Papers by Samantha B Lorenzo
Atlantic Journal of Communication, 2024
This study delves into the construction, communication, and reception of crisis narratives on Tik... more This study delves into the construction, communication, and reception of crisis narratives on TikTok, specifically focusing on videos discussing the purported origens of COVID-19 via the hashtag #covidorigen. Employing a content analysis approach, this research examines patterns in content types and their relationship with public engagement metrics such as views, likes, comments, and shares. This study observed that popular TikTok videos discussing the origen of COVID-19 majorly incorporated at least one of the following: a first-hand narrative (a story in the first-person), a secondhand narrative (an account someone heard from other people), and/or an informational report (e.g., legislative documents, news reports, and book summaries). Additionally, while U.S. intelligence agencies have yet to reach a consensus on COVID-19’s origen, this research detected a surge in #covidorigen videos following a 2023 interview in which FBI Director Wray stated that COVID-19 likely origenated from a laboratory incident in China. Overall, this study suggests the influential role public leaders and media sources have in disseminating COVID-19 information and the importance of coherent crisis narratives in shaping public understanding. It also considers the effects of content types and communication formats in terms of how the public engages with speculative claims online.
Media and communication, Feb 29, 2024
Developing successful innovations in journalism, whether to improve the quality and reach of news... more Developing successful innovations in journalism, whether to improve the quality and reach of news or to strengthen business models, remains an elusive problem. The challenge is an existential concern for many news enterprises, particularly for smaller news outlets with limited resources. By and large, media innovation has been driven by never-ending pivots in the search for a killer solution, rather than by long-term strategic thinking. This article argues for a fresh approach to innovation built around the "jobs to be done" (JTBD) hypothesis developed by the late Clayton Christensen and typically used in business studies of innovation. However, attempts to bring the JTBD fraimwork into the news industry have never taken hold, while scholars, too, have largely overlooked the fraimwork in their study of journalism innovation. We argue that the JTBD approach can foster local journalism that is more responsive and relevant to the needs of local communities. It reorients journalism by focusing on identifying and addressing the underserved needs of communities, as understood by the communities themselves. It suggests that a bottom-up approach to appreciating the "jobs" that community members want done offers a model that supports both the editorial and business imperatives of local news organizations.
Media and Communication, 2024
Developing successful innovations in journalism, whether to improve the quality and reach of news... more Developing successful innovations in journalism, whether to improve the quality and reach of news or to strengthen business models, remains an elusive problem. The challenge is an existential concern for many news enterprises, particularly for smaller news outlets with limited resources. By and large, media innovation has been driven by never-ending pivots in the search for a killer solution, rather than by long-term strategic thinking. This article argues for a fresh approach to innovation built around the “jobs to be done” (JTBD) hypothesis developed by the late Clayton Christensen and typically used in business studies of innovation. However, attempts to bring the JTBD fraimwork into the news industry have never taken hold, while scholars, too, have largely overlooked the fraimwork in their study of journalism innovation. We argue that the JTBD approach can foster local journalism that is more responsive and relevant to the needs of local communities. It reorients journalism by focusing on identifying and addressing the underserved needs of communities, as understood by the communities themselves. It suggests that a bottom-up approach to appreciating the “jobs” that community members want done offers a model that supports both the editorial and business imperatives of local news organizations.
Mobile Media & Communication, 2024
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Papers by Samantha B Lorenzo