ECREA16-Abstract_book

359 / 658

357
Thursday, November 101 1 : 0 0 – 1 2 : 3 0
PN 046 Towards Ludic Journalism
T. Sihvonen1
1 University of Vaasa, Faculty of Philosophy- Communication Studies, Vaasa, Finland
It is widely acknowledged that journalism in the digital age faces the need to re-invent itself (Bardoel and Deuze 2001; Papacharissi 2009). The readership
of online newspapers and the audiences of news broadcast are declining, and younger generations are more likely to access news content through peer-to-
peer distribution and sharing on social media rather than through ‘trusted’news outlets. It looks like the traditional position of journalists as the gatekeep‑
ers of information is also transforming (e.g. Deuze 2005; Deuze, Bruns and Neuberger 2007; Nieborg and Sihvonen 2009). The political economy of social
networking sites and online collaborative platforms is so different from the non-digital world that also the modalities of production and consumption need
to adapt, and this transition is proving rather slow and painful. Incorporating gameful content and gamifying the mechanics of news journalism has been
considered an interesting ‘solution’to the problem of declining readerships and disinterested citizens. The appeal of gamification in this context is founded
on the notion of social networking sites and games being the two most popular forms of digital media. The redevelopment of journalistic content delivery
and its interactive capabilities has therefore been governed by the belief that adding game-like – or ludic – elements to the traditional system might be
a way to re-engage media users that are sceptical or even antagonistic to the practices of journalism at the present state. The combination of journalistic
content and gameful mechanics, or ‘newsgames’, has thus received a lot of interest and excitement over the past decade (Bogost, Ferrari and Schweizer
2010). However, most of the studies on newsgaming have been focused on the journalistically oriented or“serious”games, news content being channelled
through digital games, or the usage of such hybrid forms. The processes by which ludic content and ludic thinking gets transposed into existing journalistic
practices have remained under-researched.This presentation takes a look into these processes, and aims at providing us with an understanding of how ludic
journalism is developing. Although it is unlikely that journalists will become game designers in the future, there are elements of playful and ludic thinking
that they need in order to achieve a fruitful interplay between games and journalistic practice in their own work. Literature Bardoel, J. & Mark D. (2001).
Network journalism: Converging competences of media professionals and professionalism. Australian Journalism Review, 23(2), 91–103. Bogost, I., Ferrari,
S, & Schweizer, B. (2010). Newsgames: Journalism at play. Cambridge: MIT Press. Deuze, M. (2005). What is journalism? Professional identity and ideology
of journalists reconsidered. Journalism 6(4), 442–464. Deuze, M., Bruns, A. & Neuberger, C. (2007). Preparing for an age of participatory news. Journalism
Practice 1(3), 322–338. Nieborg, D. & Sihvonen, T. (2009). The new gatekeepers: The occupational ideology of game journalism. DiGRA '09 – Proceedings
of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory.
uploads/digital-library/09287.29284.pdf Papacharissi, Z. (2009) (Ed.). Journalism and citizenship: New agendas in communication. New York & London:
Routledge.
PN 047 The Informative Discourse of Newsgames: The "Barcenas Case" on Mobile Devices
S. Gómez García1, N. Navarro Sierra2
1 University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
2 Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of so-called "Barcenas case" in the production of mobile games. This case, a Spanish political corruption
scandal surrounding the former treasurer of the ruling party under a dual charge: having more than 22 million euros undeclared and managing an unregis‑
tered donation system that allowed illegal financing of specific party activities, has been chosen due to its relevance, as it became one of the most significant
news events in Spanish politics during the year 2013, serving as an analytical tool to research its impact in the production of newsgames contextualized
through one of the most popular and contemporary technologies: mobile devices (tablets and smartphones). The choice of the object of study responds to
its uniqueness in the Spanish media and newsgames landscape. No other political figure or news story in the Spanish journalistic arena has gathered such
attention from newsgames producers, generating as many as 23 newsgame applications, distributed in mobile content platforms, where Spain’s Prime
Minister (Mariano Rajoy), as a mean of comparison, only captured the attention of six newsgames in those very same platforms of distribution. Method‑
ologically, this paper uses a multi-method approach with both quantitative and qualitative methods in order to analyse the main features of creation, dis‑
tribution, and reception of 23 newsgames informing about the Barcenas case made available for download both in the Apple Store and Google’s Play Store
during 2013. First, a set of in-depth interviews and questionnaires with the developers of these products have been conducted. Second, each newsgame’s
narrative and interactive features were thoroughly analysed and coded. Finally, the reception by users of these applications as it has been done through
each distribution platform has also been analysed. The temporal flow of newsgames production in relation to the evolution of the political situation and
case relevance in Spanish news during that year has been taken into consideration. The results show the growing influence of viral aspects over informative
traits, the role of reinforcing public opinion and the increasing importance of these platforms as distributors of news content.This study offers a first glimpse
of degree and extent of influence on public opinion through their participation in public discourse from their condition as entertainment and the way in
which the level of popularity and downloads could influence or even distort the informative discourse of the news.