This paper presents some of the preliminary results of the research project “Active Audiences and Journalism: Engaged citizens or motivated consumers?”. The findings presented in this paper are based on a mixed-methods approach, in which both quantitative and qualitative methodologies are used to better understand Spanish audiences’ attitudes and motivations towards online participation. The research is focused on the study of citizens’ opinion about the democratic function of news media and their role in a new media environment in which any citizen can potentially become a content producer. More specifically, this subproject is aimed at better comprehend the motivations that foster citizens to actively participate by using the mechanisms provided by online news media within their websites (blogs, comments, forums, recommendations, calls for stories and pictures) as well as the open platforms of social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others). Results show that although the widespread discourses of distrust connected to journalists and traditional media institutions, as well as the general complaints about the actual practice of the journalistic profession, the common understanding of the participatory dimension of the new media environment is not constructed in relation to discourses of change or modification of the existing hegemonies. Instead of turning to alternative sources (such as citizen journalism or non-traditional media), or taking the lead with participatory practices of content creation, participants prefer to continue respecting journalism as a profession and traditional media institutions as the main producers of news as well as the most trusted sources of information. In fact, 50% of online users follow media accounts on social networks, and 1 out 3 also following journalists. Nevertheless, although the gatekeeping model of journalism is not yet in crisis, contacts on social media do act as a new kind of gatekeepers (81% of news recommended on social media come from contacts). These new gatekeepers, however, do not contribute to diversify news’ exposure: most of the news that users receive recommended by their social media contacts are from media sources that they already read (75%), and only 7% are from media of different ideological perspectives than their own. The participatory dimension of the new media environment provides to citizens different ways to produce and publish online their own content about public issues. Regarding this ‘amateur’ or ‘non‐professional’ news content, research participants show highest level of trust on the content originated by professional journalists than in the content produced by the non-professional ones.

1. Journalists hegemonies in the age of
journalism participation:
the audience's perspective
Pere Masip, Jaume Suau, Carles Ruiz, Javier
Guallar, M. Peralta (Universitat Ramon Llull)
Montreal
16/07/2015

2. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
• Ambivalence towards fostering audience
participation (Singer et al., 2011)
• Economic motivations lead participatory
journalism (Vujnovic et al., 2010)
• Normative perspective in research:
assumption that participation in and through
the media is good for democracy (Carpentier,
2011; Borger et al, 2013).
Journalism perspective

3. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
• A holistic perspective on audience
participation
• From the perspective of the journalists to the
one of citizens
• Motivations, practices and expectations
• The role of audience participation in
journalism and democracy
The Research Project

4. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
• To find out which motivations have citizens to
participate
• To research citizens’ self-perception about
their role in news production
• To determine which news sources citizens
consider to better embody the democratic
function of media, and whether citizens’
participation enhances that function
Objectives

5. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
• Quantitative survey representative of the
Spanish online population in collaboration
with AIMC (N=591). Questionnaire: 67
questions.
• 12 focus groups with 5 to 9 citizens each
• Survey of active participants in partner news
websites (in progress)
Methodology

6. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
Importance of Internet as a source of news
47.8
44.2
4.7 3.3
Main source Secondary source but important
Secondary source but unimportant Don't use internet as a source of news

7. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
Most popular activities on social networks
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Interacting
with friends
Family
relationships
Professional
relationships
Search for a
partner
Hobbies Access to
news
Other
88.1
43.8
32.3
2.0
37.6
48.1
5.8

8. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
Source of the news received through social networks
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Media Associations,
NGOs...
Companies Friends Journalists Celebrities
47.4
30
16
81.2
20.8
14.6

9. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
• In social networks:
– Receive news from media they usually read: 77,4%
– From media with opposite ideological views: 7.2%
• Outside social networks:
– Prefer media with the same point of view: 30%
– With a neutral point of view: 63%
– With a different point of view: 7%
Ideological bubbles?

10. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
75.2% say “Most media are biased” but also
74.3% say that media help them find the
information they are interested
• “I think that news media inform according their
ideology”
• “Some of them [news media] hide the facts… but
you can now find out the facts through social
networks”
Distrust

11. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
To what extent do you think the news produced by professional
journalists or by non-professional citizen journalists is reliable?
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Professional journalists
Very
Quite
Not very
Not at all
Non professional citizen journalists
Very
Quite
Not very
Not at all
9.9
53.9
32.9
3.3
3.3
36.5
52.4
7.8

12. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
• “… at least there is a person who signs the
news story, but in social networks no one
signs them”
• “… when I receive one [a news story through
social networks] which is not signed I don’t
trust it”
• “rumours are very dangerous”

13. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
Use of participatory interactivity tools
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0
Several times per day
Almost all days/week
Several times per week
Several times per month
Less often /Never
Several times per day
Almost all days/week
Several times per week
Several times per month
Less often /Never
Several times per day
Almost all days/week
Several times per week
Several times per month
Less often /Never
Several times per day
Almost all days/week
Several times per week
Several times per month
Less often /Never
Commentson
News
Voting/rating
news
Recommend
newsonTwitter
Recommend
newson
Facebook
4.1
7.3
11.3
18.2
59.1
2.4
4.3
6.5
17.1
69.8
3.3
3.8
5.6
9.4
77.9
3.3
7.1
10.1
21.8
57.6

14. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
Use of productive interactivity tools
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
Several times per day
Almost all days/week
Several times per week
Several times per month
Less often /Never
Several times per day
Almost all days/week
Several times per week
Several times per month
Less often /Never
Several times per day
Almost all days/week
Several times per week
Several times per month
Less often /Never
Several times per day
Almost all days/week
Several times per week
Several times per month
Less often /Never
Several times per day
Almost all days/week
Several times per week
Several times per month
Less often /Never
SendacorrectionProvidestories
Provide
picturesProvidevideos
Provide
audios
0.6
0.0
0.4
2.9
96.2
0.4
1.0
1.7
4.0
92.9
0.4
1.0
2.1
3.9
92.6
0.4
0.6
0.7
1.7
96.7
0.4
0.6
0.7
1.7
96.7

15. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
About the possibility to participate...
• “I’ve never done it, but I think it is interesting”
• “They don’t help [contents provided by users],
because news media are looking for morbidity
and most of the news [provided by users] are
related to deaths and disasters”
• I‘ve never done it… for laziness

16. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
The audience’s reasons for participating
25.3
9.5
15.6
11.0
54.4
To improve the news For fun
To defend my ideology To contest the wiew of others
Have never participate

17. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
Formats adopted by news media websites are not
attracting citizens’ online participation.
– Debates are too aggressive and uncivilised
– There exist no relation between users
– Participation is not a source for new information
– Lack of agency
– Journalists and media are not being involved
Why are citizens not interested to participate?

18. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
• Audiences are critical with professional
journalism…
• …but still relying on it to inform themselves
• Participation: mainly disseminating traditional
news rather than creating their own
First conclusions

19. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
Citizens show a lack of interest in being
news’ producers…
…and still respect the central position of
the professional journalist

20. Journalists hegemonies in the age of journalism participation
• Dual role of social networks users: consumers
and recommenders
• The journalist is no longer the sole gatekeeper
• Friends are the new gatekeepers
• ... But journalists continue to maintain their
hegemony

21. Merci Thanks Gràcies
Montreal
16/07/2015
Pere Masip and Jaume Suau