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Does it pay to appear unbiased in an attention-based economy where bias sells? We study this question in light of increased consumer partisan polarization and biases alongside greater technology usage and partisanship in journalism. Using a game-theoretic framework that captures the essential properties of the online news market, we show that polarization with biases may constrain neutral and partisan news websites' engagement-enhancing strategies differently; and online news providers can strategically exploit consumer perceptions to maximize engagement-driven revenues. Our analysis suggests that neutral news outlets depend on polarization imbalance and perceptions of neutrality. Moreover, increased search costs and consumer bias toward partisan outlets can lessen the echo chamber effect in online news consumption. Our work advances discussions on online news neutrality, providing fresh insights into the "marketplace of ideas" view and source versus content neutrality in the face of increasing affective polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online news can be shared and promoted via social media, mobile push messages, newsletters, "most read" boxes, or the like. This can result in feedback loops, in which views attract even more views. Using full click logs for five regional newspapers in the Netherlands, spanning $N_{{\rm views}} =$ N views = 12,108,263 views of $N_{{\rm articles}}=$ N articles = 17,982 articles for each minute over the course of 13 weeks, we shed light on potential feedback loops. While article placement and promotion decisions indeed increase their views, we find these effects to be short-lived, contradicting the feedback-loop hypothesis. Exceptions in line with the feedback-loop hypothesis mostly concern social media: If an article is spread via social media, it is not only clicked more, but also clicked on for a longer period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During major long-term crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, news media are crucial sources of information for the public. This study aimed to explore the frequency of COVID-19-related news consumption based on (1) phase of the pandemic, (2) socio-demographic characteristics, and (3) news information channels. The study used a dynamic cohort design with 18 rounds of data collection, including 306,692 responses from 83,180 unique respondents in the Netherlands from 17 April 2020 to 11 September 2022. Results showed that the frequency of general COVID-19-related news media consumption varied throughout the pandemic, following a general decreasing trend with relative spikes often coinciding with periods of stricter behavioural regulations. TV news, newspapers, and online news websites were the most popular news information channels among the respondents. Furthermore, multilevel regression analyses identified several socio-demographic factors influencing news consumption and preferred channels, namely age, migration background, living status, health status, and trust in government — these results remained stable throughout the pandemic. This study highlights the importance of selecting appropriate news channels to effectively reach different socio-demographic groups and shows that during a prolonged crisis, news consumption about the crisis fluctuates with worsening conditions but generally follows a decreasing trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research explores the temporality of television news reporting, focusing on the practices of Estonian Public Broadcasting and its foreign correspondents. Using qualitative content analysis by combining the temporality and structure-related concepts of Bell (1995) and Van Dijk (1985), we analyzed 48 news stories encompassing foreign affairs, including the Notre-Dame de Paris fire, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. Our findings underscore the significance of the "feeling of presence" generated by correspondents during events, augmenting the value of news reporting. Leveraging this emotional connection and unique perspective can facilitate more feature-like stories, enhancing memorability and viewer comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used large-scale telephone surveys in China and Singapore in 2022 to examine the antecedents and outcomes of news avoidance amid the COVID-19 "infodemic." The findings suggested a sequential process: Exposure to COVID-19 misinformation was related to information overload and subsequent news avoidance, which in turn was a correlate of skepticism toward vaccines. Moreover, the government' pandemic-control policies conditioned the process. Under the "living with COVID" policy, Singaporean respondents exhibited greater exposure to misinformation and showed more pronounced vaccine distrust. In contrast, feeling overloaded, Chinese respondents under "zero-COVID" policy were more likely to avoid news about the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While audience data are pivotal to producing journalism, audiences' perspectives on the issue have received relatively little attention. Addressing this gap, the paper examines audience members' tactics for making sense of and engaging with the datafied journalism into which they contribute with their data. Empirically grounded in group interviews and instant-messaging group chats with 21 readers of prominent Finnish tabloid Iltalehti, the author identified four tactics, along a continuum from permissive to resistive: an audience member may 1) happily benefit from datafied journalism; 2) be resigned to it yet reflect critically on it; 3) act to prevent effects on personal news-consumption patterns, by curating the content; or 4) entirely restrain themselves from engaging with it. Awareness of these tactics, which help individuals cope with and navigate the datafied-journalism landscape, facilitates grasping the factors in audiences' relations to datafied journalism and, thereby, understanding their consumption of news and their relationship with journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The news is an efficient way to share information and plays an important role in shaping and reflecting cultural values and norms. However, research examining news consumption and abortion attitudes is limited. In this exploratory study, we analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 886 US adults to assess whether self-reported frequency of news consumption—by news format (e.g., television, radio, newspaper, social media), news leaning (i.e., liberal, neutral, conservative), and total sum (i.e., total amount of consumption across leanings)—predicted abortion attitudes and complexity in attitudes. We conducted Poisson and negative binomial regression analyses controlling for demographic variables. We found that gender, political affiliation, Bible literalism, educational attainment, and abortion identity were significant predictors. While we did not observe a relationship between news format and abortion attitudes, we did find that the associations between news leaning and the total sum of news consumed varied across abortion identity. Our findings suggest that attitudes toward abortion may be differentially influenced by partisan news across abortion identity. After Dobbs v. Jackson , there is a need for advocates to tailor strategies to different sub-groups, promote media literacy, and encourage the use of diverse and balanced news sources to foster more informed views on abortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between respondents' vaccine hesitancy, reported media consumption patterns, ideological leanings, and trust in science. A large-scale survey conducted in the US in 2022 (N = 1,646) assessed self-reported COVID-19 vaccination, trust in science, and reported media consumption. Findings show that, regardless of personal ideology, individuals who consumed less conservative media and had a more ideologically diverse media diet were more likely to be fully vaccinated and boosted. Additionally, consuming more conservative media was negatively associated with trust in science, but this relationship was weaker among those with a more ideologically diverse media diet. By incorporating data from an earlier wave of the survey in the summer of 2020, before COVID-19 vaccines were available, we found that a less conservative and more ideologically diverse media diet in 2022 predicted vaccination behavior in 2022, controlling for prior vaccine intentions and media consumption in 2020. A similar survey conducted in the UK in the summer of 2020 paralleled patterns in the US regarding vaccine intentions and media consumption. These results suggest that an ideologically diverse media diet is associated with reduced vaccine hesitancy. Public health initiatives might benefit from encouraging ideologically diverse media consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines Israeli youth's news consumption habits and perceptions in a fragmented multi-media landscape intertwined in conflictual society. Using Q methodology and in-depth interviews with participants aged 15–18, the research uncovers four distinct cross-media repertoires of news consumers ("newsers") varying by frequency, content, and platform. Our findings underscore that in the digital era, the definition of "news" has evolved, encompassing not only traditional media but also personal stories and social media updates on current affairs, including everyday life events. Building on existing literature, this research offers insights into the lives of young individuals navigating a rapidly evolving media terrain in a society marked by persistent conflict. The study sheds light on the emerging generation poised to influence Israeli democracy. Understanding their nuanced perception of news can inform content creation strategies to connect with and activate them. Our findings hold broader theoretical, methodological and practical implications for fostering civic engagement and promoting constructive action not only within Israel but also in other nations grappling with political unrest. By leveraging these insights, policymakers, media professionals, and educators can work toward cultivating a more informed and participatory citizenry, thus contributing to the advancement of democracy and social cohesion on a global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While individuals' trust in search engine results is well-supported, little is known about their preferences when selecting news. We use web-tracked behavioral data across a 2-month period (280 participants) and we analyze three competing factors, two algorithmic (ranking and representativeness) and one psychological (familiarity), that could influence the selection of search results. We use news engagement as a proxy for familiarity and investigate news articles presented on Google search pages (n = 1221). We find a significant effect of algorithmic factors but not of familiarity. We find that ranking plays a lesser role for news compared to non-news, suggesting a more careful decision-making process. We confirm that Google Search drives individuals to unfamiliar sources, and find that it increases the diversity of the political audience of news sources. We tackle the challenge of measuring social science theories in contexts shaped by algorithms, demonstrating their leverage over the behaviors of individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms reshape news curation and consumption. Against this background, previous research has been focused on divides between groups regarding access to such digital technologies. Disparities in awareness and knowledge of AI across socio-demographic groups seem to persist, potentially leading to an algorithmic divide. Despite this situation, there is still limited research into such an emerging inequality. Building on the framework of algorithmic literacy, this study aims to contribute to this gap with findings from a national representative study in Germany (N = 1,090) in January 2022, considering socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, and education. Findings shed important light on the extent to which news audiences are knowledgeable about the use of AI and algorithms in news selection and recommendation, as well as in society. The results of our analysis imply that newsrooms should increase their knowledge about the potential divides created by applying AI across sectors to various socio-demographic groups and stay vigilant about the level of transparency of their AI use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As social media becomes a key channel for news consumption and sharing, proliferating partisan and mainstream news sources must increasingly compete for users' attention. While affective qualities of news content may promote engagement, it is not clear whether news source bias influences affective content production or virality, or whether any differences have changed over time. We analyzed the sentiment of ~30 million posts (on twitter.com) from 182 U.S. news sources that ranged from extreme left to right bias over the course of a decade (2011–2020). Biased news sources (on both left and right) produced more high arousal negative affective content than balanced sources. High arousal negative content also increased reposting for biased versus balanced sources. The combination of increased prevalence and virality for high arousal negative affective content was not evident for other types of affective content. Over a decade, the virality of high arousal negative affective content also increased, particularly in balanced news sources, and in posts about politics. Together, these findings reveal that high arousal negative affective content may promote the spread of news from biased sources, and conversely imply that sentiment analysis tools might help social media users to counteract these trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newsworkers have utilised the game format to create innovative storytelling through newsgames, a hybrid form of journalism. Newsgames blend journalism's pursuit of truth with the fictional elements of video games, creating a tension between “fact” and “fiction”. Existing literature lacks sufficient exploration of how this tension is managed in the production and consumption of newsgames. This study addresses this gap by examining how newsgame practitioners navigate truth claims and how players engage with these claims. Through semi-structured interviews with practitioners (n = 27) and gaming sessions with players (n = 28), the study reveals that practitioners take deliberate steps to justify newsgames, while players employ various strategies to evaluate their truth claims. These findings underscore the performative dimension of truth negotiation in newsgames, positioning audiences as active participants at the heart of this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding television viewing behavior is highly relevant, as it remains an important source of political news for many. Nowadays, viewers can choose between a growing diversity of formats covering political news, varying from traditional news broadcasts to late-night talk shows and satire. Yet, we have little to no information about the specific political content provided by television programs; and much less how this can be connected to viewing behavior and audience characteristics (political interest, ideology). Moving forward, using unique Dutch audience-meter data (3,672 viewers from 1,761 different households) from July 2017 to July 2018, we explore who is exposed to which (political) topic in what type of television program. We use automated content analysis to analyze the subtitles of television programs (N = 21,480). Our results indicate that situational factors, such as lead-in and lead-out effects affect news exposure. We also found that political interest does not only shape the volume but also the composition of audiences’ political information diets. Results show that higher political interest was associated with television audiences receiving a greater proportion of their news from public affairs and opinion programs. There does not appear to be any difference in patterns for political ideology; similar proportions of each type of program make up the information diets for both left and right viewers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common explanation linked to increased polarisation has focused on changes in citizens' information diets, with like-minded people apparently becoming increasingly isolated in online echo chambers. This article investigates whether news audience polarisation has increased in Iceland in recent years and if there is polarisation in Icelandic society concerning beliefs in misinformation and conspiracy theories. Iceland is an interesting case study since it is very small and still quite homogenous, but experiencing rapid societal changes and a media landscape in turmoil. We utilise data from representative surveys conducted in 2017 and 2022. Findings show that news consumption patterns in Iceland have shifted towards online platforms, with a significant increase in online news consumption across all age groups, and a decline in the use of traditional legacy outlets. News audience polarisation appears, however, to remain relatively low in Iceland, with most news brands reaching a mixed and centrist audience. We find that gender, education, and political ideology are related to beliefs concerning misinformation and conspiracy theories focused on climate change and refugees. Moreover, our results suggest that trust in the mainstream media, as well as news consumption from partisan outlets, are related to beliefs in misinformation and conspiracy theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of right-wing alternative news sources has moved to the center of scholarly attention recently. Such sources cater to news consumers characterized by extreme political views and mistrust toward mainstream news. However, research into the predictors of alternative news consumption is still scarce. We approach this gap by combining online tracking and survey data from 2,009 German panel participants. We find conspiratorial thinking and pro-Russian stance to be predictors of alternative news consumption, both in absolute and in relative terms. Our analysis thus contributes to a more nuanced understanding of alternative news consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research revisits the communication mediation model to understand when citizens support AI policies. Using data from a national online survey (N = 1252), our research delineates the mechanism by which AI-related news consumption enhances AI literacy through AI-related discussions, subsequently fostering enhanced support for AI policies and regulations. In this process, AI efficacy emerges as a critical boundary condition. Specifically, the relationship between AI-related news consumption and support for AI policy and regulation via AI discussions and literacy varies contingent on levels of AI efficacy. The findings highlight a moderated indirect effect, whereby the positive influence from AI-related news consumption to support for AI policy and regulation through AI discussions and AI literacy only occurs when citizens have high levels of AI efficacy. This research offers a deeper understanding of the factors encouraging citizen engagement in AI policy and regulation activities and provides valuable insights for AI literacy and education from theoretical, practical, and policy perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyse the perspectives of children and young people about disinformation and news consumption. Based on the inputs of participants and their own perceptions on the matter we explore how the disinformation phenomenon is present in their daily lives, the different ways they experience and perceive its potential impact on society, as well as strategies adopted to tackle it. The analysis is based on data obtained from 38 focus groups held with 257 children and young people attending sixth (11–13 years old), ninth (14–16 years old) and twelfth (17–20 years old) grades in public schools in mainland Portugal. Results indicated that they have access to news regularly; however, it is not pursued to fulfil a particular purpose. Televised news constitutes the main source of news consumption. News broadcasted on TV are perceived as the most reliable source if compared to online information and social networks, which are considered more susceptible to fake news, although responses indicated that children and youth do not analyse information thoroughly. Disinformation is a relatively familiar issue for a portion of the participants but is seen as neither a problem nor a concern. There is a weak awareness about the impacts and consequences of this phenomenon, although there are differences according to age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its recent turn towards audience studies, journalism and political communication research rarely considers how meanings are made from news in the context of everyday life. The relationships between news consumption and time are also understudied, except when the emphasis is on speed. In this study, I seek to answer the question: how do one's past news engagements (and sometimes, anticipations of future events) shape how this person interprets a news story? I present findings from fieldwork conducted with 42 participants in the Chinese-Canadian community in the Toronto area, including more than 80 hours of in-depth interviews and 42 "news diaries" collected from each participant. The findings are organized into a typology of news meaning-making in time: gathering, threading, weaving, and fitting. Implications of this typology for understanding perceptions of misinformation and promoting public engagement with the news are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines two opposing media consumption trends—news avoidance and doomscrolling—through the lens of media environment and societal fragmentation. News avoidance refers to the conscious limitation of economic or socio-political content consumption to maintain emotional well-being, while doomscrolling is defined as compulsive and excessive attention to negative news. The study is based on 91 semi-structured interviews with individuals exhibiting these media consumption styles. News avoiders and doomscrollers demonstrate the ability to understand each other's logic through reflection on their own experiences and interactions with their social environment. However, both groups criticize the opposing media consumption style. Doomscrollers view news avoiders as passive and under-informed, whereas news avoiders accuse doomscrollers of addictive behavior. The interviews frequently reveal normative judgments about the necessity of consuming or avoiding news. Additionally, both groups perceive each other as more vulnerable to misinformation: news avoiders are associated with ignorance, while doomscrollers are seen as prone to believing false or biased media reports. A commonality between the two groups is anxiety about the future. The differences in news consumption volumes are explained by varied approaches to managing anxiety and assessing the usefulness of information. Thus, doomscrolling and news avoidance can be considered two sides of the same coin. However, these opposing media consumption styles contribute to further societal fragmentation, widening the gap in awareness of current events.

Despite the abundance of political information in today's media environment, an increasing number of people tune out from the news. Scholars have traced these developments to both individual motivational factors gaining importance in the high-choice media environment and generational differences related to changing news habits and changing norms around news consumption. However, research that integrates these perspectives is scarce, and studies investigating this relationship longitudinally are especially rare. Thus, this paper investigates the conditional effects of (1) political interest and (2) age on the probability of avoiding traditional news media, and (3) whether these conditional effects have changed over time. Using data from 1986 to 2021, this study shows that the number of people tuning out from news media is increasing. The effect of political interest and age on the probability of news media avoidance has also increased over time. Additionally, there were only small age differences in the impact of political interest in earlier periods, but these differences have increased over time. Today, being uninterested in politics is clearly a stronger predictor of news media avoidance among younger people compared to older individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do journalists think news avoidance can be addressed? We analyze how US journalists (N = 1,543) responded to two survey questions about consistent news avoidance: whether they believed it was possible to convert consistent news avoiders to news consumers (a closed-ended question) and, if so, how (an open-ended question). Two-thirds of respondents (66.3%) believed solutions were possible. Using the concept of boundary work to analyze their open-ended responses, we argue that by recommending solutions to news avoidance journalists rhetorically assert epistemic authority but also suggest scripts for future action to further defend it. Their most-often recommended solutions were that journalists increase relevance and positivity and expel bias and sensationalism—thereby defending some longstanding internal boundaries while redrawing others. We conclude that although these recommendations align well with reasons news avoiders say they avoid news, they often do not account for structural causes of news avoidance and face many barriers to implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on interviews with 41 informants, this article presents an analysis of whether, how and why everyday news use is constrained by everyday conditions of poverty in the "media welfare state" of Norway. While prior news avoidance studies indicate that socioeconomically disadvantaged citizens are among the groups in society who use little or no news daily, the relationship between news media habits and precarious life conditions is largely unexplored by media and journalism scholars. This study nuances assumptions of this demographic as being systematically disconnected from the realm of news—yet highlights the variety of poverty-related factors restricting their news engagement. By problematizing the relationship between choice and access underlying much news avoidance research, it argues that limited news consumption in the poverty demographic—even within favorable conditions—must be understood as a product of multilevel constraints rather than choice. In this way, the article offers new empirical insight into the news use and avoidance of a critical demographic seldom studied before, while challenging dominant framings of the precariat as news avoiders and as disconnected citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of people that intentionally avoid the news is growing. This could have several personal and societal implications. Previous research exposed various motives to avoid news, which lead to different manifestations of news avoidance, and consequently different implications. However, so far less is known about the differences in news avoidance types. In this study, we aim to explore different profiles of news avoiders beyond demographics, based on their motives to avoid news, values in life and personality traits. We analyze how this relates to background characteristics, the degree of news avoidance (occasional, regular, consistent), and news consumption. We rely on a survey conducted in The Netherlands (N = 2798) in March 2022. We conducted a Latent Profile Analysis and found seven news avoiders' profiles: (1) interested occasional avoider; (2) emotive occasional avoider; (3) critical occasional avoider; (4) status-driven occasional avoider; (5) skeptical frequent avoider; (6) news outsider; and (7) convinced frequent avoider. This provides a nuanced picture of news avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era of information overload, understanding individuals' news consumption and avoidance necessitates an examination of the specific contexts in which these practices occur. While research in journalism studies has mainly underscored consumption habits at the individual level, limited scholarly attention has been given to news avoidance within the structure of dyadic spousal relationships. This study shifts the focus from individual choices to the couple as a unit of analysis, exploring how each partner's choice of media platform, content, and routines may be shaped by the context of being in a spousal relationship. Drawing on 82 interviews with Israelis, including 14 interviews with both partners of seven heterosexual couples, this study reveals three patterns of news avoidance within the context of a couple's relationship: avoiding shared news consumption, gender-based news avoidance practices, and a division of media-related responsibilities. This study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the contextual factors shaping news avoidance by elucidating how media use and non-use unfold within social relationships. It also demonstrates how news avoidance can be perceived as a liberating choice, enabled by partners' negotiation of preferences, platforms, and routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores the experience of news avoidance among two groups—those who frequently consume news and those who do not. I focus the work of news avoidance, by asking: in today's media environment, when is news avoidance easy and when is it difficult? Data for this study comes from 45 qualitative interviews conducted with US adults during the fall of 2020. Interviewees were selected based on their prior levels of either low or high news consumption. The findings reveal stark differences in the experience of news avoidance among the interviewees. For some, news avoidance is easily accomplished and well-integrated into their daily routines, while for others, it presents a formable challenge that disrupts their established habits. Notably, infrequent news consumers are more likely to say news avoidance is easy, whereas frequent news consumers are evenly split regarding the perceived ease and difficulty of avoiding news. Ultimately, these findings offer a detailed understanding of how news avoidance is practiced in everyday life and its relationship to news consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores and compares the formation of choice-based citizenship between locally-born Hong Kong natives and Chinese immigrants. Unlike the conventional ‘duty-bound’ concept of citizenship, choice-based citizenship emphasises the autonomy of citizens to practice the civic virtues they consider important, rather than merely fulfilling conventional civic duties. It is considered a more progressive norm of citizenship. With results from a population survey (N = 1,066), this paper argues that while the formation of choice-based citizenship among Hong Kong natives is primarily driven by generational change, similar to what most Western societies have experienced, Hong Kong’s domestic factors play a significant role in the formation of choice-based citizenship among Chinese immigrants. Among these immigrants, choice-based citizenship is associated with their attitudes towards mass protests and news consumption through online media. Furthermore, the moderation effect presented in this paper reveals indications of the cultivation of choice-based citizenship through exposure to television news. By examining the formation of choice-based citizenship, this paper contributes to the exploration of how political socialisation occurs among migrants moving from a relatively authoritarian country to a host country with a relatively liberal environment and established democratic norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between partisan media consumption and changes in democratic values during the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. By integrating self-reported news consumption data with the partisan slant of news outlets, we explore how different media environments shape voters' attitudes about democracy. Our analysis of a two-wave panel survey conducted before and after the election reveals significant changes in democratic values among general voters, including both Biden and Trump supporters. The findings also highlight the complex effects of a polarized media ecosystem on political beliefs, demonstrating that partisan media flow influences democratic values beyond the traditional winner-loser dichotomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Public opinion studies have traditionally relied on survey analyses. However, a qualitative approach is needed to address opinion formation's multidimensional and contextual nature. In this study, we argue that focus groups are a technique that addresses these unique challenges. Methods: We test this argument by looking at the case of Chile, a country marked by a streak of eight elections in three years, including two national referendums for a constitutional proposal. In this politically polarized setting, and over the course of the latter election year, we conducted 10 focus groups comprising a diverse sample in terms of gender, age, socioeconomic status, and occupation. As participants shared news diets, political views, and values, data suggest a tendency to independently verify information regardless of the source, and highly influenced by their close ones. Results: From a methodological perspective, our findings show that focus groups enable the assessment of the context‐situated opinion formation process, reveal emerging themes, and promote open discussion. These results also reflect the multifaceted nature of public opinion formation in a dynamic media landscape and can inform other countries undergoing a crisis of institutional legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of 24/7 cable news channels within the US revolutionized news consumption, offering viewers accessibility beyond fixed broadcast schedules. While the phenomenon began with CNN, competitors quickly emerged, targeting different political ideologies and mirroring the heightened polarization that has altered American society. Cable news channels must market themselves effectively to their audiences through distinctive product differentiation strategies. Understanding these approaches provides insights into information dissemination, political communication, and audience engagement dynamics. This paper aims to conduct a formal media analysis of current self-promotional advertisements across the big three cable news networks within the US to derive insights into contemporary differentiation strategies crucial for monitoring the industry's technological transition. As the rest of the world has begun to wrestle with increased polarization, this analysis will be relevant to anticipating how non-US news sources use ideology and values to position themselves within highly competitive markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns over the existence of a global "information disorder" marked by the contamination of the public sphere with deception campaigns have grown in recent years. This "disorder" has domestic and international dimensions, with multiple state actors standing accused of malicious influence abroad. Previous research, focused on the Global North, has neglected the potential role of anti-colonial and anti-imperialist sentiments in shaping public opinion in the Global South, where problems with foreign influence operations have persisted for decades. Using survey data (N  = 4,613) collected in Angola, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Zambia in late 2022, this paper addresses this knowledge gap by exploring the relationship between individuals' worldviews and news consumption, and their support of strategic disinformation narratives favored by Russia and China, both of which have been active in trying to use the news media to influence public opinion. At a country level, we find that support for these narratives is most pronounced in Ethiopia and South Africa, while at an individual level, we find limited evidence that news consumption is connected to the adoption of these narratives. In discussing these findings, we argue that African public opinion is simultaneously shaped by global, geopolitical shifts and domestic, and local contestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The politicized public discourse on online 'fake news' today has contributed to the rise in scholarly interest on blame attribution for this fake news problem, particularly when the attribution is directed at an outgroup. A study comprising of 284 young adults (selected for their heavy reliance on digital social networks for their news consumption) sought to ascertain the impact of partisan strength on this outgroup blame attribution effect, as well as identify potential cognitive factors that explain this effect. A path analysis confirmed the relationship between partisan strength and outgroup blame attribution, and suggests that perceived self vs. outgroup differences in the ability to spot fake news acts as a small but significant partial mediator in this relationship. Self-enhancing bias, or the need to protect self-esteem, is suggested as a motivator for this mediating relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the landscape of news media continues to evolve, preservice teachers today may have a unique set of understandings of what it means to be news conscious; may engage with different forms of news media than previous generations; and may have different reasons for including (or not) news media in their classroom. This qualitative study utilizes semi-structured interviews and artifact data to explore the news consumption habits of preservice social studies teachers, how their habits reflect their perceptions of news media, and their ideas for incorporating news media and news media literacy in the social studies classroom. Findings indicate that, although there were variances in their news consumption habits, the preservice teachers exhibited similarities in their engagement with and perceptions of news media. While they see the importance of news media literacy, they do not feel prepared to tackle such practices with their future students. This study indicates the need for a dedicated space in social studies teacher preparation for preservice teachers to interrogate their news media habits and perceptions to better prepare them for engaging with and navigating the evolving news media landscape with their future students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, conducted in Germany and Israel in May 2022, compares German and Israeli news media consumption concerning the Russian–Ukrainian war using a structured online questionnaire. A total of 1,310 and 509 valid questionnaires were completed in Germany and Israel, respectively, examining differences in how news consumers used media to access information. Specifically, objective and subjective proximity to Ukraine and Ukrainians, interest in politics and media perceptions were examined as potential predictors of use patterns of various media. For most variables, Germans and Israelis similarly sought news about the war, especially in mainstream news media. In Israel, objective and subjective proximities to Ukraine were the most significant predictors for consuming mainstream news media, with interest in politics and media trust being less important. In Germany, the latter factors predicted mainstream news media consumption more strongly than ties and subjective proximity, while trust in the mainstream media was not a significant predictor. Finally, the authors found that the lower the trust in mainstream media, the larger the volume of social media consumption about the war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study investigates news audiences' platform preferences, usage patterns, and factors affecting their mobile news consumption through news apps. Four explanatory factors, news app users' demographics, news media usage, perceptions, and motivations, are proposed to predict adoption intention. By surveying 698 mobile news app users in the US, this study's findings indicate that user perceptions of news apps (i.e., perceived ease of use, compatibility, relative content advantage, and observability) and instrumental motivations of news consumption (i.e., information-seeking and opinion needs) best predict news consumers' willingness to continue using mobile news apps. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed to offer new insights into mobile news audience behavior and inform current digital publishers on cross-media strategies in the highly competitive mobile news market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of disinformation raises serious questions for society, affecting public trust and democratic stability. In this context, an attempt is made to configure a profile of the practices of identification and fight against disinformation, assess the incidence of social networks, and identify citizens' perceptions of media literacy in Ecuador. The methodology used is quantitative and qualitative, with a descriptive approach, using a survey, interviews with experts, and focus groups. The converging points between experts and citizens are the need to develop media literacy processes that begin in basic education and the institutionalisation of the fight against disinformation, which should be assumed through an articulation between citizens and schools. On the other hand, training to identify fake news is directly related to information verification practices. Likewise, statistical evidence shows that Ecuadorians who verify information perceive themselves as fully informed citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

News is ever more accessible and consumed via social media, and on those platforms, its distribution is influenced by intermediaries. Because people are exposed to news via online influencers, it is important to know if and how they can impact audience attitudes. This study addresses the effects of politicians’ news sharing on social media users’ attitudes toward the news. Based on a survey experiment with Belgian citizens (N = 1,278), findings indicate that respondents rate news as less credible when it is shared by a politician from a party they would not vote for. This effect is consistent across different types of news outlets. There is no consistent interaction effect with respondents’ levels of media trust. Exploratory analyses highlight that respondents are more likely to select news that is shared by politicians from their preferred party. Thus, politicians’ news sharing not only affects attitudes toward the news but also news consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the 2020 presidential election, sustained efforts to overturn outcomes culminated in the invasion of the United States Capitol. While scholars have long investigated the impact of news on support for left-leaning protests, it is critical to understand how political predispositions and news consumption relate to support for anti-democratic movements. Through a survey fielded one week after the invasion, we analyzed how ideology, attitudes about protesting in general, authoritarianism, and media habits relate to people’s support for the movement, perceptions of its disruptiveness, and opinions about police response. Results show that conservative media have a strong unidirectional relationship, increasing support for the movement, while left-leaning or mainstream media impact is moderated by partisanship, which is related to increased support for liberals and decreased support for conservatives. We found authoritarianism related to support for Stop the Steal and perceptions of the police as too severe to suppress it. Evidence suggests elite cues and consumption of conservative media can legitimize insurrectionist movements, even among those who strongly oppose the right to protest overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incivility in public discourse has become a central concern. This research develops an approach based on citizens' perceptions of incivility to assess predictors of such perceptions. Starting from a definition of the concept in a multidimensional sense, we identified different types of incivility that can be easily translated into operational terms (using vulgar/insulting language, referring to another politician with racist/sexist/religious epithets, lying/inventing facts to attack political opponents, and resorting to violence against political opponents). Through a survey of a representative sample of the Italian population, we found that citizens' perception of incivility is not uniform but varies depending on the context and individual characteristics (socio-demographic variables, news consumption and relationship with politics). Overall, the importance of disentangling the concept into different types has emerged, because continuing to speak of 'incivility' in a broad sense does not help to clarify the phenomenon nor to identify the consequences for citizens' relationship with politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has neglected to consider the news as a source of work-related information that might impact employee experiences and outcomes. In an initial pilot study with a diverse cross-section of employees, we confirm that deriving work-related insights from the news, either intentionally or serendipitously, is a common occurrence. Next, drawing from conservation of resources theory, we developed a model to examine both the beneficial and detrimental consequences associated with job-relevant news consumption. We conducted a 10-day experience sampling study which showed that job-relevant news consumption increases information overload but also produces perceived learning. Information overload, perceived learning, and emotional exhaustion serially mediate the relationship between consumption of job-relevant news and employee withdrawal behavior. Furthermore, perceived learning buffers the indirect relationship between news consumption and work withdrawal via information overload and emotional exhaustion. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the spread of epidemics and diseases in many countries around the world, news consumption from online sources has substantially increased. These news stories written in Arabic are about more than one topic, which is interesting for the multi-label classification paradigm. Furthermore, the recent studies based on multi-label Arabic text classification deal with news articles, which are rather long texts. Thus, we put forward a large dataset of concise Arabic news based basically on the Corona virus, namely Hana-MC, which has been built from various news portals. We conducted a comparative study using several multi-label classification approaches, including algorithm adaptation, problem transformation, and ensemble methods. Experimental results showed that the Ensemble Method RAKELD with the Random Forest base classifier obtained the best accuracy score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of online media has facilitated the dissemination of news, but has also introduced the problem of information overload. To address this issue, providing users with accurate and diverse news recommendations has become increasingly important. News possesses rich and heterogeneous content, and the factors that attract users to news reading are varied. Consequently, accurate news recommendation requires modeling of both the heterogeneous content of news and the heterogeneous user-news relationships. Furthermore, users' news consumption is highly dynamic, which is reflected in the differences in topic concentration among different users and in the real-time changes in user interests. To this end, we propose a Heterogeneous Graph Neural Network with Personalized and Adaptive Diversity for News Recommendation (DivHGNN). DivHGNN first represents the heterogeneous content of news and the heterogeneous user-news relationships as an attributed heterogeneous graph. Then, through a heterogeneous node content adapter, it models the heterogeneous node attributes into aligned and fused node representations. With the proposed attributed heterogeneous graph neural network, DivHGNN integrates the heterogeneous relationships to enhance node representation for accurate news recommendations. We also discuss relation pruning, model deployment, and cold-start issues to further improve model efficiency. In terms of diversity, DivHGNN simultaneously models the variance of nodes through variational representation learning for providing personalized diversity. Additionally, a time-continuous exponentially decaying distribution cache is proposed to model the temporal dynamics of user real-time interests for providing adaptive diversity. Extensive experiments on real-world news datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Hindi news anchors have transcended their traditional roles as mere disseminators of information, evolving into influential public figures. Their personalities, rhetoric, and on-screen demeanour shape how news is consumed by millions. This research explores the phenomenon of Hindi news anchors as influencers, focusing on personality-driven news and its appeal to the audience. A survey-based methodology was employed to understand audience perception, preference, and response to news content driven by anchor personalities. The findings suggest a growing trend where audiences are drawn not merely by the content but by the persona of the anchor, creating a shift in news consumption patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AI in news media can make journalism easier for overburdened resources without replacing journalists' unique skills. Additionally, AI can enhance new forms of participation and leverage new products that could increase news media consumption. The objective of this study was to analyze the ethical concerns of participants associated with AI in news reporting and their impact on trust, accuracy, and credibility. This cross-sectional study surveyed 100 journalists from Youm7 News, Cairo 24 News, and the Emirates News Agency using a structured questionnaire to assess their attitudes towards AI in news coverage. Data were collected both online and via paper forms, analyzed using SPSS for descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, and significance testing. Stratified sampling ensured diverse representation across demographic and professional groups. The study analyzed data from 100 participants, revealing a mean age category of 25-34 years. A significant relationship was found between perception of AI and trust in AI news (Pearson Chi-Square = 18.447, p = 0.018). Additionally, AI was perceived to significantly improve accuracy (t = 3.342, p = 0.001) and benefits (F = 3.756, p = 0.027). The regression model explained 27.5% of the variance in trust in AI news (R² = 0.275, p = 0.001). AI in news coverage presents both efficiency and challenges, necessitating ethical guidelines and effective training to ensure transparency and enhance journalist integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the evolution of immersive journalism and its significant impact on news formats and user experiences through technological mediation. It investigates key technological shifts within the industry, notably the transition from traditional virtual reality to the development of virtual scenes and the increased adoption of multi-source data collection. These advancements have facilitated a transformation of news presentation from two-dimensional to three-dimensional formats, shifting interfaces from tactile to technical, thereby deepening audience engagement and understanding of news content. The methodology employed involves an in-depth analysis of these technological transitions and their implications for journalistic practice. The research assesses the influence of these changes on journalistic objectivity and ethical norms. Findings highlight the dual challenges and opportunities presented by immersive journalism, stressing the necessity for a balanced approach that aligns economic interests with societal responsibilities. The result of this research emphasizes the crucial role of maintaining journalistic integrity amidst the adoption of technological innovations that enhance news reporting. This study contributes to the broader understanding of how immersive technologies can be ethically integrated into journalism to benefit society and enrich public discourse, setting a foundation for future explorations into responsible media practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's news users have a wide range of options when it comes to news consumption. Articles can be read on an app, via a news website, on social media or a printed newspaper. To provide these different platforms news media have become integrated newsrooms that shovel news as a standard practice. After posting a news article to the news website, the same news article can later appear on a social media platform like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. During the transportation from one platform to another the news inevitably undergoes changes. These remediations can be initiated by the platform: format-dependent constraints, e.g., the mandatory addition of a status message; based on preferences of the algorithm; or can be according to the personal preferences of the social media editor. Based on these insights we compiled a unique corpus of 109 news stories that map "a perfect chain" of science news in a one-to-one relationship between the news website, Facebook, and Instagram accounts of three traditional Flemish newspapers. We manually explored the circulation flow of these news posts and identified the corresponding types of news remediation. These results contribute theoretical and practical insights into the affordances, characteristics and constraints of social media news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing reliance on social media as a source of news, particularly among adolescents, raises important questions for democracy regarding the potential of these platforms to promote engagement with politics. This study sought to examine adolescents' affective (emotions, feelings), behavioural (actions and issue-specific interest), and cognitive (issue-specific knowledge) responses to political news on Instagram Stories. We conducted a field experiment among adolescents in the Netherlands (N = 149). We exposed respondents for seven days to political news items from fictive news organizations. Respondents received either (i) Stories with a link to a news item or (ii) Stories with a link to a news item and interactive feedback features (i.e., polls, quiz stickers, and emoji sliders). The results showed no significant differences in affective, behavioural, and cognitive responses between adolescents who have been exposed to Instagram Stories with high interactivity compared to those who received a link to a news item, indicating that interactivity had no effect on these responses. The results indicate that political interest increased for all respondents throughout the experiment—irrespective of the interactivity of the Instagram Stories. This possibly indicates that exposure to political news through Instagram Stories fosters engagement with politics and current events among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern over misinformation on social media has amplified calls to improve the public's knowledge about how news is produced, distributed and financed. This study investigates the relationship between people's news media knowledge and the ways in which they use social media for news using online survey data in five countries: the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Spain and Sweden (N = 10,595). We find that people with higher news media knowledge are more likely to include social media in their news repertoire – but not as their main or only source of news. Second, we find that news media knowledge is positively associated with paying attention to source and editorial cues. When it comes to different social endorsement cues, news media knowledge is positively associated with paying attention to the person who shared the news, but negatively associated with paying attention to the number of likes, comments and shares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]