Online News Consumption Research Articles

Leaving a Legacy: Shifting Media Use and American Democratic Attitudes

AbstractLocal political news is losing consumers over the past decade at a faster rate than other political media, while online news consumption is growing. Previous research shows that local news can slow polarization, encourage political participation, and reduce government and business corruption, but not whether changes over time can affect political attitudes. Is this consequential shift in the media environment associated with changes in Americans’ perceptions of electoral integrity and their system of government? We use a three-wave panel survey from 2012 to 2014 to assess the relationship between changes in self-reported news diets and opinions about American elections and democracy. Switching out of local newspapers is associated with a significant decrease in faith in elections but does not appear to influence support for the broader U.S. system of government. We conclude by discussing the implications of declining local and legacy media news use for Americans’ attitudes toward U.S. elections and democracy in the aftermath of the 2020 elections.

Digital divide or digital opportunities: interrogating online news consumption pattern of Ghanaian tertiary students

Digital divide or digital opportunities: interrogating online news consumption pattern of Ghanaian tertiary students

Transcending failure: A study on the “failed domestication” of online news for young visually impaired people in China

Drawing on the triple articulation framework, this study explores the “failed domestication” of online news consumption among young visually impaired people (YVIP), focusing on technological objects, symbolic environments, and individual texts. The findings suggest that “failed domestication” is not merely a consequence of limitations in technical design or social contexts but rather the result of “negotiation” between individuals and media. YVIP develop unique media usage strategies by simplifying operational procedures, foregoing updates, filtering out news irrelevant to their daily lives, and personalizing their interpretation of texts. In contrast to the notion of “failure” rooted in ableism, these behaviors reflect a deep understanding by the visually impaired of their capabilities and specific needs, constituting a form of “alternative success.” The use of digital media by people with disabilities is a process of autonomous choice rather than the “enforcing normalcy.” Therefore, this study advocates for creating a more flexible and human-centric media ecosystem that enables people with disabilities to choose appropriate media usage patterns based on their individual needs and preferences, thus promoting genuine digital inclusivity.

Polarisation, News Consumption, and Beliefs in Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories: Early Signs of the Fragmentation of the Public Sphere in Iceland

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.

Using and Believing—Exploring Public Trust in Online News Sources in China

ABSTRACT This research investigated online news consumption and public trust in online news sources in China. It aims to understand the dynamic relationship between media use and media trust in China, with a contrast between official media and social media. In this study, we measured the frequency of use and credibility of 50 online news sources categorized into five groups and two social media platforms, WeChat/Weibo, with a survey (N = 585). The results indicated people used and trusted each online news source group differently. Social media were used most often and the reliance on official media was less. Habitual use of social media enhanced its credibility; however, official media were trusted the most, followed by news portals. This study advances the literature by identifying the online news consumption pattern in China and examining the public trust in online news sources where the government's control of media extends online. This study reveals how the public perceives the legitimacy of the state via official information systems and how technologically-driven media transformations have produced vibrations among the public. The findings also provide important implications for practitioners to understand the trust structure of online news media and conduct targeted regulation.

Audience evaluations of news videos made with various levels of automation: A population-based survey experiment

The use of automation in news content creation is expanding from the written to the audio-visual medium with news organizations including Reuters turning to video automation services provided by companies such as Wibbitz. Although researchers have explored audience perceptions of text-based news automation, to date no published study has examined how news consumers perceive automated news videos. We conducted a between-subjects online survey experiment to compare how a socio-demographically representative sample ( n = 4200) of online news consumers in the UK perceived human-made, partly automated, and highly automated short-form online news videos on 14 different story topics. Our findings show that human-made videos received on average more favourable responses on some evaluation variables, although the differences were not large. We also found some significant differences in the relative evaluation of automated and human-made news videos across different individual stories. For practitioners our results suggest partly automated news videos with post-automation human editing can be well received. For researchers our results show the need to use reasonably large sets of experimental stimuli, and suggest that ensuring socio-demographic variation within samples of respondents is worthwhile.

Competition and Cognition in the Market for Online News

ABSTRACT 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.

How the Internet Changed the Market for Print Media

Combining rich data from the Norwegian media market with exogenous variation in the availability and adoption of broadband internet, this paper provides causal evidence on how the internet affected traditional print media. Broadband internet adoption triggered large reductions in print readership and circulation and equally large increases in online news readership. Despite strong substitution from print to online news consumption, newspaper revenues fell dramatically. Newspapers responded to this adverse technology shock along multiple dimensions, including cutting costs by reducing labor inputs and the physical newspaper size and changing the print product available to customers by reducing tabloid content share. (JEL D24, L13, L25, L82, L86, O33)

Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories and Online News Consumption during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic

Using an original survey covering 17 countries, this paper documents the prevalence of beliefs in conspiracy theories related to the COVID-19 pandemic and characterizes the informational, demographic, and trust profiles of individuals who believe them. There is considerable variation across countries in the level of conspiracy beliefs, with people in a set of countries like Romania, Poland, Greece, and Hungary being relatively more susceptible than respondents in Northern Europe. We find several factors are correlated with conspiracy beliefs across countries. Relative to respondents who do not read news on social media, social media users tend to endorse more conspiracies, and this is the case for Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube users in particular. We also observe a link between distrust in medical experts or government and endorsement of conspiracy theories in most countries. In a subset of countries, we also find individuals with medium level of education and those who are younger to believe in a higher number of conspiracy theories.

The Challenge of Foreign Investment in Mexico: Between Theory and Public Opinion. An Analysis of Perception and Challenges Regarding Fdi As A Source of Innovation

Purpose: This research explores the public opinion of online news consumers, expressed through Facebook comments, regarding Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a source of innovation in Mexico. The study seeks to comprehend the challenges faced by FDI in the country and their potential impact on the public perception of FDI as a driver of innovation in the Mexican economy. Theoretical Framework: This study examines previous research that explores FDI as a source of innovation in host economies, aiming to provide the context necessary for understanding how the public perceives the role of foreign resources in fostering innovation in Mexico. Design/Methodology/Approach: The methodology employed in this research was the phenomenological design of a qualitative approach to analyze interactions and comments on Facebook from users who consume online news related to FDI in Mexico. The aim was to identify patterns and trends in public opinion regarding the perception of FDI as a source of innovation. Findings: The theoretical perspective suggests that FDI can foster innovation in host countries; however, an analysis of public perception revealed challenges and controversies associated with FDI in the Mexican economy. Research, Practical & Social Implications: The comprehension of public opinion regarding FDI as a source of innovation allows the establishment of suitable strategies for the integration of Mexican companies into the international market. Originality/Value: This paper offers a perspective to understand how public opinion of FDI can influence its role as a catalyst for innovation in the Mexican economy.

Online news in India: a quantitative appraisal of the digital news consumption landscape in the world’s largest democracy (2014–2018)

ABSTRACT How do people in the world’s largest democracy consume news online? In this paper, I aim to answer this question by conducting a quantitative assessment of the online news consumption behavior of a large sample of Indian internet users (N≈50,000) over a period of 45 months. In doing so, I contribute to theoretical debates about global news media use, by systematically appraising the prominence and trends in audience share of different types of news sources, thereby shedding light on the digital news consumption landscape of a crucial, but understudied context. Theoretically, I engage with the displacement-complementarity hypothesis and find no evidence that digital-born media have contested the hegemony of legacy media in India online. Next, I investigate the regional-national media divide and find that regional, vernacular media have suffered significant declines in their audience shares over time. This begs the question whether the notion of ‘polycentrism’ – the idea that the Indian media environment is comprised of national and regional media of equivalent weight – is at all applicable online as it is offline. These findings also run counter to claims of ‘internet vernacularization’ that have been touted in the past. Finally, I propose the concept of audience mobility, and use it to identify qualitatively distinct dynamics in how vernacular audiences in India have migrated to national vis-à-vis international outlets. The findings and their implications are discussed in light of contemporary changes in Indian society that is characterized by rapid digitization and increasing literacy.

Unlocking young people’s engagement with online news: affective or cognitive?

PurposeMost new media research focuses on behavior as a measure of engagement, while the psychological state of being occupied with its content has received little attention. This study examined news engagement beyond pure action observation by exploring young people’s psychological experiences with the news.Design/methodology/approachThe study carried out a digital native’s survey on 212 people (18–28 years). The focus of the survey was on understanding individuals’ engagement with online news using affective and cognitive components. The authors compared the influence of each type of engagement on youth consumption of and attitudes toward online news.FindingsThe results of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that affective engagement can be a stronger predictor of online news consumption than cognitive engagement. While affective engagement significantly predicts positive attitudes toward online news, cognitive engagement had no significant effect.Originality/valueThese findings suggest that “engaging the heart” is more influential than “engaging the mind” in drawing young people to the news in today’s information environment. The study thus contributes to the understanding of the cognitive and emotional focus on news content and their importance in shaping young people’s expectations of online news. The findings from this study could have broader implications for future trends in online news consumption.

The challenge of Foreign Investment in Mexico: Between Theory and Public Opinion. An Analysis of Perception and Challenges Regarding FDI as a Source of Innovation

Purpose: This research explores the public opinion of online news consumers, expressed through Facebook comments, regarding Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a source of innovation in Mexico. The study seeks to comprehend the challenges faced by FDI in the country and their potential impact on the public perception of FDI as a driver of innovation in the Mexican economy. Theoretical Framework: This study examines previous research that explores FDI as a source of innovation in host economies, aiming to provide the context necessary for understanding how the public perceives the role of foreign resources in fostering innovation in Mexico. Design/Methodology/Approach: The methodology employed in this research was the phenomenological design of a qualitative approach to analyze interactions and comments on Facebook from users who consume online news related to FDI in Mexico. The aim was to identify patterns and trends in public opinion regarding the perception of FDI as a source of innovation. Findings: The theoretical perspective suggests that FDI can foster innovation in host countries; however, an analysis of public perception revealed challenges and controversies associated with FDI in the Mexican economy. Research, Practical & Social Implications: The comprehension of public opinion regarding FDI as a source of innovation allows the establishment of suitable strategies for the integration of Mexican companies into the international market. Originality/Value: This paper offers a perspective to understand how public opinion of FDI can influence its role as a catalyst for innovation in the Mexican economy.

Application of Artificial Intelligence Techniques to Detect Fake News: A Review

With the rapid growth of social media platforms and online news consumption, the proliferation of fake news has emerged as a pressing concern. Detecting and combating fake news has become crucial in ensuring the accuracy and reliability of information disseminated through social media. Machine learning plays a crucial role in fake news detection due to its ability to analyze large amounts of data and identify patterns and trends that are indicative of misinformation. Fake news detection involves analyzing various types of data, such as textual or media content, social context, and network structure. Machine learning techniques enable automated and scalable detection of fake news, which is essential given the vast volume of information shared on social media platforms. Overall, machine learning provides a powerful tool for detecting and preventing the spread of fake news on social media. This review article provides an extensive analysis of recent advancements in fake news detection. The chosen articles cover a wide range of approaches, including data mining, deep learning, natural language processing (NLP), ensemble learning, transfer learning, and graph-based techniques.

Subjectivity and algorithmic imaginaries: the algorithmic other

The notion of algorithmic imaginaries has been affirmed as an important heuristic to understand the functioning of social media algorithms through the account of users’ individual and collective experiences. Yet, the relationship between algorithmic imaginaries and users’ subjective engagement with social media, considering the personalised circulation of content on these platforms, demands further expansion. To fill this gap, the article introduces the notion of the algorithmic other, conceived as complementary to that of algorithmic imaginaries. Building on small-scale qualitative research on everyday online news consumption in Italy, we show how users engage in ‘othering’ the algorithm(s), which we describe as a process of counter-subjectivation that users enact in response to their own individuation as digital and data subjects. We explore the main dimensions of this process, arguing that it represents a by-product of the intense personalisation of their everyday user experience.

A.I. as a Medium: The Curation and Consumption of Online News Against the Background of Media Convergence

In recent years, with the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology (SAS,2023), the journalism industry has gradually produced a new mode of operation which, coinciding with the Covid-19 period (WHO,2020), has led to the explosive growth of the online news industry. People are beginning to popularize and follow up their attention to online news. In particular, the category of news media with the background qualities of integrated media is gradually entering into the public's view and becoming an important part of people's lives. On current social media platforms, the constructs of online news consumption and curation have rapidly evolved to become an important part of journalism. This development has to some extent contributed to the progress and reform of ‘online news' in the context of integrated media in the age of AI. In contrast, there are also potential online news consumers and curators in the journalism industry who are exhibiting new characteristics and working modes in line with the AI era.

Same Words, Different Meanings: Semantic Polarization in Broadcast Media Language Forecasts Polarity in Online Public Discourse

With the growth of online news over the past decade, empirical studies on political discourse and news consumption have focused on the phenomenon of filter bubbles and echo chambers. Yet recently, scholars have revealed limited evidence around the impact of such phenomenon, leading some to argue that partisan segregation across news audiences can- not be fully explained by online news consumption alone and that the role of traditional legacy media may be as salient in polarizing public discourse around current events. In this work, we expand the scope of analysis to include both online and more traditional media by investigating the relationship between broadcast news media language and social media discourse. By analyzing a decade’s worth of closed captions (2.1 million speaker turns) from CNN and Fox News along with topically corresponding discourse from Twitter, we pro- vide a novel framework for measuring semantic polarization between America’s two major broadcast networks to demonstrate how semantic polarization between these outlets has evolved (Study 1), peaked (Study 2) and influenced partisan discussions on Twitter (Study 3) across the last decade. Our results demonstrate a sharp increase in polarization in how topically important keywords are discussed between the two channels, especially after 2016, with overall highest peaks occurring in 2020. The two stations discuss identical topics in drastically distinct contexts in 2020, to the extent that there is barely any linguistic overlap in how identical keywords are contextually discussed. Further, we demonstrate at-scale, how such partisan division in broadcast media language significantly shapes semantic polarity trends on Twitter (and vice-versa), empirically linking for the first time, how online discussions are influenced by televised media. We show how the language characterizing opposing media narratives about similar news events on TV can increase levels of partisan dis- course online. To this end, our work has implications for how media polarization on TV plays a significant role in impeding rather than supporting online democratic discourse.

Negativity drives online news consumption

Online media is important for society in informing and shaping opinions, hence raising the question of what drives online news consumption. Here we analyse the causal effect of negative and emotional words on news consumption using a large online dataset of viral news stories. Specifically, we conducted our analyses using a series of randomized controlled trials (N = 22,743). Our dataset comprises ~105,000 different variations of news stories from Upworthy.com that generated ∼5.7 million clicks across more than 370 million overall impressions. Although positive words were slightly more prevalent than negative words, we found that negative words in news headlines increased consumption rates (and positive words decreased consumption rates). For a headline of average length, each additional negative word increased the click-through rate by 2.3%. Our results contribute to a better understanding of why users engage with online media.

Mobile Selective Exposure: Confirmation Bias and Impact of Social Cues during Mobile News Consumption in the United States

Concerns about online news consumption have proliferated, with some evidence suggesting a heightened impact of the confirmation bias and social cues online. This paper argues that mobile media may further shape selective exposure to political content. We conducted two online selective exposure experiments to investigate whether browsing political content on smartphones (vs. computers) facilitates selective exposure to attitude-consistent vs. attitude-discrepant articles (confirmation bias) with high vs. low views (impact of social cues). Notably, these studies leveraged novel random assignment techniques and a custom-designed, mobile-compatible news website. Using a student sample, Study 1 (N = 157) revealed weak evidence that the confirmation bias is stronger on smartphones than computers, and the impact of social cues was similar across devices. Study 2 (N = 156) attempted to replicate these findings in a general population sample. The impact of social cues remained similar across devices, but the confirmation bias was not stronger on smartphones than computers. Overall, the confirmation bias (but not the impact of social cues) manifested on smartphones, and neither outcome was consistently stronger on smartphones than computers.

Will Time Matter with Cognitive Load and Retention in Online News Consumption?

The production and consumption of online news are usually under a bursty temporal pattern. However, little is known about the psychological and cognitive impacts of such bursty consumption of online news. The study employs a 2 (filled-interval length) × 2 (empty-interval length) × 2 (empty-interval burstiness) mixed design experiment to examine how temporal characteristics in online news consumption influence audiences’ cognition and retention. Specifically, three temporal characteristics in online news consumption—filled-interval length, empty-interval length, and empty-interval burstiness—are controlled in the experiment. We instructed fifty-two participants to read a sequence of health-related news posts under various temporal settings while tracking their eye movements. The results showed that (1) empty-interval length increased retention, (2) empty-interval burstiness increased retention but did not have a main effect on cognitive load, and (3) filled-interval length, empty-interval length, and burstiness jointly influence cognitive overload and retention level. The study highlights the holistic perspective in considering the information exposure effect, thus revealing the complex relationship between temporal information characteristics and cognitive reactions and offering empirical suggestions to improve information system design.