing: Implications for Political Communication and Public Relations . 2015. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1447954894.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Krieger, Andrew. "Social Media Comment Sections and Their Effect on Message Framing: Implications for Political Communication and Public Relations ." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1447954894

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1447954894
2,329
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.