Open AccessUnderstanding news engagement on social media: A media repertoire approach
Author(s) -
Shira Dvir-Gvirsman
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
new media and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.501
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1461-7315
pISSN - 1461-4448
DOI - 10.1177/1461444820961349
Subject(s) - repertoire , social media , consumption (sociology) , embodied cognition , politics , news media , advertising , sociology , political science , public relations , internet privacy , computer science , business , world wide web , social science , artificial intelligence , physics , acoustics , law
This study promotes the news repertoire framework as an analytical approach best suited for studying news engagement on social media (SM), considering its multifaceted nature. To demonstrate the theoretical benefits of this proposal, the study seeks to (1) identify user profiles based on SM news viewing and sharing, and news consumption on other platforms; (2) determine profile predictors; and (3) evaluate their possible outcomes. A panel study ( N = 1786) demonstrated the emergence of identifiable profiles, attributed to differences in SM use and political interest. In addition, profiles embodied different effects on political participation over time. A second study ( N = 86) was conducted thereafter, in which users’ Facebook news feed use was analyzed to determine differences in news supply according to profiles. Findings that could not have been achieved using the more common unidimensional news consumption methods are discussed in light of new theoretical gains provided by the repertoire approach.