Consequences of cost-cutting strategies in newsrooms

New study “From One Division of Labor to the Other: The Relation between Beat Reporting, Freelancing, and Journalistic Autonomy” by Sarah van Leuven,  Bart Vanhaelewyn and Karin Raeymaeckers of Ghent University in Belgium surveyed Belgian journalists in 2013 and 2018 about the consequences of cost-cutting in newsrooms. The authors focused their study on consequences to … Continued


Picture: Palais de la Nation Bruxelles by Oakenchips, license CC BY-SA 3.0

ARTICLE: Interpretive journalism on government negotiations has risen significantly in Belgium

The amount of interpretive political journalism has risen steadily in Belgium over the years, a study finds. Karolin Soontjens of the University of Antwerp, studied newspaper coverage on coalition negotiations in Belgium, conducting a content analysis for news articles between 1985 and 2014. The author analysed a total of 1 342 articles from two Flemish newspapers, … Continued



Picture: Amsterdam, Keizersgracht by werner22brigitte, license CC0 1.0

ARTICLE: The connection between immigration news and real-world developments

How do news about immigration relate to real-life developments? University of Amsterdam researchers Laura Jacobs, Alyt Damstra, Mark Boukes and Knut De Swert did a longitudinal study from 1999 to 2015 analysing trends in immigration news and comparing these to real-world events and developments. The dictionary-based automated content analysis included over 4 million news articles … Continued



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ARTICLE: Lack of awareness and practical difficulties constrict diversity in Flemish news

Women and ethnic minorities continue to be underrepresented in the news media. Hanne Vandenberghe, Leen d’Haenens and Baldwin Van Gorp, all of KU Leuven, wanted to find out the extent to which the Flemish press in Belgium gives voice to gender and ethnic diversity. The article also points out explanations in the news production process … Continued


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ARTICLE: News agenda influences generalist politicians more than specialists

Politicians who are involved with many issues are more likely to follow the agenda set by news media than specialized politicians are, write Alon Zoizner and Tamir Sheafer, both of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with Stefaan Walgrave, of University of Antwerp. The authors analysed over 45 000 speeches given by Belgian, Canadian, and Israeli … Continued



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ARTICLE: TV health news use most sources

Health news on television are more “richly sourced” than similar news on radio, in print, or online, Joyce Stroobant, Rebeca De Dobbelaer, and Karin Raeymaeckers (all of Ghent University) write. The authors analysed the health-related news pieces 35 Belgian news outlets published in February 2015 (N=981). The average number of sources used in TV health … Continued


interview by Kristin Wolff, licence CC BY 2.0;

ARTICLE: French speaking journalists are different – but not by much

Francophone journalists in Canada, Belgium, and Switzerland perceive their role slightly differently from their majority-language peers, a comparative survey found. The findings are detailed in an article authored by Geneviève Bonin (University of Ottawa), Filip Dingerkus and Vinzenz Wyss (Zurich University of Applied Sciences at Winterthur), Annik Dubied and Vittoria Sacco (University of Neuchâtel), Stefan … Continued