Critiquing “Mainstream Media” on Twitter: Between Moralized Suspicion and Democratic Possibility

Authors

  • Sean Phelan Massey University/University of Antwerp Dual affiliation
  • Pieter Maeseele Associate Research Professor, University of Antwerp

Keywords:

critique, discourse theory, hermeneutics of suspicion, logic of equivalence, mainstream media, moralized rhetoric, reactionary politics

Abstract

How can we understand the critique of mainstream media (MSM) in a political moment where intense suspicion of media and journalism has been normalized in reactionary discourses? This article addresses this question from a discourse theoretical perspective that is supported by a corpus-assisted interpretivist analysis of how the terms “MSM” and “mainstream media” were articulated in a January 2021 sample of more than 11,000 tweets from different time zones. We begin by clarifying the political stakes of our argument and situating the historical emergence of “mainstream media” as a discursive category. Our Twitter analysis highlights the “logic of equivalence” established between mainstream media and other identities and the normalization of a moralized representation of media as a corrupt ally of government. We conclude by speculating on how we might affirm a radical democratic conception of media critique in a cultural context where anti-MSM rhetoric can float easily between different discourses and ideologies.

Author Biographies

Sean Phelan, Massey University/University of Antwerp Dual affiliation

Sean Phelan is an Associate Professor at the School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing Massey University, New Zealand and previously worked as a Marie Curie Fellow (2020–2022) at the Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp, Belgium. His publications include the monograph Neoliberalism, Media and the Political (Palgrave, 2014) and the edited book Discourse Theory and Critical MediaPolitics (Palgrave, 2011; with Lincoln Dahlberg).

Pieter Maeseele, Associate Research Professor, University of Antwerp

Pieter Maeseele’s research and teaching are situated on the nexus between media studies and political communication. He examines the role and performance of different formats, genres and styles of journalism and popular culture in terms of democratic debate, diversity and pluralism. These include professional journalism by legacy media (present and past); independent, digital news start-ups; news satire and comedy; and long-form television drama. He is vice-chair of the Antwerp Media in Society Centre and the IAMCR Environment, Science & Risk Communication WG.

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Published

2023-06-29

Issue

Vol. 17 (2023)

Section

Articles

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