In this dissertation I investigate how mass media outlets might act politically by using their agenda-setting power, i.e. by affecting through their coverage the importance readers and viewers attach to different issues. According to the issue ownership hypothesis, as introduced by Petrocik [1996], the choice of the topic being covered can have relevant persuasive effects, to the extent that citizens think that a given political party is better at handling problems related to it, compared to its opponent(s). I first construct a simple model of electoral competition with two candidates, two issues and one newspaper, which has room for only one story to be published. The model shows how rational citizens are influenced in their voting choice by the story featured on the newspaper, but tend to overreact to stories that go contrary its known editorial policy. From an empirical point of view, I first study the coverage devoted by the New York Times to Democratic and Republican issues, during the 1946-1997 period. I find that the Times has a Democratic partisanship with some watchdog aspects, since during presidential campaigns it systematically gives more emphasis to the Democratic issues of civil rights, health care, labour and social welfare, but only so when the incumbent president is a Republican, i.e. he is perceived as weak on those issues. Building on a joint work with James Snyder and Valentino Larcinese, I then study the coverage of economic issues by a large sample of U.S. newspapers during the last decade. I find that newspapers with pro-Democratic endorsement pattern systematically give more coverage to high unemployment when the incumbent president is a Republican than when the president is Democratic, compared to newspapers with pro-Republican endorsement pattern. This result does not seem to be driven by the partisanship of readers.

This study highlights various counter-hegemonic discourses in Egyptian blogs. It underscores how bloggers protest against the authority of both state and social institutions. It departs from existing empirical research in its theoretical approach and methodology in terms of size, categorization and analysis of sample. The key empirical results of the thesis show that it is more rewarding to ‘look at what blogs are talking about’ than to ‘look for’ the applicability of a theoretical theorem to the discourse on blogs. As a result, the findings that emerged during the analysis of sample, and the postmodern theoretical trajectories that arose from the same, were not anticipated and quite insightful. Finally, this study provides a nuanced understanding of resistance-bloggers, the position of the blogosphere within the Egyptian social-nexus, upon which, it is hoped, future studies of blogs can build.

Fan studies literature has frequently been pervaded by the prevailing assumptions of what constitutes “fans” and their associated activities: fan art or fantext, cosplay, conjecture, activism – the things that fans supposedly do by definition –are those to which scholarly attention has most been paid. Yet the assumption that fandom can be defined by such explicit practices can be dangerous because of the subjective nature of respective fan cultures. Presenting a fan culture that questions the “assumed” nature of fandom and fan practices, this thesis is an examination of the fans of filmmaker and comedian Kevin Smith, investigating the ways in which community members negotiate and categorise their fandom and relationships with both each other and a communicative, media-literate producer. Since 1995, the View Askew Message Board has provided a dialogical, communicative platform for fans of Kevin Smith to define themselves as a collective group – or more frequently – a community. Through autoethnographic discussion, as well as qualitative research conducted both online and in person, this examination of users of the Board considers the nature of audience-producer relations, the intersection between on- and offline fannish and communal practices, and the extent to which the identity of “Kevin Smith fan” can be attributed within alternate contexts of fan productivity and (non) communal practice. Contextualised by ongoing scholar-fan debate (Hills 2002; Gray et al. 2011), this thesis interrogates notions of fan practice, community, and classification, proposing further methodological and ethical considerations of the research of both explicit and implicit “fannish” practices. Through a netnographic framework (Kozinets 2010), this thesis is able to present a participatory approach to the study of online cultures, looking at how producer and fans simultaneously inhabit and inform the same cultural sphere, and how such practices help to inform a community’s perception of their own fan culture.

Since the turn of the millennium, there is a growing literature concerned with investigating the representation of minorities on French television. This thesis sets out to explore the documentary representation of four types of alterity (non-Western, urban, rural and regional France) in a selection of documentaries broadcast on French television between 1995 and 2010. The originality of this thesis lies in its comparative approach to the question of alterity. This research seeks to contribute to the nascent field of diversity and minority studies, and explore the manner in which these documentaries contribute to the construction of contemporary French identity. The study examines documentaries in a range of styles, from ‘art-house’ films to ‘hybrid’ popular factual entertainment, broadcast on ‘mainstream’ and ‘cultural’ channels. Additionally, the thesis seeks to assess the extent to which the medium of documentary offers an alternative representation of alterity when compared to other forms of visual culture, in particular the news coverage and documentary treatment of recent events. The juxtaposition of ‘mainstream’ and ‘cultural’ channels, and of documentary and news coverage, is designed to provide an analytical framework in which to assess the questions of alterity and national identity, in a manner that is, simultaneously, representative of a range of channels and styles, and different forms of factual representation. From this research emerges a recurrent opposition between a suburban dystopia (epitomised by the banlieue) versus a rural idyll (whether ‘peasant’, regional or non-Western). This shows a correspondence between the documentary representation of alterity and France’s contemporary concerns with questions of national identity and citizenship, which has engendered a ‘turn to nostalgia’ and the idealisation of rural or ‘traditional’ lifestyles.

The modern consumer has access to a massively complex entertainment world. Many of the products available reveal a visible movement of popular fantasy worlds between different media. This transmedia process creates a strong link between film, merchandising and games; with all of these mediums borrowing from each other. This borrowing takes various forms, from licensed adaptations to unofficial copying of ideas, settings and characters as well as exploiting the different aesthetics and techniques of different media. Much of the scholarship on transmedia concentrates on storytelling, where a single overarching narrative unfolds over several different media. This thesis will move away from storytelling to consider how culture producers borrow the aesthetics, narratives and fantasy worlds from other sources, including computer games. This borrowing happens because it enables them to use transmedia functionality to gain market share from an already established audience who have a vested interested in, and enthusiasm for, an established world. Most of this borrowing happens around specific genres – especially fantasy, science fiction and horror. These genres are particularly wide-ranging and emphasise the possibilities of worldbuilding, making then good sources for multi-media franchises. This thesis will examine examples from these genres to examine what elements are translated to a new medium, and what is discarded. This examination will help explain how and why different media and settings work in the way that they do.

Development of the internet and electronic media provide a convenient platform for travellers to instantly share their experiences. Known as electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), it offers a powerful source of information and can also act as an effective marketing tool. Existing studies have focused on the conceptualisation and influences of eWOM communication, but limited attention has been given to the antecedents of it from the attitUdinal perspective within the tourism industry. This study aims to fulfil that gap. Data from international travellers having experience of eWOM communication was collected through online focus groups and survey questionnaire. Content analysis and structural equation modelling were employed for data analysis respectively. Based on the literature review and online focus group findings three key antecedents were identified, being: Adoption of Electronic Communication Technology, Motivation for eWOM Communication and Subjective Norm. Thereafter, a conceptual framework was proposed to bring these three antecedents together for the first time. This was empirically tested, particularly examining the influences of the overall attitude and behavioural intention of eWOM communication. Survey results showed that the overall attitude towards eWOM communication plays an important role in the understanding of the eWOM communication behaviour of travellers, serving as a mediator between antecedents and behavioural intention. From the theoretical perspective, this study fulfils the research gap through exploring the antecedents of eWOM communication from the attitudinal perspective. A new conceptual framework is therefore empirically validated providing the basis for replication within future studies. Through employing the Technology Acceptance Model, Functional Theory of Attitude, Subjective Norm and Consumer Attitude, this study contributes to extending those theories in the context of eWOM communication within the tourism industry. Regarding managerial implications, this research identifies the antecedents of eWOM communication behaviour of travellers, which could help practitioners stimulate eWOM and further implement it as a strong marketing tool.

This thesis examines the impact of neo-liberal marketisation on the provision of two types of minority interest content; children’s and religious programmes, in the terrestrial broadcasting environments of the UK and Finland between 1986 and 2009. Utilising a customised explanatory model devised for this study: the Industrial Equilibrium Model, which combines elements of historical institutionalism and the Structure-Conduct-Performance Paradigm, the thesis provides an empirical record of marketisation-driven changes in broadcasting institutions and their impact on the provision of children’s and religious programmes. In so doing, the study allows us to evaluate the current state of and future outlook for minority interest content in the 21st century marketised multi-platform broadcasting environment. The thesis demonstrates that notwithstanding significant social, political, cultural, economic and demographic differences between the UK and Finland, similar marketisation-driven changes have taken place in the strategies of broadcasting institutions. Increasing competitive pressures produced by liberalisation and reorientation of regulation have forced commercial broadcasters in particular to focus increasingly on majority preferences and populist content in their programming, while catering for minority interests occupies a lesser role in the agendas of these broadcasters. The thesis demonstrates that popular preferences increasingly inform programming strategies and production resource allocation. The rise in the preference to use commercial and economic yardsticks in measuring the performance of broadcasting companies has also resulted in an increasing preference for costeffective and/or commercially lucrative types of programming with mass audience potential. All these changes have influenced the structure of the output of public service broadcasters, which is increasingly shaped by these populist, economic and commercial considerations, while the significance of the historically dominant social and cultural goals has declined to an extent. Through these changes in broadcasters’ institutional conduct, an understanding is gained of the impact of neo-liberal marketisation on the conceptual model of public service broadcasting. The thesis demonstrates that broadcasters and regulators have adopted an increasingly consumerist interpretation of the missions of public service broadcasting, and use viewing preferences of the audience majority to set their public service agenda. This tendency has compromised their ability and willingness to cater for certain disadvantaged minorities. By highlighting potential areas of vulnerability in the emerging model for minority interest provision, the thesis also presents recommendations for securing diversity and plurality in future minority interest provision.

This commentary presents my thirty-year involvement with Malta's mediasacpe during which I constructed a theoretical framework which helped me analyse critically Malta's mediascape in an original way, influence the formulation of policies governing it, and contribute practically to its building (particularly in the public service broadcasting and Church media sectors). This commentary details the way I critically mapped and evaluated this mediascape, contributing to both theory and practice through an extensive number of academic publications, reports and public lectures. It discerns the paradigmatic changes that this mediascape has undergone. In particular, this commentary explains the following: I combined psycho-cultural and sociological approaches in order to appreciate the complexity of the Maltese mediascape, including its specific way of evolving from one stage of media/culture relation to another; the paradigmatic shift from monopolistic to pluralized broadcasting; the impact of the presence of various institutions, particularly political parties, that own different media organisation; and finally the role of the media in the secularisation of the Maltese Islands. The important position of the Catholic Church in this mediascape is analysed by means of a pastoral/theological model I put forward. In its final section, this commentary reflects on the media education programme which was developed as a tool to empower the readers, listeners and viewers that populate Malta's mediascape.

Social media analytics is showing promise for the prediction of financial markets. The research presented here employs linear regression analysis and information theory analysis techniques to measure the extent to which social media data is a predictor of the future returns of stock-exchange traded financial assets. Two hypotheses are proposed which investigate if the measurement of social media data in real-time can be used to pre-empt – or lead – changes in the prices of financial markets. Using Twitter as the social media data source, this study firstly investigates if geographically-filtered Tweets can lead the returns of UK and US stock indices. Next, the study considers if string-filtered Tweets can lead the returns of currency pairs and the securities of individual publically-traded companies. The study evaluates Tweet message sentiments – mathematical quantifications of text strings’ moods – and Tweet message volumes. A sentiment classification system specifically designed and validated in literature to accurately rank social media’s colloquial vernacular is employed. This research builds on previous studies which either use sentiment analysis techniques not geared for such text, or which instead only consider social media message volumes. Stringent tests for statistical-significance are employed. Tweets on twenty-eight financial instruments were collected over three months – a period chosen to minimise the effect of the economic cycle in the time-series whilst encapsulating a range of market conditions, and during which no major product changes were made to Twitter. The study shows that Tweet message sentiments contain lead-time information about the future returns of twelve of these securities, in excess of what is achievable via the analysis of Twitter message volumes. The study’s results are found to be robust against modification in analysis parameters, and that additional insight about market returns can be gained from social media data sentiment analytics under particular parameter variations.

The early days of the January 25th Revolution received unprecedented international media coverage that kept the world’s viewers on the edge of their seats watching the plunge of another corrupt Arab regime, shortly after Bin Ali’s collapse in Tunisia. Toppling Mubarak’s regime was the most significant achievement of the January 25th Revolution, yet events that occurred under the interim military regime that followed Mubarak’s rule also received extensive media coverage. Media focus on the Egyptian Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) was not only because such events, collectively, represented a crucial transitional stage to a new democratic Egypt, but also because of their dramatic nature of re-occurring bloody clashes between the January 25th Revolutionaries and SCAF. As the new military regime, like Mubarak’s, continued to clash with revolutionaries and protesters, social media-equipped activists continued to feed the cyberspace with anti-SCAF content, which was then pitched up and broadcasted by news media to millions of viewers inside and outside Egypt. This thesis focuses on examining the impact of an evolving relationship between news organizations and social media-equipped activists on the coverage of the Egyptian Revolution and its associated events. By examining disparities in news coverage, it explores possible changes in journalism practices, and detects emerging patterns, particularly pertinent to journalist-source relationship and human rights reporting. While exploring possible changes in journalism practices, it also questions whether the existing normative media typology frameworks have been disrupted and as a result would invite media scholars to revise their typology/ macro approach in understanding changes in journalism practices across different media environments. The thesis’ findings have led to identifying three emerging patterns in the coverage: a counter-elite sourcing practice, human rightscentered reporting and a disruption in existing normative media typology frameworks. If these patterns continue to develop and consolidate, they might be seen as early features of a new ear in journalism practices. Using an integrated content-textual analysis, as a primary research method, the thesis analyzes the news coverage of the Egyptian Revolution and its associated events by the Arabic and the English news sites of five international news organizations: Al-Jazeera, BBC, CNN, RT and XINHUA. Textual analysis is used to look at possible lexical consonance between activists’ entries on social media and the non-attributed lexical choices identified in news stories. The textual analysis is supported by two sets of surveys that target Egyptian activists and journalists to explore their insights about their relationship during the Egyptian Revolution and its aftermath.