Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Managing New(s) Conversations: The Role of Social Media in News Provision and Participation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Social Media Management

Part of the book series: Media Business and Innovation ((MEDIA))

Abstract

Predictions of the imminent death of once-powerful printed newspapers have grown louder in many developed countries, where structural changes fuelled by shifting consumer demand and the rapid growth of networked digital technologies have battered the sector. Nonetheless, most publishers are still in operation, albeit with shrinking readerships and advertising revenues. In response, many have launched news websites and applications for mobile devices and tablets with the aim to make their content and services accessible anytime, anyplace and through any device. The rise of Web 2.0 practices have further challenged publishers to engage with users in so-called participatory- and citizen journalism practices.

This chapter scrutinizes how the leading newspapers in each of the UK’s 66 cities have employed interactive technologies to include users online, on mobile and on tablets. The study draws on three longitudinal data sets to provide unique and empirically-based insights into how the social media practices of newspapers are paying off.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The figures only include traffic from UK Internet users not visits from outside of the UK. The same is true for the US and Australian data.

  2. 2.

    Source for population estimates: Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision, http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm, accessed 12/01/2012.

  3. 3.

    In the US there was 2.75 times the number of visits to social media sites than there was to news and media sites; in Australia, it was 2.5 times.

  4. 4.

    This Experian Hitwise category features all free e-mail services, including those that provide web-based accounts and mail forwarding services. It excludes email sent from and opened on proprietary servers.

  5. 5.

    Here the term agent is used in the general sense of something or someone that produces an effect.

  6. 6.

    The Manchester Evening News’ app was launched in October 2009 (after the 2009 audit was completed), making it the first of all UK regional newspapers to do so. The London Evening Standard followed in May 2010.

  7. 7.

    Geolocation social networks draw on user-submitted location data or geo-location techniques to connect and coordinate users with local people or events that match their interests. On web-based social network services geolocation can be IP-based or use hotspot trilateration (both C2C). For mobile social networks, texted location information (HCI) or mobile phone tracking (C2C) can enable location-based services to enrich social networking.

References

  • Ang, I. (1991). Desperately seeking the audience. London/New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Arthur, C. (2011). Guardian’s Facebook app installed by more than 4 million users. Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2011/nov/30/guardian-facebook-app. Accessed 12/01/2012.

  • Berman, S. J., Abraham, S., Battino, B., Shipnuck, L., & Neus, A. (2007). New business models for the new media world. Strategy and Leadership, 35(4), 23–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolin, G. (2012). The labour of media use: The two active audiences. Information, Communication & Society. In O. Westlund (Ed.), Special issue: Transforming tensions: legacy media towards participation and collaboration, 15(6), 796–814.

    Google Scholar 

  • Booth, R. (2011, December 27). Company sues ex-employee for his Twitter followers. http://www.guardian.co.uk, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/dec/27/company-sues-ex-employee-twitter. Accessed 12/01/2012.

  • Bruns, A. (2008). The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewatching. In C. A. Paterson & D. Domingo (Eds.), Making online news: The ethnography of new media production (pp. 171–184). New York: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruns, A. (2010). News produsage in a pro-am mediasphere: Why citizen journalism matters. In G. Meikle & G. Redden (Eds.), News online: Transformations and continuities (pp. 132–147). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruns, A. (2012). Reconciling community and commerce? Collaboration between produsage communities and commercial operators. Information, Communication & Society. In O. Westlund (Ed.), Special issue: Transforming tensions: legacy media towards participation and collaboration, 15(6), 815–835.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bucy, E. (2004). Second generation net news: Interactivity and information accessibility in the online environment. International Journal on Media Management, 6(1 & 2), 102–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deuze, M., & Fortunati, L. (2010). Journalism without journalists: On the powershift from journalists to employers and audiences. In G. Meikle & G. Redden (Eds.), News online – Transformations and continuities (pp. 164–177). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Domingo, D. (2008). Interactivity in the daily routines of online newsrooms: Dealing with an uncomfortable myth. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(3), 680–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domingo, D., Quandt, T., Heinonen, A., Paulussen, S., Singer, J. B., & Vujnovic, M. (2008). Participatory journalism practices in the media and beyond. Journalism Practice, 2(3), 326–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fidler, R. (1997). Mediamorphosis – Understanding new media. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ha, J., & James, E. L. (1998). Interactivity re-examined: A Baseline analysis of early business Web sites. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 42(4), 457–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, J. (2010). UGC and gatekeeping at the BBC Hub. Journalism Studies, 11(2), 243–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heeter, C. (1989). Implications of new interactive technologies for conceptualizing communication. In J. L. Salvaggio & J. Bryant (Eds.), Media use in the information age: Emerging patterns of adoption and computer use (pp. 217–235). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinonen, A., & Domingo, D. (2008). Weblogs and journalism: A typology to explore the blurring boundaries. Nordicom Review, 29(1), 3–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hermida, A., Domingo, D., Heinonen, A., Paulussen, S., Quandt, T., Reich, Z., et al. (2011, April). The active recipient: Participatory journalism through the lens of the Dewey-Lippmann debate. Paper presented to International Symposium on Online Journalism 2011, University of Texas, Austin, Austin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huba, J., & McConnell, J. (2006). Citizen marketers: When people are the message. Posted at http://customerevangelists.typepad.com/blog/2006/05/charting_wiki_p.html (04/05/2006). Accessed 12/01/2012.

  • Jenkins, H., & Deuze, M. (2008). Editorial: Convergence culture. Convergence, 14(5), 5–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight, M. (2011). The origin of stories: How journalists find and create news in an age of social media, competition and churnalism. Presented at the Future of Journalism Conference, 8–9 September 2011, Cardiff University, Wales, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasswell, H. D. (1948). The structure and function of communication in society. In L. Bryson (Ed.), The communication of ideas (pp. 37–51). New York: Harper & Brothers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasorsa, D. L., Lewis, S. C., & Holton, A. E. (2011). Normalizing twitter: Journalism practice in an emerging communication space. Journalism Studies, 13(1), 19–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lévy, P. (1997). Collective intelligence: Mankind’s emerging world in cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, S. C. (2012). The tension between professional control and open participation: journalism and its boundaries. Information, Communication & Society. In O. Westlund (Ed.), Special issue: Transforming tensions: legacy media towards participation and collaboration, 15(6), 836–866.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loosen, W., & Schmidt, J. (2012). (Re-)Discovering the audience. The relationship between journalism and audience in networked digital media. Information, Communication & Society. In O. Westlund (Ed.), Special issue: Transforming tensions: legacy media towards participation and collaboration, 15(6), 867–887.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowrey, W. (2011). Institutionalism, news organizations and innovation. Journalism Studies, 12(1), 64–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, B., & Levy, M. (1999). Interactivity, online journalism, and English-language web newspapers in Asia. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 76(1), 138–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMillan, S.J. (1998). Who pays for content? Funding interactive news media. Journal of computer-mediated communication, 4(1). http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol4/issue1/mcmillan.html

  • McMillan, S. (2002). A four-part model of cyber-interactivity: Some cyber-places are more interactive than others. New Media and Society, 4(2), 271–291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchelstein, E., & Boczkowski, P. (2009). Between tradition and change: A review of recent research on online news production. Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, 10(5), 562–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morin, D. (2008). Announcing Facebook Connect. Blog post May 9th, 2011. Retrieved from https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/108/. Accessed 6 December 2011.

  • Nel, F. (2010). Where else is the money? Journalism Practice, 4(3), 360–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nel, F., Ward, M., & Rawlinson, A. (2006). The future of online journalism. In P. J. Anderson & G. Ward (Eds.), The future of journalism in the advanced democracies. Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nel, F. (2011). Control shift & returns: The tactics and tools local newspapers use to maintain relationships with users online and on mobile. Presented at the Future of Journalism Conference, 8–9 September 2011, Cardiff University, Wales, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nel, F., & Westlund, O. (2012). The 4C’s of mobile news – Channels, conversation, content and commerce. Journalism Practice, 6(5), 395–415. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2012.667278.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman, N. (2011). Mainstream media and the distribution of news in the age of social discovery: How social media are changing the production, distribution and discovery of news and further disrupting the business models of mainstream media companies. RISJ report. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Reilly, T. (2007). What is web 2.0: Design patterns and business models for the next generation of software. Communications & Strategies, 65(1), 17–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Reilly, T., & Battelle, J. (2009). Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On. Web 2.0 Summit Special Report. Accessible at http://assets.en.oreilly.com/1/event/28/web2009_websquared-whitepaper.pdf. Accessed 9 December 2011.

  • Quandt, T., & Singer, J. B. (2009). Convergence and cross-platform content production. In K. Wahl-Jorgensen & T. Hanitzsch (Eds.), Handbook of journalism studies (ICA handbook series, pp. 130–146). Philadelphia, PA: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rafaeli, S. (1988). Interactivity. From new media to communication. In R. P. Hawkins, J. M. Wiemann, & S. Pingree (Eds.), Advancing communication science: Merging mass and interpersonal processes. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raviola, E. (2010). Paper meets web – How the institution of news production works on paper and online. JIBS Dissertation Series No. 065, Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping, Sweden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, J. (2006). The people formerly known as the audience. PressThink. http://archive.pressthink.org/2006/06/27/ppl_frmr.html. Accessed 12/01/2012.

  • Singer, J. B. (2005). The political j-blogger: “Normalizing” a new media form to fit old norms and practices. Journalism, 6(2), 173–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer, J. B., Hermida, A., Domingo, D., Heinonen, A., Paulussen, S., Quandt, T., Reich, Z., & Vujnovic, M. (2011). Participatory journalism: Guarding open gates at online newspapers. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Steensen, S. (2011). Online journalism and promises of new technology. Journalism Studies, 12(3), 311–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, M., Nel, F., & Wilberg, E. (2010). World news future and change study 2010. Paris, France: World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Thurman, N. (2011, May). Making ‘The Daily Me’: Technology, economics and habit in the mainstream assimilation of personalized news. Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, 12(4).

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Weezel, A. (2009). Entrepreneurial strategy-making mode and performance: A study of the Newspaper industry. Jonkoping: JIBS Dissertation Series 55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westlund, O. (2011). Cross-media News Work – Sensemaking of the Mobile Media (R)evolution. JMG Book Series no. 64, University of Gothenburg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westlund, O. (2012a). Producer-centric vs. participation-centric: On the shaping of mobile media. Northern Lights, 10(1), 107–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westlund, O. (2012b). Guest editorial: Transforming tensions – Legacy media towards participation and collaboration. Information, Communication & Society. In O. Westlund (Ed.), Special issue of Information, Communication and Society, 15(6), 789–795.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westlund, O. (2013). Mobile news: a review and model of journalism in an age of mobile media, Digital Journalism, 1(1), 6–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, A., Wardle, C., & Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2011). “Have they got news for us?” Audience revolution or business as usual at the BBC? Journalism Practice, 5(1), 85–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the most valuable contributions made to this study by Experian Hitwise Marketing Research Analyst James Murray and the support of the Centre for Research-Informed Teaching at the University of Central Lancashire, which funded the Undergraduate Summer Internship Programme that enabled Patrick McGee, Michael Brightman, Jake Hooson and Aunurag Chandok to contribute to the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK

    François Nel

  2. University of Gothenburg, Vasastan, Sweden

    Oscar Westlund

  3. IT University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Oscar Westlund

Authors
  1. François Nel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Oscar Westlund
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to François Nel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Media Business, Media Business Transfer Center, Berlin, Germany

    Mike Friedrichsen

  2. Humboldt Media Business School, Berlin, Germany

    Wolfgang Mühl-Benninghaus

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Nel, F., Westlund, O. (2013). Managing New(s) Conversations: The Role of Social Media in News Provision and Participation. In: Friedrichsen, M., Mühl-Benninghaus, W. (eds) Handbook of Social Media Management. Media Business and Innovation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28897-5_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation