Researching publics in datafied societies: Insights from four approaches to the concept of ‘publics’ and a (hybrid) research agenda

Jannie Møller Hartley, Mette Bengtsson, Anna Schjøtt Hansen, Morten Fischer Sivertsen

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Datafication has become an all-encompassing infiltrator in societal processes, among other the formation of publics and the actors that support such processes (i.e. journalism and information technologies). This article reviews four approaches to the study of public formation. These are (1) public and civic connections, (2) issue publics, (3) networked publics and (4) algorithmic publics. The review is a point of departure to conceptually discuss how to study the formation of public in a datafied era and to present a hybrid research agenda with four entry points that can open up for critical analysis of how datafication challenges the relationship between journalism, platforms, algorithms and audiences. Our argument is that a holistic, interdisciplinary and hybrid research approach is needed if the complexity of datafication and its transformative effects on the formation of publics is to be fully grasped.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNew Media & Society
Volume25
Issue number7
Pages (from-to)1668–1686
Number of pages19
ISSN1461-4448
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2023

Keywords

  • Agency
  • audiences
  • datafication
  • democracy
  • platforms
  • power
  • publics
  • review

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