Picture: gate by peter castleton, license CC BY 2.0

ARTICLE: News agency ANP greatly influences online news in the Netherlands

The news agency Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANP) has become a more influential gatekeeper in political news in the Netherlands. A new article looking at the political coverage in print and online is written by Kasper Welbers, Wouter van Atteveldt and Jan Kleinnijenhuis of Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam and Nel Ruigrok of Erasmus University of Rotterdam. The … Continued


ARTICLE: BBC does not offer a plurality of views

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) continues to treat objectivity as a balance between the largest political parties, write Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Mike Berry, Iñaki Garcia-Blanco, and Jonathan Cable, all of Cardiff University, with Lucy Bennett, an independent researcher (names not in original order). The authors analysed 500 BBC news stories published over two month-long periods in … Continued


ARTICLE: Social media sources discredit political news

The audience perceive news stories that quote social media sources less credible than stories that are based on, for example, stake-outs, write Sanne Kruikemeier and Sophie Lecheler, both of the University of Amsterdam. The authors conducted an online survey on 422 respondents, who were asked to evaluate the credibility of certain journalistic work processes. Social … Continued


ARTICLE: Greenpeace led Dutch nuclear energy debate

Greenpeace was better able to get its message across to Dutch newspapers than nuclear energy companies, write Jelle Boumans and Rens Vliegenthart, both of University of Amsterdam, and Hajo Boomgaarden, of University of Vienna. The authors analysed press releases from two nuclear energy producers and Greenpeace, wire copies from two Dutch news agencies, and news … Continued


Source protection and information security in local news organisations – Paul Bradshaw interview

VIDEO: Source protection at local news organisations

Paul Bradshaw, course leader in Online Journalism at the Birmingham City University told JRN about his research into source protection in local news organisations. In the UK, many local outlets and journalists are unaware current surveillance practices and ignore security measures that are needed. Bradshaw also sheds light on his current research interest: making data … Continued


ARTICLE: Advocacy groups most influential over UK press

Anti-fracking advocacy groups were most capable of getting their messages through to the British press, write Jordan Neil, Tiffany Schweickart, Tianduo Zhang and Spiro Kiousis, all four of University of Florida, Josephine Lukito, of University of Wisconsin, Ji Young Kim, of University of Hawaii, and Guy Golan, of Syracuse University (names not in original order). … Continued


ARTICLE: Journalists don’t trust social media

Twitter have been widely adopted in newsrooms over the last number of years and it has become an integral part of the journalist toolkit, write Bahareh Rahmanzadeh Heravia and Natalie Harrowerb. Their new article investigates the adoption of social media into journalistic workflows, journalists’ attitudes towards various aspects of social media, and the content and perspectives generated … Continued


ARTICLE: Sources scared by Snowden’s revelations

Confidential sources have become more reluctant to leak information to journalists, writes Paul Lashmar of University of Sussex. Lashmar interviewed 12 experienced investigative reporters from the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It has become more risky and difficult to acquire confidential sources after the former NSA employee Edward Snowden revealed the extent … Continued


New International Journal of Communication out now

New issue of International Journal of Communication is now published. Four of the articles are especially interesting for those who are into journalism. Sasha Costanza-Chock and Pablo Rey Mazón write about PageOneX, an open source software tool they designed to aid in the coding, analysis, and visualization of newspaper front pages.  Kate Wright creates a theoretical model for studying relations between journalists … Continued


ARTICLE: Journalistic leaks largely unchanged

Despite the prominently displayed “megaleaks” of recent years, leaks are by and large the same as they were in 2001, write Zvi Reich and Aviv Barnoy, both of Ben-Gurion University of Negev. The authors interviewed Israeli journalists about their work practices in 2001, 2006 and 2011. Leaks are still a standard part of the professional … Continued