News Flashpoints: Networked Journalism and Waves of Coverage of Social Problems

Abstract

In this article, we propose to study news flashpoints. Flashpoints are bursts of news attention that are unique to the networked news environment, in which various forces vie to influence public discourse, blurring traditional boundaries between journalists, publics, activists, and various other forms of strategic communication. They are sudden and brief periods when interest in specific topics rises and falls rapidly across networked journalism. After identifying characteristics and examples of flashpoints, we argue for why news flashpoints are central aspects of contemporary news and journalism, and discuss the analytical and strategic importance of flashpoints.

Media moments: how media events and business incentives drive twitter engagement within the small business community

“…Considering the existing literature of media storms/news flashpoints, heightened attention surrounding popular media spectacles has been linked to several offline outcomes (Boydstun et al 2014 ; Waisbord and Russell 2020 ; Walgrave et al 2017 ). Our research attempts to provide these organizations with an outline for success in increasing their brand awareness and subsequent user engagement.…”

“…These storms refer to sudden surges in news coverage surrounding a particular event that ultimately leads to a sustained period of great audience attention (Boydstun et al 2014 ). To date, media storms have been studied in a myriad of different contexts and are often referred to as various other idioms, such as media “hypes” or “waves” (Boydstun et al 2014 ) or “news flashpoints” (Waisbord and Russell 2020 ). Given the existing literature pertaining to how audience attention coalesces around major events, we contend that there is major theoretical overlap to be found in the contexts of media storms and Dayan and Katz’s ( 1992 ) original framework of media events theory.…”

“…These findings are also reinforced through Boydstun et al ( 2014 ) work, which not only shows that media storms can impact audiences’ awareness of specific issues and events, but also their perceptions of the world around them. Similarly, Waisbord and Russell ( 2020 ) describe their concept of news flashpoints, which refer to bursts of news attention that are unique to the networked news environment, in which various forces vie to influence public discourse. These flashpoints are brief and sudden periods where interest in specific topics rises and falls rapidly across multiple news outlets.…”

“…Describing how audience attention shifts and coalesces in reaction to major media events, the present study seeks to address the theoretical linkages that exist within the seminal frameworks offered by Dayan and Katz’s ( 1992 ) seminal theory of media events and the newer, burgeoning work on media storms (Boydstun et al 2014 ; Waisbord and Russell 2020 ). One key difference that merits mention between these two frameworks is that media storms refer to a surge of attention from traditional media sources in much of the existing literature.…”

News media framing of the Murray–Darling Basin ‘water theft’ controversy

“…By primary definers, we mean those individuals and/or organisations who, by virtue of their credibility and authority, are given media access as the dominant claims-makers in relation to an issue, serving to establish the initial definition or framing of 'what the problem is' (Hall et al, 1978(Hall et al, /2013; see also Cottle, 2000). This included identifying the extent to which the Four Corners programme had itself been attributed as an agenda-setter within individual stories or what is alternatively referred to in media studies as a 'critical discourse moment' (Carvalho & Burgess, 2005) or 'news flashpoint' (Waisbord & Russell, 2020), able to bring about a sense of urgency to the issue. Each of the news texts was also coded according to the variables previously outlined, including the definition of the 'problem' at the heart of the Murray-Darling Basin controversy, the interpretation of causes or blame for the problem, the moral evaluations made about the consequences of the alleged water theft, and prescribed remedies to treat the problem (see Altheide, 1997;D'Angelo, 2002;de Vreese, 2005;Entman, 1993;Gamson & Modigliani, 1989;Tankard, 2001).…”