Dynamics of media hype: Interactivity of the media and the public

This chapter tries to integrate two theoretical components, media hype and social issue amplification, to understand the dynamics of social issue evolution in the internet environment. Due to the growing role of the public online, the amplification process is changing. By analysing a risk issue related to a new high-speed railway tunnel project in South Korea, the interactivities between the media and the public are explored using online data from major newspapers and messages on websites of public and non-profit agencies in the country. The results show that neither the media alone, nor the public by themselves can make a social issue develop into a ‘storm’. Extended media coverage can, however, attract strong public concern and vice versa, amplifying the issue.