@article {2825,
	title = {The Making of contemporary papacy: manufactured charisma and Instagram},
	journal = {Information, Communication \& Society},
	year = {2019},
	abstract = {Recent research highlights the growth of alternative religious leadership on a global scale. In response, social media have emerged as platforms to compete for religious primacy. Accordingly, the study asks how is online religious authority constructed, re-affirmed and implemented by religious organizations? We contend that through online means, religious organizations are nowadays working to construct a public image to spark charismatic attraction towards institutional leaders. To investigate, we developed a grounded study that captured the full Instagram production of Pope Francis{\textquoteright} official account (429 images). Drawing on construal theory, findings demonstrated the strategic management of social, spatial, affective and hypothetical distance, simultaneously corresponding with uncovered facets: hierarchical positioning; geographical locales, haptic engagement, and leaders{\textquoteright} visual focus. Thus, we suggest introducing a concept of image-mediated-charisma, and its theoretical framing through digital distance. Concepts that were observed in the religious realm yet can be extended and applied to political or cultural leaders.},
	url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2019.1567803},
	author = {Golan, Oren and Martini, Michele}
}
@article {2755,
	title = {Religious live-streaming: constructing the authentic in real time},
	journal = {Information, Communication \& Society},
	year = {2019},
	abstract = {From the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to the Kaaba of Mecca, many religious sites are webcasting in live-streaming. This study inquires how religious institutions act to shape users{\textquoteright} worldviews and negotiate meanings via live-streaming-mediated communication. Ethnographic fieldwork accompanied a case study of 25 in-depth interviews of the Can{\c c}{\~a}o Nova and the Franciscan Order{\textquoteright}s recent media operation in the Holy Land. Findings uncovered three facets: (1) Evangelizing youth. (2) Establishing affinity towards the Holy Land. (3) Maintaining constant presence of the transcendental. Drawing on Walter Benjamin, proximity between believers and the divine via live-streaming is discussed and its implication for transforming the religious experience, establishing secondary authority in the Catholic world and propelling religious change in the information society.},
	url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1395472},
	author = {Golan, Oren and Martini, Michele}
}
@article {2754,
	title = {Digital pilgrimage: Exploring Catholic monastic webcasts},
	journal = {The Communication Review},
	year = {2018},
	abstract = {This study questions how religious webmasters view the objectives of their webcasting in relation to pilgrimage. Findings uncovered four facets: (1) mediation of the holy sites and experience; (2) bonding between Holy Land communities and global believers; (3) cultivating agents; (4) media experiences as a pilgrimage surrogate. Drawing on Walter Benjamin, the study elucidates how online videos evoke proximity to the sacred, thus connecting holy sites and believers, while affirming webmasters as secondary actors of religious authority.},
	doi = {10.1080/10714421.2017.1416795},
	url = {https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322215646_Digital_pilgrimage_Exploring_Catholic_monastic_webcasts},
	author = {Golan, Oren and Martini, Michele}
}
