Helle Sjøvaag

Web media and the quantitative content analysis: Methodological challenges in measuring online news content

This article presents a method for quantitative content analysis of news online. The research design is based on a triangulation approach, using qualitative and quantitative measures combined with automated computer-assisted analysis. Used to perform a content analysis of the online news output of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation [NRK] from 2009, this approach revealed that methodologies designed for measuring broadcasting news content do not suffice in the online news environment. Online research methods need to be redesigned to account for the medium-specific news features on the internet. Computer-assisted coding methods can contribute depth and scale to such an analysis, as it can extract and assemble detailed data on large quantities of articles. Using a combination of automatic coding methods with established content analysis for television news, this article presents a new design for quantitative content analysis of news online.

PUBLIC SERVICE NEWS ON THE WEB: A large-scale content analysis of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's online news

This article provides an empirical basis for discussions of public service news on the Web. Through innovative use of computer-assisted data gathering and structuring, and a combination of quantitative methods, we present the results from a large-scale analysis of the online news content of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NRK. The study reveals not only specifics of the online news genre, but also the dual role of NRK as a public service broadcaster. nrk.no fulfils regional content provisions by having a heavy local news focus on the websites “inside”. Simultaneously, its front page profile suggests NRK operates in direct competition with commercial national online news actors. The article offers new insights into the nature of online news as offered by a large, traditional media institution. These insights are key to any discussion of online journalism, as well as the future of public service broadcasting. Furthermore, through the employment of innovative computer-assisted data collection and structuring, the article aims to contribute to the development of the methodological arsenal of journalism studies.

THE RECIPROCITY OF JOURNALISM'S SOCIAL CONTRACT

This article traces the political-philosophical background of journalisms social contract metaphor. The social contract of the press finds its professional ideal in the intersection between republican and liberal philosophies originating with the classical philosophies of Rousseau, Locke and Hobbes. From these origins, the mechanism of contractual reciprocity is appropriated to the relationship between journalism and its audiences to expose hidden ideological traits within the profession. The concepts of rights and obligations found within a contractarian perspective thus offer a new way of conceptualising the role of journalism in democracy and the function of journalistic ideology. The press social contract ideology entails a professional world-view that establishes journalism as a separate contractual partner with a mission to sustain the democratic order as it is expressed in the original political-philosophical social contract. This theoretical investigation of the ideological link between the two contractual metaphors reveals how journalism functions according to the contractual reciprocity principle, particularly with regard to its expectations of balanced rights and obligations within the democratic order.

Introducing the Paywall

The article presents a longitudinal and comparative quantitative content analysis of the paywall strategies of three Norwegian online newspapers. The article analyses the open and closed content profiles of Aftenposten, Bergens Tidende and Stavanger Aftenblad before and after the walls were erected, and the content put behind the wall with the content open to the public free of charge, by comparing one week of data from each paper from 2012, 2013 and 2014 (N = 4018). The analysis compares two models for digital subscription–—the metered model and the premium model. The research is operationalized as a question of monetization: what kind of content do online newspapers charge for, and what kind of content remains free? As the analysis demonstrates, the answers to these questions are not only linked to online-related conceptions of news values, they are also closely tied to the market position of the newspaper as a whole. Results show that the premium model primarily reserves content with local affiliation for subscription readers, while wire copy, syndicated content and immediacy news remain open to non-subscribers. As such, open online news content is highly traffic-generating, while paywalled content protects the most valued and resource-demanding journalistic production of the newsroom.

Introduction: Research methods in an age of digital journalism

The past 15 years have seen a steady decline in the news industry, while ironically there has been a great increase in journalism research (visible in, for instance, the emergence of specific journals and divisions within research associations). During this time period there has been a good deal of theorizing about changes in the journalistic profession, professional norms and routines, and on the role of journalism in society. While journalism theory has indeed been advanced, the same can unfortunately not be said about methodologies used in journalism research. Instead, the traditional concepts of sender, channel, message and receiver are still the most common starting points for much journalism research. This also holds true for most research on digital and online journalism, despite the many methodological challenges that follow from the characteristics of digital media and digital journalism. In order to assess contemporary journalism properly, we think that research methods must be assessed, adjusted, redesigned and perhaps even invented. This idea is far from novel as methodological innovation has previously been made, and more importantly, revitalized the field. Consider, for instance, the ethnographies of the 1970s (e.g. Tuchman 1972) that gave new insight into how news was constructed. Or how Lazarsfeld and colleagues, with content analysis, innovative use of panels and the invention of the “focused interview”, lay some of the foundations that were to become the field of media and communications research (Katz 1987; Merton and Kendall 1946). Yet, the challenges and, consequently, rewards for journalism studies and communication research might be even greater with the digitization of communications. We now face an ontological trial as some of the very categories, and their relationships, of journalism studies—producers, newsrooms, contents, channels of distribution and audiences—seem less certain than they did only a few years ago, becoming increasingly elusive when old boundaries, distinctions and demarcations dissolve. With a changing ontology come questions about a changing epistemology. The aforementioned discrete categories have typically been investigated using a fairly standard set of methods such as surveys, content analysis, interviews, ethnography and experiments. As our objects of study changes, our methodological approaches need to be considered as well, as it is unclear to what extent previously used methods remain feasible, need revision or if new methods have to be invented. The digital world of journalism is developing fast, and researchers need appropriate, stringent and viable methods for capturing and understanding these changes. So far, few systematic attempts have been made in this area. That is why this special issue of Digital Journalism is dedicated solely to digital research methods. In putting together this special issue, our aim was to encourage scholars to develop new and revised methods, take stock of old methods,

Homogenisation or Differentiation

This paper considers the effects of consolidation on the content of regional newspapers in Norway. A case study investigates how the Norwegian media company Schibsted influences the content of its four regional newspapers Aftenposten, Fædrelandsvennen, Stavanger Aftenblad and Bergens Tidende. The aim is to establish the extent to which levels of pluralism are reducing as a result of consolidation strategies. Schibsteds cost-cutting measures initiated in 2012 include staff reductions, content syndication and centralisation of core services. This trend towards shrinking newsrooms, digital specialisation, and centralised layout and editing is recognised internationally, particularly in chain newspapers. In this study, Schibsteds regional print and online news outlets are subjected to a comparative content analysis aiming to establish levels of homogenisation between the titles. Findings indicate differentiation strategies remain central to regional operations, reflecting the presence of community bonds in local newspaper markets.

Content Analysis and Online News

In this article, we argue that digital media pose such challenges for analysing media content adequately that the established approach does not work as intended, reflecting underlying assumptions inherited from analogue media formats. We review two relatively new forms of the content analysis method—big data and liquid content analysis—and juxtapose these with established content analysis. In addition, we detail how these two methods tackle content analysis pillars such as mode of analysis, sampling, sampling size, variable design, unit of analysis, measuring point(s), access/capture/storing, conclusions/generalizability and the key agent doing the actual work. We summarize the article by arguing that established content analysis is insufficient for digital media but that common standards, protocols and procedures are yet to be developed for these new approaches to digital journalism research.

Continuity and Change in Public Service News Online

This article presents a longitudinal big data analysis of the online news provision of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Comparing data from 2009 with data from 2013 (approximately 150,000 news items), the analysis assumes a hybrid methodological approach combining human and computer coding to enquire about longitudinal trends in online journalism as produced by a public service institution in a competitive market. The analysis finds NRKs online news profile to be rather stable across the period, with increases in the areas of audiovisual streaming, linking practices, multimedia features and social media sharing as a result of technological developments. While a more dynamic front-page environment puts the broadcaster as a competitor in the overall online news market, an increase in self-promotional content also suggests NRK is moving towards a more pronounced broadcasting identity. As public service broadcasters are being increasingly challenged across Europe by claims of unfair competitive advantage, this analysis offers a much-needed empirical basis for discussing the role and function of public service broadcasting online.

Media diversity and the global superplayers: operationalising pluralism for a digital media market

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the problem of operationalising diversity to measure pluralism adjusted to the digital media market. Media diversity can primarily be considered at five levels, including the structure, organisation, production, output, and reception of media messages. Framework conditions are considered explanatory features on a structural level, while organisational aspects reveal variations in resource management. Production aspects account for diversity in reporting norms, while output diversity indicates the distribution and frequency of topics and sources. Reception concerns the diversity of media messages audiences are actually exposed to. The article argues that the fast-growing power of global superplayers warrants more consideration for the media’s infrastructure, urging researchers to adjust how structures are accounted for in media diversity analyses.

The Emergence of Metropolitan News Shifting Concepts of Localism in Norwegian Regional Newspapers

Abstract This article presents a quantitative and comparative content analysis of four Norwegian regional newspapers owned by the Schibsted Media Group. The aim of the analysis is to establish levels of localism in the online and printed editions of the newspapers and to discuss the relation between the local, regional, metropolitan and national news levels on two publishing platforms. Results show that the local profile is increasingly becoming the defining feature of these regional newspapers, even more so online than in print. As the analysis shows an increase in the amount of everyday life-related stories in the local news content, this study finds that Norwegian regional newspapers are moving towards a more metropolitan profile.