xiv, 203 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The purpose of this research is to advance understanding of mediated relationships in the form of parasocial interaction (PSI) in local television news branding efforts, particularly the influence of PSI on loyalty and commitment outcomes. This research is the first of its kind to attempt a test of both the TV PSI construct and Web PSI construct and their applicability to local news in the digital age. As part of this examination, the study introduces the concept of viral viewers. Motivated in part by affect, these viewers are willing to promote the station and its content across media platforms. Viewing and visiting characteristics leading to TV station and Web site loyalty and commitment are also identified. This study uses an online survey to explore three research questions and four hypotheses. The population of interest is visitors to local television news Web sites. Television stations in the Pacific Northwest were solicited to take part in the study. Six participating stations posted the survey on their Web sites. Data were collected from 277 respondents. Regression models showed Web PSI, station usefulness/quality, and TV PSI are all statistically significant predictors of loyalty and commitment. Web PSI has the largest beta coefficient when compared to the contribution of other variables. Hierarchical multiple regression also found that station usefulness/quality, site usefulness/quality, TV PSI, and Web PSI partially mediated the relationship between viewing and visiting characteristics and loyalty and commitment. The study concludes that local TV stations must be mindful of producing good content with viral potential in order to acquire help from viral viewers. Furthermore, news personalities remain important to overall brand strategy. This research fills three significant gaps in the literature surrounding local TV news research. First, it brings research on parasocial interaction into the digital age, advancing the application of the TV and Web parasocial constructs. Second, this study reconceptualizes notions of audience and promotion by introducing the concept of viral viewers. Third, it brings together scholarship regarding branding and local TV news, providing a systematic analysis of branding's role in local TV stations' multi-platform news strategy. Indexing (document details) / Committee in charge: Kim Sheehan, Chairperson, Journalism and Communication Scott Maier, Member, Journalism and Communication; Biswarup Sen, Member, Journalism and Communication; David Boush, Outside Member, Marketing

本研究搜集299份線上問卷，以類社會互動理論的取徑去探究在Facebook中介下的品牌關係。研究結果發現，品牌吸引(包括社會吸引和任務吸引)以及粉絲的工具性媒介使用動機與類社會互動成正相關，但粉絲的年齡、教育程度、收入此三個人口統計變項與類社會互動間的關係則不顯著。而類社會互動與品牌關係亦成正相關，並完全中介品牌吸引且部分中介粉絲的工具性媒介使用動機對品牌關係的影響。 / This study collected 299 Web questionnaires and applied parasocial interaction perspective to examine the relationship between fans and brands on Facebook. Finding revealed a positive relationship between brand attractions (including social and task attraction) and instrumental media motivation to parasocial interaction. Demographics (including age, education, and income) did not have a significant relationship with parasocial interaction as expected. There is also a positive relationship between parasocial interaction and brand relationship. Parasocial interaction perfectly mediated the influence of brand attractions and partially mediated the influence of the instrumental media motivation on brand relationship.

Characterization in Pulitzer-awarded features and traditional features was measured using a characterization typology developed by the author. Although some of the results were statistically constrained by a small n, those results which were statistically significant reflect that what separates Pulitzer-winning features from regular features are those elements of characterization particular to scene: a character's distinctive physical characteristics, clothing and possessions; the setting and environment as it defines a character; a physical description of character that is not lineament nor habitual posture or expression but bodily appearance in the immediate moment; a character's movements and actions, facial expressions, words, and thoughts. In an era when the predicted demise of newspapers is more fact than fiction, the reader's experience with newspapers is paramount. Crucial to the news reading experience is the reader's enjoyment: how "I" experienced a story through empathy, parasocial interaction, and/or identification. Perhaps a solution to newspapers' loss of readership is scene: within scene, fear, anguish, exhilaration, and joy are not only the experiences of the characters, but also that of the reader's.

Bakgrund: Idag väljer allt fler företag inom mode- och inredningsindustrin att sälja sina produkter online. Företagens interaktioner och marknadsföring sker därför mestadels digitalt gentemot kunden. Denna nya era av digitalisering för företagen innebär en stor förändring vad gäller nya former av marknadsföring och kundkontakt. Tidigare har exklusiva företag främst använt sig av butiksmedarbetare i fysiska butiker för att överföra känslan av lyx och exklusivitet till kunden, vilket utmanar denna bransch i en digital kontext. Vidare förväntas exklusiva företag idag ha en transparens gällande hållbarhet och miljömässigt avtryck i sin kommunikation mot kunden. Samtidigt innebär detta en högre risk för kritisering. Studien kommer därför att vidare undersöka de utmaningar som nio exklusiva företag upplever kring skapande och underhåll av kundrelationer i en digital kontext. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva och analysera hur svenska exklusiva varumärken skapar samt bibehåller relationer till sina kunder via sociala medier. Studien kommer senare bidra med slutsatser kring hur de exklusiva svenska varumärkena bör agera för att förbättra sina relationer till sina kunder via sociala medier. Metod: Denna fallstudie har en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi. Ett hermeneutiskt vetenskapligt perspektiv har valts tillsammans med induktiva inslag. Den kvalitativa datainsamlingen består av semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio respondenter från nio svenska, exklusiva företag inom mode- och inredningsbranschen. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att de svenska exklusiva företagen skapar samt bibehåller relationer med sina kunder genom parasociala interaktioner på sociala medier. Detta utförs genom digitala strategier som storytelling, sinnesmarknadsföring, word of mouth, CRM samt värdeskapande. Aspekter som utmanar de exklusiva företagens digitala relationsskapande är företagens storlek, sinnesexkludering, tidsbrist och kapital. Vidare visar studien att företagen bör öka sin transparens gällande hållbarhet gentemot sina kunder för att uppnå ett ökat förtroende. / Background: Today, more and more companies in the fashion and interior design industry are choosing to sell their products online. As a result, companies’ interactions and marketing are mostly digital towards the customer. This new era of digitisation for companies signifies a major change in terms of new forms of marketing and customer interactions. In the past, high-end companies have mainly used sales assistants in physical stores to convey the feeling of luxury to the customer, which challenges this industry in a digital context. Furthermore, today's high-end companies are expected to be transparent about their sustainability and environmental impact in their communications with customers, which at the same time entails a greater risk of criticism. The study will further explore the challenges faced by nine high-end companies in creating and maintaining customer relationships in a digital context.   Purpose of the study: The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how Swedish high-end companies create and maintain relationships with their customers through social media. The study will later contribute with conclusions on how the Swedish high-end companies should act to improve their relationship with their customers through social media. Methodology: This case study has a qualitative research strategy. A hermeneutic scientific perspective has been chosen with inductive elements. The qualitative data collection consists of semi-structured interviews with ten respondents from nine Swedish, high-end companies in the fashion and interior design industry. Conclusion: The results of the study presents that the Swedish high-end companies create and maintain relationships with their customers through parasocial interactions on social media. This is performed through digital strategies such as storytelling, sensory marketing, word of mouth, CRM and value creation. Aspects that challenge the digital relationship building of high-end companies are the size of the firm, exclusion of the senses, time constraints and capital. Furthermore, the study shows that the companies should increase their transparency regarding sustainability towards their customers in order to achieve greater reliability.

A few years ago Covid-19 locked people down at their homes, effectively limiting their social connections and pushing the communicative outlet of the online realm in the forefront. If one wanted to socialize or seek entertainment, there was almost no other choice but to do so via turning to popular or social media. However, with the newly increased frequency of exposure came the question of whether there was also a change in the formation of parasocial relationships formed in isolation and this thesis explores the meaningfulness and longevity of such connections, tracing them before, during and after the pandemic. It also makes note of phenomena such as loneliness, parasocial romance and parasocial breakup, additionally examining the degree of attachment formed to media figures during isolation, as well as their relevance to the public. To achieve that, the empirical portion of this study consists of a survey in which 114 participants had to answer questions relating to isolation and parasocial behaviour. Additionally, for the purposes of the thesis two social media creators were contacted for interviews and were asked to share their views on parasocial interactions and attachments as they observed them in isolation from the other side of the connection. On the basis of previously existing separate research in parasocial relations and isolation six hypotheses were formed in this thesis relating to people’s online activity, perceived loneliness and financial generosity, as well as the degree of relatability and attachment they felt towards media personae.

No description available.

Undersökningens syfte är att redogöra för interaktionen på fyra svenska soloartister och sångares Instagramkonton, där fokus legat på att kartlägga interaktionen mellan musikartister och fans, samt fans emellan, för att sedan beskriva vilka mönster som förekommer i interaktionen vid en jämförelse mellan alla fyra konton. Målet med den kvalitativa undersökningen har varit att nå en övergripande förståelse för interaktionen, och undersökningen har därför genomförts med en induktiv forskningsansats, för att få en bred förståelse för materialet. Undersökningens empiri består av 240 publiceringar, hämtade från fyra olika Instagramkonton. Resultatet av den empiriska undersökningen visar på att interaktionen mellan artist och fans ofta är ensidig samt styrs av artisten, fans ger respons direkt kopplat till det som publiceras på artisternas konton och de får sällan svar på det de skriver till artisterna. Fansen får en varierande inblick i vilka artisterna är privat och vad de gör på sin fritid, och fansens engagemang är också som störst vid publiceringar som på detta sätt är kopplade till artisternas privatliv. Fansen kan sägas ha en bred kännedom om musikartisten som de är intresserade av, medan det står oklart huruvida musikartisten har kännedom om vilka deras fans är. Den interaktion som förekommer mellan fansen handlar närmast uteslutande om att de tipsar varandra om sådant som har publicerats på artisternas konton, utöver detta förekommer sällan någon annan form av interaktion fansen emellan.

本研究是為了比較電視媒體和網路社交媒體在名人與粉絲間的類社會互動程度與後續情感及行為效果上是否有差異。藉由蒐集314份網路問卷，以類社會互動程度為自變項、情感效果與行為效果為應變項，分別比較這兩種媒體。研究結果顯示：第一、不同媒介在引發粉絲對名人的類社會互動上的確存在差異，且以電視的影響力較大。第二、在類社會互動程度引發的情感、行為反應方面，電視都顯著地高於網路社群。第三、整體來說類社會互動程度在預測網路社群上的情感、行為反應是有效的預測變數，與過去電視媒體的文獻結果一致。此外，本研究也發展出粉絲類型量表，以量化的方式將粉絲依照對名人的感興趣程度分成低、中、高三類。進一步將三類粉絲分開檢視，發現粉絲類型確實會調節類社會互動程度與情感、行為效果。 / This research was done to study the relationship between the level of fans’ parasocial interaction and the effects caused by television and online social media. This study collected 314 online questionnaires. The independent variable was the level of parasocial interaction and the dependent variables were affective effects and behavioral effects, including the importance of celebrities, emotions of celebrities’ disappearance, activity, and adaption.The findings of this study indicate that television produced significantly greater influence on the level of parasocial interaction toward celebrities than online social media.Furthermore, the affective effects and behavioral effects caused by parasocial interaction from TV are more significant than the result from social media. Generally speaking, the level of parasocial interaction effectively predicts fans’ affective and behavioral in the context of online social media, which is consistent with the result found in the past television studies. Besides, this study developed a fan scale to classify fans into three levels, including low-interest fans, moderate-interest fans, and high-interest fans. The result reveals that the level of fans can moderate the effects of the level of parasocial interaction, affective effects, and behavioral effects of television and online social media.

BARTOŠOVÁ, Radka. Parasociální interakce jako vztah mezi mediálními postavami a publikem. Praha, 2016. 67 s. Diplomová práce (Mgr.) Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta sociálních věd, Institut komunikačních studií a žurnalistiky. Katedra mediálních studií. Vedoucí diplomové práce PhDr. Irena Reifová, Ph.D. Abstract This thesis in its theoretical work focuses on the topic parasocial interaction, a specific relationship between fans and celebrities. This fundamental concept is initially set in a broader context. Closer are characterized by celebrities as a publicly-known media figures, and the audience as active recipients of stimulus. There is a concept called. Ordinary stars, as well as focus on issues not only fandom, but also specific terms such as adoration and celebrity stalking celebrities. After outlining the basic theoretical insight is explored basic concept - parasocial relationship. The practical part with respect to the overall theme of the work is carried out using semi-structured interviews with rock stars, fans steady on one side and ordinary fans of the stars on the other. Based on the results and authentic materials are analyzed each category. The work aims to explore how similar concepts related to celebrities, as well as different approaches to media stars.

La interacción parasocial es un fenómeno que está presente en las relaciones de la audiencia con los influencers, sin embargo, no es tomada en cuenta en la elaboración de estrategias de marketing con influencers, quienes, hoy en día, cumplen un rol importante en la comunicación de las marcas. El presente trabajo es un estudio cualitativo realizado mediante entrevistas a especialistas en marketing, psicología y comunicaciones que busca profundizar en el conocimiento de la dinámica de la interacción parasocial entre influencers y su audiencia y sus efectos sobre la percepción de marca para determinar maneras de poder aprovecharla en beneficio de la marca. Con los hallazgos, se pudo determinar la consideración de la interacción parasocial en las estrategias de marketing actuales, los beneficios que esta trae para influencers y marcas; y maneras de poder gestionarla a través del mismo influencer. Debido a que es un elemento que surge en la audiencia, la interacción parasocial es una variable bajo el control del público. Es solo gestionable a través del influencer, mediante elementos relevantes a considerar desde la etapa de planeación de la estrategia, y, de esa manera, aprovechar la interacción parasocial desde etapas iniciales y no solo descubrirla en el desarrollo de una campaña. / Parasocial interaction is a phenomenon present in the relationships between audiences and influencers, however, it is not taken into consideration in the development stages of marketing strategies with influencers, who play an important role in brands’ communication today. This paper is a qualitative investigation carried out through interviews with marketing, psychology and communications specialists which looks for expanding the knowledge of the dynamics of parasocial interaction between influencers and their audiences and its effects on brand perception to determine ways to obtain brand benefits. With this study, it was possible to determine the role of parasocial interaction in current marketing strategies, the benefits it brings to influencers and brands; and ways to manage it through the influencer. Since it is an element that originates in the audience, parasocial interaction is a variable under their control. It is only manageable through the influencer, considering relevant elements since the planning stages of the strategy, so, that way, the brand can benefit from parasocial interaction since the planning stages and not only in the development stage of a campaign. / Tesis