Conceptualizing the Online Discussion Value: On the Causes, Conditions, and Consequences of Media-Stimulated Interpersonal Communication on Mass-Media Websites

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So far, there is no theoretical model to explain and predict public online user discussions on mass-media websites. This form of communication, a part of online media-stimulated interpersonal communication, is in fact developing into a mass phenomenon, thus bearing both political and social (opinion leadership, online participation) as well as economic (inclusion of user-generated content) and journalistic (feedback for journalists) significance. The main aims of this project are to identify factors that stimulate and shape online user discussions as well as to determine the impact of these factors on user participation decisions and on the content of the discussions. The main theoretical premise is news value theory which is assumed not only to explain part of the journalistic selection and message production, but also the causes and content of user comments. It is assumed that news factors (event characteristics), and their representation in the news stimulate the need of internet users to comment on news items. In addition, the characteristics of published comments, called