The Emergence of “Online Influencers” and the Blurring of Lines between Objectivity and Subjectivity

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether, and to what extent, hosts of current affairs programmes in South Korea employ various modes of subjectivity in their radio broadcasts. Subjectivity was examined through the following measures: (1) the frequency of subjective language use, such as first-person pronouns, opinions or evaluations, and narrative storytelling; (2) the types of interviewees invited by the hosts; (3) the nature of the issues selected and discussed; and (4) the extent to which the interviewees and issues were aligned with political affiliations, such as the ruling or opposition parties. Based on a content analysis of 129 episodes from South Korean current affairs radio programmes, the study found that both online influencers and journalists affiliated with news organisations frequently employed first-person pronouns and subjective evaluations during broadcasts. In terms of interviewee selection, approximately seven in 10 guests (68.2%) were politicians, although hosts tended to include representatives from both the ruling and opposition parties. However, with regard to issue selection, programmes hosted by online influencers demonstrated a higher degree of source subjectivity, as the issues discussed more closely reflected the host’s own political orientation.