TY - JOUR
T1 - Between Journalistic and Movement Logic
T2 - Disentangling Referencing Practices of Right-wing Alternative Online News Media
AU - Mayerhöffer, Eva
AU - Heft, Annett
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The article analyzes the in-article referencing practices of right-wing alternative online news media. It distinguishes between a journalistic logic, in which referencing practices follow established journalistic ways of ensuring facticity and context, and a movement logic, in which references are used to obtain political, movement-oriented goals of dismissing opponents, supporting your allies, multiplying forces and building a community. Based on a manual quantitative content analysis of more than 4,500 references extracted from 1,000 randomly selected articles by 20 right-wing alternative news media from six countries (US, UK, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark), the article shows that alternative news media predominantly follow a journalistic logic in their referencing practices, though at the expense of a limited originality of sources. Despite their anti-mainstream ambition, alternative news media frequently refer to mainstream media, but only rarely dismiss or re-frame content published by these media. The article discusses these practices as an expression of the hybrid nature of alternative news media situated at the boundary between journalism and political activism. Moreover, it addresses broader implications for the relationship between alternative and mainstream journalistic practice in the digital realm.
AB - The article analyzes the in-article referencing practices of right-wing alternative online news media. It distinguishes between a journalistic logic, in which referencing practices follow established journalistic ways of ensuring facticity and context, and a movement logic, in which references are used to obtain political, movement-oriented goals of dismissing opponents, supporting your allies, multiplying forces and building a community. Based on a manual quantitative content analysis of more than 4,500 references extracted from 1,000 randomly selected articles by 20 right-wing alternative news media from six countries (US, UK, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark), the article shows that alternative news media predominantly follow a journalistic logic in their referencing practices, though at the expense of a limited originality of sources. Despite their anti-mainstream ambition, alternative news media frequently refer to mainstream media, but only rarely dismiss or re-frame content published by these media. The article discusses these practices as an expression of the hybrid nature of alternative news media situated at the boundary between journalism and political activism. Moreover, it addresses broader implications for the relationship between alternative and mainstream journalistic practice in the digital realm.
KW - Alternative media
KW - hyperlinking
KW - movement media
KW - re-contextualization
KW - referencing practices
KW - right-wing media
KW - Alternative media
KW - hyperlinking
KW - movement media
KW - re-contextualization
KW - referencing practices
KW - right-wing media
U2 - 10.1080/21670811.2021.1974915
DO - 10.1080/21670811.2021.1974915
M3 - Journal article
SN - 2167-0811
VL - 10
SP - 1409
EP - 1430
JO - Digital Journalism
JF - Digital Journalism
IS - 8
ER -