The Discussion Value of Online News: How News Story Characteristics Affect the Deliberative Quality of User Discussions in SNS Comment Sections (Top Faculty Paper)

• In Event: From Trolling to Deliberating: How do Reader Comments Matter?

Abstract

Previous research suggests that distinct characteristics of news articles, such as their news factors, account for different participation rates in comment sections as well as for the degree of interactivity among the discussants. We test this assumption in a Facebook environment and, based on deliberative theory, extend it to the analysis of how news factors and illustration factors predict the inclusiveness of discussions as well as the occurrence of civil interactivity, constructive comments (e.g., comments including additional knowledge and arguments), and detrimental comments (e.g., comments including topic drifts or incivility). A content analysis of 619 news articles and 11,218 related user comments on nine nation-wide Facebook news sites reveals that the news factors controversy, contravention, and obtrusiveness in particular account for specific discussion qualities. The results also suggest that the journalistic editing of news articles and the inclusion of conversational prompts affect these qualities. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Authors

• Marc Ziegele, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz

• Oliver Quiring, Johannes Gutenberg - U Mainz