Sara Leckner

Presentation factors affecting reading behaviour in readers of newspaper media: an eye-tracking perspective

This paper examines reading behaviour in readers of printed and online newspaper media. The aim is to identify how much reading behaviour is dependent on various presentation factors, and how this dependence and its magnitude are related to output media. The work is based on review and analysis of empirical studies, primarily those employing methods using eye-tracking. The results show that some factors, such as text-based elements, size and placement, are an important guide to salience in both media. Images, on the other hand, have mostly been found not to elicit major visual attention online, affecting, for example, how ads are perceived. Reading behaviour is, however, a complicated process, and eye-tracking research does not consistently point in one direction.

E-paper News Publishing

Abstract Electronic distribution is challenging the newspaper industry to seek new ways of publishing; consequently, news content could be processed on and for a variety of output platforms. Electronic paper (e-paper) could turn into a major newspaper publishing channel due to its ability to display content in a paper-like manner, with lower weight, lower power consumption, and facilitated handling compared to a computer, but without the major publishing and distribution costs associated with printed newspapers. This work is based on seven case studies of newspaper companies in Sweden, Europe and North America, and analyses newspaper companies’ views on future e-paper publishing. The objective has been to examine the conditions that would enable the e-paper medium to become viable as a newspaper-publishing channel. Newspaper companies regard the idea of a future e-paper edition as very promising, but are uncertain as to what strategy to use. The final product will be a balance between cost, reorganization, the available number of rich media, and updates. Based on the companies’ views, five models of how to incorporate an e-paper publishing channel into existing newspaper production have been proposed. The appropriateness of the models depends on each newspaper company’s conditions, including assets, consumer base and demographics, current workflow, and future strategies.

Hyperlocals and Legacy Media : Media Ecologies in Transition

Abstract Declining legacy media seriously affects local journalism in Sweden. Since 2004, nearly every second local office for local newspapers has been closed, and local coverage is diminishing. In a parallel development, new types of hyperlocal media are growing, according to a national mapping of local media ecologies. The study presented here is based on two surveys: one of local municipalities and one of independent hyperlocals. The key question is: are hyperlocals filling the gap? In many cases, the motivation behind new hyperlocal media has been discontent with declining media coverage from legacy media. In general, however, the pattern is more complicated; most hyperlocals grow in places where legacy media is also present. The main conclusion is that hyperlocals are only partly filling the gaps from declining legacy media, while parts of Sweden are becoming “news deserts.” Another important result is that hyperlocals are developing both in print and online, often in combination, to create a sustainable business model.

What About the Hyperlocals?: The drivers, organization and economy of independent news media in Sweden

Using a survey of a sample of hyperlocal actors in Sweden (N = 178), this article examines preconditions, motivations and sustainability for hyperlocal media operations, outside the traditional media chains, in order to provide a picture of their function in the current media landscape, and to further build on the understanding of the hyperlocal business model. This study extends the hyperlocal definition by including media platforms other than websites. The results show that the operations indeed aim to support and foster citizenship, strengthen democracy and mirror the local community. At the same time, as shown by other studies, the fact that they are not large-scale, highly profitable operations may challenge their sustainability. Nonetheless, most of them claim to be profitable, largely because of the print platform, and have a positive outlook on the future. Revenues from advertising and readership are currently less substantial for Web-based operations, which reinforces the need to broaden the definition of hyperlocal publishing platforms when talking about financial sustainability. Currently, hyperlocal media in Sweden, with small resources and a lower publishing frequency, cannot be viewed as a replacement of established media, but play important roles as complementary alternative voices and contribute to media plurality in the local community.