ECREA16-Abstract

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Friday, November 11

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PP 294

What Goes Where and Why? A Study of News on Multiple Platforms

N. Kvalheim

University of Bergen, Department of Information Science and Media Studies, Bergen, Norway

This paper aims to understand the relationship between a newspaper’s multiplatform strategies and the content published on these platforms. Techno‑

logical development, abundance of information, changing user patterns and increased fight for audience attention alters the competitive conditions in

the newspaper market, and, as a possible solution to this, many legacy newspapers have embraced new publishing technology and are producing content

for several platforms simultaneously. Such a strategy might be regarded as a way to increase the reach of the newspaper and thus as a way to secure it’s

future income base. Interesting then is; how are the developed strategies reflected in the content? Until now, studies concerned with news on multiple

platforms have either focused on the strategic rationale behind this strategy, economic advantages the strategy provides or the content produced. Fewer

studies, however, have attempted to relate the strategies behind engaging in multi-platform publishing to the actual content published. This study aims to

fill this research gap. The premise of this paper is that because of the enormous amount of information available out there, getting and retaining audience

attention is crucial for the survival of the newspaper. By drawing on theories from strategic management and media economics, such as ideas of news as

commodities and Porter’s (1980) generic strategies, and sociological approaches to news production, such as Gans’ (1979) concept of ‘considerations’ and

McManus’(1994) model of commercial news production, the paper aims to establish an understanding of how and why newspapers are utilising multiple

platforms the way they do. The Norwegian newspaper VG serves as case in this study. VG publishes content on print, online, on mobile and on tablet, and

is Norway’s largest newspaper with regards to daily reach. The newspaper is at the forefront, nationally and internationally, when it comes to include new

technology in news production, and serves thus as an excellent starting point for examining multi-platform strategies and content. By combining quali‑

tative interviews with journalists and managers with a quantitative content analysis (N=2387) of the four platforms utilised by the newspaper, the paper

aims to answer the following questions: what characterizes the content produced for the different platforms and how is this related to the strategies behind

the utilization of the platforms? Findings from the content analysis reveal a similar content profile across the platforms but a low degree of story-overlap

between them, indicating the presence of platform-specific strategies. The interviews further suggest that the platforms are considered complementary,

each with a very distinct function within the newspapers sphere. This complementarity is due to external factors, such as the target group of the platforms

and the technological possibilities inherit in them.These findings thus indicate the importance of understanding the external factors surrounding the news‑

paper when trying to understand news and news production. In summary, the study aims to address the link between strategies behind news production

and the content produced. The study will thus contribute to the on-going debate about the future of journalism in an age of uncertainty.

PP 295

Content Innovation in Opinion-Based Journalism – A Study of How Newsrooms Innovate Specific Genres Online

B.R. Mathisen

, L. Morlandstø

Nord University, Faculty of Social Science, Bodø, Norway

This paper shed light on the content innovation within online journalism, and is based upon case studies of two regional newsrooms; Nordlys, placed in

the town of Tromsø in the northern part of Norway and Bergens Tidende, in the town of Bergen in the southwest. Based on research, the media industry has

always been innovative. However, the rapid change of digitization and convergence in journalism challenge old products and business models in the media

marked in a faster pace than earlier. Küng (2013) claims that most of the innovation in media companies have traditionally been associated with content

innovation. The digitization of media, and the transition of journalism from print to digital platforms, implies new opportunities for content innovation. In

addition, the intertwining of technology with content on digital platforms, invite the users to participate in the production of content in new and different

ways. Singer (2014) even name the users “secondary gatekeepers” in relation to content published online. The shift from “news” to “views” seem to be

a characteristic feature of contemporary journalism, aiming in part to stimulate debate in a complex world of rapid information flow. Many researchers

find that the commentary and opinion-based genre is rapidly growing in several countries, both on print and online. McNair (2008) describes the growth

of interpretive journalism as an explosion, and Djerf-Pierre &Weibull (2008) as one of the most significant changes within Swedish journalism the recent

decades. Fink and Schudson (2014) find a large growth in contextual reporting within American journalism, including explanatory journalism. The aim

with this paper is to investigate how regional newsrooms innovate online journalism, limited to commentary and explanatory genres. It is based upon

case studies of the online commentary journalism in Nordlys, and their innovation called Nordnorsk debatt (The High North Debate), and of the online site

called Brif in Bergens Tidende - digital explanatory journalism intended to reach young audiences. In the time of media crisis and downsizing, these two

newspapers prioritize both the commentary and the explanatory journalism.This paper discusses Nordnorsk debatt and Brif as ongoing processes of innova‑

tions, described by one of the editors as an eternal journey. The paper explore how the newsrooms strive for new ways of communicating with the readers,

using these content innovations in order to improve the dialogue and build audience loyalty. Moreover, the paper discusses how the informants interlink

the societal and the economic rationale for these innovations; they underline both purpose of journalism to stimulate public debate, as well as financial

goals generating online traffic and inventing new revenue models within the media company. The case study is based upon interview with the editor and

columnists in Nordlys and columnists and journalists in Bergens Tidende, as well as a content analysis of both Nordnorsk debatt and Brif online.