The Construction of Higher Education Reality through Digital Media Discourse in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26740/jsm.v10n2.p448-479Kata Kunci:
media reality construction, communication selection, Niklas Luhmann, digital news media, higher educationAbstrak
Digital news media shape the public visibility of higher education through the selection of communication. However, limited research explains how media selection, temporal changes, and boundaries of visibility are interconnected. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory, this study examines how Kompas.com and Detik.com constructed the reality of higher education between 2014 and 2024. Using a qualitative approach informed by longitudinal media analysis, the study analyzes 1,469 news articles, comprising 514 from Kompas.com and 955 from Detik.com, with 84 purposively selected articles examined in greater textual depth. The analysis focuses on thematic selection, actor visibility, contextual emphasis, news selectors, reporting styles, and their continuity and change over time. The findings reveal distinct communication selection patterns between the outlets, particularly in thematic priorities, actor visibility, contextual emphasis, and reporting styles across two ministerial periods. The study also shows that the selection processes making certain issues visible simultaneously limit the visibility of others. From a systems-theoretical perspective, recurring and changing selections contribute to the ongoing construction of media reality without directly affecting public opinion or institutional policy. This study contributes to media sociology by integrating communication selection, temporal change, and selective visibility into an explanation of digital news media.
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