Media Audiences| The Internet as a Cultural Forum: A European Perspective

Authors

  • Galit Nimrod Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
  • Hanna Adoni Sammy Ofer School of Communication, Herzlia Interdisciplinary Center, Israel
  • Hillel Nossek The College of Management, Academic Studies, Israel

Keywords:

communicative practices, cross-cultural comparison, audiences, sociodemographics, synchronicity

Abstract

Jensen and Helles’ model for studying the Internet as a cultural forum describes six prototypical communicative practices based on synchronicity and number of participants. This study seeks to examine the validity of their model in a broader intercultural setting. Using data from a large-scale, cross-European research project, the study reveals that mass media, particularly the synchronous media (television and radio), maintain their place as the most time-consuming communicative practice, and that there is a somewhat greater intensity of many-to-many practices than one-to-one practices. Many significant differences among subsegments of the sample are also reported. The results reflect inclinations and trends that were well documented in recent audience research. Consequently, they support the applicability of the model and demonstrate its strength.

Author Biographies

Galit Nimrod, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

Galit Nimrod, Ph.D., Fulbright scholar, is an associate professor at the Department of Communication Studies and a research fellow at the Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

Hanna Adoni, Sammy Ofer School of Communication, Herzlia Interdisciplinary Center, Israel

Professor and Deputy Dean for Academic AffairsSammy Ofer School of Communication, Herzlia Interdisciplinary Center, Israel

Hillel Nossek, The College of Management, Academic Studies, Israel

Professor and DeanSchool of Media Studies, The College of Management, Academic Studies, Israel

Downloads

Published

2015-01-30

Issue

Section

Special Sections