Social Media and Newsroom Production Decisions

Abstract : Social media affects not only the way we consume news, but also the way news is produced, including by traditional media outlets. In this paper, we study the propagation of information from social media to mainstream media, and investigate whether news editors are influenced in their editorial decisions by stories popularity on social media. To do so, we build a novel dataset including a representative sample of all tweets produced in French between July 2018 and July 2019 (1.8 billion tweets, around 70% of all tweets in French during the period) and the content published online by about 200 mainstream media during the same time period, and develop novel algorithms to identify and link events on social and mainstream media. To isolate the causal impact of popularity, we rely on the structure of the Twitter network and propose a new instrument based on the interaction between measures of user centrality and news pressure at the time of the event. We show that story popularity has a positive effect on media coverage, and that this effect varies depending on media outlets’ characteristics. These findings shed a new light on our understanding of how editors decide on the coverage for stories, and question the welfare effects of social media.

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The (great) Persuasion Divide? Gender Disparities in Debate Speeches & Evaluations

Abstract : Do men and women persuade differently? Are they evaluated differently? Using a novel data set of 1517 speech transcripts, evaluation scores and demographic data from highest-profile intervarsity debate tournaments, this research investigates spoken verbal tactics across genders and any ensuing impacts on their performance evaluations. I find significant variation in speech patterns across genders. Female speakers use more personal and disclosing speaking style, with more hedging phrases and disfluencies in their speeches. In their answers to questions from opponents during their speeches, they negate less while having notably longer and more vague answers. Evaluation-wise, across debates, having less analytical speaking style and more positive sentiment is associated with higher scores for female speeches. Within debates, except for disfluencies, there is no robust evidence of gender-specific evaluation standards. These findings suggest that women receive lower scores than men because their speeches contain more score-reducing and fewer score-enhancing features, rather than discrimination.

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Anti-japanese Protests, Social Media Hate Speech and Television Shows in China

Abstract : Can stereotypes in entertainment media explain the recent rise in negative sentiment against foreigners? Despite close economic ties, anti-Japanese sentiment is high in China. I assemble detailed information on Chinese TV broadcasts during 2012 and document that around 20 percent of all TV shows aired during prime time were historical TV dramas set during the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. To identify the causal effect of media on sentiment, I exploit high-frequency data and exogenous variation in the likelihood of viewing Sino-Japanese war dramas due to channel positions and substitution between similar programmes. I show that exposure to these TV shows lead to a significant increase in anti-Japanese protests and anti-Japanese hate speech on social media across China. These effects are driven by privately rather than state-produced TV shows. Using high-frequency internet search data, I show suggestive evidence that exposure to these historical TV dramas only reduces consumption of conspicuously Japanese goods.

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