Suchergebnisse

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Birgir Guðmundsson, published by Sciendo 2021. ; My main objective in this article is to examine the importance of political parallelism in Iceland through establishing the extent to which political parallelism is perceived to char-acterise political communication in Iceland by politicians and voters. Political parallelism is one of the defining elements of Hallin and Mancini's typology of media systems. Based on candidate surveys from five elections and a voter survey, indexes of perceived political parallelism are configured for politicians and voters. The analysis suggests a high degree of perceived political parallelism and that the perceptions are reflected in partisan ideologi-cal views of individual media outlets. The same – or at least similar – perceptions about political parallelism in the media system seem to penetrate the system irrespective of age and at the national, local, and individual level of politics. However, voters and candidates of social democratic and liberal internationally oriented parties perceive a significantly lower degree of parallelism than others. ; My main objective in this article is to examine the importance of political parallelism in Iceland through establishing the extent to which political parallelism is perceived to char-acterise political communication in Iceland by politicians and voters. Political parallelism is one of the defining elements of Hallin and Mancini's typology of media systems. Based on candidate surveys from five elections and a voter survey, indexes of perceived political parallelism are configured for politicians and voters. The analysis suggests a high degree of perceived political parallelism and that the perceptions are reflected in partisan ideological views of individual media outlets. The same - or at least similar - perceptions about political parallelism in the media system seem to penetrate the system irrespective of age and at the national, local, and individual level of politics. However, voters and candidates of social democratic and liberal internationally oriented parties perceive a significantly lower degree of parallelism than others. ; Peer reviewed

Covid 19 has had enormous impact on media firms all over the world, adding further economic pressures to a sector already suffering problems. Two different trends come together in the present situation, a challenge to the economic model of traditional media and a massive move to remote or working from home practices by journalists and editorial staff. This, in conjunction with other changes in the media environment, has raised questions about traditional institutions of journalism and journalist practices such as the physical newsroom. Speculation about virtual newsrooms or remote journalism practices and a wave of newsroom closures or downsizing due to Covid 19 in the summer and fall of 2020 has highlighted these concerns even further. In this context the paper looks systematically at the response of Icelandic newsrooms to the ban on gatherings that was introduced in the first wave of Covid 19 in the spring of 2020. The practical measures taken by the newsrooms are looked at, the experience of journalists recorded, and the content output measured, analysed, and compared to the same period the year before. Results show that work processes were radically changed, journalists showed flexibility and are relatively open towards permanent changes based on their experience of working from home. There is an impact on content output, but it is in most cases marginal.

The increased importance of social media platforms and network media logic merging with traditional media logic are a trademark of modern hybrid systems of political communication. This article looks at this development through the media-use by politicians before the 2016 and 2017 parliamentary elections in Iceland. Aggregate results from candidate surveys on the use and perceived importance of different media forms are used to examine the role of the new platform Snapchat in relation to other media, and to highlight the dynamics of the hybrid media system in Iceland. The results show that Snapchat is exploited more by younger politicians and those already using social media platforms. However, in spite of this duality between old and new media, users of traditional platforms still use new media and vice versa. This points to the existance of a delicate operational balance between different media logics, that could change as younger politicians move more centre stage. ; Peer reviewed

This article presents results from a survey among political candidates standing in parliamentary elections in Iceland in the spring of 2013 regarding their use of media in the election campaign. The purpose of this study was twofold; first to determine the extent to which politicians have adopted new technologies. Thereby adapting their election strategies to new realities and a transformed media environment characterized by hybridization between new networked media and traditional media logic. Secondly, to examine whether in a digitalized media era, there is a difference in media use between old and new political parties. The findings suggest a process of normalization and the potential advantage for new parties, due to easier access to communication channels created by less expensive new media outlets, was by and large negated by a more complex and diverse media environment.

This article presents results from a survey among political candidates standing in parliamentary elections in Iceland in the spring of 2013 regarding their use of media in the election campaign. The purpose of this study was twofold; first to determine the extent to which politicians have adopted new technologies. Thereby adapting their election strategies to new realities and a transformed media environment characterized by hybridization between new networked media and traditional media logic. Secondly, to examine whether in a digitalized media era, there is a difference in media use between old and new political parties. The findings suggest a process of normalization and the potential advantage for new parties, due to easier access to communication channels created by less expensive new media outlets, was by and large negated by a more complex and diverse media environment. ; Peer reviewed

Umræða um sjálfsritskoðun fjölmiðla hefur tekið kipp hér á landi eftir árásir á ritstjórnarskrifstofur Charie Hebdo í París í janúar 2015 og sviptingar í yfirstjórn og eigendahópi íslenskra fjölmiðla. En hver er sú reynsla sem blaðamenn lýsa sem sjálfsritskoðun og hvað merkir hugtakið? Í þessari könnun er leitað svara við tveimur rannsóknarspurningum. Annars vegar hvernig blaðamenn skilja hugtakið sjálfsritskoðun og hins vegar hver væri reynsla íslenskra blaðamanna af sjálfsritskoðun. Byggt var á fyrirbærafræðilegri aðferð með viðtölum við sex reynda blaðamenn. Megin niðurstaðan er sú að áhrif umræðunnar um fréttir og fréttamat blaðamanna hafi mikil áhrif á efnistök og framsetningu, bæði almenn stemning í þjóðfélaginu og ekki síður viðbrögð frá áhrifmiklum stjórnmálamönnum og skoðanaleiðtogum í netheimum. Enn fremur skiptir máli hvar þeir fjölmiðilar sem blaðamenn vinna á eru staðsettir í pólitískri/ viðskiptalegri blokkaskiptingu íslenska fjölmiðlakerfisins. Þá sýna niðurstöður ólíkan skilning blaðamanna á hugtakinu sjálfsritskoðun og að brýnt sé að að skilgreina það ef nota á það til greiningar. Loks kemur fram að almenn þjóðfélagsumræða ásamt áhrifmiklum stjórnmálamönnum og skoðanaleiðtogum í netheimum hafi mest áhrif á sjálfsritskoðun blaðamanna.

Political communication in Iceland and in the Nordic Countries has undergone dramatic changes in the last decades. The political process has had to adjust to a new media landscape and to novel media technology at the same time as the media themselves are faced with transformed political realities. This paper reports a qualitative study on the way in which political parties in Iceland and Norway deal with a twofold change in political communication: on the one hand the change that has occurred with increasing commercialisation and professionalization of the traditional media; on the other, the change brought about by the digital revolution, with an explosion of media-outlets, communication possibilities and fragmentation of the public sphere. Five general dimensions are found to characterize the new realities of political communication in Norway and Iceland. These are: agenda setting; targeting of special groups; internal communication; professionalization; and a holistic communication approach. ; Non peer reviewed

Flokksfjölmiðlun þreifst hér á landi fram undir síðustu aldamót og sú umbreyting sem Blumler and Kavanagh (1999) kölluðu "Þriðja skeið pólitískrar boðmiðlunar" og felst m.a. í aukinni sérfræðiþekkingu í boðmiðlun innan stjórnmálaflokka og mikilli fagvæðingu blaðamannastéttarinnar og fjölmiðla, hefur haft styttri tíma til að þroskast en raunin var víða í nágrannalöndunum. Í þessari grein eru birtar niðurstöður úr frambjóðendakönnun sem gerð var meðal frambjóðenda allra stjórnmálaflokka í öllum kjördæmum fyrir Alþingiskosningarnar 2013. Niðurstöðurnar sýna með afgerandi hætti að íslenskir stjórnmálamenn hafa litla tiltrú á fagmennsku blaðamanna, óhæði fjölmiðla gagnvart stjórnmálaflokkum og þeirri óhlutdrægni sem alla jafna er talin fylgja markaðsvæðingu og umbreytingu frá ytri yfir í innri fjölbreytni í fjölmiðlun (Hallin and Mancini, 2004). Þvert á móti virðast stjórnmálamenn sjá íslenskan fjölmiðlamarkað í pólitísku ljósi þar sem flokksmiðlun og ytri fjölbreytni er áberandi mikilvæg. Leidd eru rök að því að þessar niðurstöður styðji að til hafi orðið kerfi "pólitískrar markaðsfjölmiðlunar" á Íslandi, m.a. vegna mikillar sögulegrar nálægðar flokksfjölmiðlunar, bernsku í fagvæðingu blaðamannastéttarinnar, fárra og frjálslegra reglna um fjölmiðlamarkaðinn, mikillar samþjöppunar eignarhalds á fjölmiðlum og samkrulls eigendavalds og flokkspólitíkur.

Almennt er viðurkennt að fjölbreytni og fjölræði í fjölmiðlum sé grundvallaratriði í lýðræðislegri umræðu. Sífellt háværari hafa þær raddir þó orðið á umliðnum árum sem lýst hafa yfir áhyggjum af því að umræðan í fjölmiðlum hafi verið gengisfelld og meira sé orðið um skemmtun og afþreyingu en þau atriði sem máli skipti fyrir lýðræðið. Þessi þróun hefur verið kölluð "tabloidization" eða götublaðavæðing. Meðal fræðimanna hefur Colin Sparks (2000) einkum mótað umræðuna með greiningarramma sínum um stöðu blaða á opinberum umræðuvettvangi. Fáar tilraunir hafa verið gerðar til að kortleggja íslensk dagblöð samkvæmt þessum greiningarramma og það sem gert hefur verið er orðið margra ára gamalt. Hér er sagt frá innihaldsgreiningu á íslensku dagblöðunum (DV talið sem dagblað) á árunum 2008-2010 þar sem miðað er við greiningarramma Sparks. Að hluta til eru fyrri hugmyndir staðfestar, en þó koma fram mikilvægar upplýsingar sem benda til að blöðin séu mjög einsleit og að verða líkari hvert öðru hvað efni varðar.

Hefðbundnir fjölmiðlar voru ekki í aðalhlutverki við kynningu og umfjöllun um einstaka frambjóðendur í kosningunum til stjórnlagaþings í nóvember 2010. Persónukjör með landið sem eitt kjördæmi þar sem yfir 500 frambjóðendur voru í kjöri er fyrirkomulag sem ekki hentar verklagi og vinnubrögðum hefðbundinna miðla og því er lýðræðislegt hlutverk þeirra takmarkað að þessu leyti. Í greininni er greint frá niðurstöðum könnunar meðal frambjóðenda til þingsins á því hvernig þeir höguðu kynningarmálum sínum og kemur í ljós að netmiðlar voru í aðalhlutverki, sérstaklega samfélagsvefurinn Facebook og miðlar sem ekki teljast til stóru hefðbundnu miðlanna. Í gegnum þessa miðla reyndu frambjóðendur að koma sér og stefnumálum sínum á framfæri inn í almannarými þjóðfélagsumræðunnar. Lítil sem engin tilraun var gerð meðal frambjóðenda til að kaupa sér leið inn í almannarýmið með auglýsingum.

Ríkisútvarpið hefur starfað eftir skrifuðum fréttareglum nánast frá stofnun. Þessar reglur hafa mótað fréttaflutning stofnunarinnar og skapað RÚV ákveðna sérstöðu á íslenskum fjölmiðlamarkaði. Fimm reglur hafa verið í gildi frá 1931 og miða elstu þjrár fyrst og fremst að því að halda RÚV utan við pólitískar þrætur og illdeilur í samfélaginu, gagngert til að halda frið um stofnunina og búa til "þjóðarútvarp". Því var lögð ofuráhersla á form og óhlutdrægni í framsetningu, en innihald og mikilvægi þá frekar látið liggja milli hluta. Með því að ríghalda í formreglur og óhlutdrægnisregluna gátu fréttamenn RÚV varist pólitískri ágjöf í samfélagi sem markaðist af flokksátökum. Þessi stefna kostaði þó það að mikilvægum þáttum faglegrar blaðamennsku var ýtt til hliðar, svo sem að RÚV bæri ábyrgð á fréttum sínum, fjallaði um átök, segði frá því sem mikilvægt væri og verndaði heimildarmenn sína ef svo bar undir. Í fjórðu og næstsíðustu fréttareglum RÚV, sem settar eru 1989, er bætt úr þessum ágöllum á sama tíma og ríghaldið er í óhlutdrægnisregluna. Þessi breyting var svo staðfest í núgildandi reglum sem eru frá því í maí 2008. Með þessari sögu og hefð hefur RÚV forskot á prentmiðlana á tíma markaðsfjölmiðlunar, sem m.a. skilar sér í miklu trausti á Ríkisútvarpinu.

Post-print (lokaútgáfa höfunda) ; The adolescent production of blogs has created an adolescent public sphere that transcends both intimate circles of friends and the adolescent communities of specific schools or neighborhoods. Almost all 15-16 year old adolescents in Iceland regularly read blogs and many read blogs on a daily basis. Blogs by best friends and adolescents in the concrete adolescent community are most popular but a third of the population follows blogs that originate in the more abstract adolescent society. About three out of four girls and one out of three boys maintain their own blogpages and read blogs by other adolescents on a regular basis. Adolescents that write blogs are more involved in various activities associated with higher status in adolescent communities but lower status in the adult-controlled school community. The adolescent blogosphere may constitute an emergent digital adolescent society where inequalities in adolescent communities are reproduced. ; Peer Reviewed

The importance of marketing techniques in political campaigning has increased as communicating politics has become more complex in a highly fragmented media environment. With different media logics interacting in a hybrid media system, political marketing methods through social media have drawn considerable attention and even been seen to pose a threat to democratic processes. This paper looks at the extent and nature of the use of marketing techniques in the 2018 municipal elections in Iceland, by using a mixed methods approach. The findings of a candidate survey and interviews with campaign managers suggest that the methods used are by and large a technical extension of previous methods and not qualitatively different from traditional electioneering. Both social media and traditional media are important marketing vehicles, but the importance of social media clearly on the rise. However, in larger communities in the capital region there tends to be a higher degree of professionalism than in other parts of the country and the size of municipality is important, while the type of party or age of candidates is not.

The importance of marketing techniques in political campaigning has increased as communicating politics has become more complex in a highly fragmented media environment. With different media logics interacting in a hybrid media system, political marketing methods through social media have drawn considerable attention and even been seen to pose a threat to democratic processes. This paper looks at the extent and nature of the use of marketing techniques in the 2018 municipal elections in Iceland, by using a mixed methods approach. The findings of a candidate survey and interviews with campaign managers suggest that the methods used are by and large a technical extension of previous methods and not qualitatively different from traditional electioneering. Both social media and traditional media are important marketing vehicles, but the importance of social media clearly on the rise. However, in larger communities in the capital region there tends to be a higher degree of professionalism than in other parts of the country and the size of municipality is important, while the type of party or age of candidates is not. ; Peer reviewed