Browsing by Author "McKenzie, Roy Douglas"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemClosing online comments: A case study of News24(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) McKenzie, Roy Douglas; Botma, Gabriel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines how the decision by News24, South Africa’s biggest news website, to close down its comments facility impacted both the media product and perceptions about the state of public discourse in South Africa. Commenting forums can be considered one of the thorniest challenges for online news publications. Ideally, comments allow readers to participate in vibrant online discussions about key issues and give instant feedback, taking the traditional letter to the editor of a newspaper one step further. This online public sphere has become an essential ingredient of a news website, increasing engagement and fostering healthy debate which serves a normative purpose by advancing democracy and social discourse. However, the reality is somewhat more complex, as the freedom of expression in commenting forums can become a free-for-all, with emboldened readers taking advantage of the anonymity and distance afforded by such forums to express themselves in abusive ways they may ordinarily not have. A range of positivistic and critical theories are used, including uses and gratification, gate-keeping, the normative public sphere and critical political economy, to investigate the management considerations informing the decision to close the comments facility, the reactions of staff, and the implications for News24 and perceptions about the state of public debate in South Africa. It is a case study that uses both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in the form of interviews, an online survey, and content analysis of over 1600 comments. This study found that News24’s decision was based on reputational and legal concerns, and was also influenced by local and international competitors who grappled with similar issues and decided to either partially or fully close their commenting facilities. It also found the move to steer commenting to social media, particularly Facebook, could be seen as an effort to absolve News24 of the responsibility of moderating comments, but also resulted in a loss of engagement.