Online Audiences and Gatekeeping: User Comments and Their Infuence on Editorial Processes in Newsrooms in Kenya

In Kenyan newsrooms, there has been a debate about whether to keep the comment section on news websites in the aftermath of Social Media Networks, which allow the media to still collect user opinion without the risk of unregulated third-party comments. This paper sought to establish the nature and influence user comments have on editorial processes as well as explain what value media houses that have retained the comment section are receiving. To investigate this, the researchers adopted mixed methods research approach (quantitative and qualitative) and concurrent mixed methods research designs. The targeted population was journalists working in media houses that operate in print, broadcast, and digital news website in Nairobi County. The targeted media houses were: Nation Media Group (NMG), Standard Group (SG), and Radio Africa Group (RAG). Sample size comprised of 252 participants for quantitative data, 9 key informants for in-depth interviews, and 84 articles for direct content analysis. Survey and directed content analysis were used as strategies of inquiry. These strategies were aided by questionnaires, in – depth interviews, and code sheet as data generation tools.   Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM/SPSS) was used to analyse quantitative data. Quantitative data was presented using tables and pie-charts. Qualitative data was thematically analysed and presented in form of themes. The findings show that, contrary to popular belief, discussions in news website comment sections are frequently marred by incivility. Instead, the majority of the comments were deliberative in nature, with audience members just looking for a forum to express themselves in a civil manner. However, in cases where there were reported incidences of incivility, the sources quoted were the main trigger. Journalists have been shown to use user input in the comment section to gauge the quality of the content they produce, while media companies use audience knowledge to make strategic decisions. The results shed light on how newsrooms may give the public a platform to discuss and give their input on the news and still maintain deliberative debates

Online Audiences and Gatekeeping: User Comments and Their Influence on Editorial Processes in Newsrooms in Kenya

In Kenyan newsrooms, there has been a debate about keeping the comment section on news websites in the aftermath of Social Media Networks. This allows the media to still collect user opinions without the risk of unregulated third-party comments. This paper sought to establish the nature and influence user comments have on editorial processes and explain what value media houses that have retained the comment section are receiving. To investigate this, the researchers adopted mixed methods research approach (quantitative and qualitative) and concurrent mixed methods research designs. The targeted population was journalists working in media houses that operate in print, broadcast, and digital news websites in Nairobi County. The targeted media houses were: Nation Media Group (NMG), Standard Group (SG), and Radio Africa Group (RAG). The sample size comprised 252 participants for quantitative data, nine key informants for in-depth interviews, and 84 articles for direct content analysis. Surveys and directed content analysis were used as strategies of inquiry. These strategies were aided by questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and code sheets as data generation tools.   Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM/SPSS) was used to analyse quantitative data. Quantitative data was presented using tables and pie charts. Qualitative data was thematically analysed and presented in the form of themes. Contrary to popular belief, the findings show that discussions in news website comment sections are frequently marred by incivility. Instead, most of the comments were deliberative, with audience members just looking for a forum to express themselves civilly. However, in cases with reported incidences of incivility, the sources quoted were the main trigger. Journalists have been shown to use user input in the comment section to gauge the quality of their content, while media companies use audience knowledge to make strategic decisions. The results shed light on how newsrooms may give the public a platform to discuss and give their input on the news while maintaining deliberative debates

Online Audiences and Gatekeeping: User Comments and Their Infuence on Editorial Processes in Newsrooms in Kenya

In Kenyan newsrooms, there has been a debate about whether to keep the comment section on news websites in the aftermath of Social Media Networks, which allow the media to still collect user opinion without the risk of unregulated third-party comments. This paper sought to establish the nature and influence user comments have on editorial processes as well as explain what value media houses that have retained the comment section are receiving. To investigate this, the researchers adopted mixed methods research approach (quantitative and qualitative) and concurrent mixed methods research designs. The targeted population was journalists working in media houses that operate in print, broadcast, and digital news website in Nairobi County. The targeted media houses were: Nation Media Group (NMG), Standard Group (SG), and Radio Africa Group (RAG). Sample size comprised of 252 participants for quantitative data, 9 key informants for in-depth interviews, and 84 articles for direct content analysis. Survey and directed content analysis were used as strategies of inquiry. These strategies were aided by questionnaires, in – depth interviews, and code sheet as data generation tools.   Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM/SPSS) was used to analyse quantitative data. Quantitative data was presented using tables and pie-charts. Qualitative data was thematically analysed and presented in form of themes. The findings show that, contrary to popular belief, discussions in news website comment sections are frequently marred by incivility. Instead, the majority of the comments were deliberative in nature, with audience members just looking for a forum to express themselves in a civil manner. However, in cases where there were reported incidences of incivility, the sources quoted were the main trigger. Journalists have been shown to use user input in the comment section to gauge the quality of the content they produce, while media companies use audience knowledge to make strategic decisions. The results shed light on how newsrooms may give the public a platform to discuss and give their input on the news and still maintain deliberative debates

The state of innovation and media viability in East Africa: from indepth media house surveys

Media houses globally are grappling with how best to produce quality content while at the same time remaining financially viable in the wake of shrinking revenues, technological disruptions, the emergence of peripheral content creators, competition for advertisement revenues from big tech platforms, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a myriad of other changes in the ecosystem. Despite these challenges, it is in the interest of the public that news media organisations (NMOs) produce quality content and do so in a financially sustainable fashion. Media viability, that is, producing quality journalism in a financially sustainable way, is, therefore, a growing area of focus. To this end, the Media Futures East Africa Project, jointly implemented by the Aga Khan University\u27s Graduate School of Media and Communications and DW Akademie, set out to investigate the state of innovation and media viability in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase studied the ecosystem – the political, economic, social, technological, and community environment – in which East African news media organisations operate at the national level. Generally, the findings indicate that the East African media sector is considerably young. Save for the print NMOs, which are predominantly 11 years and older, about 60% of the TV, radio, digital, and multimedia platforms have been in existence for just 10 years or less. This may be a disadvantage in terms of lack of experience and a high startup failure rate. However, studies have also shown that young media organisations are more likely to experiment with new areas and explore possible new business models without the added hurdle of undoing entrenched systems