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ARTICLE: New Zealand’s media is converging beyond ownership concentration

Ownership concentration is not the only relevant measure of media convergence, although it is the only form that has been researched in the New Zealand context, Merja Myllylahti, of Auckland University of Technology, writes. Myllylahti analysed a host of studies, corporate documents and press reports in order to map out how different forms of convergence … Continued

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Published: 24 Nov 2017
Young woman reading newspaper at Ohio Univeristy, 1980, photo courtesy of Ohio University Libraries, licence CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

ARTICLE: African American papers invest in online presence and free circulation

The paid circulation of African American newspapers has since 1993 declined, and they are instead circulated increasingly as freesheets, write Stephen Lacy and Daniel Krier, both of Michigan State University, with Sandra L. Combs, of Arkansas State University (names not in original order). The authors gleaned data regarding African American papers from the Editor & … Continued

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Published: 17 Nov 2017
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ARTICLE: Change of ownership increased political content in the front pages of Wall Street Journal

Relatively more political stories were being promoted after Rupert Murdoch took over the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a study by Allison M. Archer, of the University of Richmond, and Joshua Clinton, of Vanderbilt University, shows. They examined how ownership influences media behavior by researching the impact of Murdoch’s purchase of the newspaper in August 2007. … Continued

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Published: 15 Nov 2017
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ARTICLE: The most successful independent news sites depended on few revenue sources

Acquiring multiple sources for revenue is usually good for a business. Looking at independent online news services in the United States, a study by Brian L. Massey of East Carolina University found quite the opposite results. Massey conducted a survey on 127 stand-alone news sites in 2014. For-profit news sites performed the best with a … Continued

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Published: 15 Nov 2017
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ARTICLE: Who pays for investigative journalism online – and why?

John Price, of University of Sunderland, has surveyed the subscribers of the online investigative journalism co-operative, The Ferret. Price wanted to find out who the subscribers are and what makes them want to invest money on the service. A total of 110 subscribers responded to Price’s survey, which represents a quarter of the small Scottish … Continued

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Published: 13 Oct 2017

ARTICLE: Sky News’ coverage of Qatar

Qatar Airways, whose parent company is the government of Qatar, has offered generous sponsorship of Sky News’ weather reports over the last decade, write Tal Samuel-Azran and Inbal Assaf, of Sammy Ofer School of Communications. The study examines whether national companies’ sponsorship of content on global news media leads to more positive coverage of the sponsoring … Continued

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Published: 11 Oct 2017
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ARTICLE: Indirect media bribery common at local and regional levels in US media

The non-transparency of media is related to the issues of native advertising and content marketing. Katerina Tsetsura and Kelsie Aziz, both of University of Oklahoma, surveyed 287 members of the Public Relations Society of America on media transparency practices. According to the results, media bribery is not a pressing issues in the United States. New … Continued

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Published: 29 Sep 2017
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ARTICLE: Spain’s “Link Tax” increased fragmentation of online news consumption

The 2015 “Link Tax” legislation is Spain imposed a copyright fee for showing snippets of content created by newspapers. Similar regulations are being considered on the European level. Silvia Majó-Vásquez, of the University of Oxford, Ana S. Cardenal, of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, and Sandra González-Bailón, of the University of Pennsylvania, examined the impact … Continued

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Published: 19 Sep 2017
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ARTICLE: Advertisers hold back investigative business journalism

The dependence on advertising revenue discourages newsrooms from pursuing critical investigations, Maha Rafi Atal, of University of Cambridge, writes. The author interviewed 22 American and British journalists working in six newsrooms. Atal also had the opportunity to investigate the newsrooms’ financial statements. Many of the newsrooms were heavily reliant on advertising revenue, which made the … Continued

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Published: 18 Sep 2017
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ARTICLE: Four ways to control media by government funding

“Regulation, legislation, physical attacks, and threats against journalists or media owners are effective methods used to capture the media. But funding is arguably the most effective method of all”, Marius Dragomir, of Central European University (CEU) in Hungary, argues. The article describes trends in how governments use funding to control media, directly and indirectly. There … Continued

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Published: 7 Sep 2017