@article {2114, title = {Fundamentalist web journalism: Walking a fine line between religious ultra-Orthodoxy and the new media ethos}, journal = {European Journal of Communication}, volume = {33}, year = {2018}, pages = {304-320}, abstract = {New media journalism has perturbed traditional reporting not only in mainstream-modern societies but also within religious-cum-insular communities. Focusing on the Jewish ultra-Orthodox community in Israel and in light of web journalists{\textquoteright} continuous struggle with leading clergy and an apprehensive public, this study grapples with the question, {\textquoteleft}How do ultra-Orthodox web journalists view their work mission as information brokers for an enclave culture?{\textquoteright} The study gleaned from 40 in-depth interviews with web journalists and discussions with community web activists. Results uncovered three major schemata that drive their praxis: (1) Communal-Haredi, (2) Western-Democratic and (3) Journalist Ecosystem. Findings suggest a rising archetype of fundamentalist web journalism that rests its professional ethos on writers{\textquoteright} practice, rather than on formalized training or communal dictums. Web journalists were found to strongly identify with their community, yet, often unintentionally, also act as a secondary form of authority and harbingers of change.}, keywords = {fundamentalism, journalist motivations, new media and religion, online journalism, religion, religion and media, ultra-Orthodox, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, web journalism}, url = {http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0267323118763928}, author = {Golan, O and Mishol-Shauli, N} } @article {2144, title = {Online Ultra-Orthodox Religious Communities as a Third Space: A Netnographic Study}, journal = {International Journal of Communication }, volume = {11}, year = {2017}, abstract = {This research applies a netnographic approach to explore the extent to which online communities function as a third space that supports a networked religion. Five months of observation at a leading online ultra-Orthodox Jewish forum revealed four chief characteristics: religious{\textendash}secular discussion{\textemdash}the forum served as a platform for religious discourse as well as a sphere for discussing a wide range of subjects unrelated to religion; identity game{\textemdash}members constantly played two types of identity games: personal and group; intense activity{\textemdash}the forum was characterized by rather intense activity patterns; and a unique religious expressiveness{\textemdash}this was reflected in textual and visual representations and exhibited in online debates. Findings indicate that the forum offers its members a third space of digital religion that is hybrid in any possible sense and reinforces a lively networked religion. While it aims at enabling serious discussion of religious matters, it also serves members as a social sphere in which they can communicate about extrareligious issues; express their personalities, skills and opinions; and even play with their anonymous peers.}, keywords = {Judaism, netnography, networked religion, online communities, Spirituality, third space, ultra-Orthodox}, url = {http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/6515}, author = {Okun, S and Nimrod, G} }