mapping online publics

Press release:

A new way to track audience responses to live television programmes as they are broadcast provides a unique insight into individuals’ political understandings and motivations, according to research published today. In their study, Nick Anstead from the University of East Anglia and Ben O’Loughlin of Royal Holloway, University of London, argue that the boundaries between traditional broadcasting and new media are becoming blurred as more and more viewers use Twitter and other social media to comment in public on what they are watching. This is resulting in what the authors term the new ‘Viewertariat’ - a group that responds and gives meaning to events on screen, offering real-time feedback.

You can download the full paper from here (pdf link): http://bit.ly/9nha2J

In a post to the MECCSA list, the authors say: “In the future, we plan to engage in a more detailed content analysis of this sample, as well as applying this method to other events, including the forthcoming UK General Election TV debates. If anyone has any feedback on the paper or suggestions for future development and collaborative/comparative studies, please do drop me an email.”