| This study is an initial exploration of virtual-world media, particularly newspapers in the virtual world Second Life. Second Life newspapers are operationally defined as media products in Second Life that identify themselves as virtual renditions of the real-world medium of the print newspaper. Two of Second Life's most prominent publications, The Metaverse Messenger and the Second Life Herald, are investigated through descriptive content analysis to determine the subjects covered by the newspapers and the amount of coverage dedicated to Second Life, the real world, or both. Results reveal that community-related stories are most reported by each publication but suggest that the publications may have different news agendas. Overall, newspaper content contains references to both the real and virtual worlds, but these references seem to be made with varying degrees of awareness to the virtual-real connection and necessitate continued research. Methodological concerns regarding the content analysis of virtual-world media are documented. |
