Abstract
This article suggests a new methodological model for the study of hybrid media events with global appeal. This model, developed in the project on the 2015 <em>Charlie Hebdo</em> attacks in Paris, was created specifically for researching digital media—and in particular, Twitter. The article is structured as follows. Firstly, the methodological scope is discussed against the theoretical context, e.g. the theory of media events. In the theoretical discussion, special emphasis is given to i) disruptive, upsetting, or disintegrative media events and hybrid media events and ii) the conditions of today’s heterogeneous and globalised media communication landscape. Secondly, the article introduces a multi-method approach developed for the analysis of hybrid media events. In this model, computational social science—namely, automated content analysis (ACA) and social network analytics (SNA)—are combined with a qualitative approach—specifically, digital ethnography. The article outlines three key phases for research in which the interplay between quantitative and qualitative approaches is played out. In the first phase, preliminary digital ethnography is applied to provide the outline of the event. In the second phase, quantitative social network analytics are applied to construct the digital field for research. In this phase, it is necessary to map a) what is circulating on the websites and b) where this circulation takes place. The third and final phase applies a qualitative approach and digital ethnography to provide a more nuanced, in-depth interpretation of what (substance/content) is circulating and how this material connects with the ‘where’ in the digital landscape, hence constituting links and connections in the hybrid media landscape. In conclusion, the article reflects on how this multi-method approach contributes to understanding the workings of today’s hybrid media events: how they create and maintain symbolic battles over certain imagined constructs of social imaginaries of solidarity, belonging, contestation, and exclusion, a topic of core value for the theory of media events.
Highlights
Charlie Hebdo 2015, a Hybrid Media EventOn Wednesday, 7 January 2015, at 11:30 a.m., French– Algerian brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi attacked the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo
This method has three phases: 1) Digital ethnography provides the first outline of the event; 2) Automated content analysis and social network analytics construct the digital field for research; 3) Digital ethnography provides an in-depth interpretation of what is circulating and how this material connects with the ‘where’ in the digital landscape, constituting links and connections in the hybrid media landscape necessary for the social meaning making of the event
After re-locating the basic elements in the event, the researcher can begin to add layers of meanings to the event. This can be done in two overlapping ways; it is possible to conduct ethnographic fieldwork by following paths and trails of links, streams, and algorithmic suggestions offered by Twitter and other social media platforms, but it may be useful to conduct digital ethnography by approaching the event simultaneously from different directions for example by making searches in search engines
Summary
On Wednesday, 7 January 2015, at 11:30 a.m., French– Algerian brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi attacked the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo. We suggest a multimethod approach for the empirical study of hybrid media events, using the Charlie Hebdo attacks as a case study. To meet this goal, we first provide a brief outline for our theoretical framework—the theory of media event—which is necessary to contextualise the methodological model. The article reflects on how this multimethod approach contributes to the understanding of the workings of today’s hybrid media events—how they create and maintain symbolic battles over certain social imaginaries of solidarity, belonging, contestation, and exclusion This is a topic of core value for the theory of media events
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