Public Service News on the Web

Abstract

This article provides an empirical basis for discussions of public service news on the Web. Through innovative use of computer-assisted data gathering and structuring, and a combination of quantitative methods, we present the results from a large-scale analysis of the online news content of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NRK. The study reveals not only specifics of the online news genre, but also the dual role of NRK as a public service broadcaster. nrk.no fulfils regional content provisions by having a heavy local news focus on the website's ''inside''. Simultaneously, its front page profile suggests NRK operates in direct competition with commercial national online news actors. The article offers new insights into the nature of online news as offered by a large, traditional media institution. These insights are key to any discussion of online journalism, as well as the future of public service broadcasting. Furthermore, through the employment of innovative computer-assisted data collection and structuring, the article aims to contribute to the development of the methodological arsenal of journalism studies.

Hyperlinking practices in Swedish online news 2007–2013: the rise, fall, and stagnation of hyperlinking as a journalistic tool

“…Content analysis online is, mildly put, challenging. Several researchers have stressed the general difficulties of analyzing the content of a liquid medium where traditional content analysis offers very few, if any, suitable methodologies (Deuze, 2008;Karlsson, 2012;Sjøvaag et al, 2012). Moreover, in order to protect their business, media organizations utilize various measures to prevent unauthorized downloading of their content from online archives (Murphy, Hashim, & O'Connor, 2007).…”

“…Chang et al have in two studies (Chang & Himelboim, 2009;Chang et al, 2012) singled out financial considerations as the sole factor having a negative impact on (external) hyperlinking practices, arguing that it is 'unthinkable' (Chang & Himelboim, 2009, p. 144) for commercial websites to direct readers out of their own online space. Advertising is dependent on exposure and external links would thus negatively affect the bottom line, especially since competition increases online (Himelboim, 2010;Sjøvaag et al, 2012;Weber & Monge, 2011). Although research has found that journalists are positive toward links and think they help to create context, in the end hyperlinking is constrained by financial considerations (Chang et al, 2012;Coddington, 2012).…”

“…Note also that none of these studies are longitudinal. Overall, research shows that internal links are used more often than external ones, and are perceived as more important (Carpenter, 2010;Chang, Southwell, Lee, & Hong, 2012;Larsson, 2013;Sjøvaag et al, 2012). Steensen (2011b) stresses that most studies of linking practices are made at a specific point in time, making it impossible to see any patterns in hyperlinking.…”

“…The term 'annotative journalism' was coined as early as 1995 to describe this new potential (Paul, 1995; see also Lapham, 1995). Since then, scholars have pointed to the potential of hyperlinking to open journalism up to the world outside and provide the audience with virtually unlimited information (De Maeyer, 2013;Deuze, 2003;Robinson, 2009;Steensen, 2011b); to change the way in which truth is constructed in journalism (Matheson, 2004, p. 457); to free journalism from the spatial limitations traditional media platforms in order to provide more in-depth coverage and context, a more complex and userdriven narrative (Carpenter, 2010;Dimitrova, Connolly-Ahern, Williams, Kaid, & Reid, 2003;Quandt, 2008); and to improve transparency by offering the audience access to source material and work routines as well as contextualizing issues on the public agenda (Karlsson, 2010;Sjøvaag, Moe, & Stavelin, 2012).…”

A Critical Axiology for Big Data Studies

“…Westwood et al (2013) examined 3.2 million articles to identify which foreign countries and regions receive most coverage in U.S. newspapers. Sjøvaag et al (2012) used computer-assisted data gathering and structuring to study the online news content of the Norwegian public service broadcaster. Even social media studies need not be about social media as a social phenomenon.…”