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This article examines the presence of six dimensions of professional roles in news-watchdog, disseminator-interventionist, civic, loyal-facilitator, service, and infotainment-by means of a quantitative content analysis of 1,988 news stories published by the national desk of five Chilean national newspapers in 2010. The study also analyzes differenc...
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... 2 predicted that professional roles in news would vary among journalistic beats. The The mean scores reported in Table 3 show the presence of each role according to journalistic beat: The infotainment role was more important within news stories belonging to the police and court (M = .13; SD = .198), ...Similar publications
Based on a content analysis of 2,278 news items from four Spanish newspapers, this article reports the findings of a study that examines the presence of the interventionist, watchdog, loyal-facilitator, service, infotainment, and civic roles in news content as well as the factors that predict the presence of such roles in news content. We find that...
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... Si bien los estudios sobre agencias internacionales de noticias y corresponsalía extranjera en Chile son escasos, la amplia literatura existente sobre roles y rutinas periodísticas permitirá contextualizar los hallazgos de esta investigación para evaluar las tensiones y cambios de la profesión de periodista. Así, sabemos que en el pequeño ecosistema mediático chileno -dominado por la propiedad privada, fuertemente orientado a lo comercial-y su reducido mercado de audiencias (Mellado y Lagos, 2014), el quehacer periodístico está orientado a la polifuncionalidad (Santa Cruz, 2024) y flexibilidad (Faure y Lagos, 2022), lo que limita el pluralismo informativo y político -a nivel interno y externo-, la objetividad, la autonomía y la independencia (Mellado y Gajardo, 2024). En este sentido, se reconfiguran las temporalidades de una jornada laboral que parece sin límites en salas de redacción que funcionan en un ciclo noticioso 24/7, donde se privilegia la reactividad por sobre los deadlines (Faure, 2021). ...
Las agencias internacionales de noticias están experimentando una transformación en sus modelos de negocios, procesos de producción periodística y la forma con la que se relacionan con sus audiencias y clientes. La irrupción de nuevos canales de comunicación de menor costo y la rapidez de las redes sociales tensiona el rol clave que estas agencias juegan para satisfacer mercados y audiencias locales. Este artículo busca entender de qué manera las agencias internacionales de noticias en Chile se están adaptando a estos nuevos modelos y procesos. Basado en 16 entrevistas semiestructuradas con profesionales de las agencias más importantes con oficinas en Chile (AP, Reuters, AFP, EFE y Xinhua), los resultados de este artículo muestran un estatus profesional horadado debido a la precarización del trabajo de corresponsalía, e incluso su desmantelamiento, de manera consistente con estudios previos en otros contextos. Sin embargo, este artículo identifica particularidades locales de este trabajo que navega entre las tensiones de una economía política y roles profesionales en una cultura periodística escasamente estudiada, marcada por la flexibilización y la precarización de las condiciones laborales. De esta manera, los corresponsales verbalizan el desmantelamiento de su estatus (desconocidos), sus condiciones laborales (precarios) y sus fronteras profesionales (multifacéticos).
... Mellado and Van Dalen (2014) found significant gaps in how journalists conceive their roles and how well content performs the roles, with larger gaps in watchdog, civic, and service roles. Political stories were more likely to serve an infotainment or watchdog role in Chile, a country with a similarly private commercial media system, and less likely to serve a service or civic role (Mellado & Lagos, 2014). The watchdog role continues to dominate in U.S. national political coverage, although the civic role has gained in importance, and infotainment plays a large role as well (Hellmueller et al., 2016;Mellado et al., 2021). ...
Some news organizations in the United States are introducing a new beat in their newsrooms to address the current political environment: the democracy beat. Using textual analysis, this study explores news stories written by local news reporters on the democracy beat in 10 local newsrooms between 2022 and 2023. The analysis of this coverage reveals how local not-for-profit newsrooms make meaning of democracy in the current climate and how they view journalism’s role in sustaining democracy. Reporters dedicated to democracy beats covered news across a broad range, mostly without explicitly linking coverage to either threats to democracy or even mentioning democracy. While most newsrooms leaned into their roles as watchdogs and information purveyors through traditional accountability and procedural election coverage, only a few framed their coverage to encourage political participation, and fewer still attempted to build community cohesion through coverage. These findings lead to the core argument of this study: Newsrooms with democracy beats envision their current role in U.S. democracy as preparing citizens to make informed voting choices, signaling belief in a functioning electoral system, yet not playing a part in helping citizens more actively participate in democracy.
... In this context, future journalists require university preparation in specific, cross-sector competences in these subjects, especially when the debate about the connection between what is being taught and labour market needs is ongoing (Alonso et al., 2009;Arias-Oliva et al., 2014;Álvarez-Flores et al., 2017;Armendáriz, 2015;García-Ureta et al., 2012;López-García, 2012;Martín-del-Peso et al., 2013;Mellado et al., 2007, Mellado andLagos, 2014;Palomo and Palau-Sampio, 2016;Sánchez-García, 2017;Sánchez-García et al., 2019;Sánchez-González and Méndez-Muros, 2013;Ufarte-Ruiz, 2019). For Cascajosa Virino (2021), it is not a question of the Spanish university remaining static over the years; rather, the administrative processes in the higher education system, weighted down under excessive bureaucracy, do not favour rapid adaptations to change. ...
Desde que en 2016 Trump fuera elegido presidente y se celebrara el referéndum sobre la pertenencia del Reino Unido a la UE, las noticias falsas, la desinformación, la posverdad y la verificación han minado la credibilidad de los medios. Estos desórdenes informativos también han cobrado protagonismo en la enseñanza universitaria del periodismo en España. El objetivo de esta investigación exploratoria es doble: 1) Radiografiar el estado actual de la enseñanza de la desinformación, la posverdad, las noticias falsas y la verificación de la información en el sistema universitario español; 2) Recabar las opiniones de los docentes que imparten estos contenidos para valorar las aportaciones y los retos pendientes. Se realiza una revisión documental de los programas docentes (N=2014) de las facultades que ofertan el Grado en Periodismo (N=38), así como una encuesta al profesorado (N=103). Los resultados confirman que esta disciplina está presente en más de un centenar de programas académicos (N=110), gracias a que fomenta la responsabilidad social, la conciencia y el pensamiento crítico. Entre las debilidades destaca que es una materia amplia y como principales retos se identifica la dificultad en su aplicabilidad.
... Los estudios sobre el performance de los roles profesionales han pretendido ir más allá de la mera descripción y la obtención de tipolo-gías, buscando variables explicativas de distinta naturaleza y nivel de análisis. En primer lugar, las temáticas noticiosas han demostrado ser importantes predictores en la materialización de los roles en diferentes contextos y medios (Hellmueller et al., 2016;Humanes & Roses, 2018;Márquez-Ramírez et al., 2020;Mellado et al., , 2018Mellado et al., , 2021Mellado & Lagos, 2014;Wang et al., 2017). Así, el rol cívico se pone en práctica principalmente en la cobertura de protestas o derechos humanos, y el rol de servicio se asocia básicamente a la información de salud o educación. ...
... En el nivel organizacional, características como el tipo de medio, el tamaño de las organizaciones y la naturaleza de la propiedad también se han identificado como predictores del performance de los roles (Hellmueller et al., 2016;Humanes & Roses, 2018;Mellado & Lagos, 2014;Mothes et al., 2021;Wang et al., 2017). En general, el rol de infoentretenimiento está más presente en los diarios populares. ...
Basado en un análisis de contenido de noticias de 12 medios de comunicación en Es-paña (n = 6 088), el trabajo analiza la presencia de los roles periodísticos que abordan las audiencias: de servicio, infoentretenimiento y cívico. Los resultados han puesto de manifiesto que el rol de infoentretenimiento es el más presente, y que es muy similar la presencia de los roles de servicio y cívico. Se ha concluido que los medios periodísticos conceptualizan a sus audiencias como espectadores. Respecto a los factores que explican la mayor presencia de cada rol, la temática noticiosa es el más relevante. PaLabras cLave: Audiencia, roles periodísticos, España, infoentretenimiento, noticias. Based on a content analysis of a sample of news from 12 media outlets from Spain (n = 6 088), the study analyzes the presence of three journalistic roles that address audiences: service, infotainment, and civic. The data has shown that the infotainment role is the most present in the four platforms analyzed, while the presence of the service and civic roles is similar. Therefore, it has been concluded that the journalistic media in Spain conceptualize their audiences as spectators. Regarding the factors that explain the greater presence of each role, the thematic content is the most relevant. Com base numa análise de conteúdo de notícias de 12 meios de comunicação em Es-panha (n = 6 088), o trabalho analisa a presença de funções jornalísticas que o público aborda: serviço, infoentretenimento e cívico. Os resultados demonstraram que a função de infoentretenimento é a mais presente, sendo a presença das funções de serviço e cívi-ca muito semelhantes. Concluiu-se que os meios jornalísticos conceituam seus públicos como espectadores. Quanto aos fatores que explicam a maior presença de cada função, o tema noticioso é o mais relevante. Palavras-chave: Audiência, papéis jornalísticos, Espanha, infoentretenimento, notí-cias. Cómo citar este artículo: Humanes Humanes, M. L. (2024). En busca de la audiencia: materialización del rol cívico, de infoentretenimiento y de servicio en las noticias. Comunicación y Socie-dad, e8765. https://doi.org/10.32870/cys.v2024.8765 1 El trabajo forma parte del proyecto "Modelos de periodismo en el contexto multi-plataforma. Estudio de la materialización de los roles periodísticos en los contenidos noticiosos en España" (CSO2017-82816-P), que se engloba en el proyecto interna-cional Journalistic Role Performance (www.journalisticperformance.org). 2 Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, España. marialuisa.humanes@urjc.es Fecha de recepción: 23/04/23. Aceptación: 09/07/24. Publicado: 09/10/24. En busca de la audiencia: materialización del rol cívico, de infoentretenimiento y de servicio en las noticias 1 Em busca do público: materializando o papel cívico, de infoentretenimento e de serviço nas notícias
... Studies on professional role performance have sought to go beyond mere description and the procurement of typologies, seeking out explanatory variables that are different in nature and level of analysis. First, news topics have proven to be important predictors of the materialization of roles in different contexts and media outlets (Hellmueller et al., 2016;Humanes & Roses, 2018;Márquez-Ramírez et al., 2020;Mellado et al., , 2018Mellado et al., , 2021Mellado & Lagos, 2014;Wang et al., 2017). As such, the civic role is mainly enacted in coverage of protests or human rights, and the service role is basically associated with health information or education. ...
... At the organizational level, characteristics such as type of media outlet, organization size, and ownership type have also been identified as predictors of role performance (Hellmueller et al., 2016;Humanes & Roses, 2018;Mellado & Lagos, 2014;Mothes et al., 2021;Wang et al., 2017). The infotainment role is generally more present in popular newspapers. ...
Based on a content analysis of a sample of news from 12 media outlets from Spain (n = 6 088), the study analyzes the presence of three journalistic roles that address audiences: service, infotainment, and civic. The data has shown that the infotainment role is the most present in the four platforms analyzed, while the presence of the service and civic roles is similar. Therefore, it has been concluded that the journalistic media in Spain conceptualize their audiences as spectators. Regarding the factors that explain the greater presence of each role, the thematic content is the most relevant.
... The current study focuses on the time-based variation in the presence of audience-related roles in the news media (Mellado and van Dalen 2017). Within the audience approach domain journalists perform roles subsumed under three dimensions (Mellado and Lagos 2014). The civic role is about empowering and motivating the audience to get involved in the civic life; infotainment role about entertaining the audience; and service role is about establishing helping relationship with the audience as clients who are to be given advice and guidance about their individual needs (Humanes and Roses 2021). ...
... As Hallin and Mellado note, these include "factors such as the political culture of particular media systems, the pattern of relations between journalists and other social actors, the market structure of media industries, and patterns of socialization of journalists" (2018, p.28). Other factors include topic areas or "beats" in which journalists report (Mellado and Lagos 2014) and media platforms on which reporting takes place. While studies have questioned whether the affordances and requirements of particular platforms (e.g., print, television, radio, online) play a role in shaping journalistic performance, findings produced by comparisons across media platforms have been mixed Mellado et al, 2023). ...
... In line with Mellado & Lagos (2014), content analysis is most suitable for unraveling the "what" aspect concerning the nature of content resulting from journalistic roles. Nevertheless, content analysis falls short in addressing the "why" question behind creating that specific content and the "how" it was developed -encompassing factors like decision-making, influences, and operational processes (Singer, 2016). ...
Due to the heavy nature of the climate crisis, climate change news tends to be massively negative. Too much negative information can cause severe psychological impacts and spur news avoidance. Along these lines, solutions-focused climate change reporting presents a juncture for introspection. Solutions journalism is rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems. Focus on the positive while not ignoring the negative; a solution approach could help expand climate coverage by changing the traditional depressing narrative and sharing stories of effective responses. Despite the academia’s growing interest in solutions journalism, there is not an abundance of literature available in the context of the Global South countries. This study aims to fill this research void while giving a first-hand account of expanding global understanding of the local practices of solutions-focused climate reporting in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the two Arab hosts of COP27 and COP28. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods. It explores how prominent Egyptian and Emirati news media report climate change and interviews local science journalists. The findings reveal fluctuating editorial attention and expose inadequate and temporary climate coverage. While recognized as crucial, solutions journalism faces gaps in its presentation, indicative of the influence of positive journalism and the interplay of political sensitivities and editorial decision-making. The findings also highlight broader challenges in climate journalism, emphasizing the need for context-tailored approaches. The study finally proposes a model based on practices by journalists, addressing challenges and offering practical insights for a more informed and compelling discourse on climate change.
Fulltext:
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2263/
... Previous literature (e.g., Van Aelst & de Swert, 2009) also link "sensational news" with topics such as accidents, disasters, and crime coverage. While they have received less empirical attention than hard news topics, studies find that crime (Humanes & Roses, 2018;Mellado & Lagos, 2014), accidents, and disasters (T.-L. Wang, 2012) are typically covered through a sensationalist lens aligned with infotainment. ...
... Organizational factors may also impact news beat fluidity, as it observed a different performance of infotainment in elite versus popular newspapers in economic and hard news overall (Boukes & Vliegenthart, 2020). In hard and financial news in advanced (Kalogeropoulos et al., 2015) and transitional (Mellado & Lagos, 2014) democracies, infotainment is more prominent in popular news media who target a broad audience than in so-called elite news media or niche media. ...
p>Studies suggest that, at the routine level, news beats function as unique “micro-cultures.” Exploring this “particularist” approach in news content, we compare how the interventionist, watchdog, loyal, service, infotainment, and civic roles materialize across 11 thematic news beats and analyze the moderating effect of platforms, ownership, and levels of political freedom on journalistic role performance in hard and soft news. Based on the second wave of the Journalistic Role Performance (JRP) project, this article reports the findings of a content analysis of 148,474 news items from 37 countries. Our results reveal the transversality of interventionism, the strong associations of some topics and roles, and the limited reach of news beat particularism in the face of moderating variables.</p
... Previous literature (e.g., Van Aelst & de Swert, 2009) also link "sensational news" with topics such as accidents, disasters, and crime coverage. While they have received less empirical attention than hard news topics, studies find that crime (Humanes & Roses, 2018;Mellado & Lagos, 2014), accidents, and disasters (T.-L. Wang, 2012) are typically covered through a sensationalist lens aligned with infotainment. ...
... Organizational factors may also impact news beat fluidity, as it observed a different performance of infotainment in elite versus popular newspapers in economic and hard news overall (Boukes & Vliegenthart, 2020). In hard and financial news in advanced (Kalogeropoulos et al., 2015) and transitional (Mellado & Lagos, 2014) democracies, infotainment is more prominent in popular news media who target a broad audience than in so-called elite news media or niche media. ...
p>Studies suggest that, at the routine level, news beats function as unique “micro-cultures.” Exploring this “particularist” approach in news content, we compare how the interventionist, watchdog, loyal, service, infotainment, and civic roles materialize across 11 thematic news beats and analyze the moderating effect of platforms, ownership, and levels of political freedom on journalistic role performance in hard and soft news. Based on the second wave of the Journalistic Role Performance (JRP) project, this article reports the findings of a content analysis of 148,474 news items from 37 countries. Our results reveal the transversality of interventionism, the strong associations of some topics and roles, and the limited reach of news beat particularism in the face of moderating variables.</p
