{"title":"Media Consolidation and News Content Diversity: A Deductive Framing Analysis of Belgian Refugee News Coverage","authors":"Michael Pakvis, Jonathan Hendrickx","doi":"10.1080/17512786.2023.2263414","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTGrowing groups of scholars express fears that rising media ownership consolidation negatively affects news content diversity. Existing research has mainly focused on quantitative studies, thereby somewhat neglecting the qualitative component. To fill this gap in scholarship, we combine news content homogeneity studies with framing analysis to assess how discourse in reporting related to the refugee crisis changed across four newspapers from Belgium (Flanders) between 2010, 2015 and 2020, a time during which they all underwent major ownership changes. Our findings suggest limited effects of ownership concentration on frames and discourse, indicating a more nuanced picture among alarmist findings. We do argue, however, that media concentration and the increased collaborations between newsrooms of the same parent company can do more harm than good. We position our findings within the specificalities of the Flemish media market as well as international research, both from a news (content) diversity and a framing studies vantage point.KEYWORDS: Media consolidationnews diversityframing analysisqualitative researchnews coveragecase study Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 The four newspapers chosen are amongst those with constant high circulation numbers in Belgium. Most recent numbers show that the Standaard has a reach of 457.000 readers per day in print and digital edition. Reach of Nieuwsblad is counted together with other popular regional newspapers, amounting to a total of 1.595.000 readers (Mediahuis 2022). Daily reach of de Morgen is 285.000 whereas Het Laatste Nieuws reaches 1.482.000 readers (DPG Media, Citationn.d.)2 GoPress, since our study rebranded as BelgaPress, is the official Belgian online news content repository, hosted by the national agency but featuring content from all leading print and online news outlets. It offers an interface of all Flemish newspaper publications free to utilise for research. It automatically archives publications for the purpose of potential research interests. These are available according to timeframes or theme one is looking for.3 As a multi-language federal state, Belgium has multiple regions, communities and governments across linguistic and geographical divides. However, only the federal government has the mandate to regulate migration to the country. As such, we only take these government constellations into account.","PeriodicalId":47909,"journal":{"name":"Journalism Practice","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journalism Practice","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2023.2263414","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"COMMUNICATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACTGrowing groups of scholars express fears that rising media ownership consolidation negatively affects news content diversity. Existing research has mainly focused on quantitative studies, thereby somewhat neglecting the qualitative component. To fill this gap in scholarship, we combine news content homogeneity studies with framing analysis to assess how discourse in reporting related to the refugee crisis changed across four newspapers from Belgium (Flanders) between 2010, 2015 and 2020, a time during which they all underwent major ownership changes. Our findings suggest limited effects of ownership concentration on frames and discourse, indicating a more nuanced picture among alarmist findings. We do argue, however, that media concentration and the increased collaborations between newsrooms of the same parent company can do more harm than good. We position our findings within the specificalities of the Flemish media market as well as international research, both from a news (content) diversity and a framing studies vantage point.KEYWORDS: Media consolidationnews diversityframing analysisqualitative researchnews coveragecase study Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 The four newspapers chosen are amongst those with constant high circulation numbers in Belgium. Most recent numbers show that the Standaard has a reach of 457.000 readers per day in print and digital edition. Reach of Nieuwsblad is counted together with other popular regional newspapers, amounting to a total of 1.595.000 readers (Mediahuis 2022). Daily reach of de Morgen is 285.000 whereas Het Laatste Nieuws reaches 1.482.000 readers (DPG Media, Citationn.d.)2 GoPress, since our study rebranded as BelgaPress, is the official Belgian online news content repository, hosted by the national agency but featuring content from all leading print and online news outlets. It offers an interface of all Flemish newspaper publications free to utilise for research. It automatically archives publications for the purpose of potential research interests. These are available according to timeframes or theme one is looking for.3 As a multi-language federal state, Belgium has multiple regions, communities and governments across linguistic and geographical divides. However, only the federal government has the mandate to regulate migration to the country. As such, we only take these government constellations into account.
期刊介绍：
ournalism Practice provides opportunities for reflective, critical and research-based studies focused on the professional practice of journalism. The emphasis on journalism practice does not imply any false or intellectually disabling disconnect between theory and practice, but simply an assertion that Journalism Practice’s primary concern is to analyse and explore issues of practice and professional relevance. Journalism Practice is an intellectually rigorous journal with all contributions being refereed anonymously by acknowledged international experts in the field. An intellectually lively, but professionally experienced, Editorial Board with a wide-ranging experience of journalism practice advises and supports the Editor. Journalism Practice is devoted to: the study and analysis of significant issues arising from journalism as a field of professional practice; relevant developments in journalism training and education, as well as the construction of a reflective curriculum for journalism; analysis of journalism practice across the distinctive but converging media platforms of magazines, newspapers, online, radio and television; and the provision of a public space for practice-led, scholarly contributions from journalists as well as academics. Journalism Practice’s ambitious scope includes: the history of journalism practice; the professional practice of journalism; journalism training and education; journalism practice and new technology; journalism practice and ethics; and journalism practice and policy.
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
分享
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
扫码关注我们
