MACMILLAN Sharing News Online: Commendary Cultures and Social Media News Ecologies

This book explores the political economics and cultural politics of social media news sharing, investigating how it is changing journalism and the news media internationally. News sharing plays important economic and cultural roles in an attention economy, recommending the stories audiences find valuable, making them more visible, and promoting the digital platforms that are reshaping our media ecologies. But is news sharing a force for democracy, or a sign of journalism’s declining power to set news agendas? In Sharing News Online, Tim Dwyer and Fiona Martin analyse the growth of commendary culture and the business of social news, critique the rise of news analytics and dissect virality online. They reveal that surprisingly, we share political stories more highly than celebrity news, and they probe how deeply affect drives our sharing behaviour. In mapping the contours of a critical digital media phenomenon, this book makes essential reading for scholars, journalists and media executives. Review “This fascinating and clearly written book is a timely contribution that enhances our understanding of what kinds of news trigger social media sharing, and what the “commendary culture” that we participate in means not just for the media, but also for society.” (Lawrie Zion, Professor of Journalism, La Trobe University, Australia)   From the Back Cover This book explores the political economics and cultural politics of social media news sharing, investigating how it is changing journalism and the news media internationally. News sharing plays important economic and cultural roles in an attention economy, recommending the stories audiences find valuable, making them more visible, and promoting the digital platforms that are reshaping our media ecologies. But is news sharing a force for democracy, or a sign of journalism’s declining power to set news agendas? In Sharing News Online, Tim Dwyer and Fiona Martin analyse the growth of commendary culture and the business of social news, critique the rise of news analytics and dissect virality online. They reveal that surprisingly, we share political stories more highly than celebrity news, and they probe how deeply affect drives our sharing behaviour. In mapping the contours of a critical digital media phenomenon, this book makes essential reading for scholars, journalists and media executives. About the Author Fiona Martin is Senior Lecturer in Online Media in the Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney, Australia.  Tim Dwyer is Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney, Australia. He is the author of Convergent Media and Privacy (2016).