Authors:
Barry Natusch, Nihon University, Japan
Beryl Hawkins, Temple University, Japan
Email: bnatusch@yahoo.com
Published: December 2014
https://doi.org/10.22492/ijas.1.1.01
Citation: Natusch, B., & Hawkins, B. (2014). Japan’s “Abenomics” Media Coverage: A Comparison between Print and Social Media. IAFOR Journal of Asian Studies, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.22492/ijas.1.1.01
Abstract
Mass media and social media shape public perceptions, and in turn, this brings about an increasing level of public awareness and citizen participation in the flow of news and information. The impact of Japan’s recent economic policy shift, Abenomics, set off an avalanche of national and international news stories throughout 2013 in both print and social media.
A quantitative content analysis of the print and social media coverage of the Abenomics news story is explored using the comparative approaches of Galtung and Ruge (1965). Print publication data from 12 countries were analyzed for content and classified into Positive, Neutral and Negative categories. Comments and discussion were drawn from news aggregators and blogs then classified into a taxonomy partially derived from Warner (2010), Churches (2009), Jin (2012) and Cardon and Prieur (2007).
The conceptual design guiding this research focuses on the interplay between previously separated channels of news communication (print and social media), resulting in a technological convergence. This integration creates a new dialogic model of news dissemination.
While the parameters of this evolving dialogic model of news dissemination have yet to be rigorously defined, it suggests a new paradigm for public awareness and understanding of complex issues through the news media.
Keywords
Abe, Abenomics, Japanese economy, content analysis, social media, news reporting