Papers by Daniel Jackson
Journalism Studies, 2024
There is growing momentum behind the solutions journalism (SOJO) movement, with news organization... more There is growing momentum behind the solutions journalism (SOJO) movement, with news organizations across the world increasingly embedding news reporting practices on how people respond to social problems. Previous research suggests that SOJO has potential to reconfigure relationships between news audiences and journalists, while simultaneously opening new revenue streams. But what impediments might SOJO face in fast paced and resource-poor newsroom contexts, especially those that serve local audiences? Following a year-long campaign where we helped introduce SOJO into 47 UK local news titles, we begin to answer this question, based on interviews with eight SOJO mentors, 17 journalists and 10 editors, alongside observations from mentors’ fora. While journalists saw many benefits to the practice, we outline several impediments to the successful implementation of SOJO in local media, including time and workflow, metrics and institutional rewards, and editorial commitment. Further, we identify the emergence of a pragmatic form of that we call “SOJO lite”; characterized as news that contains elements of solutions journalism but falls short of the widely used definitions suggested by industry leaders. Both findings have implications for the future direction of this emergent journalism practice.
Emojis have become ubiquitous in digital communication, but we know relatively little about how t... more Emojis have become ubiquitous in digital communication, but we know relatively little about how they are used in political and campaigning contexts. To address this deficit, we analyze the use of emojis in the Facebook communication of parties in 11 European countries during the 2019 European election campaign. Results indicate that the use of emojis by political parties differs significantly from general online communication. Political parties more often use neutral and representational (such as flags) emojis than emotional and facial emojis to draw users' attention while maintaining a serious appearance of their content. Based on our empirical results, we develop a typology to characterize the mixture of generic and unique functions of emojis used in political communication, outlining how they are used for (1) attracting attention, (2) visual structuring, (3) mobilizing, (4) promoting, (5), referring to political levels, (6) emphasizing policies/values, and (7) displaying affect/emotion.
THE PANDEMIC NEWS EXPERIENCE: COVID-19, NEWS CONSUMPTION, MENTAL HEALTH, AND THE DEMAND FOR POSITIVE NEWS, 2021
This report will summarise the key trends from our preliminary analysis of 24 interviews and key ... more This report will summarise the key trends from our preliminary analysis of 24 interviews and key descriptive data from a news audience survey. Four key sets of findings regarding Covid-19 news consumption and experience emerge from this analysis.
1. The high interest in Covid-19 news was associated with the need to monitor and navigate the uncertain evolution of the pandemic as it affected audiences.
2. There was a clear fluctuation that followed “an inverse Bell curve” (up-down-up) pattern of Covid-19 news consumption which was in parallel with the severity of the pandemic and its associated lockdown restrictions.
3. Many of our participants reported switching off from the news or avoiding it for reasons linked to mental and emotional health, including negativity, repetitive reporting and information overload.
4. Participants demanded the media provide more positive news that helps to lift the mood of the public and/or offers ways out of the pandemic.
Journal of Political Marketing, 2013
During the British General Election 2010 a major innovation was introduced in part to improve eng... more During the British General Election 2010 a major innovation was introduced in part to improve engagement: a series of three live televised leadership debates took place where the leader of each of the three main parties, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative, answered questions posed by members of the public and subsequently debated issues pertinent to the questions. In this study we consider these potentially ground breaking debates as the kind of event that was likely to generate discussion. We investigate various aspects of the 'talk' that emerged as a result of watching the debates. As an exploratory study concerned with situated accounts of the participants experiences we take an interpretive perspective. In this paper we outline the meta-narratives (of talk) associated with the viewing of the leadership debates that were identified, concluding our analysis by suggesting that putting a live debate on television and promoting and positioning it as a major innovation is likely to mean that is how the audience will make sense of it-as a media event.
How a health emergency is defined and presented through the news media matters for public underst... more How a health emergency is defined and presented through the news media matters for public understanding and health outcomes. Previous studies have endeavored to identify the patterns of news sourcing in crisis coverage, specifically the interplay between political sources and health expert sources, but yielded inconclusive results. This study analyses the types and roles of actors (those entities mentioned in a story) and sources cited in news coverage of COVID-19 by surveying social media posts published by 15 UK news outlets coverage across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram between 1 January to December 31 2020. Overall, the findings show the prominence of political sources in UK news and that the most frequently named sources were representatives of the UK government. Moreover, when stories involved political actors, they were more likely to be given a voice as a source. This demonstrates how COVID-19 was a generalized crisis for the UK, which cascaded beyond health and into other economic, social, and cultural domains. The data show some variations in sourcing patterns between the different social media platforms. The analysis suggests that this may reflect the conventions of presenting news on each platform, with some tending toward the model of consensus by prioritizing political and government sources, and others contributing to a sphere of legitimate controversy by giving voice to a wider range of sources. This is distinctive and opens up the possibility for further research on how journalists adapt stories for social media and the consequences for public health communication.
There is need for more well-informed debate amid quality information. Speculative news discourse ... more There is need for more well-informed debate amid quality information. Speculative news discourse has played an unhelpful and misleading role in dominating wider campaign narratives. In referenda and elections, the central role of the media ought to be to facilitate the electorate’s access to quality information and analysis. This paper explores these themes in the context of UK broadcaster news reports of disunity in the Conservative Party in the run-up to the 2016 EU Referendum.
Book chapters by Daniel Jackson
This paper documents examples of collaborative lectures in the fields of Political Communication ... more This paper documents examples of collaborative lectures in the fields of Political Communication and English at undergraduate level. Students would be given tasks between lectures (such as taking pictures, drawing characters, finding definitions and supplying examples), and the subsequent lecture would draw upon this material, thus giving students greater ownership of the lectures as ‘co-creators’ of knowledge (Freire, 1970). While these initiatives had their successes, some failed to reach beyond the most engaged students, while others got involvement from the whole cohort. We put this down to the design of the tasks and the platform on which they were exhibited. Similarly, encouraging collaboration through subject Facebook groups did not penetrate beyond the most engaged students. In contrast, traditional paper and pen did. We also found that students were more inclined to collaborate through creative tasks such as drawing characters from novels, rather than more functional tasks ...
The chapter offers insight into the varied ways disabled people engaged with the 2012 Paralympic ... more The chapter offers insight into the varied ways disabled people engaged with the 2012 Paralympic Games, both as sporting spectacle and as change agent. We consider the distance that might exist between symbolic and discursive media representations of disability and everyday life for the disabled people who consume them. The stories gathered from participants suggest that whilst the Games resulted in disability becoming, at least temporarily, a mainstream media item with ‘newsworthiness’, the Paralympics did not impact upon their lives in any meaningful way or change their perceptions of how disability is engaged with by the media outside of sport.
The Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics, 2016
Theoretical and empirical research into online politics to date has primarily focused on what mig... more Theoretical and empirical research into online politics to date has primarily focused on what might be called formal politics or on how activists and social movements utilize social media to pursue their goals. However, in this chapter, we argue that there is much to be gained by investigating how political talk and engagement emerges in everyday, online, lifestyle communities: i.e. third spaces. Such spaces are not intended for political purposes, but rather – during the course of everyday talk – become political through the connections people make between their everyday lives and the political/social issues of the day. In this chapter, we develop a theoretically informed argument for research that focuses on everyday informal political talk in online third spaces.
Access Dorset TV (ADTV) is a pioneering community media partnership based in Dorset, UK, aiming t... more Access Dorset TV (ADTV) is a pioneering community media partnership based in Dorset, UK, aiming to provide a voice to over 4,000 disabled people, older people and carers through citizen journalism. Produced by and for its user-groups, ADTV (http://www.accessdorsetcentre.org) provides web-based peer support, information and lifestyle videos about their life experiences, events, social action projects and independent living.
This chapter discusses how the Paralympics resulted in talk in online communities, specifically ‘... more This chapter discusses how the Paralympics resulted in talk in online communities, specifically ‘DigitalSpy’, one of the largest media and general interest discussion forums in the UK. We start with a consideration of online talk on ‘DigitalSpy’, noting its subject-base and temporal structure. We then consider specifically how the Paralympics was discussed including conversations in the build-up to the Games, during the event and any legacy of discussion left by the event. We argue that such analysis reveals much about the way people understood the Paralympics and their ability to raise issues relating to disability sport and disability more generally.
By way of stories and everyday talk about disability and sport from armchair spectators, in this ... more By way of stories and everyday talk about disability and sport from armchair spectators, in this chapter we explore engagement with televised representations of the 2012 Paralympics and how audiences make sense of this experience within the context of their everyday lives. In particular, we consider the tensions that arise between issues of distance and distancing; the unexpected emotional engagement with the Paralympics as a sporting occasion – even if, for some, it was not ‘real sport’, and knowing how to engage in talk about disability.
The chapter offers insight into the varied ways disabled people engaged with the 2012 Paralympic ... more The chapter offers insight into the varied ways disabled people engaged with the 2012 Paralympic Games, both as sporting spectacle and as change agent. We consider the distance that might exist between symbolic and discursive media representations of disability and everyday life for the disabled people who consume them. The stories gathered from participants suggest that whilst the Games resulted in disability becoming, at least temporarily, a mainstream media item with ‘newsworthiness’, the Paralympics did not impact upon their lives in any meaningful way or change their perceptions of how disability is engaged with by the media outside of sport.
Reports by Daniel Jackson
U.S. Election Analysis 2024: Media, Voters and the Campaign, 2024
Featuring 88 contributions from leading scholars, this publication captures the immediate thought... more Featuring 88 contributions from leading scholars, this publication captures the immediate thoughts, reflections and early research insights on the 2024 U.S. presidential election from the cutting edge of media and politics research.
Published 10 days after the election, contributions are short and accessible for a wide range of audiences. As with our previous reports, authors provide authoritative analysis of the campaign, including research findings or new theoretical insights; to bring readers original ways of understanding the election
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Papers by Daniel Jackson
1. The high interest in Covid-19 news was associated with the need to monitor and navigate the uncertain evolution of the pandemic as it affected audiences.
2. There was a clear fluctuation that followed “an inverse Bell curve” (up-down-up) pattern of Covid-19 news consumption which was in parallel with the severity of the pandemic and its associated lockdown restrictions.
3. Many of our participants reported switching off from the news or avoiding it for reasons linked to mental and emotional health, including negativity, repetitive reporting and information overload.
4. Participants demanded the media provide more positive news that helps to lift the mood of the public and/or offers ways out of the pandemic.
Book chapters by Daniel Jackson
http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/media-margins-and-civic-agency-/?K=9781137512635
Reports by Daniel Jackson
Published 10 days after the election, contributions are short and accessible for a wide range of audiences. As with our previous reports, authors provide authoritative analysis of the campaign, including research findings or new theoretical insights; to bring readers original ways of understanding the election
1. The high interest in Covid-19 news was associated with the need to monitor and navigate the uncertain evolution of the pandemic as it affected audiences.
2. There was a clear fluctuation that followed “an inverse Bell curve” (up-down-up) pattern of Covid-19 news consumption which was in parallel with the severity of the pandemic and its associated lockdown restrictions.
3. Many of our participants reported switching off from the news or avoiding it for reasons linked to mental and emotional health, including negativity, repetitive reporting and information overload.
4. Participants demanded the media provide more positive news that helps to lift the mood of the public and/or offers ways out of the pandemic.
http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/media-margins-and-civic-agency-/?K=9781137512635
Published 10 days after the election, contributions are short and accessible for a wide range of audiences. As with our previous reports, authors provide authoritative analysis of the campaign, including research findings or new theoretical insights; to bring readers original ways of understanding the election
Published 10 days after the election, these contributions are short and accessible. Authors provide authoritative analysis of the campaign, including research findings or new theoretical insights; to bring readers original ways of understanding the campaign. Contributions also bring a rich range of disciplinary influences, from political science to cultural studies, journalism studies to psychology.
Published within eleven days of the election, these contributions are short and accessible. Authors provide authoritative analysis – including research findings and new theoretical insights – to bring readers original ways of understanding the campaign. Contributions also bring a rich range of disciplinary influences, from political science to cultural studies, journalism studies to geography.
Published in the wake of the Tokyo 2020 Games, these contributions are short and accessible. Authors provide authoritative analysis of the Olympics and Paralympics, including research findings and new theoretical insights. Contributions come from a rich array of disciplinary influences, including media, communication studies, cultural studies, sociology, political science, and psychology. The report is free to download and can be deposited in any repository or library.
Published in the wake of the Paris 2024 Games, these contributions are short and accessible. Authors provide authoritative analysis of the Olympics and Paralympics, including research findings and new theoretical insights. Contributions come from a rich array of disciplinary influences, including media, communication studies, education, kinesiology, history, sociology, political science, and psychology. The report is free to download and can be deposited in any repository or library.
Published 10 days after the election, contributions are short and accessible for a wide range of audiences. As with our previous reports, authors provide authoritative analysis of the campaign, including research findings or new theoretical insights; to bring readers original ways of understanding the election.
Published 10 days after the election, these contributions are short and accessible. Authors provide authoritative analysis of the campaign, including research findings or new theoretical insights; to bring readers original ways of understanding the campaign. Contributions also bring a rich range of disciplinary influences, from political science to cultural studies, journalism studies to psychology.
We hope this makes for a vibrant, informative and engaging read.
Published 10 days after the election, these contributions are short and accessible. Authors provide authoritative analysis of the campaign, including research findings or new theoretical insights; to bring readers original ways of understanding the election and its consequences. Contributions also bring a rich range of disciplinary influences, from political science to popular culture, journalism studies to advertising.
We hope this makes for a vibrant and engaging read.
Within this report – commissioned by the UK’s Paralympic broadcaster, Channel 4 – we consider everyday experiences of disability and disability sport within the context of the London 2012 Paralympics and televised coverage of the Games. The analysis is based 140 in-depth interviews that took place in the UK over a period of eighteen months, during the lead up to, and immediately after, the Games: between January 2011 and September 2012. Embedded in the lifeworld of our participants, we ask whether the 2012 Paralympics was successful in changing perceptions of disability.
In this report we present:
– An overview of how involved students are engaging in knowledge exchange through consultancy via a comprehensive audit of all 164 UK HEI’s. Here, we identify different models of student consultancy in terms of their links to research and education, and offer some more broader reflections on the way that UK universities are engaging with business.
– Through four case studies (with a total of 32 interviews and 3 focus groups), an analysis of the key tensions, barriers and motivations (both internal and external) in integrating students in consultancy in ways what benefit them, academic staff, HEIs and external organisations.
– The implications for the management of such projects, and a series of recommendations for those who wish to involve students in university consultancy services.
The report should be essential reading for academic leaders and staff involved in delivering education for employability.
In this report we present:
– Through four case studies (with a total of 32 interviews and 3 focus groups), an analysis of the key tensions, barriers and motivations (both internal and external) in integrating students in consultancy in ways what benefit them, academic staff, HEIs and external organisations.
of politics has moved away from a focus on issues, and instead towards political strategy. Research evidencing such concerns has tended to examine strategic news at a macro level and rarely delves into the complexities surrounding its manifestations. This study addresses this issue by conducting a content analysis of a non-election issue in the British news media (press and TV news) over a three-month period, examining strategy news as a frame. The issue chosen for case study was the “euro debate” of May June 2003. Findings showed the euro debate to fulfil many typical characteristics of EU reporting in the British media, with coverage cyclical and driven by events, and subsequently lacking sustained engagement with the issues. Although there was a roughly equal balance of issue and strategy framed stories in the press, certain features of coverage gave strategy greater prominence. Despite much of the content analysis’s findings confirming the worries of media critics, a number of qualifications emerge, such as the active role that politicians play as sources of strategic news.
levels. Second, the contingency of framing effects is a contested but crucial area of the framing paradigm and deserves greater attention in strategic framing studies. The study therefore examines this in detail by testing a number of individual characteristics for their moderating effects. The author found that relative to issue-based coverage, strategic news frames increased issue-specific political cynicism, but this effect was
only evident for those who were less politically engaged and knowledgeable. The effects of the strategy frame on more global measures of political cynicism were minimal. The findings are discussed in the light of ongoing debates about framing
effects and the media’s role in democratic engagement.