Abstract
In a time when digital communication is becoming increasingly ephemeral, Underserved Communities and Digital Discourse: Getting Voices Heard by Victoria L. LaPoe, Candi S. Carter Olsen and Benjamin R. LaPoe is a testament to the value of digital histories, reminding readers that we have much to learn from the study of digital community conversations. This book brings together a diverse array of case studies that reveal how communities are forming in online spaces, and how those communities are leveraging digital technologies to engage in public debate.
Presenting a balanced perspective throughout, the book celebrates the democratic possibilities of digital discourse, with special attention to its potential to amplify voices previously unheard, while critically questioning the silencing, exclusivity and maintenance of the status quo that occur within digital communities. By raising such questions about media inequalities, the authors challenge the norms of the journalism industry, emphasising the importance of communities that form around digital technologies to get those voices often excluded from mainstream media heard. That digital media, and specifically, online spaces, provide a platform for democratic debate has been well-supported in the fields of journalism and communication, and this book lends further credence to this idea by providing a snapshot of digital societies at an important juncture in history.
Each of the 10 chapters presents a standalone case study, bookended by an introduction and conclusion that help bring some needed clarity to the threads of logic tying these diverse chapters together. The research questions guiding this collection of case studies traverse a wide expanse of disciplines, issues and ideas, shedding light on many topics of relevance to communication, journalism and media studies scholars. The book starts out examining political conversations on social media in the wake of fake news, Internet trolls and perceived and actual online threats. The first two case studies examine the challenges political communities face on social media, and the democratic consequences of self-silencing as a means of protection from potential backlash in online debates. Subsequent case studies hone in on digital discourse within specific professional communities, including scholars’ use of online networking to advance academic careers, perceptions of compassion fatigue among journalists and nurses’ opinions of the way their profession is represented in TV shows. A timely case study explores a digital crisis community, analysing tweets about the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster on its first anniversary. The final chapters hone in on issues of race and reporting, providing a frame analysis of celebrated African American journalist Roi Ottley’s World War II reporting, examining the Black Press’s engagement with race on Twitter, and investigating priming and ethics in Native American news reporting. While the connection between these chapters sometimes seems tenuous, each of the case studies included serves as an example of one of the book’s central arguments – that digital communication technologies are both remaking and destroying community as we know it.
The case studies presented do not share a common methodological approach, instead following many different exploratory research designs. Results tend towards quantitative, descriptive statistics with brief excerpts of qualitative data. Survey methodologies are most frequently employed, limiting the authors’ ability to provide in-depth, rich description of community members’ perspectives, instead capturing a wide-angle view of where they stand, with significant discussion to expand upon findings. The first few case studies lean heavily on feminist theory, a major strength of their methodological approach. Later chapters utilise content analysis, mainly frame analysis, for a more nuanced look at media artefacts and reader reactions. While the ability to draw causal conclusions or advance theory based on these exploratory studies is limited, the authors point to clear directions for future research.
A significant and worthwhile aim of this book is to advocate for minority groups and other communities ‘underserved’ by the mainstream media to have access to and protection on digital platforms to ensure that digital discourse is inclusive of their voices, perspectives and identities, recognising that these historically excluded groups have much to contribute to political processes and must be included in public debate. Towards this aim, Underserved Communities and Digital Discourse: Getting Voices Heard is a good starting point for scholars and researchers interested in advancing media equality through digital communication, and who would be a natural audience for this book.