Email Newsletters: An Analysis of Content From Nine Top News Organizations

Email newsletters are increasingly popular delivery systems for legacy and digital-native news outlets. The newsletter embodies another level of gatekeeping, but little research has explored which stories make it through the email newsletter “gate” and into the subscriber's inbox. This content analysis of newsletter items (N = 1,231) from select broadcast, cable, print, and digital-native news outlets provides a snapshot of the focus, subject matter, and style of daily newsletters. Newsletter subscribers generally are encouraged to link to the outlet's full-length online content on its website; however, not all outlets attempt to make personal connections with their newsletter readers. In general, the newsletters are largely filled with nationally focused stories on politics and government and mimic the style of their full-length counterparts.