The Deliberation on Reader Commentary by Portuguese Online Newspaper Readers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31211/interacoes.n39.2020.a6Keywords:
deliberation, online news commentary, José Sócrates, JN, ObservadorAbstract
Starting with the deliberative democracy model, and the approach by some of its authors, this article aims to analyze the discourse developed in commentary sections of news on Portuguese online media.
If technology favors democratic participation, in what way can the communication done through it obey the requirements for the deliberation to have the necessary conditions to develop in the virtual public sphere?
Forums created by online newspapers are potential deliberation spaces. They give participants the opportunity to freely communicate and discuss ideas on a particular topic.
This paper presents a case study on online deliberation, analyzing the commentary on news on José Sócrates' disaffiliation from the Portuguese Socialist Party, published on the online outlets of Jornal de Notícias and Observador.
In conclusion, the commentary sections tend not to comply with the normative requirements of the public sphere. Although they present the common constraints of online public conversation, they still manage to develop democratic interaction. With the host newspapers taking a closer look on the commentary sections, their potential for debating relevant topics in the public sphere could be improved.
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