Paper prepared for the Future of Journalism Conference, Cardiff, September 2011 Newspapers, particularly in the Western world, have seen paid circulation decline in the last decade. Online news is abundantly available, but at the same time newspapers – in print and online - often serve as sources for other media. Their position is definitely weaker than before, but it would be an exaggeration to write their obituary right now. In this research we track the significance of newspapers in 160 countries worldwide by calculating how many people use daily newspapers and how this changed over the last decade. We compare countries and continents, and distinguish between paid and free newspapers. Results show that newspapers are particularly significant – with more than 50% of the population reading a newspaper on a daily basis - in sixteen countries in Europe (mainly in Nordic and Western Europe) and ten countries in Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Macau and some Gulf states). Most African, Asian and South American countries show a very low penetration of newspapers. Free dailies, however, have increased the presence of newspapers in Europe and some Asian and American countries. When shifts over the years are analyzed, the decline of newspapers mainly shows in Europe, Northern America, Australia and New Zealand although newspapers are still very well read in those areas. In Asia newspaper penetration has increased over the last decade. Latin America shows a stable penetration with population growing fast. In Africa there are only two copies of newspapers distributed per 100 inhabitants, a number that has not changed over the last decade.
DOCUMENT
In this article, the main question is whether and, if so, to what extent online journalism raises new moral issues and, if any, what kind of answers are preferable. Or do questions merely appear new, since they are really old ones in an electronic wrapping, old wine in new bottles? And how does journalism deal with the moral aspects of online journalism? The phenomenon of the Internet emerged in our society a few years ago. Since then, a large number of Dutch people have gone online, and the World Wide Web is now an integral part of our range of means of communication. Dutch journalism is online too, although certainly not in the lead. More and more journalists use the Internet as a source, especially for background information. Newspapers have their web sites, where the online version of the printed paper can be read. And that is it for the time being. There are no more far-reaching developments at present, certainly not on a large scale. Real online journalism is rather scarce in the Netherlands. The debate concerning the moral aspects of online journalism is mainly being conducted in the United States. First of all, by way of introduction, I will present an outline of online journalism. The first instance is the online version of the newspaper. Here, only to a certain degree new issues come up for discussion, since the reputation of reliability and accuracy of the papers, in spite of all criticism, also applies to their online versions. Besides, especially in the United States and increasingly in European countries as well, there is the so-called dotcom journalism, the e-zines, the online news sites without any relationship with printed newspapers. This may be the reason why these sites do not have a strong commitment to moral standards, at least as they have developed in the journalistic culture of the newspapers. After having outlined the moral issues arising in online journalism, the question will be addressed whether and, if so, to what extent it is meaningful and desirable to develop instruments of self-regulation for this new phenomenon of journalism.
DOCUMENT
Paper presented at Diversity of Journalisms. ECREA Journalism Studies Section and 26th International Conference of Communication (CICOM) The launch of more than 300 free daily newspapers worldwide during the last 15 years defies the idea that newspaper markets are impossible to penetrate. Although a third of papers closed down in the last ten years, newspaper circulation in most countries with free newspapers is actually higher than before their entry. Readership analysis of free newspapers shows that these papers have a younger audience than paid newspapers, contradicting the notion that young people don’t read newspapers anymore.
DOCUMENT
What is the impact of blogging, either by journalists or readers, on journalism? Do entries on readers' blogs lead to stories for professional journalists and how is the work of a blogging journalist influenced by the fact that he or she nowadays has a second publication platform and is more in contact with readers through the blog? We conducted content analyses of blogs and interviewed professional and amateur bloggers with blogs on Dutch national and local newspaper websites as well as editors who are responsible for the blogs on the websites. Newspapers employ different strategies when it comes to allowing either journalists or readers to blog on their newspaper websites. Local papers seem to profit most when it comes to getting story leads, or even scoops, from readers' blogs. Blogs on national newspapers' websites function more as personal diaries for the bloggers. The blogs by journalists and invited experts seem to flourish more on national papers' websites. There is also a difference in the 'directions' that bloggers get. With a stricter policy, mostly meaning that off-topic entries are discouraged, readers' blogs are more focused and are more valuable for journalists looking for news.
DOCUMENT
Regional news media are facing tough times, as they lose readers and advertisers rapidly. In The Netherlands, circulation decreased from 2.7 million in 1990 to 1.8 million in 2010, household penetration declined from 47 percent to 25 percent, and the number of titles went down from 35 to 18 in the same period. We interviewed managers and executives (2009 - 2010) of nine of the eighteen regional newspapers in The Netherlands, to analyse if and how they consider convergence (the transition to an integrated newsroom) a significant option to regain readers and advertisers. This study is part of a research project on the potential (long-term) consequences of convergence for the organizational structure, the work procedures, journalistic quality, and business models of regional news media. Our first results show that convergence is, indeed, embraced as a solution. However, views on how to approach the new market for online news through an integrated newsroom differ significantly. Management tends to operate safely, experimenting with small projects that can be discontinued easily, while editors and journalists on the work floor wish to invest heavily in both the education of employees and technical convergence on a more structural basis. In its examination of how convergence is strategically and operationally changing regional media in The Netherlands this study is the first of its kind.
DOCUMENT
This study utilises a quantitative observation study on student journalists (n=47), as well as reconstruction interviews with experienced editors and reporters in newsrooms (n=12), to understand how Dutch journalists search, select, and verify sources online. Through the recording of screen activity, we show that search strategies are heavily influenced by how the search engine sorts and ranks potential sources. Eventual selection of sources remains relatively traditional, focused on legacy media and their websites. Moreover, online news production clearly challenges the verification process. Results suggest that journalists use no explicit but only so-called hybrid methods of verifications, such as background checks of websites and social media accounts, and cross-checking of sources.
LINK
Social media and sharing economy platforms do not only disrupt industries. They also bypass democratic institutions. That’s not without risk, because the dominant Silicon Valley based online platforms are designed to create shareholder value, not to strengthen society or democracy. Which is unfortunate, because online platforms – if designed to that purpose – can be uniquely power full tools for organising our networked society.In Amsterdam over 90 neighbourhood networks use online platforms for self organisation. This development accelerated from 2010 on. The networks aim at strengthening social ties and local initiatives and are increasingly involved in some way of democratic innovation. This study is a deep dive into this urban bottom-up-movement. It puts the phenomena of online neighbourhood platforms in a broader societal and economical context. It points at the importance of user owned platforms and data. And it draws conclusions on how society and specifically municipal management can bring this movement to a next level. Ultimately with the potential of growing into an alternative for the Silicon Valley owned online platform ecosystem.
DOCUMENT
In 1999 werden de gratis kranten Metro en Spits in Nederland gelanceerd. Behalve die twee titels werden ook zes andere gratis dagbladen in Nederland gestart tussen 2000 en 2008. In 2007 bereikte de totale gratis oplage een hoogtepunt van bijna twee miljoen per dag. In dit artikel wordt de geschiedenis van de deze categorie kranten beschreven tegen de Europese achtergrond waar ook sprake is van een ‘levenscyclus’ met een snelle opkomst en een sterke sanering die tijdens de economische recessie inzette. Daarnaast wordt ingegaan op de voorlopers van deze mediasoort, op de lezers van gratis kranten en de gevolgen die gratis kranten op de totale krantenoplage in Nederland heeft gehad. Halfway the first decennium of the 21st century free newspapers in the Netherlands had a circulation of almost two million and were responsible for a third of the total newspaper circulation. Four national titles competed. They saw a quick rise and also a sudden decline after 2008. In 2015 only one national model remains. In this article we analyse this development against the European background as several countries in Europe show the same picture. Also the historical context of the global rise of free newspapers – going back to the late 19th century – and kickstarted in 1995 by Metro Sweden -is provided. As free newspapers rely only on advertising for income, a combination of economic recessions and fierce competition can be lethal. Free newspapers mainly compete among themselves which explained the sudden decline in the number of titles and circulation after 2008. Also the rise of digital media could be harmful for free newspapers as they provide a attractive alternative for young readers, the target group for free newspapers. There always has been a high overlap between the readership of free and paid newspapers, suggesting low substitution. Free newspapers seem to follow a pattern of a classic ‘life cycle’ model.
MULTIFILE
News media in The Netherlands show great variety in the extent and ways, in which they realize media accountability online in terms of actor transparency, product transparency and feedback opportunities online. It is suggested that even those news rooms that seem to adhere to transparency and public accountability still need to explore the functionality and application of media accountability instruments (MAI). Both in terms of potentials and pitfalls, news rooms need to consider about what they want to be transparent and in what ways. To the extent that online innovations are visible, traditional news media seem to experiment, as is the case with newsroom blogs or the project of hyper local journalism Dichtbij.nl, part of the Telegraaf Company. Various news media have on-going projects on audience participation, online applications and distribution models. However, since many projects merely aim at finding new applications, processes, platforms and business models, it remains to be seen assess whether projects are indeed reasonably innovative and feasible at the same time. The development of an online and therefore immediate, archived, personalized and interactive context, offers practical and ethical challenges to Dutch journalism. These challenges bring shifts in its role and responsibility to society. It means that changes occur in what journalists are accountable for, as well as ways in how they are accountable. The Dutch media landscape lodges various professional accountability instruments like the press council and both profession-wide and news media specific codes of ethics, but some of these instruments receive only moderate support. Proactive openness is more an exception than the rule and may well be a distinctive indicator for quality journalism. Although news media often acknowledge the importance of media accountability offline and online, they often lack the resources or courage to use them or have different priorities. This ambiguous position may indicate that in relation to media accountability online, Dutch news media are between hope and fear: that it will either improve their relationship with the public and fuel professional quality, or ask too much of resources with too little benefit.
DOCUMENT
Hoofdstuk 2 gaat over peer en professionele online support voor ouders bij het opvoeden. In totaal bevat het boek 31 hoofdstukken over sociaal netwerken, geschreven door tientallen onderzoekers wereldwijd.
MULTIFILE