Engagement Moderation

What Journalists Should Say to Improve Online Discussions

Bibliographic Data

ID12908669
AuthorsGina M Masullo (0000-0002-4909-2116, The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author), Martin J Riedl (0000-0003-2411-1998, The University of Texas at Austin), Q Elyse Huang (0000-0003-0024-0584, The University of Texas at Austin)
Year2020
Volume16
Issue4
Pages738-754
Publication date2020-08-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2020.1808858
OpenAlexW3074917242
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited75

The study put forth a new concept, which we call engagement moderation, that is defined as community managers or journalists interacting with commenters to improve the comment threads, rather than deleting comments. We then tested this concept using an experiment (N = 798) on a mock Facebook page of a news site. Results showed that if journalists employed engagement moderation and used what are called high-person-centered responses to incivility—messages that acknowledge the emotional pain or upset people may feel—it produced more positive attitudes toward the news outlet’s Facebook page, online community, and handling of incivility. Our findings provide guidance to news outlets regarding what type of messages are most beneficial if community managers or journalists enact engagement moderation by responding to uncivil commenters

Advertising · Business · Incivility · Moderation · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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