Attracting the news: Algorithms, platforms, and reframing incidental exposure

This article argues for new approaches to the study of incidental exposure that better account for the role of algorithms, platforms, and processes of datafication in shaping the likelihood of news exposure online. It offers a critique of three themes prominent in the incidental exposure literature:...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournalism (London, England) Vol. 21; no. 8; pp. 1067 - 1082
Main Author Thorson, Kjerstin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.08.2020
Subjects
information inequality
social media
Incidental exposure
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ISSN1464-8849
1741-3001
DOI10.1177/1464884920915352

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Summary:This article argues for new approaches to the study of incidental exposure that better account for the role of algorithms, platforms, and processes of datafication in shaping the likelihood of news exposure online. It offers a critique of three themes prominent in the incidental exposure literature: (1) incidental exposure connotes accidental exposure to news on social media, (2) news content is ubiquitous on social media, and (3) incidental exposure can be conceptually distinguished from intentional exposure to news on social media. This article proposes a new metaphor to reframe research on incidental exposure: ‘attraction’ to news.
ISSN:1464-8849
1741-3001
DOI:10.1177/1464884920915352