R. Salaverría

An Immature Medium Strengths and Weaknesses of Online Newspapers on September 11

The events which occurred on 11 September 2001 were unprecedented in many ways. This article discusses how online newspapers reported on these events. Applying a descriptive methodology to a sample of 18 online newspapers from nine countries, this article analyses the strengths and weaknesses of online newspapers that could be seen that day. It shows the consolidation of the internet as an important global medium, as well as the impetus for multiple media synergies and for new multimedia formats that emerged from these events. But it also points to the lack of technological readiness of the medium, its editorial immaturity, and its reluctant use of its interactive capabilities. In conclusion, this article uses an important test case for the reporting of breaking news, to present an overview of the editorial strengths and weaknesses of online newspapers at the beginning of the 21st century.

Online and print newspapers in Europe in 2003. Evolving towards complementarity

Abstract This article assesses online newspapers in Europe from a media evolutionary perspective, ten years after the introduction of the World Wide Web. Comparing print and online front pages of 51 newspapers in 14 countries in 2003, we argue that online newspapers complement print newspapers in modest ways. Online, publishers put more emphasis on service information, offer additional news items, that nonetheless report on similar topics in similar ways, and add personal interactivity, content selectivity and real-time news to the print news offering. One subset of online newspapers charges for services, and offers more content and personal interactivity. Another, partly overlapping subset offers more original news; in a short and anonymous format. Overall, however, online newspapers in Europe make up a heterogeneous group, suggesting that online newspapers still have to find their definite form and role in the European news market.

Convergence Culture in European Newsrooms

For two decades, convergence culture has been an important motivator for change in journalism worldwide. Journalism research has followed these developments, investigating the dimensions of change that define convergence as a cultural shift in the newsroom. Research in the European context has mostly been comprised of national case studies of flagship media outlets whereas comparative, let alone quantitative, studies are scarce. In response to these shortcomings, we present a comparative survey among newspaper journalists in managerial positions on convergence strategies in newsrooms from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, and Portugal. Results show that there is still a dominant print culture present in newsrooms across Europe; however, a shift toward convergence journalism is evident in the strategic implementation of editorial routines and practices as well as in the encouragement of journalists to join convergence developments. Furthermore, newsrooms in Mediterranean countries are more advanced than those in North/Central Europe when it comes to embracing convergence culture because of a stronger audio-visual than print news tradition and a higher motivation among journalists. Our study reveals that after two decades of European convergence journalism, cultural change moves slowly but steadily toward a news production that makes use of the possibilities emerging from convergence.

A new sensation? An international exploration of sensationalism and social media recommendations in online news publications:

The well-known phrase ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ describes the sensational approach that has penetrated the history of news. Sensationalism is a term without complete consensus among scholars, and its meaning and implications have not been considered in a digital environment. This study analyzes 400 articles from online-native news organizations across the Americas, evaluating the sensational treatment of news categories and news values, and their associated social media interaction numbers on Facebook and Twitter. Findings suggest that ‘hard’ news topics like government affairs and science/technology were treated sensationally just as often as traditionally sensationalized categories like crime or lifestyle and society. In addition, audiences are not necessarily more likely to respond to sensational treatments. This study also finds that online-native news organizations use sensationalism differently, and there is significant variation in publications from the United States, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.

To Share or Not to Share

Audiences play a fundamental role in disseminating and evaluating news content, and one of the big questions facing news organizations is what elements make content viral in the digital environment. This comparative study of the United States, Brazil and Argentina explores what values and topics present in news shared online predict audience interaction on social media. Findings shed light on what news values and topics trigger more audience responses on Facebook and Twitter. At the same time, a comparison between popular content produced by traditional media versus online-native media reveals that the former lean more toward government-related news and conflict/controversy news values than online native media. Brazilian stories prompted more social media interactivity than content from the United States or Argentina. Through content analysis, this study contributes to improving our understanding of audiences’ news values preferences on social networks. It also helps us to recognize the role of users’ online activities (sharing, commenting and liking) in the social construction of news and meaning inside the networked sphere. Finally, it opens an old media debate about whether providing and sharing too much media content with conflict, controversy and oddity could potentially hinder understanding and agreement in society. Articles were collected via media tracking and the data collection company NewsWhip.

Regenerating Journalism: Exploring the “alternativeness” and “digital-ness” of online-native media in Latin America

This study maps the emerging digital media landscape of online-native news sites in Latin America, interrogating to what extent these sites challenge mainstream, traditional journalism. Researchers identified and analyzed the region’s online-native sites, exploring their influence and “alternativeness”—in terms of ownership, funding, content, degree of activism, and organizational goals—and their “digital-ness,” in terms of the sites’ inclusion of multimedia, interactive, and participatory digital features. In general, results show that the most influential online-native sites are attempting to renovate traditional, outdated modes of journalism, serving as alternatives to mainstream media and aiming to change society, even if the sites do not necessarily self-identify as “alternative” per se. Their emphasis on using innovative, digital techniques is important for re-conceptualizing not just the role of journalism in a digital era, but also journalism’s relationship to alternative media and activism.

A cross-regional comparison of selected European newspaper journalists and their evolving attitudes towards the internet - including a single-country focus on the UK

This study approaches how journalists in the United Kingdom might compare with individuals working in print journalism in 10 other European countries, to assess role perceptions and beliefs in relation to the internet. The continental Europeans were grouped into north and south, and the UK set was independently compared with each. In all, 270 journalists across 44 newspapers in Europe gave scaled reactions to a questionnaire about their role conceptions, the internet, and the future. It appears the sampled UK journalists, despite some historical conceptions about the distinctively separate evolution of their press, conform strikingly with their European counterparts but in a specific and patterned way: the UK journalists align with their counterparts from the north of Europe but have significant differences to those in the south. The principal ingredient of the division is the degree to which the journalists find the internet useful, positive and a worthwhile extension of their working opportunities. The findings conform in some respects to academic studies taking a historical and cultural approach to comparative journalism.

A Brave New Digital Journalism in Latin America

In recent years, journalism in Latin America has been undergoing profound transformations. Confronting the stagnation or even decline of a large part of the big media industry, hundreds of digital native publications are surging up to challenge the traditional journalism landscape of this region. From the Caribbean to Patagonia, all 20 Latin American countries are witnessing the emergence of innovative online media projects that, in some cases, have already reached a high degree of consolidation. This chapter analyzes the origins, models and challenges of this emerging Latin American journalism. Firstly, it shows the historical evolution of these digital native media outlets. Then, their current characteristics are analyzed, focusing on their innovative ways to explore sustainable business models. Finally, the challenges for the future consolidation of these emerging digital media are examined.

From #Ferguson to #Ayotzinapa: Analyzing Differences in Domestic and Foreign Protest News Shared on Social Media

This study compares U.S. digital news coverage of recent foreign and domestic protests. Differences in coverage’s framing, sourcing, and device emphases were analyzed for two cases: protests that erupted after the death of Michael Brown and protests demanding justice for the 43 missing students from Ayotzinapa, Mexico. Building on protest paradigm literature, content analysis results show that news articles that appeared on Facebook and Twitter emphasized legitimizing frames for foreign protests more than domestic protests. Foreign protests were framed with the spectacle frame more than domestic protests, which were more often portrayed as confrontational. Digitally native news organizations produced content that deviated from expected paradigmatic norms the most. In addition, this research examines the relationship between content and sharing on Facebook and Twitter. Implications of these findings within the theoretical framework of the protest paradigm are discussed.

The Promise of the Transparency Culture : A comparative study of access to public data in Spanish and Swedish newsrooms

In 2013, with the introduction of the Transparency Law in Spain, a number of Spanish newsrooms started working with data journalism methods. In Sweden, which has one of the oldest Freedom of Information acts in the world, newsrooms invested in the skill development of data journalism at approximately the same time. Because previous research suggests that access to public data has been one of the key driving forces for the development of data journalism worldwide, it is important to understand how legislation is actually shaping the practice of data journalism. Based on a survey of 66 key informants in Spain and Sweden and ten in-depth interviews with data journalists from five media companies in each country, we conducted a comparative study, building on the frameworks of media systems to explore data journalism practices in these two countries. The differences found indicate that the national and EU legislation in both nations shape journalistic strategies for accessing data, turning journalists at times into activists fighting for the right to access public data. Beyond the law, data journalists advocate for a transparency culture among the civil servants, in order to secure public accountability.