Isa, D., & Urbanski, S. (2021). A Comparative Analysis of Cold War and Post-Cold War Media Framing of Aviation Disasters. International Journal of Communication and Society, 3(2).
Abstract: This study aims to explore changes to media frames in American and Russian media during and after the Cold War. It builds on previous research that examined U.S. media coverage of two airline disasters – KAL007 and IR655 – during the Cold War in the 1980s. It explores new Cold War frames in The New York Times and The Moscow Times’ coverage of the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014. Additionally, U.S. and Russian official narratives of the incident were compared to the MH17 media coverage. Using a mixed content analysis method, this study finds links between media frames used by the two selected newspapers and the U.S. and Russian government positions. However, results reveal an absence of hostile Cold War media frames in the MH17 coverage.
Himelboim, I. & Isa, D. (2019)*. Using a Semantic Networks Approach to Monitor and Evaluate Influence on Social Media. In D. Sultănescu (Ed.), Challenges in Strategic Communication and Fighting Propaganda in Eastern Europe (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series - E: Human and Societal Dynamics, Vol. 142, pp. 97-102). Amsterdam: Netherlands.
*Invited article
Abstract: As information is massively consumed and exchanged over the Internet and social media in particular, governments and nongovernmental entities see the potential to influence public opinion via these platforms. From a conceptual standpoint, communication scholars have studied the agenda that is transferred from traditional media to the public since the 1970s. Recognizing that social media allows multiple and competing agendas to emerge, this essay proposes a conceptual and methodological approach to identifying agendas, their sources and evaluate their success in terms of transfer of agenda salience to the public. Taking a semantic networks approach, we conceptualize agenda as a set of issues and attributes that are mentioned together in social media posts. The extent to which such issues and attributes are found among the public discussion, then, allows us to evaluate the success of public opinion influence. Specifically, it allows us to identify the subgroups of social media users that are more susceptible to influence, via information, disinformation and mal-information.
Isa, D., & Himelboim, I. (2018). A Social Networks Approach to Online Social Movement: Social Mediators and Mediated Content in #FreeAJStaff Twitter Network. Social Media + Society, 4 (1), doi: 10.1177/2056305118760807.
Abstract: The movement to free Al Jazeera journalists (#FreeAJStaff), imprisoned by Egyptian authorities, utilized social media over almost 2 years, between 2013 and 2015. #FreeAJStaff movement emerged as a unique blend of social movement and news media, taking place primarily on Twitter. This study applied a social networks approach to examine patterns of information flow within the #FreeAJStaff movement on Twitter: the emergence of information siloes and social mediators, who bridge them. Twitter data of 22 months were collected, resulting in social networks created by 71,326 users who included the hashtag #FreeAJStaff in their tweets, and 149,650 social ties (mentions and replies) among them. Analysis found social mediators to be primarily core movement actors (e.g., Al Jazeera) or elites (e.g., politicians), rather than grassroots actors. Furthermore, core actors exhibited more reciprocal relationship with other users than elite actors. In contrast, elite actors evoked denser exchange of messages. Finally, this study identified the mechanism used to create a Spillover Effect between social movements (such as #FreeAJStaff and #FreeShawkan), finding that mediated content, which travels across clusters, was more likely to include non-FreeAJStaff movement hashtags, than siloed content, which remains within a cluster. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Isa, D., Himelboim, I, & Golan, G. (2020). A Semantic Networks Approach to Agenda Setting: The case of #NeverAgain Social Movement on Twitter. Presented at the annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), August 6-9, 2020.
Isa, D., Li, Q., Wang, M., Borah, P., & Himelboim, I. (2018). Campaign Strategies on Twitter in 2016 U.S. Presidential Election: Real-time Event, Negativity, and Online Engagement. Presented at the annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), August 6-9, 2018, Washington, DC.
Isa, D., & Himelboim, I. (2017). A Social Networks Approach to Online Social Movement: Social Mediators and Mediated Content in #FreeAJStaff Twitter Network. Presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, May 25-29, 2017, San Diego, CA.
Yousuf, M., & Isa, D. (2016). Political Divide on Twitter: A Study of Selective Exposure Clusters. Presented at the annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), August 4-7, 2016, Minneapolis, MN.
Isa, D. (2015). MH17 Tragedy: An Analysis of Cold War and Post-Cold War Media Framing of Airline Disasters. Presented at the annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), August 6-9, 2015, San Francisco, CA.