Three Axes, One Legitimacy: Topic Modeling and Affective Covariates in the Journalistic Making of KPop Demon Hunters

Abstract

The press determines which digital-native cultural phenomena achieve legitimate narrative status for general audiences, yet empirical evidence on the emotional mechanisms of this legitimation remains scarce. We examine how the international press constructed and legitimized KPop Demon Hunters, the most-streamed Netflix title of 2025, through differentiated emotional modulation across thematic axes. Applying topic modeling (LDA) and a structural covariate design to 1,197 international press articles published between June and December 2025, we analyze sentiment polarity and emotional balance (VADER) as structural predictors of thematic prevalence. Three axes structure the coverage: cultural narrative (63 %), platform commerce (19%), and chart performance (18%). Sentiment balance (not polarity) is the strongest predictor of cultural narrative across six econometric specifications: articles with critical modulation of affect, rather than purely laudatory ones, construct the deepest cultural framing. Platform commerce displays the inverse pattern (high polarity, low balance), indicating limited editorial mediation of promotional tone. This emotional differentiation intensifies during peaks of journalistic activity: emotional gatekeeping operates as a dynamic mechanism whose intensity covaries with informational pressure. The findings reveal the emotional dimension of gatekeeping: the press does not apply a uniform affective profile but modulates affect differentially according to each thematic axis's discursive function, an aspect of cultural legitimation not previously documented. The two-stage design offers a replicable framework for of digital-native entertainment phenomena.