Theme 3, Blog Post 1: Research and Theory

According to Sutton and Staw, theory is the answer to the question “Why?” Theory aims to establish a connection between phenomena and to explain why acts, events, structures and thoughts occur, as well as why they occur at a particular moment and in a particular sequence. Gregor adds a looser definition of theory – “a mental view”, a “contemplation” or an idea of how something should be executed. In that sense, theory is something that enriches and/or tries to enrich our comprehension of the surrounding world. To do so, it has to rest on a traceable logic, otherwise our understanding will not be complete. 

To understand what theory is, it’s also important to at least briefly explain its aims. Gregor distinguishes between 5 types of theory based on their goal:

• Theory for Analyzing – Describes and analyzes a phenomenon, but not its causal relationships to other phenomena. It makes no predictions. Answers the question “What is?”;
• Theory for Explaining – Explains a phenomenon and the reasons behind it. Answers the questions “What is?”, “When?” and “Where?”, but mainly “How?” and “Why?” Makes no predictions;
• Theory for Predicting – Aims to predict a phenomenon and/or its outcomes, but doesn’t state the reasons behind them, nor does it explain in detail the causal relationships between variables. Contains testable propositions;
• Theory for Explaining and Predicting – Aims to predict a phenomenon and/or its outcomes and states the reasons behind them. Explains the causal relationships between variables. Contains testable propositions;
• Theory for Design and Action – States how something should be done; gives directions (methods, techniques, etc.).

Theory, Sutton and Staw argue, is NOT: 

• A list of references with no explanation of the authors' concepts and arguments and how those relate to the theory that is being constructed or tested;
• Data with not explanation of what it suggests and why it is important (why it has been or will be observed);
• Diagrams that don't show causal relationships and/or how a process unfolds over time, and are not accompanied by an explanation of their importance; 
• A list of variables and constructs with no explanation of the reasons behind them or the connection between them.
• A hypothesis and/or prediction with no statement of the reasons something is expected to occur.

My journal of choice is New Media & Society (Impact Factor of 3,110). It has been around since 1999 and publishes research in communication, media, cultural and political studies, sociology and anthropology, among other fields.

The article I have chosen (Cooperation with the corporation? CNN and the hegemonic cooptation of citizen journalism through iReport.com by Farooq A. Kperogi) is one I read while doing my Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. I chose it because at the time it made a strong impression on me and because now I want to challenge myself and my initial perception of it and see whether, having read the two articles on the theme, I will view it differently, especially since I have to be critical of it in this blog post.

In this article, Kperogi is using qualitative content analysis to examine CNN’s online platform for citizen journalism, iReport, for a period of 1 month, between April and May 2008. He refers to Marxist theory, and more specifically, to Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony to explain: 

• How the CNN strategically pretends to "negate the canons of journalistic orthodoxy" (p.324) and agree on a seemingly egalitarian definition of what constitutes news (“it’s just something that happens someplace to someone. Whether that something is newsworthy mostly depends on who it affects – and who’s making the decision. On iReport.com, that is you!” (iReport's "About us" page quoted in Kperogi, p.319)), while at the same time retains, and even enhances, its authority to decide what qualifies as news by choosing what user-generated material to use in its newscasts. Moreover, Kperogi examines the "Assignment Desk" section on the iReport website, "where CNN producers list topics for 'iReporters' to invstigate and report", thus, "[setting] the agenda for citizen journalists" (p.321);
• Why citizens voluntarily supply the CNN with free content, which the corporation generates profit from; and how, through iReport, the CNN gains access to a “a mine of free labor from all over the world” (p. 321). Kperogi points out that after he conducted the study, until shortly before the publishing of his research, citizens had generated over 200 000 news videos on iReport. 

On these two points, Kperogi refers to Gramsci’s theory that in capitalist societies the ruling class maintains its hegemony by manipulating the working class into believing its (the working class’s) values are “the ‘common sense’ values of all” (p.323). As a result, the subordinate groups are blissfully unaware of, and consent to, their subordination. 

• How the CNN maintains the illusion of giving authority to the subordinate classes by allowing “resistance” in the form of more radical views and criticism against itself and the dominant class to be expressed on iReport. Here Kperogi argues that the CNN maintains its hegemony not by smothering the opposition, but by carefully containing it.  

In that sense I think Gramsci’s theory of hegemony is of the explanatory type – it explains how the dominant class maintains its authority, how the subordinate classes are kept subordinate and why they reconcile with their subordination. It also provides an in-depth understanding of the relations between the ruling and the working class and their values. It does not, however, offer a way out of the position of subordination, nor does it give any predictions about how far the ruling class might go in its manipulations, nor what the latter might result in in the long run.