The Influence of the Internet on European Journalism

This study investigates how European journalists evaluate the changes that have occurred in their profession since the Internet has been integrated in newsrooms. How do journalists perceive the features and innovations associated with the Internet? What are the principal changes in the profession? Do practitioners believe that the quality of journalism has been raised or lowered? To answer to these research questions, we carried out a survey across 11 European countries–Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden–of 239 journalists, working for 40 of the most-read print/online news outlets in these countries. The survey shows that the opportunity to use the Internet to reinforce the social functions of journalism has not been fully recognised

A Cross-regional Comparison of Selected European Newspaper journalists and their Evolving Attitudes and Beliefs about 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

Siren songs or path to salvation? Interpreting the visions of web technology at a UK regional newspaper in crisis, 2006-11

A 5-year case study of an established regional newspaper in Britain investigates journalists about their perceptions of convergence in digital technologies. This research is the first ethnographic longitudinal case study of a UK regional newspaper. Although conforming to some trends observed in the wider field of scholarship, the analysis adds to skepticism about any linear or directional views of innovation and adoption: the Northern Echo newspaper journalists were observed to have revised their opinions of optimum Web practices, and sometimes radically reversed policies. Technology is seen in the period as a fluid, amorphous entity. Central corporate authority appeared to diminish in the period as part of a wider reduction in formalism. Questioning functionalist notions of the market, the study suggests cause and effect models of change are often subverted by contradictory perceptions of particular actions. Meanwhile, during technological evolution, the ‘professional imagination’ can be understood as strongly reflecting the parent print culture and its routines, despite pioneering a new convergence partnership with an independent television company

Communication perspectives on social networking and citizen journalism challenges to traditional newspapers

Communication perspectives are presented on the challenges posed to traditional newspapers by social media and citizen journalism, with special reference to the United States. This is an important topic given the critical role investigative reporting, long the domain of newspapers, plays in fostering democratic practices. New Media and social networking technology are evaluated in terms of their impact on the newspaper enterprise. Alternative scenarios for future developments are examined as are the implications for social values and the role of an informed citizenry in democratic society. Strategic management issues are analyzed, and the possibility is considered that social media can fulfill much of the democracy-enhancing role served traditionally by newspapers. --Newspapers,news industry,social media,social networks,democracy,journalism

Journalism Without Journalists

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The survival of traditional ethical rules in contrasting information

Pese a la proliferación de fuentes procedentes del entorno web para la redacción de noticias, las rutinas de producción periodísticas siguen obligando al profesional de la información a certificar su veracidad como se ha realizado tradicionalmente. Aunque hay discrepancias entre los teóricos consultados sobre la influencia de Internet en las labores de búsqueda de información y la exactitud de la misma, los periodistas encuestados para este estudio coinciden en subrayar que sus estándares de actuación no han cambiado con respecto a la fiabilidad de sus informaciones, independientemente de que se obtengan de manera tradicional (cara a cara, vía telefónica, etcétera) o en Internet.Despite the great quantity of sources from the Internet in news writing, production routines are still focused on checking the veracity of the source. Although there are many different points of view in the way Internet can affect the search of information, the journalists interviewed in this study consistently emphasized that their targets have not changed regarding the requirements over liability of information and news, even if they are obtained using traditional ways such as face to face, phone calls, or by surfing the Internet

A multivariable analysis on news production in Spain: digital newsroom profile, polyvalent journalists and gender perspective

This article explores how the main Spanish newsrooms structure news production in the digital convergence from a quantitative approach. The data come from a nationwide survey applied to 30 editors-in-chief of Spain’s leading newspapers, radios, televisions, and digital natives. We study the newsroom size, news sections weight, freelancers, news agencies, and gender with multivariable analysis. We found that the gender gap has been overcome, and women are mostly in newsrooms (61%). Despite progress, women continue to have higher levels of unemployment and keep facing a glass ceiling in accessing the top positions. They just account for only 6.6% of the editors-in-chief in the sample. Likewise, we found a correlation between female journalists and the Society news section size. Findings suggest a specific news production organization by analyzing newsroom journalistic practice. Politics (23%) is the main news section and in decreasing order of importance: Society (18.5%), Business (16.5%), Sport (16.5%), International (14%) and Culture (11.5%). The average newsroom has between 101 and 300 journalists, with less than 20% freelancers. The media industry demands a polyvalent journalist. Skills, abilities, and competencies that different professionals previously developed now converge in a single professional with a polyvalent and multitasking profile. We found that it is a widespread journalistic practice in most TV outlets for reporters to work for several daily editions of newscasts (midday and night) and even provide news content for other organization shows. Journalists no longer work for a specific section, not even for a news show, but they now work for the entire organization.Este artículo explora cómo las principales redacciones españolas estructuran la producción de noticias en la convergencia digital desde un enfoque cuantitativo. Los datos proceden de una encuesta de ámbito nacional aplicada a 30 directores/as de los principales periódicos, radios, televisiones y medios nativos digitales de España. Con un análisis multivariable, estudiamos el tamaño de la redacción, el peso de cada sección de noticias, los autónomos, las agencias de noticias y el género. Descubrimos que la brecha de género se ha superado y que las mujeres son mayoría en las redacciones españolas (61 %). A pesar de estos avances, las mujeres siguen teniendo mayores niveles de desempleo y continúan enfrentándose a un techo de cristal para acceder a los puestos más altos. Solo representan el 6,6 % de las directoras de informativos de la muestra. Asimismo, encontramos una correlación entre las mujeres periodistas y el tamaño de la sección de Sociedad. Al analizar la práctica periodística en las redacciones, los resultados sugieren una organización específica de la producción de noticias. Política (23 %) es la principal sección y en orden decreciente de importancia: Sociedad (18,5 %), Economía (16,5 %), Deportes (16,5 %), Internacional (14 %) y Cultura (11,5 %). La redacción media tiene entre 101 y 300 periodistas, con menos de un 20 % de profesionales autónomos. La industria de los medios demanda un perfil de periodista polivalente. Habilidades y competencias que antes desarrollaban distintos profesionales convergen ahora en un único profesional con un perfil polivalente y multitarea. Comprobamos que es una práctica periodística extendida en la mayoría de las televisiones que los reporteros trabajen para varias ediciones de los informativos diarios (mediodía y noche) y que también aporten contenidos informativos para otros programas. Los periodistas ya no trabajan para una sección concreta, ni siquiera para un informativo, sino que ahora trabajan para todo el medio