Text and Talk at Work

Text and Talk at Work: Communication in the Professions
Gent, Belgium – August 16-19, 2000

Talking Political Trash: Cyberchat Discourse of Middle- and Working-Class NJ Towns
Friday, August 18, 2000
Susana M. Sotillo, Montclair State University Sotillos@mail.montclair.edu

This study investigates the cyber discourse of five New Jersey towns. Postings to six separate threads over a three-month period are analyzed using TACT
and a critical discourse analytical (CDA) approach (Fairclough & Wodak, 1997; Fowler, 1996; and van Dijk, 1996, 1997). These towns represent a cross-section
of the population of the State of New Jersey.

Procedures

First, threads from a county-wide chat board (or electronic bulletin board) were converted to textual databases and analyzed using TACT (version 2.1).
Next, we generated frequency lists in descending order and identified the most frequently occurring content words (e.g., Corzine (212), people (51),
comrade (29)). Following a careful reading of each posted message, we used the Query function to examine groups of words or phrases frequently used by the
participants (e.g., "bold ideas"):

(194) ¦

Corzine for US Senate: That last post is spot on! Corzine = _ ¦
COMMIE Title:John Corzine for US _ ¦
Senate: Corzine says he has "bold ideas"? Universal this and _ ¦
universal that are not bold ideas. They are representative of the same tired, empty
promises of statist elites who will ¦never have to live in the world they've created for us.
Want to see
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(218) ¦

Corzine for US Senate:Anonymous Corzine: Another yuppie know it all who believes
your paycheck is his to decide where to spend. Title:John Corzine for US _ ¦
Senate: "Bold" ideas, covered with mold. Been there, done that. _ ¦
This socialized medicine stuff is a delusion most sensible people outgrow by age 22.
Reality, unlike the world of a multimillionaire yuppie, does not tolerate such things.
Go to the old soviet union, Comrade Corzine. Look at what your "bold" ideas did. Title:¦

This helped us identify the number of individuals posting to each thread and the number of times each individual posted a message. We then used
the KWIC and Variable Context displays in order to examine frequently occurring words that encoded specific meanings relevant to the topic
under discussion:

socialist (22) ¦

Italian or otherwise. Title:John Corzine for US Senate:AnonymousI _
¦value my heritage AND my paycheck. ¦
To hell with Corzine and his socialist medicine. Haven't you idiots learned ¦
anything from the collapse of the Soviet Union? Everything has a price. _ ¦
Nothing is free. Corzine is selling a used car lemon to voters. Title:_ ¦
-------------------------------------------------------------------- (108) ¦
John Corzine for US Senate:Frank, ¦
Take it Easy!You are a liar. Why are you referring to Corzine's _ ¦
proposal for universal health care as socialist medicine asshole? Do you _ ¦
understand what socialism means? Are you so full of venom for Corzine that ¦
you can't reason logically? We have ¦

Once the topic had been identified, we counted the number of postings and participants, and analyzed the use of pronouns, nominalizations,
wh-questions, verbs expressing mental states, and use of "because" as a subordinator.

Research Questions

Three research questions are addressed in this study:
(1) What is the main topic of concern or underlying theme in each of the six threads?
(2) What is the tone of the discourse and organization of arguments?
(3) What types of strategic functions are accomplished by the participants’ use of lexicon and syntax?

Results

Table 1. Topic Choice, Tone and Organization of Discourse and Strategic Functions

Thread Title	Topic Choice or Underlying Theme	Tone and Organization of Discourse -- Strategic Functions Accomplished
Jon Corzine for US Senate Total No. of Postings: 112 No. of Participants: 16	The discussion centers around Jon Corzine’s lavish campaign for the US senate. His major opponent in the primaries is Jim Florio, a former New Jersey Governor with a large following in the southern part of the state. Individuals opposed to his candidacy appeal to the fears and prejudices of the cyber audience. Corzine’s supporters fight back denouncing the red baiting tactics employed by conservative anti- Corzine voters and Florio supporters.	Agonistic or adversarial: participants exchange information and insults. Corzine critics try to persuade opponents and the cyber audience at large by using stereotypes and exaggerated claims. Lurkers who eventually post present facts and try to clarify misinformation. Negatively charged adjectives and nouns are used repeatedly in an effort to convince voters not to vote for Corzine. For example, "socialist nuts," "socialized medicine," and "yuppie" are words frequently co-occurring which are used to discredit Corzine and instill fear among voters.
Vic is Running for 3^rd Ward Total No. of Postings: 165 No. of Participants: 9	This thread consists primarily of ad hominem arguments directed at a candidate for Town Council. As one of her detractors succinctly puts it: "It is about a candidate who doesn’t pay taxes, has the mental ability of a flea, and totally lacks class or dignity." Vic’s detractors lash out against her alleged lack of competence and tax delinquency.	Ad hominem arguments: opposition and criticism predominate. Some information is exchanged warning potential voters against casting their votes for Vic. The first and last names of county-wide and local politicians are often invoked by Vic’s opponents to disparage her candidacy. They point out that a well-known Republican district leader, noted for her conservative agenda, is financing her campaign.
Roselle Park Police Department Total No. of Postings: 101 Total No. of Participants: 25	There are 25 different participants posting to this thread. The major topic of discussion is the Roselle Park Police Department. This is primarily a middle-class township. The discussion revolves around the perceived incompetence of police officers and supervisors. There are back and forth vicious exchanges about alleged mismanagement of funds, nepotism, officers in supervisory capacity catering to politicians, and a local politician’s interference with the internal affairs of the Police Department.	Critical and complaint motivated. A careful reading reveals that there are as many as 11 police officers posting to this thread. They have specific knowledge about the goings on in the department as the following exchange shows: "From: Breaking news. 500 dollars from OEM budget spent on food to feed cops on Overtime for several days… I thought the money was only there to assist the public in EMERGENCY'S priorities. Oh that’s right all the fatties were hungry. How much money did they make in overtime? Some get 30 to 45 an hour...you add it up.. Oh and I have the receipts …a friend of the department."
Clark Politics Total No. of Postings: 99 Total No. of Participants: 24	This is an extremely heated discussion involving members of the Democratic and Republican parties. The discussion focuses on the town’s Mayor and a candidate running for Town Council. Three of the participants sign their names and are well known in town. One participant, Charles, criticizes the Mayor and one of the local papers, Clark Patriot, for disregarding the rights and concerns of residents in one area of town (Dawn Drive) and pushing forth plans to convert a community park into a parking lot: "Why aren’t you jumping up and down and screaming about what E. and his puppets are doing to the residents of Dawn Drive? Could it be you can’t because your lips are stuck to the mayor’s ass"?	Agonistic, critical, persuasive and informative thread. The purpose of the exchanges is to persuade voters not to vote for the Democratic candidate. This is a lengthy discussion where individuals representing different political orientations express their views, construct arguments against the current administration and provide facts to back up their claims. One of the participants posted 10 different messages that included copied and pasted newspaper articles discussing Clark Township’s historical past, present environmental concerns, and recent political developments. He/she also provided a useful commentary following these news stories. This proved to be very informative and helped place the current political rivalries in context.
Another Cesspool in Bloomfield Total No. of Postings: 103 Total No. of Participants: 13	The discussion focuses on the deplorable working conditions found in the Department of Public Works building (DPW). The building poses a health hazard to workers because of the accumulation of pigeon droppings and contamination from asbestos, chromium and mercury. Individuals posting to this thread are DPW workers who are outraged because the Mayor and Council have done nothing to alleviate their problems. They also resent Council spending $500,000 on yet another fire truck for the Fire Department while ignoring their urgent needs.	Adversarial and resentful postings from workers against their immediate supervisors and the town’s governing body. There is a class struggle taking place. Rage is expressed in the posted messages by DPW workers against their bosses and the township for ignoring the health hazards: "Several workers have health problems directly caused by the conditions there.". Exchanges between DPW critics and workers are acrimonious as the following message shows: "Well hello hard worker. You’re back, and with another dumb remark I see. You’re still trying to blame Maru for the condition of the DPW garage..."
Union Election Total No. of Postings: 110 Total No. of Participants: 11	This is an extremely informative thread. Though the topic of discussion involves local and county politics, posters exchange very useful information with the cyber audience. For example, one of the anonymous posters outlines a list of criteria for restructuring municipal government. The list includes 11 major issues ranging from work descriptions and schedules to the allegedly high salaries paid to two consultants for a viable plan to develop the business district. A major topic of discussion revolves around Hurricane Floyd’s aftermath. Several residents voice their appreciation for the excellent response of the DPW workers, the Fire Department and the Police Department. Lack of political representation of blacks and women who make up more than 30% of Union’s population is also discussed by a poster who is later accused by others of trying to pass himself as African American: "Bad impersonation of an Afro American, you called yourself ‘Vauxhall Voice’ in the past."	Information exchange, adversarial, problem-solving approach to town-wide issues. Posters to this thread present facts and information about current issues facing Union Township and propose solutions: "Let’s make all Department officials obligated to be present in their office from the start of the Municipal government business day…" And, "Since Public Works crews are known to work on weekends, let’s open up the Recycling areas and the DPW yard on Saturdays." Another poster encourages participants to make politicians aware of the information posted on the Union Thread: "If they choose to ignore this info, they are not maximizing the resource potential of posts to these threads in this modern electronic information age..." He is also very aware of the wider cyber audience: "The Democrats should also instruct Mr. Kobran (our Grants researcher) to contact Senators Lautenberg and Torricelli in DC for some help with funding for the bridge upgrades…By posting here, lots of folks should now know about the study…" The postings end with a report of the election results and a combative exchange between a Democrat and Republican.

Table 2. Total No. of Words and Total No. of Different Words in Cyberchat Discourse

Words, Postings and Participants in Cyberchat Discourse	Corzine for US Senate (Nutley/Union)	Vic is running for 3^rd Ward	Another Cesspool in Bloomfield	Clark Politics	Union Election	Roselle Park Police Department
Total No. of Words	13362	12554	6279	13570	10722	6040
Total No. of Different Words	2849	2339	1432	2977	2704	1591
Type/Token Ratio	(0.21)	(0.19)	(0.23)	(0.22)	(0.25)	(0.26)

Table 3. Proportion of Nominalizations in Cyberchat Discourse

Proportion of Nominalizations	Corzine for US Senate (Nutley/ Union)	Vic is running for 3^rd Ward	Another Cesspool in Bloomfield	Clark Politics	Union Election	Roselle Park Police Department
-tion/sion -ment -ity -ness Total	53% 38% 6% 3% 146	56% 30% 14% 0% 92	53% 15% 29% 3% 21	67% 21% 12% 0% 73	35% 40% 24% 1% 91	58% 19% 23% 0% 26

Table 4. Wh-Questions in Cyberchat Discourse of Middle- and Working-Class NJ Towns

Wh-Questions	Corzine for US Senate (Nutley/ Union)	Vic is running for 3^rd Ward	Another Cesspool in Bloomfield	Clark Politics	Union Election	Roselle Park Police Department
What	28%	26%	32%	22%	24%	29%
Who	6%	23%	3%	22%	3%	9%
Why	33%	21%	27%	38%	52%	24%
How	33%	30%	38%	18%	21%	38%
Total	60	62	37	37	33	21

Table 5. Pronoun Usage in Cyberchat Discourse of Middle- and Working-Class NJ Towns (Raw Counts)

Pronouns	Corzine for US Senate (Nutley/ Union)	Vic is running for 3^rd Ward	Another Cesspool in Bloomfield	Clark Politics	Union Election	Roselle Park Police Department	Totals
I	70	90	37	81	82	62	422
We	36	67	32	33	49	16	233
Our	20	28	11	5	29	11	104
Us	11	24	9	8	12	6	70
You	213	172	139	82	43	97	746
Your	62	53	39	18	8	34	214
They	52	49	32	56	53	48	290
Their	27	24	16	24	35	10	136
Them	9	21	10	15	11	4	70

Table 6. Use of "because" as Subordinator in Structuring Arguments

Because as a subordinator: "People criticize the Local Source because most people post anonymously."	Corzine for US Senate (Nutley/ Union)	Vic is running for 3^rd Ward	Another Cesspool in Bloomfield	Clark Politics	Union Election	Roselle Park Police Department
Totals	27	19	9	20	13	4

Table 7. Frequently Occurring Verbs Denoting Activities and Mental States

Verbs	Corzine for US Senate	Vic is running for 3^rd Ward	Another Cesspool in Bloomfield	C lark Politics	Union Election	Roselle Park Police Department
Believe	4	13	0	2	3	12
Feel	3	0	1	5	3	1
Know	21	40	15	12	27	21
Think	23	27	15	8	11	12

Selected References

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