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Politicians and Users' Engagement on Social Media and the Role of Journalists During the Economico- Political Crisis in Greece

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Politicians and Users' Engagement on Social Media and the Role of Journalists During the Economico- Political Crisis in Greece POLITICIANS AND USERS’ ENGAGEMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE ROLE OF JOURNALISTS DURING THE ECONOMICO- POLITICAL CRISIS IN GREECE A Thesis Submitted to the MA Programme «New Media & Digital Culture» of University of Amsterdam Supervisor Thomas Poell Second Reader Lonneke van der Velden 24 June 2016 2 Table of Contents Abstract Key Words Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Problem discussion and research objective Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Promises about two way political communication of social media platforms 2.2 Politicians and social media platforms 2.3 The use of social media by citizens 2.4 Journalists and social media platforms 2.5 Conclusion Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Methodology design 1. Semi-structured interviews 2. Identifying characteristics of Interviewees 3. Data collection through Netvizz Chapter 4: Politicians 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The importance of social media platforms for politicians 4.3 Limitations and facilitations of social media platforms 4.4 Provoking feedback: Social Media for reactive politics 4.5 Social media during a period of a crisis 4.6 The problematic use of social media by Greek politicians Chapter 5: Users 5.1 Introduction 3 5.2 Social media and the crisis 5.3 Users’ engagement with politicians’ accounts 5.4 The online model of political communication in Greece and the reasons affecting interactivity on social media. Chapter 6: Journalists 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Increasing use of social media by journalists in response to crisis 6.3 The role of Greek journalists in the context of social media platforms 6.4 Journalists’ viewpoint over the online interaction between politicians and citizens Chapter 7: Conclusions References Notes Appendices Appendix 1: Sample of interviews 4 Abstract This thesis examines the engagement of politicians with citizens on social media in the context of the Greek crisis; this engagement constitutes the foundation and cornerstone of a modern political environment. In the context of this new online environment where all the different groups acquire new roles, the role of journalists is thoroughly analyzed. The economic crisis has afflicted the democratic institutions and therefore has affected politics and mainstream media. The relationships of citizens with politicians have become worse with the crisis and simultaneously mainstream media have lost their renown, while on the other hand, social media have turned out to be a useful tool for political communication. The investigation examines the viewpoint of some Greek politicians, citizens and journalists, who actively participate in social media. Moreover data from politicians’ online accounts are analyzed, providing a more global estimation of the existing situation. The investigation concludes that the existing economic, political and institutional crisis brings about challenges in the online interaction between politicians and citizens, while it affects significantly the online role of journalists. Keywords: Mainstream media, Social Media Platforms, Economico-Political Crisis, Political Communication, Online Interaction 5 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Problem discussion and research objective In December 2009, the issue of the ‘Greek debt crisis’ made its appearance and started dominating media and politics, both domestically and internationally (Nikolopoulos, 2009). However, even before the outbreak of this crisis, the financial and social conditions of the country had already begun to create distrust towards national institutions (Pleios qtd. by HuffPost Greece, 2016). Subsequently, during the escalation and the peak of the economic crisis, institutional distrust became even more intense, affecting and involving many sectors of the society; the political system and the mainstream media were certainly two of these. To begin, it is of note that the Greek political landscape is characterized by political cynicism1 and a disapproval of the civilian staff, which are seen as corrupted by the Greeks (Marantzidis, 2016). As time progresses, the prolonged recession and non- static stances of politicians governing the country during the economic crisis, increase this cynicism (Marantzidis, 2016). A current research shows that feelings like anger, dislike, and emotional detachment toward politicians are prevalent in Greek society (Marantzidis, 2016). Almost 55% of Greek citizens feel anger and oppose the members of the parliament, while only 11% respect them (Marantzidis, 2016). Meanwhile, mainstream media had to face two major problems: the economic downturn and the mistrust of their once loyal audience (Pleios, 2013). More specifically, the number of TV channels, newspapers and radio stations was reduced due to the economic problems of the entire country, followed by the crisis of the national advertising sector. The expenses on advertising, which used to be the principal stabilizer of the mainstream media in general and television channels specifically, decreased by 1.525.387.000 euros between 2008 and 2012 (Sideris, 2013). The decrease in revenue led to staff reductions; which in turns led to a limitation of the newspapers’ content and television/radio programs. The shutdown of one of the biggest Greek newspapers “Eleftheros Tipos” and of the radio station “City 99.5”, marked the beginning of this decrease (Sideris, 2013). This was followed by the shutdown of fourteen newspapers based in the two largest Greek cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, the shutdown of one TV channel, two magazines with great brand awareness and four radio stations. At the same time, the dependence of mainstream media on the financial system and political Greek authority reached its peak after the outbreak of the crisis (Pleios, 2013). Additionally, mainstream media’s pro- 6 government stance and their support to the economic elites created a huge gap between their content and the real needs of the Greek society (Marantzidis, 2016). As a consequence, Greek citizens opposed mainstream media; this led to a significant reduction in the amount of impact media held, as well as an arousal of dispute over their credibility (Sideris, 2013). More specifically, Greek citizens express 80% mistrust in Greek television (Europe’s average is 47%), 65% mistrust in Greek newspapers (Europe’s average is 50%) and 61% mistrust in Greek radio (Europe’s average is 36%) (Kassimi, 2016). It is notable that the average mistrust towards mainstream media is higher than in any other European country. These developments have substantially contributed to a transformation in the dynamics of Greek political communication. A large portion of the Greek population turned away from the ‘impaired’ mainstream media and embraced Internet and social media; these seem to incorporate all forms of mainstream media (web radio, web TV, online newspapers) while at the same time allow real time communication (Ausserhofer and Maireder, 2013, 292). The use of social media platforms by Greek politicians, journalists and citizens is also increasing rapidly (ELSTAT2 qtd. by HuffPost Greece, 2016). Politicians started using them extensively and for many different reasons; to support their electoral campaign, to communicate, to promote themselves, to spread information and generally as part of their political marketing strategies (Danou, 2016). Given that mainstream media have lost their prestige, politicians are trying to find different ways to reach out voters (Pleios qtd. by Kalyviotou, 2013). As social media platforms have managed to gather people from many different demographics, they could be recognized as the ideal forum for contact. The intense use of social platforms by politicians, journalists, and citizens, in the light of the economic and political crisis, raises questions regarding the changing nature of political communication and the character of interaction between the three types of actors. It has been suggested that rise of social media, changes the model of political communication (Bruns 2008, Jenkins 2005, Shirky 2008). The idea is that political communication has turned from one-way traffic through mainstream media, to two- way communication between politicians and citizens through social media. This is what this thesis aims to research and critically examine: this new model of political communication and its effectiveness. 7 In addition, the use of social media platforms by politicians and citizens creates new sources of information for journalists. This information can then be examined to determine how journalists in mainstream media are coping with this transition in the media landscape, and how they are relating to the interaction between politicians and citizens. Journalists’ opinions regarding the interaction between politicians and citizens on social media are crucial, because they are professional intermediaries between the political sphere and the average civilian. In general, social media are really widespread in Greece (ELSTAT qtd. by HuffPost Greece, 2016). The typical use of them appears to not differ from the other European countries (Sidebar monitor, 2016). Nonetheless, Greece is currently the country with the most important economic problems in the Euro zone, and as a consequence, seems to face more difficulties that affect politicians, users, journalists and the way they interact with one another. Pleios (qtd by HuffPost Greece, 2016) claims that neoliberal social policy along with the crisis cause harm to mainstream media while increasing the use of social media. He also argues that the Internet benefits from the crisis since it provides people with ‘substitutes’
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