Pub Date : 2023-11-13DOI: 10.1177/14648849231214675
Hannah Greber, Sophie Lecheler, Loes Aaldering, Yael de Haan, Sanne Kruikemeier, Nele Goutier, Kiki de Bruin
There has been limited adoption of Immersive Journalism (IJ) by the audience; simultaneously, the audience’s perspective is rarely considered in the production and research of IJ. At this point, however, it is crucial to incorporate an audience perspective to identify potentially unintended effects of IJ and improve on the innovation of IJ. This study investigates the audience’s experience and evaluation of IJ by qualitatively analyzing their thoughts after viewing two IJ cases. Our results indicate that the audience may pick up on intended effects, such as a sense of presence and an intense emotional experience, but some also express unease towards these effects. Furthermore, the audience struggles to comprehend this study’s two immersive journalistic cases as part of the journalistic genre. These findings provide insight into the gap between the initial hype and the current reality of IJ and provide the basis for propositions for future IJ productions.
{"title":"Uncovering the audience perspective: A qualitative analysis of experiences and evaluations of two immersive journalism productions in the Netherlands","authors":"Hannah Greber, Sophie Lecheler, Loes Aaldering, Yael de Haan, Sanne Kruikemeier, Nele Goutier, Kiki de Bruin","doi":"10.1177/14648849231214675","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231214675","url":null,"abstract":"There has been limited adoption of Immersive Journalism (IJ) by the audience; simultaneously, the audience’s perspective is rarely considered in the production and research of IJ. At this point, however, it is crucial to incorporate an audience perspective to identify potentially unintended effects of IJ and improve on the innovation of IJ. This study investigates the audience’s experience and evaluation of IJ by qualitatively analyzing their thoughts after viewing two IJ cases. Our results indicate that the audience may pick up on intended effects, such as a sense of presence and an intense emotional experience, but some also express unease towards these effects. Furthermore, the audience struggles to comprehend this study’s two immersive journalistic cases as part of the journalistic genre. These findings provide insight into the gap between the initial hype and the current reality of IJ and provide the basis for propositions for future IJ productions.","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"40 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136281882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-13DOI: 10.1177/14648849231215194
Aliya Andrich, Emese Domahidi
In the present study, we investigate gender bias against politicians in a large set of news articles ( n = 1,139,571) published in major media outlets in the United States between 2010 and 2020 by tracing changes in reporting about 1,095 US politicians. Using topic modeling with latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), we identify main policy-related topics in media reports. We find gender differences in the coverage of certain policy issues, with major imbalances explained by societal factors. Specifically, we show that women in high-level political positions receive less media coverage than their male counterparts and women in less powerful positions on economic and national security issues. However, women and men in less influential positions do not differ in the amount and type of reporting they garner. Since women are still underrepresented in leadership positions, the US media may inadvertently reflect and reinforce existing gender biases in society by devoting more attention to high-profile politicians, who are overwhelmingly male. Although our longitudinal analysis shows positive changes, the gender gap in reporting continues to exist.
{"title":"Still facing the ‘paper ceiling’? Exploring gender differences in political news coverage of the last decade","authors":"Aliya Andrich, Emese Domahidi","doi":"10.1177/14648849231215194","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231215194","url":null,"abstract":"In the present study, we investigate gender bias against politicians in a large set of news articles ( n = 1,139,571) published in major media outlets in the United States between 2010 and 2020 by tracing changes in reporting about 1,095 US politicians. Using topic modeling with latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), we identify main policy-related topics in media reports. We find gender differences in the coverage of certain policy issues, with major imbalances explained by societal factors. Specifically, we show that women in high-level political positions receive less media coverage than their male counterparts and women in less powerful positions on economic and national security issues. However, women and men in less influential positions do not differ in the amount and type of reporting they garner. Since women are still underrepresented in leadership positions, the US media may inadvertently reflect and reinforce existing gender biases in society by devoting more attention to high-profile politicians, who are overwhelmingly male. Although our longitudinal analysis shows positive changes, the gender gap in reporting continues to exist.","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"28 17","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136282587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-08DOI: 10.1177/14648849231214051
Christoph Spurk, Abdallah Katunzi
There is a dearth of scholarly work that measures the quality of journalism, both in Western contexts and in the Global South. This might be partly explained by the difficulty in defining, operationalising and measuring news media quality. However, those data would be helpful to identify the societal role of radio journalism in enabling citizens to participate and take decisions. As radio plays an overarching role in Tanzania for information, especially for those living in rural areas, this article assessed research data from the “Yearbook on Media Quality in Tanzania” that has identified quality as a list of criteria describing various characteristics of journalistic texts and set thresholds to distinguish good from poor quality. Thus, it measured the quality performance of 30 print, radio and TV media houses. This article now assesses radio journalism in the country, with a focus on comparison amongst radio stations. The assessment shows that some quality criteria were almost not fulfilled at all, although they are acknowledged as important, for example, the right of reply, or covering viewpoints that are critical to the government. Nevertheless, with regard to professionalism and comprehensive reporting, the data show that some radio stations perform largely better than others and that programmes are much better compared to newscasts. The external environment plays an important role in performance. Many shortcomings in quality are due to the harsh political environment and economic challenges. However, the internal newsroom environment plays an additional role and explains as well some of the quality differences identified.
{"title":"The quality of radio journalism in Tanzania: Empowering citizens or at a crossroads?","authors":"Christoph Spurk, Abdallah Katunzi","doi":"10.1177/14648849231214051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231214051","url":null,"abstract":"There is a dearth of scholarly work that measures the quality of journalism, both in Western contexts and in the Global South. This might be partly explained by the difficulty in defining, operationalising and measuring news media quality. However, those data would be helpful to identify the societal role of radio journalism in enabling citizens to participate and take decisions. As radio plays an overarching role in Tanzania for information, especially for those living in rural areas, this article assessed research data from the “Yearbook on Media Quality in Tanzania” that has identified quality as a list of criteria describing various characteristics of journalistic texts and set thresholds to distinguish good from poor quality. Thus, it measured the quality performance of 30 print, radio and TV media houses. This article now assesses radio journalism in the country, with a focus on comparison amongst radio stations. The assessment shows that some quality criteria were almost not fulfilled at all, although they are acknowledged as important, for example, the right of reply, or covering viewpoints that are critical to the government. Nevertheless, with regard to professionalism and comprehensive reporting, the data show that some radio stations perform largely better than others and that programmes are much better compared to newscasts. The external environment plays an important role in performance. Many shortcomings in quality are due to the harsh political environment and economic challenges. However, the internal newsroom environment plays an additional role and explains as well some of the quality differences identified.","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"51 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135342688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-08DOI: 10.1177/14648849231214054
Sisanda Nkoala
Even though radio continues to be the most dominant media platform for black South Africans, the rise in indigenous language podcasts marks a significant milestone in the South African media landscape for speakers of these languages who have previously been afforded limited agency in the sector. The place of podcasts in South Africa must be understood from the rich 100 years of radio in a context where oral media serves as a central platform for developing linguistic and cultural identities. This qualitative study employs purposive sampling to consider the production practices of South African indigenous language podcasts using Epokothweni and iLukuluku as two case studies. In considering these two podcasts, the study highlights the content creators of Epokothweni and iLukuluku as a model of how South African indigenous language podcasters draw on radio as an established storytelling platform for South African indigenous language speakers that allow them to use their podcast platforms in socio-culturally relevant ways. The paper argues that these platforms allow black South Africans to tell stories that have been neglected and silenced, allowing them to articulate the world and their experiences involving economic and scientific issues. The view is that indigenous language podcasting is set to increase as content producers greatly appreciate engagement with black audiences, which are currently under-prioritised in a sector dominated by English-language outfits.
{"title":"How radio influences indigenous language podcasts in South Africa: A case study of <i>Epokothweni</i> and <i>iLukuluku</i>","authors":"Sisanda Nkoala","doi":"10.1177/14648849231214054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231214054","url":null,"abstract":"Even though radio continues to be the most dominant media platform for black South Africans, the rise in indigenous language podcasts marks a significant milestone in the South African media landscape for speakers of these languages who have previously been afforded limited agency in the sector. The place of podcasts in South Africa must be understood from the rich 100 years of radio in a context where oral media serves as a central platform for developing linguistic and cultural identities. This qualitative study employs purposive sampling to consider the production practices of South African indigenous language podcasts using Epokothweni and iLukuluku as two case studies. In considering these two podcasts, the study highlights the content creators of Epokothweni and iLukuluku as a model of how South African indigenous language podcasters draw on radio as an established storytelling platform for South African indigenous language speakers that allow them to use their podcast platforms in socio-culturally relevant ways. The paper argues that these platforms allow black South Africans to tell stories that have been neglected and silenced, allowing them to articulate the world and their experiences involving economic and scientific issues. The view is that indigenous language podcasting is set to increase as content producers greatly appreciate engagement with black audiences, which are currently under-prioritised in a sector dominated by English-language outfits.","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"48 5","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135342712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-07DOI: 10.1177/14648849231213502
Yanting Sun
This paper presents a comparative discourse analysis of media representations of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the American newspaper New York Times and the Indian newspaper Business Today. Using an extended corpus-based discourse-historical approach incorporating tools from critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, the study identifies key differences in main themes, discursive strategies, and linguistic means modulated by each nation’s geopolitics. The analysis reveals New York Times constructs the conflict predominantly as a moral and political crisis, employing critical language and ideological framing of Russia as the villain versus Ukraine as the victim. In contrast, Business Today approaches the conflict neutrally as an economic issue with pragmatic implications for India, avoiding explicit judgments and moral evaluations. While reflecting different ideological positions, the divergent framings and discursive strategies demonstrate the traditional “us versus them” dichotomy is an oversimplification. Through nuanced linguistic analysis of modal verbs, metaphors, analogies, hyperboles, and rhetorical questions, the study shows how historical relations, geopolitical interests, economic ties and cultural values create a complex discursive continuum rather than a static binary. By extending discourse-historical analysis, the paper advocates more pluralistic, self-reflexive journalism to enable nuanced policy debates attuned to on-the-ground realities, not just propagandistic binaries.
{"title":"The Russia-Ukraine conflict as a discursive continuum: A comparative study of <i>Business Today</i> and <i>New York Times</i> using an extended corpus-based discourse-historical approach","authors":"Yanting Sun","doi":"10.1177/14648849231213502","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231213502","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a comparative discourse analysis of media representations of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the American newspaper New York Times and the Indian newspaper Business Today. Using an extended corpus-based discourse-historical approach incorporating tools from critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, the study identifies key differences in main themes, discursive strategies, and linguistic means modulated by each nation’s geopolitics. The analysis reveals New York Times constructs the conflict predominantly as a moral and political crisis, employing critical language and ideological framing of Russia as the villain versus Ukraine as the victim. In contrast, Business Today approaches the conflict neutrally as an economic issue with pragmatic implications for India, avoiding explicit judgments and moral evaluations. While reflecting different ideological positions, the divergent framings and discursive strategies demonstrate the traditional “us versus them” dichotomy is an oversimplification. Through nuanced linguistic analysis of modal verbs, metaphors, analogies, hyperboles, and rhetorical questions, the study shows how historical relations, geopolitical interests, economic ties and cultural values create a complex discursive continuum rather than a static binary. By extending discourse-historical analysis, the paper advocates more pluralistic, self-reflexive journalism to enable nuanced policy debates attuned to on-the-ground realities, not just propagandistic binaries.","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135475905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-06DOI: 10.1177/14648849231211884
Qingyu Gao, Dezheng (William) Feng
Despite extensive discussions about Hong Kong’s sentiments towards the Chinese mainland since the sovereignty transfer in 1997, there has been a lack of large-scale empirical analysis of attitude change in the mainstream media, which both reflect and shape sentiments in society. To address this gap, the present study employs an optimised semantic-based automatic sentiment analysis method to examine a corpus of news about China from 1997 to 2020 in three leading Chinese-language newspapers in Hong Kong, namely Apple Daily, Ming Pao, and Oriental Daily News. The analysis reveals that although the Hong Kong press had a positive emotional tone towards China in general, the overall sentiment was becoming increasingly negative. Meanwhile, the alignment and antagonism towards China have both increased, providing empirical evidence for attitudinal polarisation in the Hong Kong press. Specifically, Apple Daily’s depictions of China became increasingly negative, though with some positive turns before 2008, whereas Oriental Daily News consistently expressed favourable sentiments. Ming Pao maintained an impartial stance towards China through an increased but balanced representation of positive and negative sentiments, with its subjectivity and sentiment intensity growing to an industry-standard level. By explicating the cross-newspaper and cross-period variations, the results provide new insights into the complexity of sentiments towards China in the Hong Kong press, and media attitudes in general in terms of the “us” and “them” positionings.
{"title":"Alignment and antagonism in flux: A diachronic sentiment analysis of attitudes towards the Chinese mainland in the Hong Kong press","authors":"Qingyu Gao, Dezheng (William) Feng","doi":"10.1177/14648849231211884","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231211884","url":null,"abstract":"Despite extensive discussions about Hong Kong’s sentiments towards the Chinese mainland since the sovereignty transfer in 1997, there has been a lack of large-scale empirical analysis of attitude change in the mainstream media, which both reflect and shape sentiments in society. To address this gap, the present study employs an optimised semantic-based automatic sentiment analysis method to examine a corpus of news about China from 1997 to 2020 in three leading Chinese-language newspapers in Hong Kong, namely Apple Daily, Ming Pao, and Oriental Daily News. The analysis reveals that although the Hong Kong press had a positive emotional tone towards China in general, the overall sentiment was becoming increasingly negative. Meanwhile, the alignment and antagonism towards China have both increased, providing empirical evidence for attitudinal polarisation in the Hong Kong press. Specifically, Apple Daily’s depictions of China became increasingly negative, though with some positive turns before 2008, whereas Oriental Daily News consistently expressed favourable sentiments. Ming Pao maintained an impartial stance towards China through an increased but balanced representation of positive and negative sentiments, with its subjectivity and sentiment intensity growing to an industry-standard level. By explicating the cross-newspaper and cross-period variations, the results provide new insights into the complexity of sentiments towards China in the Hong Kong press, and media attitudes in general in terms of the “us” and “them” positionings.","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"43 14","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135681270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-03DOI: 10.1177/14648849231213503
Lada Trifonova Price, Marilyn Clark, Lambrini Papadopoulou, Theodora A. Maniou
The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for newsrooms across the world range from severe economic hardship to increased threats to press freedom. The “perfect storm” that engulfed the media and journalists globally has threatened and continues to challenge their existence, and the core of their mission to serve the public interest. This study maps the impact of external political, economic, legal and societal factors on journalistic freedom and the way(s) news organizations and journalists operate in times of global crisis in four Southern European countries. It provides a fuller cross-national perspective on the complex relationship between media, journalism and politics in countries with existing democratic deficits. Findings are based on 32 semi-structured interviews with journalists working in four Southern European countries, namely Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, conducted in 2022. We find increased economic challenges to their fragile media markets, high level of state intervention, political parallelism in coverage of the pandemic and beyond, and numerous threats to the autonomy of journalists that hamper journalism and question its development in the future. The study’s implications are relevant to different contexts, particularly in countries where journalism and media face similar challenges.
{"title":"Southern European press challenges in a time of crisis: A cross-national study of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Malta","authors":"Lada Trifonova Price, Marilyn Clark, Lambrini Papadopoulou, Theodora A. Maniou","doi":"10.1177/14648849231213503","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231213503","url":null,"abstract":"The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for newsrooms across the world range from severe economic hardship to increased threats to press freedom. The “perfect storm” that engulfed the media and journalists globally has threatened and continues to challenge their existence, and the core of their mission to serve the public interest. This study maps the impact of external political, economic, legal and societal factors on journalistic freedom and the way(s) news organizations and journalists operate in times of global crisis in four Southern European countries. It provides a fuller cross-national perspective on the complex relationship between media, journalism and politics in countries with existing democratic deficits. Findings are based on 32 semi-structured interviews with journalists working in four Southern European countries, namely Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, conducted in 2022. We find increased economic challenges to their fragile media markets, high level of state intervention, political parallelism in coverage of the pandemic and beyond, and numerous threats to the autonomy of journalists that hamper journalism and question its development in the future. The study’s implications are relevant to different contexts, particularly in countries where journalism and media face similar challenges.","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"7 11","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135872938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-02DOI: 10.1177/14648849231210695
Tanja Kerševan, Melita Poler
This study builds on the hierarchy of influences model and the concept of the chilling effect to investigate how strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) affect journalism, directly and indirectly. Based on the semi-structured interviews with Slovenian journalists and editors targeted by SLAPPs, and with their newsroom colleagues, it reveals inconsistencies between the respondents’ expressed awareness of the impact of SLAPPs on their work and their perception of the broader impacts. By examining how SLAPPs interact with the various professional and personal circumstances of journalists and editors, and with the political, economic and regulatory context, toward a potentially deterring outcome, the article contributes evidence on factors that strengthen or mitigate the possible chilling effect of SLAPPs, for both targeted and non-targeted journalists and editors. The research findings add to the empirical knowledge of the emerging body of research on SLAPPs in anticipation of European and national anti-SLAPP regulation.
{"title":"Silencing journalists in matters of public interest: Journalists and editors assessments of the impact of SLAPPs on journalism","authors":"Tanja Kerševan, Melita Poler","doi":"10.1177/14648849231210695","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231210695","url":null,"abstract":"This study builds on the hierarchy of influences model and the concept of the chilling effect to investigate how strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) affect journalism, directly and indirectly. Based on the semi-structured interviews with Slovenian journalists and editors targeted by SLAPPs, and with their newsroom colleagues, it reveals inconsistencies between the respondents’ expressed awareness of the impact of SLAPPs on their work and their perception of the broader impacts. By examining how SLAPPs interact with the various professional and personal circumstances of journalists and editors, and with the political, economic and regulatory context, toward a potentially deterring outcome, the article contributes evidence on factors that strengthen or mitigate the possible chilling effect of SLAPPs, for both targeted and non-targeted journalists and editors. The research findings add to the empirical knowledge of the emerging body of research on SLAPPs in anticipation of European and national anti-SLAPP regulation.","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135972736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-02DOI: 10.1177/14648849231212737
Joëlle Swart, Marcel Broersma
What do young people consider “news”? Now that news is dislocated from dedicated outlets of news organizations, it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish from other cultural forms, including entertainment, advertising and misinformation. Especially on visual social media, where many different forms, topics and tones circulate, so-called “news feeds” offer blends of content that only partially match traditional journalistic conceptualizations. This paper advances current conceptual debates around news(-ness), by going beyond what is culturally accepted and cognitively recognized as news. We make an argument for the importance of capturing young people’s affective and tacit understandings of news, by analyzing what feels like news to them on Instagram. These judgments matter because what users understand as news or non-news also affects their assessments of trustworthiness and reliability. Drawing upon a three-wave study (2020-2022) employing in-depth interviews with and walk-throughs of the Instagram feeds of N = 111 Dutch smartphone users (aged 16-25), we find that while young people are strongly aware of societal norms around what news is or should be, these cognitive understandings do not necessarily align with what they experience as news(-like) within their everyday practices. Although some users do employ traditional journalistic conceptualizations of news, others negotiate or challenge such definitions through processes of compartmentalization, homogenization or reconceptualization, to mitigate tensions between what they cognitively recognize versus what they affectively perceive as news. Consequently, we argue that more inclusive epistemological approaches are needed to comprehend young people’s shifting experiences of news and conceptualize news from an audience perspective.
{"title":"What feels like news? Young people’s perceptions of news on Instagram","authors":"Joëlle Swart, Marcel Broersma","doi":"10.1177/14648849231212737","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231212737","url":null,"abstract":"What do young people consider “news”? Now that news is dislocated from dedicated outlets of news organizations, it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish from other cultural forms, including entertainment, advertising and misinformation. Especially on visual social media, where many different forms, topics and tones circulate, so-called “news feeds” offer blends of content that only partially match traditional journalistic conceptualizations. This paper advances current conceptual debates around news(-ness), by going beyond what is culturally accepted and cognitively recognized as news. We make an argument for the importance of capturing young people’s affective and tacit understandings of news, by analyzing what feels like news to them on Instagram. These judgments matter because what users understand as news or non-news also affects their assessments of trustworthiness and reliability. Drawing upon a three-wave study (2020-2022) employing in-depth interviews with and walk-throughs of the Instagram feeds of N = 111 Dutch smartphone users (aged 16-25), we find that while young people are strongly aware of societal norms around what news is or should be, these cognitive understandings do not necessarily align with what they experience as news(-like) within their everyday practices. Although some users do employ traditional journalistic conceptualizations of news, others negotiate or challenge such definitions through processes of compartmentalization, homogenization or reconceptualization, to mitigate tensions between what they cognitively recognize versus what they affectively perceive as news. Consequently, we argue that more inclusive epistemological approaches are needed to comprehend young people’s shifting experiences of news and conceptualize news from an audience perspective.","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"27 S1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135875728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-30DOI: 10.1177/14648849231213528
Diliza L Madikiza
{"title":"Book Review: Media diversity in South Africa: New concepts from the global south","authors":"Diliza L Madikiza","doi":"10.1177/14648849231213528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849231213528","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":357407,"journal":{"name":"Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism","volume":"143 ","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136068052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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