Cibermedios Hiperlocales Ibéricos: El Nacimiento De Una Nueva Red De Proximidad Cibermeios Hiperlocais Ibéricos: O Nascimento De Uma Nova Rede De Proximidade
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CUADERNOS.INFO Nº 39 ISSN 0719-3661 Versión electrónica: ISSN 0719-367x http://www.cuadernos.info doi: 10.7764/cdi.39.966 Received: 04-06-2016 / Accepted: 10-07-2016 Iberian hyperlocal online media: The birth of a new proximity network Cibermedios hiperlocales ibéricos: el nacimiento de una nueva red de proximidad Cibermeios hiperlocais ibéricos: o nascimento de uma nova rede de proximidade XOSÉ LÓPEZ-GARCÍA, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, España ([email protected]) MARÍA-CRUZ NEGREIRA-REY, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, España ([email protected]) ANA-ISABEL RODRÍGUEZ-VÁZQUEZ, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, España ([email protected]) ABSTRACT RESUMEN RESUMO During the last decade, the Durante la última década, el ecosistema Ao longo da última década, o ecossistema communication ecosystem has comunicativo ha experimentado una comunicativo tem sofrido uma undergone a profound transformation profunda transformación desde la profunda transformação em relação à in the areas of proximity, due to the proximidad con la proliferación de los proximidade com a proliferação dos proliferation of hyperlocal online media. cibermedios hiperlocales. En este artículo cibermeios hiperlocais. Este artigo In this article, we explore the initiatives se exploran las iniciativas que han nacido descreve as iniciativas que nasceram born in Spain and Portugal, and we en España y Portugal y se evidencia la na Espanha e em Portugal e mostra a show the existence of a new media existencia de una nueva red de medios existência de uma nova rede de meios network in the areas of proximity. This de proximidad. El estudio comparado de de proximidade. O estudo comparativo study compares different elements of distintos elementos propios de la producción de diferentes elementos da produção de information production of five online informativa se aplica a cinco cibermedios informações aplica-se a cinco cibermeios media with different organizational and con diferentes modelos organizativos y de com diferentes modelos de organização management models. The results show gestión. Los resultados muestran tendencias e de gestão. Os resultados mostram common trends in terms of spaces and comunes en cuanto a los espacios y temas tendências comuns em relação a espaços coverage issues, active participation of de cobertura, participación activa de los e temas de cobertura, participação activa citizens or orientation to the community ciudadanos u orientación a la comunidad dos cidadãos ou orientação para a própria of the hyperlocal media. propia de los hiperlocales. comunidade dos hiperlocais. Keywords: hyperlocal cybermedia, Palabras clave: cibermedios hiperlocales, Palavras-chave: cibermeios digital journalism, network periodismo digital, comunicación en red, hiperlocais, jornalismo digital, communication, communication ecosistema comunicativo. comunicação em rede, ecossistema ecosystem. comunicativo. • How to cite: López-García, X., Negreira-Rey, M.C. y Rodríguez-Vázquez, A.I. (2016). Cibermedios hiperlocales ibéricos: el nacimiento de una nueva red de proximidad. Cuadernos.info, (39), 225-240. doi: 10.7764/cdi.39.966 225 LÓPEZ-GARCÍA, X., NEGREIRA-REY, M.C. y RODRÍGUEZ-VÁZQUEZ, A.I. Iberian hyperlocal online media INTRODUCTION citizens work and communicate5. The transition of the In the process of reconfiguration that is occurring in communicative ecosystem advances from the hand of the media ecosystem in Spain and Portugal, proximity citizens, increasingly involved in the use of current journalism is experiencing bad times on its paper technologies, from a traditional industry in the phase of version and there is an emergence of initiatives in the adaptation to the digital stage and online native media network. The last major economic crisis, which began in that experience with new technologies, in their aim to 2008 in our region, created a scenario characterized by consolidate positions in the communicative flow of the significant indices of discontent with traditional media network society. and the search for new channels of communication. The consolidation of the renewed interactive and This, in practice, has resulted in the birth of local and collaborative manifestations of communication, in the hyperlocal media that seek to become an alternative hands of active citizens, entails great changes not only to the local and regional media belonging to medium in the media ecosystem, where old and new media, and large media groups1. as well as large and small media, coexist, but also The economic crisis of recent years has hit many local in the uses and information consumptions, through media, with a significant number of disappearances different channels and devices. While the mass media and reduction of editions and/or disconnections2, struggle with different products and strategies to and has created a favorable breeding ground for new adapt to the new rules of the game and survive in an initiatives of communication of proximity. Although increasingly hostile environment (Scolari, 2012), and the closures of Spanish newspapers have not been as some of the new media bring innovations, all occupy numerous as in the United States3, the fact is that the spaces and feed one greater fragmentation in the field adjustments have been very relevant in the media of professional preparation of journalistic contents. offer and led to a reconfiguration in the local spaces. Some authors also highlight the potential of the In fact, in recent years, while some media had ceased added value of proximity information to make viable to continue in the market, others began their small and profitable the operation of online media. The fact enterprise-driven projects that seek to take advantage that age positively affects the willingness to pay for of the opportunities offered by the network society and local online news services (Goyanes, 2015, page 228) influence the sociopolitical and cultural dynamics of is a symptom of the possible emergence of a renewed local communities. appeal for incorporating local information in online The appearance of new communicative actors media and for the multiplication of local information emerges in a scenario conducive to innovation, the initiatives. rise of the social web and the use of information and communication technologies by important sectors of the population, but with few policies to promote plurality,4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK evealing a phase of transition towards a new model. THE CONFIGURATION OF THE NEW MEDIA However, the complexity of the transformations and ECOSYSTEM the lack of political will of the state governors has led The new communicative ecosystem has forced all to a letting do that is the opposite of a strategic approach actors to reconfigure and renew strategies and products, to intervene in favor of a greater plurality in the local with ongoing adaptation processes and initiatives born spaces of communication of our surroundings. and planned for the network society. In the new sphere, While this lack of active policies of communication while self-communication has emerged (Castells, 2009), –characteristic of the strategy applied to the spaces the journalistic industry is immersed in a profound of proximity during the first decade of the third reconversion to face the challenge of technological millennium (Marí & Sierra, 2008, p. 131)– remains, the innovation derived from digitalization and the financial use of information and communications technologies crisis (Casero, 2010). This has led to declines in virtually (ICTs) has increased, causing a transformation of all their income channels (especially advertising) and the the way in which administrations, companies and questioning of many of their industrial projects, as well as CUADERNOS.INFO Nº 39 / DECEMBER 2016 / ISSN 0719-3661 / E-Version: www.cuadernos.info / ISSN 0719-367x 226 LÓPEZ-GARCÍA, X., NEGREIRA-REY, M.C. y RODRÍGUEZ-VÁZQUEZ, A.I. Iberian hyperlocal online media of professional autonomy (Curran, 2010; Kreiss & Ananny, PROXIMITY ONLINE JOURNALISM IN SPAIN AND 2013). The companies of the sector are living in bad times PORTUGAL (Díaz Nosty, 2011) and the search for new business models Within this reconfiguration process immersed in the (Casero, 2010; Kaye & Quin, 2010) and new management network society, information of proximity is revalued as models (Campos, 2010) appears in all debates as an urgent a bonding and meeting space of the community, which need to face the challenges of nowadays. develops new forms of communication and interaction Although journalism lives one of the worst periods in a globally connected environment. Physical social of its history (Canavilhas, 2015), in the current network connections are reinforced on the Internet, which communicative scenario there are opportunities for also modifies some community socialization behaviors, new media and important changes in the relationship such as the greater facility to create affinity networks, between them and their users. In this ecosystem, citizens establish community-based and selective links between can interact, produce content and participate in the people who search for others like them (Castells, 2001). media (Carpentier, 2011), which confers to the users It is this linkage with the closest community that has of information pieces disseminated through different promoted the growth of local online media in the last channels renewed roles in the technologically mediated decades,