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Dr. Todd Graham Departement of Journalism and Media StudiesUniviversity of Groningentoddsgraham@gmail.com

What’s Wife Swap Have to Do with It?Talking Politics Online

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Research Aim, Focus & Questions

› To what extent do the communicative practices of a reality TV forum satisfy the normative conditions of the process of deliberation of the public sphere, and what role do expressives play within political talk and in relation to these conditions?

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Normative Conditions of the Process of Deliberation› Rational-critical debate› Coherence› Continuity› Reciprocity› Reflexivity› Empathy› Discursive Equality

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Methods

› Data: Channel 4’s community site› Sample: 79 threads consisting of 892 postings› First coded for political talk› Content analysis › Additional textual analyses on the use of

expressives (Humor, emotional comments, and acknowledgements)

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Identifying Political Talk

› 32% of the initial sample (288 postings), were coded as political talk.

› The dominant topic was the welfare state – 45% of political talk• Driven by storytelling

› Remainder discussions focused two topics: parenting and the family. • More personal - individualized and lifestyle

oriented

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Results: Normative Conditions

Rational-critical debate› Open Table

Coherence› 21 lines of discussion› 6 lines containing 16 postings were off the topic› 94% postings were coherent

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Results continued…

Continuity› Level of extend debate

• Presence of strong-string exchanges• 63% of all claims, nearly half of all posts, were

engaged in strong string exchanges.

› Level of convergence• Nearly 2 commissives per line of discussion

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Results continued…

Reciprocity: Web of Reciprocity Matrix

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Results continued…

Discursive Equality› Equal distribution of voice› Open table

Substantial Equality› Neglected arguments and acts of degrading› Low levels: 16% neglected arguments & 10% degrading

posts

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The Use of ExpressivesEmotional comments represented 62% of expressives and

appeared in 39% of the postings.

• Anger represented 56% of the emotions expressed, which usually came in the form of disgust, dislike, or annoyance.

• Rant sessions – 53% were engaged in a rant• Rational-critical debate: Nearly three-quarters of

emotional comments were expressed via arguments or nearly half of all arguments were emotional.

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The Use of Expressives continued…Humor accounted for 23% of expressives and appeared in

15% of the postings.

› Humor used mostly to entertain – typically came in the form of wisecracks, jokes and sarcasm, and it usually focused on making fun of the families appearing on Wife Swap.

› Humor invited more humor – 56% of humorous comments were involved in humor fests.

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The Use of Expressives continued…Acknowledgements accounted for 15% of expressives and

appeared in nine percent of the postings.

› Four types identified: thanking, complimenting, apologizing, and congratulating.

› Complimenting and thanking represented more than three-fourths of acknowledgements

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Conclusions

› Political talk is not bound to political communicative spaces.

› What constitutes the ‘political’ in political talk?

› Neglecting and disregarding the use of expressives is no longer an option

Thank you!

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