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Journalism and Media
Special Issues
Mobile Politics
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Mobile Politics

A special issue of Journalism and Media (ISSN 2673-5172).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (23 December 2022) | Viewed by 13064

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jacob Nelson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85004, USA
Interests: journalism; news audiences; engagement; audience metrics; news production
Dr. Jakob Ohme

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society, 10623 Berlin, Germany
2. Digital Communication Methods Lab, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Interests: political communication; mobile; news audiences; participation and elections; youth; digital methods
Dr. Kathleen Searles

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Manship School of Mass Communication, Department of Political Science, Louisiana State University, New Orleans, LA 70803, USA
Interests: political communication; news; journalism; mobile; information communication technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We navigate an increasingly complicated information environment with and on our mobile devices. Mobile devices have disrupted how we interact with information, changing the way news is produced, the way we interact in the public sphere, and our perceptions of proximity and relevance. We argue that the shift to mobile has profoundly influenced our politics and communication from the way information is consumed to the way information is produced, with consequences for the public. However, while these changes represent one of the most significant developments in communications in this century, the study of mobile is often narrowly focused on technology or access. At the same time, those that study politics rarely consider how or where people access news and information. Separating the study of mobile and the study of politics in this way unnecessarily delimits knowledge building and misses the important implications of mobile proliferation. We propose the study of mobile politics as a way to unify these fields of research under a heading that takes seriously both technology and its effects. The goal of this Special Issue is to create a venue for researchers to tease out what mobile politics means in the context of political, communication, and journalism research.

We consider both mobile and politics broadly and invite scholars from all disciplines in both areas to contribute. Questions may range from how politics is conducted on mobile devices to the ways mobile media shape political interactions. For example, scholars may consider the effects of mobile devices and mobile network coverage on information processing, participation, perceptions, behaviors, and groups. On the other hand, studying the way mobile devices change interpersonal interactions, public space, and news production is also a relevant line of inquiry. We also welcome scholarship focusing on the ways in which mobile media producers and audiences think about and engage with one another, as well as examinations of the types of analytic and measurement data used to shape perceptions of mobile media users and producers. Finally, considering how mobile technology has affected media production and consumption, we also encourage work on the ways in which things have not changed to better understand why, during times of technological transitions, certain conditions remain the same.

Importantly, multiple and diverse modes of inquiry are welcomed and encouraged, as are pieces that speak to the theme and are more theoretical in nature. We hope that this Special Issue can be a catalyst for a more robust scholarship unifying the study of mobile and politics.

Potential topics for submission include but are not limited to:

  • Mobile news production
  • Mobile news usage
  • Mobile media effects
  • Mobile audience research
  • Mobile news verification
  • Mobile information processing
  • Mobile network coverage effects
  • Mobile policy making
  • Mobile communication in political systems
  • Mobile inequalities
  • Mobile and elections
  • Mobile politicians
  • Mobile publics
  • Mobile participation
  • Mobile protest and activism
  • Mobile citizenship and refuge
  • Mobile surveillance
  • Mobile privacy
  • Mobile and political polarization
  • Mobile audience engagement
  • Mobile analytic data
  • Mobile methods to study politics

Dr. Jacob Nelson
Dr. Jakob Ohme
Dr. Kathleen Searles
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journalism and Media is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access Special Issue will be waived. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mobile news production
  • mobile news usage
  • mobile media effects
  • mobile audience research
  • mobile news verification
  • mobile information processing
  • mobile network coverage effects
  • mobile policy making
  • mobile communication in political systems
  • mobile inequalities
  • mobile and elections
  • mobile politicians
  • mobile publics
  • mobile participation
  • mobile protest and activism
  • mobile citizenship and refuge
  • mobile surveillance
  • mobile privacy
  • mobile and political polarization
  • mobile audience engagement
  • mobile analytic data
  • mobile methods to study politics

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 413 KiB  
Article
In Pursuit of a “Safe” Space for Political Participation: A Study of Selected WhatsApp Communities in Kenya
by Gloria Anyango Ooko
Journal. Media 2023, 4(2), 506-529; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4020032 - 11 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2217
Abstract
Kenya has a history of media censorship and citizen surveillance. The advent of social media is laudable for contributing to freedom of speech and accountability in Kenya. Studies show that WhatsApp, through its group formation affordance, has largely contributed to political participation in [...] Read more.
Kenya has a history of media censorship and citizen surveillance. The advent of social media is laudable for contributing to freedom of speech and accountability in Kenya. Studies show that WhatsApp, through its group formation affordance, has largely contributed to political participation in Kenya and beyond. Kenyans see it as a ”safe” place away from government surveillance, a carry-over of authoritarian rule. This is especially so since WhatsApp is considered as private media compared to other social media platforms. For instance, many political bloggers on Twitter and Facebook perceived to be anti-establishment have been arrested and charged, but only accountable arrests have been made in connection to WhatsApp activities despite government threats. This article argues that although actors, both human and non-human, act to construct a safe community for political participation on WhatsApp, modes of exclusion and inclusion arise from the socio-technological interaction which could pose a threat to the newly founded ”safe space”. Though the study site is in Kenya, this article grapples with issues other scholars of social media and politics grapple with globally, that is, safety, security, surveillance, and political participation, among others. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Politics)
17 pages, 1357 KiB  
Article
Mobile Internet and Contentious Politics in Nigeria: Using the Organisational Tools of Mobile Social Networking Applications to Sustain Protest Movements
by Temple Uwalaka
Journal. Media 2023, 4(1), 396-412; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4010026 - 18 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2628
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of mobile social networking applications in the organisation of protest movements by examining how protesters documented their participation during the 2020 #EndSARS protests as well as evaluating the themes that emerged from online activists’ tweets during the 2022 [...] Read more.
This study investigates the impact of mobile social networking applications in the organisation of protest movements by examining how protesters documented their participation during the 2020 #EndSARS protests as well as evaluating the themes that emerged from online activists’ tweets during the 2022 #EndSARSMemorial2 protests in Nigeria. Data for this study was obtained from a survey conducted in 2020 during the protests in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Nigeria (N = 391), and a qualitative content analysis of tweets and replies (N = 67,691) from the 2022 #EndSARSMemorial2 protest in Nigeria. Results show that there is a substantial relationship between how protesters document their participation and their day of joining the protest. Findings also demonstrate that protesters used social media platforms accessed via mobile phones to display their anger and anguish, imprecate the authorities, and rouse solidarity contagion, which ignited a memorial march for fallen activists in Nigeria. Finally, data illustrate that activists in Nigeria use these successive memorial protests to sustain the #EndSARS protest movements and their demands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Politics)
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17 pages, 1441 KiB  
Article
Mobile Democracy: Changing Conditions for Young Danes’ Democratic Information and Participation
by Gitte Stald
Journal. Media 2023, 4(1), 272-288; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4010019 - 07 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1550
Abstract
The article focuses on mobile democracy in connection to the conditional foundations for young Danes’ democratic agency in a digital society. It investigates questions of democratic transformation through a conceptual and empirical triangulation of mobile democracy as a framework for analyzing these conditions. [...] Read more.
The article focuses on mobile democracy in connection to the conditional foundations for young Danes’ democratic agency in a digital society. It investigates questions of democratic transformation through a conceptual and empirical triangulation of mobile democracy as a framework for analyzing these conditions. Conceptually, the article draws on research on youth and mobile technologies and on theories of mobility, deliberative democracy, and democratic conversation. Empirically, the article draws on 16 in-depth interviews with 16–24-year-old Danes conducted in 2021. This dataset is supported by findings from a representative survey (2017) and publicly available statistics and surveys. The article analyses three intersecting conditions that frame the concept of mobile democracy through an analysis of young citizens’ democratic participation: 1. Mobile technologies—democratic mobility occurs across the availability of technological mobile platforms and online services. The ‘always on’ status is defining for young citizens’ democratic agency. 2. Mobile information and social media—fragmented publics are increasingly missing societal reference points and ideological coherence, and young people are challenged in their attempt to establish coherent meaningfulness from the fluctuating information stream. 3. Mobile engagement and participation—information mobility affects perceptions of what information, citizenship and democracy are, and how this translates into actualizations of democratic participation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Politics)
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14 pages, 753 KiB  
Article
Mobile Media as an “Essential” Tool for Collective Action: Explaining Intentions for Disruptive Political Behavior in U.S. Politics
by Ian Hawkins, Scott W. Campbell and Andrew Gelderman
Journal. Media 2023, 4(1), 258-271; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4010018 - 05 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1567
Abstract
Mobile media are fundamental to social life in a growing number of ways. Beyond the mundane, the technology has come to play a meaningful role in protests and emergent demonstrations worldwide, including recent cases of political violence among far-right groups in the U.S. [...] Read more.
Mobile media are fundamental to social life in a growing number of ways. Beyond the mundane, the technology has come to play a meaningful role in protests and emergent demonstrations worldwide, including recent cases of political violence among far-right groups in the U.S. Drawing from the folk theory tradition, this study samples Alt-Right supporters to investigate how perceived essence of mobile media, particularly as a tool for collective action, is associated with willingness to engage in racially motivated and extreme political action in offline and online contexts. Findings reveal that perceptions of the mobile phone as a tool for collective action are associated with greater intentions to participate in online and offline activity explicitly in support of White people. Additionally, we find cases where links between essence and intentions are strengthened among those reporting higher levels of micro-coordination, or use of mobile media for coordinating with others in daily life. The findings indicate how everyday life perceptions and practices function and interact in ways that help explain willingness to join racially motivated calls to action among this group. The discussion offers implications for studying mobile media and collective action more broadly, especially in the context of under-researched political groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Politics)
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16 pages, 1039 KiB  
Article
Mobile Selective Exposure: Confirmation Bias and Impact of Social Cues during Mobile News Consumption in the United States
by Morgan Quinn Ross, Jarod Crum, Shengkai Wang and Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick
Journal. Media 2023, 4(1), 146-161; https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia4010011 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2751
Abstract
Concerns about online news consumption have proliferated, with some evidence suggesting a heightened impact of the confirmation bias and social cues online. This paper argues that mobile media may further shape selective exposure to political content. We conducted two online selective exposure experiments [...] Read more.
Concerns about online news consumption have proliferated, with some evidence suggesting a heightened impact of the confirmation bias and social cues online. This paper argues that mobile media may further shape selective exposure to political content. We conducted two online selective exposure experiments to investigate whether browsing political content on smartphones (vs. computers) facilitates selective exposure to attitude-consistent vs. attitude-discrepant articles (confirmation bias) with high vs. low views (impact of social cues). Notably, these studies leveraged novel random assignment techniques and a custom-designed, mobile-compatible news website. Using a student sample, Study 1 (N = 157) revealed weak evidence that the confirmation bias is stronger on smartphones than computers, and the impact of social cues was similar across devices. Study 2 (N = 156) attempted to replicate these findings in a general population sample. The impact of social cues remained similar across devices, but the confirmation bias was not stronger on smartphones than computers. Overall, the confirmation bias (but not the impact of social cues) manifested on smartphones, and neither outcome was consistently stronger on smartphones than computers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Politics)
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