The digital transformation of the public sphere

Abstract

In this paper, we study the relationship between social media and traditional media and their impact on democratic systems. We revisit the concepts of the public sphere and agenda‐setting and translate them into the current media landscape. Using topic‐modelling techniques, we then explore the effects of first level agenda‐setting in the Twitter debate on the Brexit referendum. Our results reveal a complex dynamic in the transmission of the media agenda to the public agenda. The traditional media dominated the debate, but not entirely, as alternative media played an important role in the campaign. The “Leave” campaign had more success in the transmission of its interpretative agenda, while the user‐generated content polarized the media's message. We conclude a list of recommendations to address the societal challenges posed by the transformation of the media environments.

Es sobre el gobierno, no sobre la Ley: El debate en las redes sociales sobre la reforma para la abolición de la prostitución en España

“…Los medios tradicionales han migrado a lo digital, uniéndose a nuevos agentes nacidos ya en este ecosistema (Brulle et al 2012, Cooke 2017, y las redes sociales han emergido como contextos de gran relevancia para entender la comunicación contemporánea (Balkin 2004, Boyd 2015, Murthy 2018, Fileborn 2022. Tal es la importancia de estas plataformas que han llegado a considerarse una nueva esfera pública (Papacharissi 2002, Santos et al 2019. Hoy en día, las redes sociales, y especialmente en X, 1 conocido anteriormente como Twitter, parecen haberse vuelto el lugar en el que se celebra el debate público, es un espacio para la comunicación política muy usado por los partidos y sus miembros, especialmente en periodos electorales (Bruns y Highfield 2013, Campos-Domínguez 2017.…”

Digital Lifeworld and Communicative Interaction: Conceptualizing the Transformative Potentials of Social Networking in the Public Sphere

“…In Jürgen Habermas's Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, Habermas asks when and how the public sphere (or öffentlichkeit in German), as a site for social change, enables public opinions to propel political actions (Calhoun, 2011;Habermas, 1999;Habermas et al, 1974). Although the historical context that Habermas originally examined in eighteenth-century Europe has changed over time, the discussion on the public sphere is still relevant to today's development of democracy (Rauchfleisch & Kovic, 2016;Santos et al, 2019;Srnicek & De Sutter, 2017). In a democratic society, the role of the public sphere is fundamental to centering societal communication in discussing problems of general concerns and exchanging diverse opinions from multiple groups of people within a political structure (Dahlberg, 2018;Goode, 2005;Habermas, 1996Habermas, , 1999Habermas, , 2011bHabermas, , 2011aHabermas et al, 2004).…”

Digital corporate communication and co-productive citizen engagement

“…Digital technologies are expanding the possibilities to disseminate information, and with it, new social demands for openness, interactivity, participation and information sharing in the public sector are emerging (Moon, 2018;Santos et al, 2019). Regarding citizen participation in the form of co-production, scholars argue that "the advent of Internet's unique many-to-many interactivity and of ubiquitous communications promises to enable co-production on an unprecedented scale" (Linders, 2012, p. 446).…”