Abstract
Many attempts to conceptualize and to assess the performance of media systems or single news media outlets focus on the “supply side” of public communication, operationalized as characteristics of the news content and the form of presentation. These characteristics indicate the potential performance of news media; they are a necessary but not a sufficient condition for media performance. In order to assess the actual performance of news media we need to know what kind of audiences they reach, how they fulfil their users’ news-related interests and needs, and how they contribute to their users’ perceptions of the news environment. In this article, we propose a conceptual framework for the definition of audience-based indicators for news media performance. We apply this framework to data gathered as part of the 2019 Reuters Institute Digital News Survey for Germany. We compare 42 news media, both online and offline, in regard to their reach in different parts of the population, and to their audiences’ interest in news and politics, their trust in media, and their perceptions of the overall performance of German news media. The findings underline that news media performance is a multidimensional concept and that there are different ways in which news media can perform. Furthermore, the particular type of media, technically or organizationally, still matters when it comes to audiences’ expectations and perceived functions.
Highlights
Media performance is a relevant issue today
For pragmatic reasons concerning data availability, we propose to make use of indicators included in the Reuters Institute Digital News Survey that measure how respondents perceive the performance of news media in their country
We have proposed a conceptual framework for the definition of audience-based indicators for news media performance that allow for the assessment of individual news providers’ contribution to the news environment
Summary
Media performance is a relevant issue today. In regard to media-related changes, the ongoing processes of convergence (Sparviero, Peil, & Balbi, 2017) and deep mediatization (Hepp, 2020) are challenging all media to (re-)define their contribution to public communication and their position within the media environment. The need to evaluate the performance of individual media is urgent for the area of news as it tends to be the key source that people use to keep themselves up-to-date on what is going on in the world and to build their opinion about current political issues. When it comes to investigating news media performance, research often focuses on the supply side of the communicative process, that is, the content that is offered. These indicators only reflect the communicative potential offered by the media, a necessary but not a sufficient con-
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