Thesis (Ph.D. (Media Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / For years traditional and digital media have played an essential role of disseminating news and information to keep their target audience always updated about what is happening nationally and internationally. News consumption has globally been experiencing enormous deviations due to advancements in technology. In this context, the study examined and analysed news consumption patterns among the rural youth living in Limpopo Province South Africa. The study employed a sequential mixed research method. A self-administered questionnaire and semi-structured personal interview were used to collect data from youth aged between 18-34 years. A sample of 320 youth participated in the study, with 300 in quantitative and 20 in qualitative methods of research used to gather data for the study. Youth participants were randomly selected using convenience non-probability sampling. The data collected through a questionnaire were analysed using the Statistical Programme for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, inferential and descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were thematically analysed and interpreted considering diverse themes, sub-themes and common statements. The study results revealed that most youth highly preferred to access and consume news through online media more than television and newspapers because digital media are cheap, easily accessible and affordable. The findings further indicated that most youth highly preferred to consume news through television channels such as ETV because it is a credible and reliable source of news. It is highlighted in the results that most youth preferred to consume entertainment news more than business, political and sport news because they find the former interesting and relaxing. Also, most youth did prefer to discuss entertainment news with family members and friends and that there are positive relationships between media credibility and news consumption which tend to influence family and friends’ news discussions. In a nutshell, the findings of this study further suggest a philosophical change in news consumption patterns among South African youth and the operation of media industries. However, the study recommends that most media houses need to broadcast and publish business and political news that are more relevant, accurate and objective for most youth to consume proficiently. Keywords: News media consumption, news discourse, youth, media credibility, new and traditional media.

Studiens syfte är bidra med kunskap om likheter och skillnader mellan diskurser kring flyktingfrågan i traditionella medier och på Twitter genom att undersöka språkanvändningen samt explicita teman utifrån diskurser i tidningarna Dagens Nyheter och Svenska Dagbladet samt i tweets på Twitter. Studien vill att få kännedom om och hur de traditionella mediernas diskurser samverkar med diskurser på Twitter. För att uppnå syftet med studien bryts syftet ned i fyra frågeställningar: vilka retoriska stilfigurer används i Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet och på  Twitter utifrån den valda problematiken? Vilka manifesta och latenta budskap går att urskilja med hjälp av språket i Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet och på Twitter?  Vilka negativa respektive positiva värdeladdade ord förekommer i Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet och på Twitter? Hur kan den visade språkanvändningen diskuteras utifrån diskursteori och dagordningsteori? Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgår från diskursteori och dagordningsteori samt kopplas samman med tidigare forskning i analysen. Studiens resultat visar att gestaltningen av flyktingfrågan manifesteras på olika vis genom språkanvändningen, till exempel i användningen av retoriska stilfigurer och värdeladdade ord. Twitters språkanvändning är mer dramatisk och kritik uttrycks mer explicit i jämförelse med språkanvändningen i Dagens Nyheter och Svenska Dagbladet. Studien visar dock en möjlig samverkan mellan de båda medierna, då liknande teman hittades i respektive medier. Det var svårare att urskilja manifesta och latenta budskap i diskurserna på Twitter i jämförelse med diskurserna i Dagens Nyheter och Svenska Dagbladet. De båda medierna subjektställer de svenska aktörerna medan flyktingar återfinns som objekt eller inte alls förekommer. Resultatet visar att det i den aktuella studien, finns en samverkan mellan dagspress och social medier. Dagspressens ämnen återfinns i diskurserna på Twitter, där Twitteranvändare tycker något om ämnet dagspressen tar upp. / The purpose of this study is to contribute to knowledge about similarities and differences between discourses in traditional- and social media concerning the refugee issue. Furthermore the purpose will be answered by exploring and compare the use of language and explicit themes in the discourses, in two of Swedens largest newspapers: Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, aswell as selected top-tweets on Twitter. The intention of the study is to receive understanding if and how the discourses in traditional media are reciprocating with the discourses on Twitter. To fufill the purpose of this study, four framing questions will be answered: which rhetorical stylistic figures are used in Dagens Nyheter, Svenska dagbladet and on Twitter? Which explicit and implicit messages can be discovered with help from the used language in the discourses in Dagens nyheter, Svenska dagbladet and Twitter? What negative respectively positive emotive words occurs in the newspapers and on Twitter? How can the result of the used language be discussed by Discourse theory and The agenda setting theory? The study’s theoretical framework are The agenda setting theory and Discourses theory, the theories will be connected to previous research about representation in the media in the section of analysis. The study’s result shows that the figuration of the refugee issue are displayed in different ways through the use of language, for example in the use of rhetorical stylistic figures and emotionally charged words. The used language on Twitter contains more explicit negative and dramatically charged words compared to discourses in Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet. However the study indicated a cooperation between the traditional- and social media, due to similar themes that were discovered. Nevertheless, it was more difficult to distinguish the explicit and implicit messages in the discourses on Twitter compared to Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet. The subjects in the newspapers where rediscovered on Twitter, where users consider something about the subject which shows some tendencies of collaboration between the newspapers and social media.

Political blogs have emerged as a new journalistic format that has gained influence on the political discourse in the United States. Previous research has shown that this influence stems mainly from attention given to blogs by traditional news media. Based on the concepts of intermedia agenda setting and agenda building, this study explored the source interaction between 10 elite traditional news media and 10 political filter blogs during the 2006 Congressional Midterm Elections. An analysis of 2587 sources used in the election context found that traditional news media frequently cited blogs in their election coverage, but that the source attributions to the blogs were vague. Blogs, on the other hand, heavily cited traditional news media, but the analysis revealed that conservative blogs cited elite traditional news media less than did liberal blogs. Conservative blogs relied more on conservative media outlets in their election coverage. A case study of the dominant election topic, the Mark Foley scandal, showed that the daily interaction between the two media formats was driven by the use of breaking news elements as well as controversial opinions. The findings of this study show that the blog agenda is strongly influenced by traditional news media sources and that blogs at the same time have become part of the routine newsgathering process of traditional news media journalists. However, the findings also raise questions about changes in the standard journalistic research and attribution procedures as both media formats often rely on each other as sources rather than on original reporting.

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Problem statement and purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze in what way first-time voters chose to take part of political information. The questions we aimed to answer was how first-time voters use media and other information channels for political purposes, what importance and trust the first-time voters give the different information channels and finally which indicators there is for that structural or individual factors affect the media consumption and political interest. Method and material: We did interviews with twelve 18 years old first-time voters from six different high school programs in Sundsvall, Sweden. Results: The study showed that the premier source of political information were traditional news media, in particular the debates on TV. It’s also in the debates the first-time voter’s trust the most. Even though the social medias are constantly present in their everyday life and even though the first-time voters believe the social medias have potential for engaging young people politically, the possibilities are only taken in advantage by people who are already politically interested. The first-time voters are being affected by both structural and individualized factors. The structural, the social standing in particular, matters for the individual’s political interest and use of traditional media, while the individualized factors primarily matters for the use of social medias.

The recent growth of social media and other internet technologies is believed to diminish the control of political elites over information flows and enable citizens to be active participants of political processes. Practice shows, however, that this general tendency acquires different forms in different geopolitical contexts. This master thesis intends to investigate how social media are used for the purposes of daily communication of political opposition in Belarus, where dominant traditional media channels are monopolized by the government. The analysis involves mixed approach methodology, which combines content analysis of Facebook posts of Belarusian opposition representatives and qualitative interviews with them. The research articulates an important role of social media in Belarus as one of a few mediums where opposition politicians can exist without pervasive control of authorities. However, the results show that the presence of opposition on social media doesn't necessarily increase their chances to gain political weight or activates civic participation in the country. The effectiveness of their communication is to a large extent predefined by social and political environment in the country. A practical implication of the study is that potentially effective directions for political communication of Belarusian opposition have been outlined.

Today, marketers and media companies face a changed environment, affected mostly by the rise of the Internet era. The emergence of various technology applications, combined with the global change of customers is affecting the communication between marketers and consumers. Consumers and marketers are changing their roles; consumers are now media producers, programmers, and distributors, through the use of the social networking applications. The aim of the thesis is to analyze this trend, to predict its lifetime and to provide useful insights for the parties that are involved in it. Main point of evaluation are; the structure of the social media marketing ecosystem; the impact that social networking has on the business environment; the relationship of social media and the conventional media, and the legal and ethical concerns of the use of social media. Social networking is a new, experimental trend that has been accepted by many companies, as a part of their communication strategy. The trend has introduced many challenges for businesses, both positive and negative. To seize the positive challenges, marketers need to invest further in learning the rules of the new marketing trend, and in improving their social networking strategies.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur konsumenter ser på spelbolagens marknadsföring generellt men i synnerhet inom generationerna X&Y. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta informrmanter, fyra från generation X och fyra från generation Y. Det insamlade materialet analyserades sedan med hjälp av tematisk analysmetod. Studien resulterade i att sex av åtta informanter upplever spelreklamen som negativ eftersom den, enligt dem inte är måttfull. Samma sex informanter upplever inte heller att de blir särskilt påverkade av den spelreklam som de utsätts för. Två informanter tillhörande generation Y ansåg att spelreklamen har en positiv påverkan på dem, vilket troligen kan förklaras med att båda informanterna är konsumenter av spel. / The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how consumers view online gambling companies and their marketing generally but in particular within the generations X&Y. This thesis uses a qualitative method with semi structured interviews with eight informants, four from generation X and four from generation Y. The collected material is later analysed with the help of a thematic analysis. The result of this thesis shows that six out of eight informants are experiencing gambling commercial as something negative since it’s, according to them not moderate. The same six informants are also experiencing that the online gambling marketing isn’t affecting them. Two of the informants belonging to generation Y felt that the gambling marketing can have a positive effect on them, which can be explained by the fact that both informants are consumers of online gambling. This thesis is written in Swedish.

Social media has become a natural part of modern society and consumers expect to be able to tailor their online experience, their interaction with other consumers and their media intake. With the rise of digital social platforms, traditional media companies are facing a new media landscape in which they can no longer maintain traditional distribution methods but instead must rely on external actors. Through a qualitative method based on semi-structured interviews, document analysis and participatory observations, this study examines the given situation and how traditional media companies can leverage opportunities and challenges of digital social platforms whose development they have limited control over. The study suggests that the challenges of digital social platforms cannot be eliminated due to the differentiating goals between traditional media companies and social media actors, however, with the implementation of sensitizing concepts, they can be minimized. Thus, resulting in an applicable leveraging process which can be used regardless of the current media landscape.

This study examines the attitude towards news from young, Swedish students in the age between 13 - 15 years old. To regularly take part in news reports and be interested in what is happening in the world is important to be a part of a democratic society. The aim of the study, was with the help of the users and gratification theory and the news values theory, investigate the news habits and attitude towards news among the students with the age of 13 - 15 years. This study has been performed through a quantitative survey, where 330 students participated and answered 16 questions.  The result of the study shows that young students know the importance of following the news, but they don’t prioritize it in their daily use of media. Even if they spent more than three hours per day on their phone - the most frequent answer was that they read or watched news content less than ten minutes per day. With the knowledge of the users and gratification theory, the basic needs become more satisfied with the use of social media and entertainment content instead of news. Young students consume news from social media, Youtube and TikTok - but they do not trust them as much as they trust traditional media. The most common news source is through family and friends, which shows that young people rarely search for news themselves. Instead they let the news find them, which could be problematic in the future.