Medieninhalte aus der Netzwerkperspektive

If (media) debates are treated as more than a treasure trove of isolated topics, actors and positions, a systematic connection of relational content and empirical network analysis is needed. Such a combination reveals the interrelations and the argumentative structure in debates. The article therefore investigates how data can be collected by means of relational content analysis, more specifically claims analysis, and how these data can be analysed by employing instruments of network analysis. Taking the debate on EU enlargement in two German quality newspapers as an example, it is shown how this combination of methods reveals the structure of debates (lines of communication, conflict lines and discourse coalitions) as well as the position of single actors (their framing, prestige and agenda setting).     

Die Print-Reportage: Genrekonventionen aus Reportersicht

There are lots of textbooks on writing reportages in the so-called practitioners’ literature. Whether and how the classifications and instructions are in line with professional practice is rarely explored. In order to compare the recommendations of reportage textbooks with the views of reporters, we conducted a survey and used a multistep methods design: The first step was to identify the complete German-language reportage instructions literature. In the second step, the key statements about fundamental questions of narrative reportage were extracted from selected titles. Finally, these key statements were presented to reporters in a survey. The study focused in particular on the question of the professional relevance of formal and functional report definitions and on the question of standard dramaturgical patterns in reportage narratives. In summary, there’s a broad consensus in the profession with regard to the form and the standards of reportage narratives.     

Kapitalisierung von Paarbeziehungen

This study examines the role that the social networking site Facebook plays in the different aspects of relationship management by couples. The communication of couples is influenced not only by the relationship phase but also by the geographical distance between the partners. Based on the assumption that these factors are also important for the couple’s (partly) public Facebook communications, the online survey explores whether couples in the first phase of a relationship or in a long-distance relationship use Facebook intensively for relationship management. Furthermore, the concept of capitalization (Gable et al. (2004, 2006)) is applied to the social network communication. Originally, it referred to interpersonal communication. In conjunction with the publicity of social networks, the awareness of others could change the processes of capitalization. It can be shown that relationship management in a narrow (“romantic”) sense is upheld on a rather low level. Contrary to expectations, there is less (partly) public relationship communication in the first phase of a couple’s relationship as well as in long-distance relationships. Also contrary to a culturally pessimistic point of view, Facebook is not replacing traditional forms of relationship communication. Capitalization also has deficits; nonverbal forms of communication such as facial expressions, body language, and gestures are lacking on Facebook, despite all of its various emoticons.     

Habilitation von Ralf Hohlfeld

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Demokratischer Wert von Medienpublika

Against the background of the discussions about the normative demands and the reality of democracy, about a decreasing newspaper readership, and about the critical quality of political communication, the authors deal with the question of whether the audiences of the news media possess a specific “public value” by contributing differently to the scope and quality of public discourse. Using the example of the subscribers to a left-liberal German newspaper, die tageszeitung (taz), the authors analyze data from a representative readership survey to assess this public value. In this, the authors focus in particular on attitudes and behaviors relevant to the public sphere and democracy, such as political participation, acceptance of responsibility and public engagement.     

Habilitation von Michael Meyen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Habilitation von Thomas Schierl

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Zum Tod von Klaus Schrape

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Strukturen der Wirkung von Rhetorik

The question of how important different persuasive elements of speeches are for their effectiveness has been discussed among philosophers and scientists for centuries. Additionally, there are modern myths about the effects of speeches, popular especially among communication coaches. An example of such a myth is the “communication pyramid”. It postulates that 55 percent of the effects of a speech are made up by nonverbal cues, 38 percent by the voice of the speaker and only 7 percent by the content of the speech. The present paper addresses the relationship between content, verbal and non-verbal emphasis in the perception of a political speech, using a laboratory experiment and RTR-measurement. Results indicate that nonverbal components can improve some, and impair the perception of other aspects of a speech. Furthermore it is found that content generally determines the perception of the perceived persuasiveness of the speech and the structure of its effects.