Readers' Debate A Local Murder Trial: “Race” in the Online Public Sphere

Abstract

Online news readers' comments have emerged as new public spaces, allowing the public to participate publicly but yet often with shielded identities. This case study explores the discourses that emerged from the Republican Herald's online readers' comments generated from the coverage of a Shenandoah murder trial. It investigates how discussions of culturally sensitive issues such as race relations, long marginalized in public spaces, have now shifted into the mainstream. Using discourse analysis, this study analyzed over 6,000 reader comments. The findings showed that this public space was not only an outlet for citizens to amplify socially regressive views, but also presented a challenge to professional journalists on how to engage effectively with such views beyond simply avoiding “politically incorrect” terms.