DOCSLIB.ORG

Automatic Discovery of Newsworthy Content 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Automatic Discovery of Newsworthy Content 1 Running head: AUTOMATIC DISCOVERY OF NEWSWORTHY CONTENT 1 How can automatic systems facilitate journalistic discovery of newsworthy content? An investigation into how editorial workflows can be automatically supported Sebastian Short Snr 2031037 Master's Thesis Communication and Information Sciences Specialisation Business Communication and Digital Media School of Humanities and Digital Sciences Tilburg University, Tilburg Supervisor: Dr. C.W.J. van Miltenburg Second Reader: Dr. E.J Krahmer August 2020 AUTOMATIC DISCOVERY OF NEWSWORTHY CONTENT 2 Abstract This study investigated in the era of media convergence how editorial workflows can be supported by new tools. In addition, the presence of new technologies such as automated journalism and automatically written text was reasoned as a method to how such routines could be automatically supported, adding onto the emerging body of literature that has investigated the interactions between journalism, automated journalism and automatically written text. 12 interviews were conducted with editors at various news outlets, and those with knowledge of the editorial process. The results provided a current overview of sourcing routines, which consisted of using personal networks, searching online and the use of traditional sources to discover new content. In addition, they do show signs that automatic support can be facilitated by looking at what issues’ editorial teams face and how new tools can then integrate into what they currently do. Such integration however depends on factors such as quality of automatically written text and where new tools can be integrated into their current workflows. Facilitators and barriers to adoption of automated journalism are also discussed, which showed that the use of newer technologies within journalistic practice is still an ongoing and uncertain process. Keywords: automated journalism, editorial workflows, journalism, content discovery AUTOMATIC DISCOVERY OF NEWSWORTHY CONTENT 3 Contents Introduction 5 The Content Exchange 8 Societal and Scientific Relevance 8 Literature Review 9 The Role of Convergence in the Changing of the News Gathering Process 9 The ‘first wave’ of ethnographic studies. The way newsworthy content is discovered 9 The ‘second wave’ of ethnographic studies. 9 Media convergence and its implications. 10 The sourcing and discovery of content online 14 Automated journalism: can news production be automated? 16 How can journalism be automated? 17 How can automation change the newsgathering and production process? 17 Automatically written texts and readability. 18 Addressing the strengths and limitations of automated journalism. 19 Method 22 Research Design 22 Participants 22 Materials 24 Procedure 26 Analysis 27 Results 28 The current state of content discovery 28 Current editorial routines 28 Use of personal networks. 28 Searching and monitoring information online. 29 Use of traditional sources. 30 Integration of automatic support 31 Factor 1: New tools must integrate into current routines. 31 Factor 2: New tools need to address existing problems. 32 Facilitators of adoption of automated journalism 33 Editors have an open attitude towards automated journalism. 33 Editors are willing to source automatically written content. 34 Barriers of adoption of automated journalism 35 News outlets are slow to react to technological change. 35 There is a need for more technological development. 36 Editors are stubborn. 37 AUTOMATIC DISCOVERY OF NEWSWORTHY CONTENT 4 News outlets must balance their available resources. 38 Discussion & Conclusion 40 The state of current sourcing routines 41 Moving towards integration of automatic support 42 Addressing the facilitators and barriers to automated journalism 44 Limitations and recommendations for future research 46 References 50 Appendix A 57 Appendix B 58 Appendix C 70 Appendix D 77 Appendix E 84 Appendix F 92 Appendix G 102 Appendix H 112 Appendix I 122 Appendix J 131 Appendix K 139 Appendix L 150 Appendix M 160 Appendix N 174 Appendix O 177 Appendix P 178 Appendix Q 187 Appendix R 220 AUTOMATIC DISCOVERY OF NEWSWORTHY CONTENT 5 Introduction Journalistic workflows have changed considerably in recent years due to the media convergence of news, where outlets must digitise their content, driven by technological change (Dal Zotto & Lugmayr, 2016). Media convergence has reconfigured the ways news outlets must operate to remain financially stable (Tameling & Broesma 2013), and has led to changes in the way content is discovered, meaning that stories can be quickly produced by re- using content on newswires (Boumans, Trilling, Vliegenthart & Boomgaarden, 2018; Welbers, 2018), or by simply finding a tweet (Broersma & Graham, 2013). One consequence on the other hand is that it has put pressure on journalists to quickly find and publish content before their competitors (Bunce, 2017), and as such it is a constantly flowing process. In a bid to be more efficient journalists turn to Wikipedia, Twitter or Google to source news (Broersma & Graham, 2013; Kruikemeier & Lecheler, 2016). In the Netherlands, there are high levels of reliance on the use of the news agency Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANP), where outlets make use of its content to include in their own stories (Boumans, Trilling, Vliegenthart & Boomgaarden, 2018; Welbers, 2018). Reliance on finding quicker ways to source content is reasoned because of media convergence and the economic pressures that have arisen in the journalistic world (Saridou, Spyridou & Veglis, 2017). Changes in how news outlets operate and alternative ways of discovering content are just a few of the affect’s media convergence has had in the newsroom. Adapting to changes within newsrooms is having consequences for journalists, some even argue the quality of news is affected as many firms turn to quantity versus quality (Bunce, 2017), and debate on whether editorial and commercial interests should remain separate has resurfaced (Cornia, Sehl & Nielsen, 2020), where news content itself has changed, with blurred lines between commercial content for advertising purposes and editorial content for readers. This is then a sign that there are now norms being adopted by both editorial and commercial managers to AUTOMATIC DISCOVERY OF NEWSWORTHY CONTENT 6 keep up with changing times (Cornia, Sehl & Nielsen, 2020). Therefore, it seems that news outlets are seeking new cost-effective ways to do discover newsworthy content, the exact methods of which are more uncertain. In the world of data driven journalism (Lewis & Westlund, 2015), it is established that tools are used in editorial rooms to monitor web traffic and track article metrics (Wang, 2017; Wu, Tandoc & Salmon, 2019a). What is then interesting to examine is another tool to add to an editors’ toolkit, something that could be used for content discovery. One method to achieve more cost-effective journalist practices can be seen via the use of Automated Journalism, whereby Artificial Intelligence and algorithms can automate some tasks and automatically write content (Beckett, 2019). Natural Language Generation systems, where texts can be automatically written are being used increasingly more for writing news articles (Caswell & Dörr, 2018; Wu, Tandoc & Salmon, 2019b). This then provides an alternative method for producing cost-effective journalism by reducing the cost of producing content itself. This is consequently freeing up time for journalists, where some claim they can focus more on quality journalism (Anderson, 2011; Primo & Zago, 2015), whereas others claim it puts their jobs at risk (Wu, et al, 2019; Schultz & Sheffer, 2017). The presence of automated journalism further highlights how technology is further integrating into journalistic work routines (Wu, et al., 2019b), and can be seen as a new technology that news outlets are adapting to (Beckett, 2019) following years of media convergence. Arguably what this literature does not address is how such practices could be then used to solve the problem to find cost-effective ways to discover content. Based on the assumptions that consumers are generally accepting of automatically written texts (Graefe, et al., 2018; Jung, et al., 2017; Wöker & Powell, 2018), then it does not seem too big of a step for outlets then to source content that is automatically written. It could then be assumed that if a new tool were AUTOMATIC DISCOVERY OF NEWSWORTHY CONTENT 7 to offer automatically written content, then this could go some way to assisting editors in discovering content more cost effectively, if editorial teams are open to it. Such an issue then raises further questions, such as how journalists discover content currently, and how this could be supported to assist journalistic workflows, moving away from the current research that addresses and acknowledges the changes in journalistic workflows over time (Bunce, 2017; Broersma & Graham, 2013; Kruikemeier & Lecheler, 2016), it then seems logical to investigate possible solutions in the sourcing and discovery of newsworthy content. If automated journalism is seen as promising (Anderson, 2011; Primo & Zago, 2015), it seems reasonable to assume that automatic support can be a potential solution for editors to discover new content. In addition, whether current editorial sourcing routines they feel are effective, considering the rise of automated journalism and automatically written text. Based on this, the following research questions are asked: RQ1: What methods do news editors use to help them find content? RQ2: To what extent can editorial
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Decade of the Knight News Challenge: Investing in Innovators to Advance News, Media, and Information
    A DECADE OF THE KNIGHT NEWS CHALLENGE: INVESTING IN INNOVATORS TO ADVANCE NEWS, MEDIA, AND INFORMATION PRESENTED TO November 2017 1 / 31 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION AND MAJOR FINDINGS 3 OVERVIEW OF KNIGHT NEWS CHALLENGE WINNERS 6 KNIGHT NEWS CHALLENGE IMPACT ON WINNERS 16 FIELD IMPACT 21 CONCLUSION 26 APPENDIX A 28 SELECTED WINNER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD APPENDIX B 30 METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION AND MAJOR FINDINGS Over the last two decades, technology has transformed the way consumers interact with news and media, including how they create, consume, and share information. These advances have challenged traditional media organizations to adapt the way they deliver content to stay relevant to readers, fulfill their missions, and sustain their work. In 2006, the Knight Foundation launched the Knight News Challenge (KNC) to invest in new ideas and individuals to support innovation in news and information. Since its launch, the KNC has provided more than $48 million to fund 139 projects in the United States and around the world. 3 / 31 To better understand how the Challenge impacted winners1 , their projects, and the broader fields of news, media, and journalism, Arabella Advisors conducted a retrospective evaluation of the last 10 years of the KNC (2006– 2016)2. Through this research, we identified ways the Challenge has impacted the field and its winners, including: Enabling and Advancing Innovators in Journalism and the Media The KNC helped to support a group of individuals and organizations working at the nexus of technology and journalism and, in large part, has kept those individuals within the media field. Of all winners, 84 percent remain in the fields of journalism, technology and, media.
    [Show full text]
  • SCIENCE and the MEDIA AMERICAN ACADEMY of ARTS & SCIENCES Science and the Media
    SCIENCE AND THE MEDIA AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES SCIENCE AND THE MEDIA AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS Science and the Media Edited by Donald Kennedy and Geneva Overholser AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS & SCIENCES Science and the Media Please direct inquiries to: American Academy of Arts and Sciences 136 Irving Street Cambridge, MA 02138-1996 Telephone: 617-576-5000 Fax: 617-576-5050 Email: [email protected] Web: www.amacad.org Science and the Media Edited by Donald Kennedy and Geneva Overholser © 2010 by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences All rights reserved. ISBN#: 0-87724-087-6 The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is grateful to the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands for supporting The Media in Society project. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands or the Officers and Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Contents vi Acknowledgments vii Preface 1 Chapter 1 Science and the Media Donald Kennedy 10 Chapter 2 In Your Own Voice Alan Alda 13 Chapter 3 Covering Controversial Science: Improving Reporting on Science and Public Policy Cristine Russell 44 Chapter 4 Civic Scientific Literacy: The Role of the Media in the Electronic Era Jon D. Miller 64 Chapter 5 Managing the Trust Portfolio: Science Public Relations and Social Responsibility Rick E. Borchelt, Lynne T. Friedmann, and Earle Holland 71 Chapter 6 Response to Borchelt, Friedmann, and Holland on Managing the Trust Portfolio: Science Public Relations and Social Responsibility Robert Bazell 74 Chapter 7 The Scientist as Citizen Cornelia Dean 80 Chapter 8 Revitalizing Science Journalism for a Digital Age Alfred Hermida 88 Chapter 9 Responsible Reporting in a Technological Democracy William A.
    [Show full text]
  • Graduate Journalism Course Descriptions
    Graduate Journalism Course Description Handbook Table of Contents JOUR 500 Introduction to Newswriting and English-Language Reporting 3 JOUR 503 Visual Literacy and Introduction to Documentary Storytelling 3 JOUR 504 Introduction to Emerging Technology 3 JOUR 505 The Practice: Journalism’s Evolution as a Profession 4 JOUR 508 Introduction to Video Reporting 4 JOUR 510 Special Assignment Reporting 4 JOUR 511 Introduction to Narrative Non-Fiction 4 JOUR 512 Advanced Interpretive Writing 4 JOUR 515 Introduction to Audio Storytelling 4 JOUR 517 Advanced Investigative Reporting 5 JOUR 519 Advanced Writing and Reporting for Magazine and the Web 5 JOUR 521 Documentary Pre-Production 5 JOUR 522 Video Documentary Production 6 JOUR 523 Public Radio Reporting 6 JOUR 524 Advanced Broadcast Reporting 6 JOUR 525 This California Life: Storytelling for Radio and Podcasting 6 JOUR 526 Advanced Broadcast News Production 6 JOUR 527 Advanced Disruption: Innovation with Emerging Technology 6 JOUR 528 Summer Digital News Immersion 6 JOUR 531 Fall Digital News Immersion 7 JOUR 533 Web Journalism and Editorial Site Management 7 JOUR 539 Introduction to Investigative Reporting 7 JOUR 540 International Journalism Seminar I 7 JOUR 542 Foreign Affairs Reporting 7 JOUR 545 International Internships in the Media 7 JOUR 546 News, Numbers and Introduction to Data Journalism 7 JOUR 547 Navigating the Media Marketplace 8 JOUR 552 Television Reporting and Production 8 JOUR 553 Coding and Programming for Storytelling 8 JOUR 554 Reporting with Data 8 JOUR 555 Advanced Coding
    [Show full text]
  • The Argument That Too Little Science Is Available in News Media Is Certainly
    JOURNALISTS NEED TO KNOW HOW TO WRITE ABOUT SCIENCE – AND WE CAN TEACH THEM By Steve McIlwaine Introduction Australian journalists need to write and broadcast more about science. The view that too little science is available in news media, a constant complaint of the science lobby, is certainly supported by public opinion. Surveys in Australia have mirrored those in Britain and the US in showing repeatedly and overwhelmingly that news audiences want to hear and see more about science in their media and that they consistently rate science as more desirable than politics or sport (Metcalfe and Gascoigne 1995; Lowe 1997). Clearly, it is in the interests of journalism and news organisations to tap this underexploited resource. But journalists appear to avoid science topics and are largely unequipped to handle medical science, environmental science, or any science, in ways that do not distort, misrepresent or misunderstand the science and that do not promote a continuing feud with scientists. Journalism and journalism education are unlikely, for their own good reasons of scepticism, to adopt the broadly uncritical acceptance of the promotion of science communication as a “motherhood statement”. Journalism should – and increasingly does – see science as an important area of human activity that has no inherent precedence over other important activities. But journalism and journalism education can obviously not ignore the fact that science is playing an ever-greater role in the everyday life and concerns of news audiences. Just as journalists have seen it as their responsibility to present information and interpretation in such fields as politics, economics and the legal system, so they are becoming increasingly less able to avoid responsibility for informing about and interpreting science in its manifold forms.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Journalism Studies the Key Concepts
    Digital Journalism Studies The Key Concepts FRANKLIN, Bob and CANTER, Lily <http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5708-2420> Available from Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive (SHURA) at: http://shura.shu.ac.uk/26994/ This document is the author deposited version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. Published version FRANKLIN, Bob and CANTER, Lily (2019). Digital Journalism Studies The Key Concepts. Routledge key guides . Routledge. Copyright and re-use policy See http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive http://shura.shu.ac.uk <BOOK-PART><BOOK-PART-META><TITLE>The key concepts</TITLE></BOOK- PART-META></BOOK-PART> <BOOK-PART><BOOK-PART-META><TITLE>Actants</TITLE></BOOK-PART- META> <BODY>In a special issue of the journal Digital Journalism, focused on reconceptualizsing key theoretical changes reflecting the development of Digital Journalism Studies, Seth Lewis and Oscar Westlund seek to clarify the role of what they term the “four A’s” – namely the human actors, non-human technological actants, audiences and the involvement of all three groups in the activities of news production (Lewis and Westlund, 2014). Like Primo and Zago, Lewis and Westlund argue that innovations in computational software require scholars of digital journalism to interrogate not simply who but what is involved in news production and to establish how non-human actants are disrupting established journalism practices (Primo and Zago, 2015: 38). The examples of technological actants
    [Show full text]
  • Science Journalism in India
    Science Journalism in India Manoj Patairiya ABSTRACT Man could well have originated science communication with the early discoveries, the most important being the discovery of fire and dissemination of its knowledge. In India, sage Atharvan is credited for the discovery of fire churning technology and its dissemination during ancient period. A whole host of scientific literature was created in India during ancient, Vedic, post Vedic and classical periods. Medieval period saw emergence of newer trends in science communication when commentaries on earlier scientific texts were written and structures like Jantar Mantar (observatory) were built, but these were accessible to a few elites in the society. The real shift in science communication in favour of the common man became evident in modem times when it was now possible to bring out publications in large numbers. Science journalism started in India in 1818 with the publication of monthly Digdarshan published in Hindi, Bengali and English, carrying a few articles on science and technology. Science communication proliferated in independent India. This paper discusses the trends now emerging in India given the efforts, the slackness in quality and moves to improve it, the plurality of mass media, and a sound science and technology base of the country; arrived at through an in-depth study intended at furthering the cause of science communication and scientific attitude. The study indicates that science coverage attributed to mass media is abysmally poor, i.e. around 3 percent, which is far below the desired level of 10-15 percent. The present work is an attempt to find out the extent of demand and supply of S&T coverage in various mass media and presenting an emerging scenario of science and technology journalism in the country.
    [Show full text]
  • Newspaper Copy Desks in 2000: the Impact of Pagination, Design and Journalism Education
    NEWSPAPER COPY DESKS IN 2000: THE IMPACT OF PAGINATION, DESIGN AND JOURNALISM EDUCATION By AMY MOULDEN A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MASS COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2001 Copyright 2000 by Amy Moulden ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Mindy McAdams, the Knight Chair professor of journalism at the University of Florida, for her guidance in creating the online survey for this study. I also would like to thank my committee--Dr. Leonard Tipton, committee chair, Dr. John Griffith and Dr. Kurt Kent--for their guidance. In addition, I am grateful to the news desk supervisors, copy editors and designers who took the time to talk with me about their jobs. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................vi CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1 2 LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................................4 Evolution of Copy Editors .............................................................................................. 4 Technology Grows Up ................................................................................................... 4
    [Show full text]
  • Journalism Innovation Research, a Diverse and Flourishing Field (2000-2020) José-Alberto García-Avilés
    Review article: Journalism innovation research, a diverse and flourishing field (2000-2020) José-Alberto García-Avilés Nota: Este artículo se puede leer en español en: http://www.profesionaldelainformacion.com/contenidos/2021/ene/garcia_es.pdf How to cite this article: García-Avilés, José-Alberto (2021). “Review article: Journalism innovation research, a diverse and flourishing field (2000-2020)”. Profesional de la información, v. 30, n. 1, e300110. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2021.ene.10 Invited article received on December 3rd, 2020 José-Alberto García-Avilés https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7854-3476 Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche Departamento de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas Av. de la Universidad, s/n. 30202 Elche (Alicante), Spain [email protected] Abstract The aim of this article is to review research in media innovation through a holistic, analytical, and concise approach. Al- though research in journalism innovation has experienced considerable growth in recent years, theoretical, methodolo- gical, and systematic contributions have received little and fragmented attention. Three hundred and two peer-reviewed publications, in both English and Spanish, were included in the sample. The most researched areas included diffusion theory, management, organizational culture, professional profiles, business models, genres and content, tools and tech- nology, media labs and start-ups. Other less developed areas, such as policy, methodology, ethics, or journalism educa- tion, are also discussed. Finally, a number of proposals regarding further research on journalism innovation, considering the effect of Covid-19 on the media, are discussed. Keywords Journalism innovation; Media innovation; Diffusion of innovation; Digital journalism; Innovation research; Distribution; Management; Organizational culture; Professional profiles; Processes; Technologies; Policies; Business models; Metho- dologies; Ethics; Societal impact; Review article.
    [Show full text]
  • Accuracy, Independence, Impartiality
    Reuters Institute Fellowship Paper University of Oxford ACCURACY, INDEPENDENCE, AND IMPARTIALITY: How legacy media and digital natives approach standards in the digital age by Kellie Riordan Trinity Term 2014 Sponsor: Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the digital age, one of the most complex challenges for media outlets is how to re- shape the editorial responsibilities of journalism itself. Which journalistic standards, many devised last century, still fit in the digital age? And which standards form the basis of a new type of journalism being pioneered by hybrid news sites that have come of age in the digital era? This paper focuses on the key editorial standards of accuracy, independence, and impartiality, and examines how these three principles are approached in the digital era. The paper then concentrates on three legacy organisations (the Guardian, the New York Times, and the BBC) and three digital outlets (Quartz, BuzzFeed, and Vice News) and the measures each outlet takes to uphold editorial integrity. Based on interviews with a wide range of industry experts, scholars and representatives of both traditional and new media, the paper asks two key questions: what can legacy organisations with hundreds of years of history learn from how digital natives approach standards? Which traditional journalistic standards held by legacy organisations should be more firmly adopted by newcomers? Finally, this paper argues a third form of journalism is emerging; one that combines the best of legacy standards with the new approaches of digital natives. Such a hybrid form requires a more streamlined, contemporary set of editorial standards that fit the internet era.
    [Show full text]
  • Journalism Journalism
    CULTURAL JOURNALISM CULTURAL In an era when culture itself has become central to political debates, when boundaries between hard news and soft news, facts and opinion are dissolving, cultural journalism contributes to democratic discourse on vital issues of our time. Cultural journalism is furthermore indicative of journalistic autonomy and specialisation within media organisations, and of the intertwined relationship between the cultural and political public spheres. Nordic cultural journalism in Countries in the Nordic the mainstream media covers more subjects today than ever before, from fine arts to gam- ing, media industries, and lifestyle issues. At the same time, it harbours debates and reflec- tion on freedom of expression, ethnicity and national identity. This book contributes to an emerging international research agenda on cultural journalism at a time when digitalisation, convergence and globalisation are influencing the character of journalism in multiple ways. | “Cultural journalism matters, and it matters differently by location. This nuanced and (eds.) & Kristina Riegert Kristensen Nørgaard Nete CULTURAL thoughtful portrayal of cultural journalism in the Nordic countries performs a double elevation CULTURAL of what has been missing for too long from journalism’s discussion: its stylistic and geographic variety. This book offers a strong set of studies that highlight what cultural journalism in the JOURNALISMJOURNALISM Nordic countries forces us to consider about all journalism everywhere.” BARBIE ZELIZER Raymond Williams Professor of Communication, inin thethe NordicNordic CountriesCountries Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania NORDICOM University of Gothenburg Box 713, SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden Telephone +46 31 786 00 00 • Fax + 46 31 786 46 55 Nete Nørgaard Kristensen 4 7 E-mail [email protected] & Kristina Riegert (eds.) NORDICOM 5 7 5 www.nordicom.gu.se 9 7 Nørgaard Kristensen, Nete & Riegert, Kristina (2017).
    [Show full text]
  • The Adoption of Smartphones Among American Journalists: a National Survey
    The adoption of smartphones among American journalists: A national survey The adoption of smartphones among American journalists: A national survey Submitted to Newspaper Research Journal May 2013 Abstract This national survey of working journalists examined the extent to which they have adopted smartphones in their work and how that adoption has changed their routines and practices. Results show that most journalists have smartphones and feel they have improved the quality of their work. Journalists with smartphones are freed from their desks and gather more multimedia information than those without smartphones. Keywords Smartphones, multimedia, diffusion, technology, journalism, routines 0 The adoption of smartphones among American journalists: A national survey Journalism is in a state of flux as its practitioners struggle to adapt historically entrenched routines and practices to a changing business and technological environment. Recent technological advances in particular have expanded journalism’s possibilities. For instance, in 2003 a “backpack journalist” might have carried about $15,000 in computers, cameras and phones. But only a few years later, all of this capability was available in a single, palm-sized device costing less than $500. Since these smartphones became widely available in 2007, journalism trade observers and commentators have noted their potential as a journalistic tool.1 Smartphones, of course, were not invented for journalism, and there is no doubt about their popularity among Americans in general. In 2012, nearly
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond the Frame
    Beyond the Frame: Journalists’ Definitions of Immersive Journalism Ethics and Its Place in the Modern Media Landscape Master’s Thesis Laura Urbonaviciute | Student ID 11896760 Thesis supervisor: Penny Sheets Thibaut Graduate School of Communication, University of Amsterdam MA Erasmus Mundus Master: Journalism, Media & Globalization 30th of May 2018 Abstract This study analyzes how immersive journalism (IJ) ethics are defined and understood by IJ professionals. Qualitative research interviews were conducted with 15 leading journalists in the field, working for such media organizations as The New York Times, Al Jazeera and Euronews. The research aims to understand how new technology challenges current media ethics and whether traditional practices are still relevant in the changing media environment. Findings disclose that IJ professionals share traditional journalistic values and see their fundamental role in society as that of informing the public. However, immersive technology poses new challenges to journalists by enabling them to use such features as embodiment or recreation of events in a way that can potentially traumatize viewers. IJ also encourages the public to consume journalism more actively, diminishing the distance between audiences and journalists. This proximity is seen as one potential way to re-establish the public’s trust in the media, and to strengthen journalism’s position in modern society. At the same time, the study raises interesting questions about ethics’ connection to market considerations. The interviewees recognized that ethical concepts need to be expanded and adapted as well as best practices established. It is important to discuss ethics while the field develops, and this research fills an important research gap on understanding IJ professionals’ perceptions of the ethics of their profession.
    [Show full text]