Journalism and Media

News has long been a contested concept but in the digital era it has become increasingly fractured and multidimensional. This discursive article explores some of the ways in which the news has been disrupted by technological and economic tensions and argues that the social value of news is worth articulating and, where necessary, struggling for. News values have never been universal or unproblematic, and the tension between commercial and social ways of valuing news is intensified today. News values are not fixed and must be open to critique as to how they are meeting citizens’ needs. Societally useful news may be at risk of being marginalized as news organizations struggle to survive, but it is not inevitable that disruption and digitization should undermine journalistic ethics and the social value of news. In arguing that scholars ought to approach news more holistically, to defend it as well as critique it, the article attempts to synthesize what typically appears as discrete approaches to studying news. The article concludes that, if the social value of news is not to suffer further diminution, there is a need to view news through a lens of struggle; a struggle in which journalists, audiences, scholars and, indeed, all citizens have a part to play. Full article

The shortage of general practitioners (GPs) and the fact that country doctors’ practices are vanishing—a situation that is currently taking a turn for the worse in some regions of Germany—are issues that have been dealt with in the media as a topic of specific discussion for some time now. In the process, news coverage is dominated by certain depiction patterns, referred to as frames, which are shaped in terms of textual and visual impact. The present explorative study addresses the questions of which media depiction and interpretation patterns (frames) are encountered on the shortage of general practitioners in news coverage in the Federal Republic of Germany and how general practitioners, the circumstances, and the benefits of their care are presented in this context. In the course of a search via the Lexis Nexis database, a total of 655 news items were found or selected that mainly deal with the shortage of general practitioners (period from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2022). Furthermore, the media libraries of the two public television broadcasters ARD and ZDF were specifically searched for documentaries on the shortage of general practitioners for the said period. A qualitative content analysis was subsequently performed, in which characteristic reporting patterns on the topic under consideration were identified based on frame-defining categories. Five frames could be identified that outline the shortage of general practitioners in different ways. The first three frames present the dominant image of GPs as highly stressed, aged, or frustrated primary care providers who attempt to keep their practice going for as long as possible despite their increasing stress levels. The other frames portray the phenomenon of the shortage of GPs, in particular, as a side effect of demographic and structural changes, discuss the (diminishing) appeal of the profession of a general practitioner, or discuss the issue of remote areas that no longer have access to a GP practice and now receive ‘alternative solutions’. The frames identified reflect societal views and anxieties regarding the consequences of a progressive shortage of GPs, which have been spurred on by the media. They reflect the significance of the GP as a trustworthy and competent primary care provider who is not readily replaceable, neither in his/her role as a guide in the healthcare system nor with regard to his social function. Full article

In the digital age, the concept of news relevance seems to be fraying, and the activity of selecting what is considered most important collides with much more complex problems of defining meaning, caused by less compact and coherent visions of the world. If it becomes increasingly difficult to arrive at a shared understanding of what is relevant, important, and interesting for the public to know, as worldviews and benchmarks proliferate, then the only possible measure seems to be to reward what is popular, what is successful, and what produces market-driven journalism. This is an example of what then led to the definition of so-called public journalism, a form of journalism that is attentive to the demands of the public and willing to give more space to the considerations and perceptions of users. However, by transforming itself into a “product”, journalism also changes the public’s sense of use, which is no longer to use information to acquire what one needs to know, but what one wants to know. The public exposes itself to what is culturally closest and shared, often allowing subjective emotions to prevail over the evaluation of facts. Through an analysis and critical comparison of recent international readings on the subject, this paper attempts to reconstruct, from a socio-mediological point of view, the path taken by journalism in the digital age, focusing on the value of news, the relationship with the audience, up to the crisis of the public sphere and the birth of infocracy following recent global crises. Full article

TV audiences today are more likely to use an additional media device to further engage with the television content, a phenomenon known as “second screening”. This study takes second screening research into an authoritarian context to investigate what motivates users to search for information, engage in discussions, and post on social media. We apply an O-S-O-R model and demonstrates an integrated procedure of second screening’s political effects among citizens of Beijing. Our findings showed that most of the direct and indirect paths in this model were significantly positive. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed. Full article

The purpose of this study was to assess the Greek public’s perceptions of the reliability of information received about the Russo-Ukrainian war in the spring of 2022. The study was conducted through an online questionnaire survey consisting of closed-ended statements on a five-point Likert scale. Principal components analysis was performed on the collected data. The retained principal components (PCs) were subjected to non-hierarchical k-means cluster analysis to group respondents into clusters based on the similarity of perceived outcomes. A total of 840 responses were obtained. Twenty-eight original variables from the questionnaire were summarised into five PCs, explaining 63.0% of the total variance. The majority of respondents felt that the information they had received about the Russo-Ukrainian war was unreliable. Older, educated, professional people with exposure to fake news were sceptical about the reliability of information related to the war. Young adults who were active on social networks and had no detailed knowledge of the events considered information about the war to be reliable. The study found that the greater an individual’s ability to spot fake news, the lower their trust in social media and their information habits on social networks. Full article

News podcasts have emerged as a relevant medium, contributing to the collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of information in mass media discourse. This paper presents an analysis of the sociodemographic backgrounds, professional profiles, role perceptions, and values of news podcasters based on an online survey of 195 participants in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The results reveal that news podcasters are predominantly male, middle-aged, and academically educated with no journalistic socialization or journalistic working experience. In terms of self-images and values, news podcasters emphasize the importance of education, information, and entertainment, while rejecting conventional concepts like criticism and control. Overall, they demonstrate a strong orientation towards the needs of their audiences and strive to be responsive to their preferences. Yet, the monetization of content through financing models such as sponsoring or native advertisement is not established on a broad scale. These findings shed light on the unique characteristics of news podcasters and provide insights into their status in a rapidly changing media environment. Full article

This study employed critical rhetorical analysis and corpus-assisted discourse analysis in analyzing the news coverage of India’s transition from Wave I to Wave II Focusing on news coverage from the Times of India, we examined how COVID-19 was constructed in the public and technical spheres and how India’s COVID-19 risk communication was shaped by unique geopolitical, cultural, infrastructural, and material factors. Our analysis highlights the tendency to datify COVID as statistics and case numbers, which both dehumanizes the patients and caretakers while erasing human suffering. It also reveals the critical roles played by the geopolitical, socioeconomic, infrastructural, and material conditions in shaping the national and regional capacities to respond to such far-reaching crises. Last but not least, affect and trust play prominent roles in the public coping with emerging pandemics given the uncertainties on all fronts, and thus should be centrally highlighted and addressed in public policies. Full article

Government agencies play a critical role in addressing societal issues and rely on effective communication strategies to inform and engage the public. However, research on government communication practices in the Philippines is limited. To bridge this gap, this study aims to explore the Philippine government’s communication practices and the influence of environmental attributes on communication efforts regarding the counterinsurgency program. Drawing on the government public relations model, a qualitative research approach was employed to gain in-depth insights into the experiences and perspectives of local information officers. The study utilized semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection method. By engaging local government communicators in the Philippines, the study identified four major themes: common media strategies, pressure to meet public information needs, lack of financial resources, and the impact of external legal frameworks. The findings revealed that government communicators employ various media strategies and face significant pressure to meet public information needs. Furthermore, the study highlights the intersection of external legal frameworks with other environmental constraints, such as politics and professional development, impacting government communication practices. This paper contributes to the limited scholarship on government communication practices in the Philippines, offering preliminary insights into the complex dynamics of government communication to address societal challenges. Full article

This study, using content analysis and frame analysis, examines whether there is any connection between the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) announcement on the fifth day of Russia’s war against Ukraine (which began on 24 February 2022) that it would investigate credible allegations of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, and the reporting of the international press in those first five days. This study finds a functional relationship between the ICC’s application of international law and international press reporting, in that the latter pursued an agenda grounded in the sources of international law. This reporting appeared to have made people think about the likelihood of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine (accessibility effect) and that Putin and his regime should be punished under international law (applicability effect). In turn, this was advantageous to the ICC’s announcement that it would investigate allegations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The speed of the ICC’s decision to open this investigation opens questions as to what distinguished the situation in Ukraine from similar situations. Media reporting may have contributed to a broader rationale for potential realpolitik objectives concerning Ukraine and Russia, underpinned by laudable humanitarian and legal concerns. This study concludes that if power saturates law, then the media is a diffusing agent of that power—an actor that spreads and amplifies elite narratives into the public sphere, rationalising the actions of institutions like the ICC. Full article

Over the past three decades, there has been a significant increase in political and media attention towards climate change. The media has been instrumental in shaping, reproducing, and influencing the political and cultural comprehension of this phenomenon. While previous research has concentrated primarily on the textual content of news articles, this study focuses on the use of images in climate communication. It is based on the belief that images can combine facts and emotions, engaging audiences and adding narrative complexity to verbal claims. With focus on climate imagery, a content analysis was conducted on 1010 images used by a Portuguese newspaper (Público) between January 2000 and May 2022 to visually cover climate change. The purpose of the analysis was to identify the visual frames used by the newspaper to frame the issue. The primary findings indicate that 35.5% of the images analyzed employ a frame that dramatizes the effects of climate change, evoking anxiety and vulnerability. However, there is evidence of a growing body of scientific literature that challenges and refutes the sensationalist and demoralizing narrative, resulting in the development of novel methods of communicating the phenomenon. Compared to the preceding period (2000–2005), the proportion of visual frames depicting potential solutions and adaptation strategies has increased substantially over the past three years (2020–2022) by 16.3%. Full article

Asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants are central concepts in news coverage of immigration. However, these three terms refer to distinct groups with different meanings and potentially different frames, which could be negative, victim-based, or positive. Additionally, it is uncertain to what extent these groups are given a voice and how this is linked to the news frames used. To address this, a content analysis of 503 articles about asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants in a Belgian elite newspaper and a popular newspaper was conducted for the period from 2015 until 2020. We focus specifically on differences between the crisis years and the non-crisis period thereafter. Our results indicate that if asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants are given a voice, they are more likely to be framed positively or as victims. However, if they are only mentioned, a negative frame is more common. Asylum seekers are also more likely to be negatively framed than migrants and refugees. Moreover, we find no differences between the elite and popular newspapers in how they frame and give a voice to these three actors. Full article

In the context of the increasing proliferation of users on social networking sites (SNS) and the ensuing debate on their benefits and drawbacks, this study examines the interconnection between human behaviors and identity formation on Facebook. We leveraged the concept of plural identity, seeking to identify relationships between online social behaviors and plural identity tendencies. We conceptualize plural identity as a construct spanning the personal and social dimensions of identity, and use these as the core starting points for studying plural identity. Accordingly, the relationships between social-communicative and personal-communicative behaviors involving plural identity on Facebook were investigated. A survey administered to Nigerian Facebook users (N = 429) revealed that social-communicative behaviors (i.e., social support and social interaction) exhibited strong relationships with plural identity on Facebook; similarly, personal-communicative variables (i.e., presentation of the extended self and self-expression) were strongly related to plural identity. This study highlights the role of SNS in satisfying peoples’ social and communication needs, which are interwoven with identity formation. Full article

Increased in-depth knowledge on how sport federations shape their social media affordances to build relationships with their audiences will develop the understanding and ongoing discussion on the effects of social media in organized sports. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate in what way sports federations shape their social media affordances to create an increased understanding of how they interact with their audiences through social media. Three sports federations, the Swedish Basketball Federation, the Swedish Skateboard Association, and the Swedish Equestrian Federation, were investigated through semi-structured interviews as well as digital ethnography. The analytical focus lies on in what way the organizations shape social media affordances as well as in what way they imagine social media uses and users. This study shows that the federations’ imagination of who their users are, what they would like to see and how these users act and react defines their affordances. Further, the results reveal that the federations have differing approaches to in what way they imagine their users (as fans, fellows or followers) as well as what their incentives are for using social media. To learn how ongoing mediations mold long-term changes for sport federations, it is of importance to look beyond mediatization and learn more about their current structure and operations, their history, and traditions, as well as their view of their users. Full article

The increasing prevalence of disinformation has led to a growing interest in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for detecting and combating this phenomenon. This article presents a thematic analysis of the potential benefits of automated disinformation detection from the perspective of information sciences. The analysis covers a range of approaches, including fact checking, linguistic analysis, sentiment analysis, and the utilization of human-in-the-loop systems. Furthermore, the article explores how the combination of blockchain and AI technologies can be used to automate the process of disinformation detection. Ultimately, the article aims to consider the integration of AI into journalism and emphasizes the importance of ongoing collaboration between these fields to effectively combat the spread of disinformation. The article also addresses ethical considerations related to the use of AI in journalism, including concerns about privacy, transparency, and accountability. Full article

This article provides empirical evidence of ‘defensive mediatization strategies’ in the field of sport. These are strategies used by actors individually and collectively to control and sometimes avoid media publicity—for example, by refusing requests for media interviews, or in the case of an organization, by making media literacy training available to its staff. In this article, we use the concept of defensive mediatization strategies to identify and illuminate some of the challenges facing professional sports journalists in the postbroadcast era. The article draws on findings from an ongoing study of the relationships between professional sports organizations, athletes, and journalists, but reports only on interviews conducted with experienced sports journalists in Ireland and Britain (n = 16). Our analysis identifies a number of defensive mediatization strategies used by sports organizations, including increased levels of in-house media, differential treatment of journalists, and an increasingly competitive stance towards journalism generally. We also consider a potentially more pernicious strategy: the hiring of professional sports journalists as internal communications advisers—a switching of role positions that might be termed ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’. The article organizes findings according to the three categories of defensive mediatization strategies identified in the extant literature (persistence, shielding, and immunization) and proposes a fourth category, which we label steering. Full article

Arguably, social media provides a new playground for the ever-expanding processes of neoliberal subjectivation in accordance with social or ethical standards such as the principles of performance and pleasure, competitiveness and consumerism vis à vis the general population. According to relevant data analyzed in the context of this research, any corresponding model anticipating such tendencies may seem to have limited validity in the context of Hungary, applying to certain segments of the population (aged 18–35) using social networking sites, but not necessarily a general experience. Thus, the present paper offers a theoretical and a Hungarian youth-focused empirical framework based on contemporary experiences for understanding the domestic nuances of real or perceived processes of neoliberal subjectivation. Full article

This article examines the tension between journalistic and entertainment values in live soccer TV commentary from the perspective of German commentators. We situate journalistic and entertainment values within the commentators’ wider understanding of their roles as sports journalists and commentators, looking at a specific type of sports journalist who has different responsibilities from the general sports reporter. We asked how soccer commentators assess the role of journalistic and entertainment values in their work, and what constraints they face, such as how the perceived expectations of their employer affect this assessment. We interviewed 28 TV commentators, one radio commentator, and one expert working for relevant German TV channels and streaming platforms, such as ZDF, Sky, and DAZN. While all interviewees see themselves as companions telling the story of the match, most commentators in the sample value journalistic values over entertainment values, a surprising finding in the hyper-commercialized world of sports television. Well-founded journalistic expertise and soccer knowledge are considered most important. However, this assessment depends on factors such as the broadcaster’s guidelines and the nature of the match. In summary, the role of the commentator is either an ‘objective mediator’ or an ‘emotional entertainer’, but this is a balancing act. Full article