Mediated Political Participation: Comparative Analysis of Right Wing and Left Wing Alternative Media A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Nune Grigoryan August 2019 © 2019 Nune Grigoryan. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Mediated Political Participation: Comparative Analysis of Right Wing and Left Wing Alternative Media by NUNE GRIGORYAN has been approved for the School of Media Arts & Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Wolfgang Suetzl Assistant Professor of Media Arts & Studies Scott Titsworth Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii Abstract GRIGORYAN, NUNE, PhD, August 2019, Mass Communication Mediated Political Participation: Comparative Analysis of Right Wing and Left Wing Alternative Media Director of dissertation: Wolfgang Suetzl Democracy allows a plural media landscape where different types of media perform vital functions. Over years, the public trust towards mainstream media has been eroding, limiting their ability to fulfill democratic functions within the American society. Meanwhile, the Internet has led to proliferation of alternative media outlets on digital space. These platforms allow new outreach and mobilizing opportunities to the once peripheral alternative media. So far, the literature about alternative media have been heavily focused on left-wing alternative media outlets, while the research on alternative right-wing media has remained scarce and fragmented. Only few studies have applied a comparative analysis approach to study these outlets. Moreover, research that examines different aspects of alternative media such as content and audience reception is more rare. This study aims to demonstrate the heterogeneity of alternative media by highlighting their history and functions within the American democracy. The second goal of the study is to assess the potential of such platforms to foster political participation. This research project aims to answer the following questions: What are the roles of alternative media in the American democracy? What are the ways in which right-wing and left-wing alternative media foster political participation? How do they differ or resemble? To answer these questions, I adopted a two-pronged qualitative methodology. One focuses on the audience reception. The other involves a critical analysis of their content. I conducted six focus groups with 24 students. The goal of this part of the study was to understand audience perceptions and experience with alternative media. I was also interested how the alternative content informs their decisions regarding political participation. In addition to the semi-structured questions, the participants read sample articles and listened to podcast segments from the right-wing media outlet, the Daily iii Wire and The Ben Shapiro Show, and the left-wing outlet, Crooked Media and Pod Save America. The responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. The second method used to analyze the content of alternative media was critical discourse analysis (CDA). Twenty articles were analyzed from Crooked Media and the Daily Wire, published between November 2017-May 2018. The articles were all selected based on their coverage of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy. The theoretical framework of the analysis was the Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. Based on Fairclough’s (1995) CDA model, each article was analyzed on three dimensions, text or grammatical choices of the authors, discursive practices, and their relation to the sociocultural context. The results of the focus groups revealed that the students who participated in the discussions had varying views about alternative media. Some thought that alternative media are simply new or digital media platforms. Other participants suggested that alternative media are conspiratorial and associated them with alternative facts. The results also showed that the participants would be more motivated to be politically active if the media content appealed to their emotions. Both negative and positive emotions seemed to trigger willingness to be politically engaged. It is worth noting that the audio podcasts were more effective and affective as a medium than the articles. The critical discourse analysis demonstrated that the right-wing media outlet, The Daily Wire, mostly used negative frames and discourses to cover the undocumented immigrants. This included such hegemonic conservative frames as crime, and illegals breaking the rules, and amnesty. The undocumented immigrants were passive actors in the texts, while political officials and people in power were activated and granted agency through semantic tools. The left-wing media outlet, Crooked Media authors also passivized undocumented immigrants. However, their discourses were more humanizing, emotional and advocacy-oriented. The articles from both platforms were highly influenced by the larger sociocultural and political context. This study extends our understanding about alternative media located on the opposite ends of the political spectrum. The findings show that right-wing and left-wing alternative media have the potential to spur political participation if they appeal to the iv emotions of young people. The findings also indicate the discursive representation of undocumented immigrants is problematic as both outlets reproduce, rather than counter hegemony. Alternative media outlets should serve as the public spheres and as such, should activate agonistic and deliberative elements of democracy within the representative model. To do so, they should connect conflicting narratives, create new hegemonies and articulate them through civil discourses. As the audience responses suggest, alternative media are expected to recreate the public imagination of the political processes that are aimed at the common good. In conclusion, alternative media have vitals functions in the society to compliment and better mainstream media’s role. They could potentially motivate more young audiences using the affordances of the digital platforms, producing civic discourses and creating civic culture for participation. More research in this field and more comparative and critical approaches could help to find the ways in which these objectives could be achieved on a pragmatic level. v Dedication This work is dedicated to the bright memory of my aunt Elfrida Grigoryan. vi Acknowledgments Writing this dissertation has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my academic life. I have been privileged with incredible support from wonderful people who have helped me to cherish the challenges, and find joyful moments. I am deeply indebted to my academic adviser, Dr. Wolfgang Suetzl, who played a paramount role in my becoming as an academic. Since the first day of advising, he has had profound belief in my work and abilities. I could always count at his encouragement, which often came in a form of humor. Dr. Suetzl has provided invaluable insights to every piece of my writing, helping me to grow as a professional. What is more, he has been instrumental in giving me advice about various aspects of the academic life. I would like to thank Dr. Suetzl for his patience, guidance and support. I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to my committee members for their unwavering support. Dr. Greg Newton has educated me about leadership and management in media. His valuable comments and advice have helped me to navigate the topics I could focus on for this dissertation. He has offered on-going support and practical suggestions not only related to the dissertation, but also about the graduate experience. Dr. Black has been instrumental in shaping my understanding about deliberative democracy, which provided richness to my work. Dr. Black’s regularly shared resources, and invited me to networking and academic events. I cannot overestimate her assistance. Finally, Dr. Millesen has played an instrumental role in encouraging me to pursue this degree when I completed my master’s degree under her supervision. She always believed in me and saw the academic in me before I did. Dr. Millesen’s professional insights and encouragements as a friend have been crucial to my success. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the faculty and staff of the School of Media Arts & Studies. Dr. Karen Riggs, who nurtured me, mentored and relentlessly supported me each step of the way. Our conversations about politics have inspired many elements of this work. Dr. Drew McDaniel for providing me with exceptional opportunities. Dr. Roger Cooper who always held an open door and offered advice. I am grateful to Dr. Howard, Dr. Khan, Dr. Pant, and Brain Plow for helping me with research, teaching and reassurance. Many thanks go to Paula Carpenter and Judy Wilson for vii administrative assistance, for their friendliness and kindness. Special thanks to my peers and colleagues for the reassurance, encouragement and fighting spirit. I am deeply grateful to my parents, and my sister for their unconditional love and graceful endurance. Special thanks to my best friend, Saba Navabzadeh, for cheering me through the hardships of this journey and celebrating my achievements. I also want to thank my best friend in Armenia, Vardine Grigoryan, for inspiring and empowering me. Finally, I am grateful to all my dear friends who have shown me much love and support. viii Table of Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................