- 學位論文
「重新界定臺灣」——左翼另類媒體《破土》的社會網絡與實踐
“Relocating Taiwan”: Exploring New Bloom's Impact as an Alternative Media Platform in the Digital Age
摘要
本論文旨在探討於 2014 年成立的左翼另類媒體《破土》（New Bloom），其成立受美國佔領華爾街運動啟發，主要活躍於台灣，並以英文為主要發表語言。該媒體的核心目標在於提供「對台灣及亞太地區議題的激進觀點」，同時力求構建跨國性的左翼政治和智識交流對話。因此，本研究聚焦於三個核心研究問題：（一）《破土》自成立以來所刊載與傳播的內容為何？（二）其在社交媒體平台Twitter上所形成的社群特徵為何？是否具有跨國性？（三）該媒體在不同層面上所帶來的影響為何？ 本研究以混合研究方法回應上述研究問題。在量化方面，利用 R 程式語言進行網路爬蟲，擷取《破土》網站自成立以來的所有文章（共 3,059 篇），並運用自動化文本分析模型STM（Structural Topic Modeling）解析文章主題，從而回答首個研究問題：該媒體過去發佈了哪些主題，並呈現了何種內容？隨後，針對第二個研究問題，本研究蒐集了《破土》在 Twitter上的全部追蹤者（共10,657 位）的相關資訊，以及該媒體所發布的所有推文（共6,317 則）及轉發推文（共 46,141則）。透過 OpenStreetMap，分析了《破土》追蹤者的地理分佈情形；並進一步運用社會網絡分析工具 Gephi，視覺化呈現追蹤者之間的社會網絡關係，並對其進行深入分析。最終，本文運用質性方法對《破土》成員進行訪談，以解答第三個研究問題。 研究結果顯示，《破土》關注的主題涵蓋台灣內政、COVID-19、香港政治、台灣社會議題以及跨國議題等。該媒體確實形成以美國、台灣和香港知識份子及離散社群（Diaspora）為主體的社群網絡。此研究不僅彌補了過去對台灣英語媒體研究的缺口，更以全新的研究取徑探究台灣獨立媒體，並成為首篇探討台灣獨立媒體跨國面向的學術論文。透過新聞報導與經營位於台北的實體場所「Daybreak Cafe」，《破土》不僅實踐另類媒體的批判角色，更促成認同塑造和跨國行動者網絡的社群建構。藉由反覆地言說和行動，我們得以不斷重新界定「台灣」。
並列摘要
This study aims to comprehensively investigate New Bloom, a left-wing alternative media platform founded in 2014, inspired by the U.S. Occupy Wall Street movement. Operating primarily in Taiwan and utilizing English as its principal publication language, New Bloom is dedicated to offering "radical perspectives on Taiwan and the Asia Pacific" and endeavoring to foster cross-national dialogues in left-wing politics and intellectual discourse. Accordingly, this research centers on three primary inquiries: (1) What types of content has New Bloom produced and disseminated since its inception? (2) What distinct characteristics define the community it has cultivated on the social media platform Twitter, and does this community exhibit transnational attributes? (3) What multifaceted impacts has this media outlet generated across varying levels? To address these research queries, a mixed-methods approach is employed. On the quantitative front, the R programming language is employed to conduct web scraping, amassing all articles (N = 3,059) published by New Bloom since its establishment. Subsequently, the Structural Topic Modeling (STM) method, a semi-automated text analysis model, is applied to decode prevalent themes and contents, thus providing insights into the first research question. Consecutively, in response to the second research query, this study aggregates comprehensive data about all Twitter followers (N = 10,657) of New Bloom, as well as all tweets (N = 6,317) posted by the platform and retweets (N = 46,141) of its content. Leveraging OpenStreetMap, geographical distribution among New Bloom's followers is analyzed. Furthermore, the Gephi software is harnessed for social network analysis, offering both visualization and in-depth analysis of the intricate social network relationships among New Bloom's followers. Ultimately, qualitative interviews are conducted with New Bloom members to provide insight into the third research question. The research findings underscore New Bloom's engagement with a spectrum of themes, including Taiwan's domestic politics, COVID-19, Hong Kong's political landscape, Taiwanese societal concerns, and transnational subjects. Significantly, the platform effectively forges a community primarily composed of intellectuals and diasporic groups from the United States, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. This research endeavors to address a gap in the study of English-language media within Taiwan, adopting innovative methodologies to investigate Taiwan's independent media scene. This study is notable as the first to explore the transnational dimension of Taiwan's independent media. Through news dissemination and the operation of Daybreak Cafe, a physical space in Taipei, New Bloom fulfills not only a critical role in alternative media but also shapes identity and nurtures cross-national activist networks within its community. Through iterative discourse and action, the very notion of "Taiwan" is continually redefined/ relocated.