Steve Paulussen

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at University of Antwerp

This article contends that not only journalism but also journalism studies can benefit from a stronger commitment to the public. While the bodies of literature on “popular journalism”, “public journalism” and “citizen/participatory journalism” have, in different contexts and from different angles, made a strong case in favour of a public-oriented a...

As readers often do not recognize the commercial nature of native advertising on news websites, clear disclosures are required to prevent deception. The present study therefore tests whether and how providing disclosures with more detailed information about both the authorship of native ads and the importance of advertising revenue for news media’s...

This article investigates how digital news editors perceive the uses and implications of audience analytics in contemporary digital newsrooms. Based on 21 interviews with digital news editors at 11 Belgian news organisations, including 7 national newspapers, one news magazine, one public and one commercial broadcaster, and one digital-born news med...

The research at hand centered around examining how news media manage their visibility, while navigating the challenges of invisibility posed by the platform economy. Platforms shape the visibility of news organizations and their content through algorithmic curation and moderation. In response, news organizations must exert considerable effort to ma...

This article investigates how LGBTI topics are framed in the news and who is given a voice in this coverage by analysing the Dutch-speaking Belgian press. An inductive framing analysis and quantitative content analysis were applied on 1570 articles about LGBTI topics published in 2021 by 13 Dutch-language news outlets. Seven inclusive and two exclu...

In the past years, news media organizations have explored Extended Reality (XR) for immersive storytelling in news. Despite the initial interest, XR has not been systematically integrated into TV news storytelling, raising questions about its value to news consumers. Additionally, there is no successful business model for Augmented Reality (AR) in...

Press releases remain an important link between academia and the media. While science communication is a goal of universities, public relations is also becoming increasingly salient. The press release, as a significant tool for both science communication and institutional public relations, means that the fields are entwined, prompting us to propose...

In today’s hybrid media system, amplified news events rage not only in “older” media such as legacy media but also on “newer” digital platforms such as online alternative news media outlets and social media. However, the role of both legacy news media and digital platforms in constructing events has been little explored. This study examines a hybri...

From 2021, “woke” became an omnipresent term in Flemish public debate. In this paper, we explore how the mainstream press contributed to the emergence and construction of discourses on wokeness. First, we ask how the topic of “woke” reached the media agenda in Flanders. Second, we analyze the respective role of journalists and their sources in cons...

In October 2019, the Belgian government announced the opening of an asylum center in a former retirement home, leading to civic and political protest that escalated into arson. We examine the construction of the events before, on, and after the arson by analyzing 135 articles from Flemish newspapers, the public broadcaster’s news website, and alter...

This article analyzes othering discourses in the news media coverage of an alleged homophobic murder in Belgium. The case study is based on a critical discourse analysis of news articles published in Dutch-speaking Belgian news media. Using the framework of homonationalism, this analysis finds that Belgium's LGBTI-friendly status is deeply anchored...

Research shows that older people tend to not only be underrepresented on television (TV), but also to be represented within a number of fixed types. These correspond to cultural myths about ageing, which emphasise vulnerability and decline but also increasingly stress the individual's responsibility for successful ageing. This paper analyses the re...

This qualitative paper contends that as news media are faced with growing commercial pressures and changing news consumption habits, they need to rethink their relationship with two of their main stakeholders: readers and advertisers. Multi-stakeholder marketing provides a useful conceptual framework for such an exercise, since it invites media pra...

This research investigates to what extent message sidedness and advertiser credibility can positively influence readers’ perceptions of native advertisements, advertisers and news websites, once readers are aware that they are looking at an advertisement. The results show that a native advertisement from a high-credibility commercial organization w...

As newsrooms are increasingly using web analytics to monitor news behavior, journalism is likely to become increasingly "metrics-driven." Research suggests that analytics are commonly used by web editors to decide on the distribution and promotion of news stories, but how does this affect the news practices of journalists? To what extent are audien...

Samenvatting Politici verwijzen in hun tweets vaak naar de media. Dergelijke mediaverwijzingen gaan soms gepaard met mediakritiek. Een inhoudsanalyse van tweets van Vlaamse politici toont dat zij de media geregeld bekritiseren, al zijn er verschillen tussen partijen. Populistische mediakritiek of ‘anti-journalistiek’ is hierbij eerder zeldzaam, beh...

Newsworthiness can be studied from different perspectives. Firstly, news values can be seen as cognitive 'cues' on the basis of which journalists and audiences can assess the newsworthiness of an event or item. Secondly, news values can also be considered as 'angles' through which journalists can tell and sell news stories to the audience. Thirdly,...

While the topic has been on the agenda for decades, women continue to be underrepresented and represented in problematic ways in the media. In news and current affairs programs on TV, female guests and experts are still a minority while they are also often pigeonholed in gender-specific roles and addressed in gender-specific ways. Based on a qualit...

Dit hoofdstuk bespreekt de representatie van armoede op televisie, zowel op basis van internationale literatuur als via empirisch onderzoek naar Vlaamse televisie. Het doel is knelpunten, maar evenzeer good practices te identificeren, als antwoord op twee onderzoeksvragen: hoe pluriform is de representatie van armoede in de televisieprogramma’s van...

This study focuses on Twitter use among economic journalists working for print media in Belgium. By looking into their tweeting and following behaviour, the article examines how economic journalists use Twitter for promotional, conversational and sourcing purposes. Based on an automated content analysis of what they tweet and a social network analy...

User‐generated content (UGC) refers to any textual or audiovisual piece of information or opinion created by active audience members and published on the Internet. News organizations have explored the opportunities of participatory journalism by integrating UGC in different stages of the news production process. Our understanding of the value and r...

Mobile news consumption is rising quickly, just as the appearance of native advertisements on mobile news platforms, yet little is known about readers’ mobile native advertising recognition and perceptions. This qualitative study, therefore, explores how readers recognise and perceive in-feed native advertisements in a mobile news app. Usability te...

This study examines and evaluates the representation of ethnocultural diversity in non-fiction TV programmes broadcasted by the Flemish (Belgian Dutch-speaking) public service broadcaster VRT in the 2016-2017 TV season. A qualitative content analysis of a sample comprising 36 clips and episodes of 14 non-fiction programmes was supplemented by four...

Digitalisation has changed journalistic sourcing techniques and affected the way journalists approach sources. This study examines how new information channels change the relationship between journalists and their (potential) sources in this evolving environment and analyses the role of these channels. We are not only interested in the sources that...

Belgium-based Mvslim.com is a citizen media platform that aims to create a space for Muslims and non-Muslims to contribute content dedicated to challenging stereotypical portrayals of Muslims in legacy media. Launched in 2015, this non-profit digital media startup claims to reach over 10 million unique visitors per month worldwide and is one exampl...

This article discusses the news coverage of a highly mediatised protest action which took place in early May 2011 in Flanders, Belgium. A social movement called the Field Liberation Movement rallied against a field trial of a scientific research project testing genetically modified potatoes. Seeking to understand how implicit patterns associated wi...

This contribution examines the ways in which newspapers open or close mediated debate on the Belgian internment issue, and whether this can be connected to different journalistic practices. Although human rights guarantees are often articulated as a matter of near-universal consensus, Belgium has been convicted 23 times by the European Court for Hu...

While several studies have focused on native advertisements' disclosures, little research has been conducted on native advertisements' content. Therefore, this study investigated the influence of both disclosure recognition and brand presence on readers' persuasion knowledge (PK) and subsequent evaluations. Results of an online study (N = 290) show...

In May 2011, a highly mediatized direct action in the form of a “field liberation” took place in Flanders, Belgium, against a field trial of genetically modified potatoes. This direct action and its aftermath revealed the conflictual and antagonistic nature of the genetically modified organisms debate in Flanders. Consequently, it serves as a parti...

Given the interdisciplinary nature of digital journalism studies and the increasingly blurred boundaries of journalism, there is a need within the field of journalism studies to widen the scope of theoretical perspectives and approaches. Theories of Journalism in a Digital Age discusses new avenues in theorising journalism, and reassesses establish...

This chapter presents a review of the literature on the ways in which Facebook is affecting the journalistic processes of news selection, news presentation and news distribution. It combines insights from research within two major paradigms in the literature on digital journalism: the social shaping of technology perspective and the critical politi...

Based on a review of online newsroom studies, this chapter tries to shed light on the processes of innovation in journalism. On the one hand, it looks from a structuralist and institutional perspective at the economic, organizational and professional factors shaping the adoption of new tools and practices in newsrooms. On the other hand, it discuss...

This contribution discusses the content and characteristics of celebrity news as a hybrid news genre by means of a quantitative content analysis of a random sample from 1 year of celebrity news as published in two elite and two popular Flemish newspapers, and two Flemish celebrity gossip magazines. To this end, a theoretical framework is developed...

As the use of social media becomes more common, it is often claimed that a media environment arises in which traditional distinctions between concepts like online and offline, producer and audience, citizen and journalist become blurred. This study’s purpose is to identify and explore the implications for contemporary news stories. Using a content...

Recent waves of cross-media concentration, in Flanders (Belgium) and elsewhere, reinvigorate concerns regarding the impact of ownership structures on media content and the way in which it is produced, including discussions about editorial autonomy. However, with a main focus on hard news, this debate pays little attention to corporate influence on...

Het rapport brengt verslag uit van een publieksbevraging over de toekomstige plaats en rol van de VRT in de samenleving en het medialandschap. Op basis van de resultaten van de bevraging worden conclusies en aanbevelingen geformuleerd voor het toekomstige publieke omroepbeleid in Vlaanderen, met het oog op de nieuwe beheersovereenkomst van de Vlaam...

The literature illustrates how media research on the energy question is characterized by a limited focus on separate energy options, resulting in a lack of research into the diversity of and mutual relations between various energy options. This paper reports on a quantitative content analysis of eight Belgian newspapers (N=1181), focusing on whethe...

Pluralism and Flemish news media: the (hot) potato of the future Pluralism and Flemish news media: the (hot) potato of the future A critical discourse analysis of the reporting on a direct action against a field trial of genetically modified potatoes by two Flemish quality newspapers and one alternative online news site not only points out that the...

Social media are increasingly being used as sources in mainstream news coverage. Yet, while the research so far has focused mainly on the use of social media in particular situations, such as breaking news coverage, during crisis news events or in times of elections, little attention is paid to journalists' routine, day-to-day monitoring of social...

A critical discourse analysis of the reporting on a direct action against a field trial of genetically modified potatoes by two Flemish quality newspapers and one alternative online news site not only points out that the level of ideological pluralism in media is dependent on the social issue in question, but also allows to draw conclusions on the...

This paper describes the case of the hyperlocal media project of the Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg. In 2011, the newspaper launched a platform, called Het Belang van mijn gemeente, which makes use of citizen journalism for the coverage of local community news. The newspaper actively encourages community members (i.e. citizens, local coun...

This article describes the case of a Belgian regional newspaper experimenting with citizen journalism and user-generated content (UGC) for hyperlocal news coverage. The findings support previous research indicating that (1) local community journalism is characterised by a mix of crime reporting and news coverage of fires and accidents, on the one h...

Social media and old routines. The role of social media in the TV news coverage of the Arab Spring Social media and old routines. The role of social media in the TV news coverage of the Arab Spring This study investigates the use of social media as a source of information for Belgian broadcast journalists covering the Arab Spring in 2011. We conduc...

This study investigates the use of social media as a source of information for Belgian broadcast journalists covering the Arab Spring in 2011. We conducted a content analysis of the 7 o'clock news on the Flemish public broadcasting channel Een and its commercial competitor VTM, from January 1st till March 31st. We found that user-generated content...

Multiple screens in the living room: a study on simultaneous media use Multiple screens in the living room: a study on simultaneous media use Today’s (home) media environment is becoming increasingly saturated. Smartphones, tablets and laptops enter our living rooms and possibly alter our television viewing experience. In this paper, we want to gra...

New Capitalism, Technology, and Journalism The Transformation of News Work Conclusion: Journalistic Labor Changes and Quality Concerns Notes References

Today's (home) media environment is becoming increasingly saturated. Smartphones, tablets and laptops enter our living room and possibly alter our television viewing experience. In this paper, we want to grasp how 'screen technologies' are interrelated on a textual (content) and a material level (technological object), from a user perspective. By m...

This study explores the meaning of teenagers’ media consumption in terms of identity formation and autonomy attainment. In domestication theory, media consumption is conceptualized as the interplay of both media object and content. However, in practical applications, the notion of object has usually been snowed under by contextual descriptions. In...

EVELIEN D'HEER, STEVE PAULUSSEN & CEDRIC COURTOIS Multiple screens in the living room: a study on simultaneous media use Today's (home) media environment is becoming increasingly saturated. Smartphones, tablets and laptops enter our living rooms and possibly alter our television viewing experience. In this paper, we want to grasp to what extent the...

Nowadays teenagers are confronted with a variety of technologies to accommodate their interpersonal communication. In this article, we focus on the communication technology choices of a representative sample of 1725 Flemish teenagers, aged 12 to 18. The results show text messaging to be the most popular means to communicate with a large variety of...

In this article, the focus is on how policy makers in Flanders (Belgium) can be inspired by the implementation of local radio development strategies in three neighbouring markets (the Netherlands, Great-Britain, the Frenchspeaking Community in Belgium). More specific, the article concentrates on the questions of which options policy makers have at...

Flemish teenagers’ techno-subsystem: choices in the use of communication technologies Flemish teenagers’ techno-subsystem: choices in the use of communication technologies Nowadays teenagers are confronted with a variety of technologies to accommodate their interpersonal communication. In this article, we focus on the communication technology choic...

Who makes the news in a digital age? Participatory Journalism offers fascinating insights into how journalists in Western democracies are thinking about, and dealing with, the inclusion of content produced and published by the public.

Professional journalists' reporting is traditionally based on established and rather elite information sources. Looking at this practice through the Habermasian lens, one can discern a disproportionately large amount of news originating from the centre of the political system. Also actors belonging to the periphery of that same system get a fair de...

News outlets are providing more opportunities than ever before for the public to contribute to professionally edited publications. Online news websites routinely provide tools to facilitate user participation in the news, from enabling citizens to submit story ideas to posting comments on stories. This study on participatory journalism draws on the...

Nowadays teenagers are confronted with a variety of technologies to accommodate their interpersonal communication. In this article, we focus on the communication technology choices of a representative sample of 1725 Flemish teenagers, aged 12 to 18. The results show text messaging to be the most popular means to communicate with a large variety of...

Based on a comparative study of user-generated content in ten countries, this article explored the developmental features of citizen participation in online media with special emphasis on political economic issues regarding the phenomena. We dealt with the emerging practices for audience participation management and their relationship to news produ...

This comparative study of user-generated content (UGC) in 10 Western democracies examines the political economic aspects of citizen participation in online media, as assessed by journalists who work with this content. Drawing on interviews with more than 60 journalists, we explore their perceived economic motivations for an ongoing redefinition of...

An extensive application of network technologies enables us to access more and better communication tools and, in the specific case of the production of audiovisual media, a better and cheaper production and distribution apparatus. In particular, creative and cultural industries are confronted with many new opportunities created by the Web, or more...

Teenagers are often described as digital natives having an open orientation, a strong belief in equality and a desire to be judged based on their contributions. However, the cracks in this story are apparent. Several authors argue that teenagers strongly differ in their skills and critical attitude to benefit fully and safely from the Internet's ex...

Alles wat u nog niet wist over journalisten: arbeidsvoorwaarden, diplomering, werkdruk… Aandacht voor de positie van de freelancejournalist Hoe is het vandaag met de journalistenopleidingen gesteld? Wat is de relatie tussen gender en journalistiek? Op basis van grootschalig onderzoek met bevragingen vanaf 1983 tot vandaag Aangevuld met gesprokkelde...

This article assesses online newspapers in Europe from a media evolutionary perspective, ten years after the introduction of the World Wide Web. Comparing print and online front pages of 51 newspapers in 14 countries in 2003, we argue that online newspapers complement print newspapers in modest ways. Online, publishers put more emphasis on service...

Online media have enabled everyone to be a potential journalist. Today, virtually everyone can contribute to news making, for instance by sending tips and photos to newsrooms, by starting a weblog or by participating in online discussion fora. As a result, the definition of journalism is put under pressure. How a journalist should be defined, is no...

This article is a contribution to the debate on audience participation in online media with a twofold aim: (1) making conceptual sense of the phenomenon of participatory journalism in the framework of journalism research, and (2) determining the forms that it is taking in eight European countries and the United States. First, participatory journali...

The phenomenon of citizen journalism and the wider trend of user generated content are creating new challenges and opportunities for mainstream media. Traditional news media, like newspapers, tend to show increasing interest in the ways in which user generated content can be integrated into the professional news making process. Yet, scarce but grow...

With the continuing diffusion of the Internet, with the changing media-consumption patterns and with the impact of the Web 2.0 phenomenon, there seems to be widespread optimism regarding democratic participation and active citizenship through online media. Authors such as Bowman and Willis (2003) and Dan Gillmor (2004) describe how, on the Internet...

De term computer-assisted reporting (CAR) lijkt een anachronisme, want welke redactie kent nog een journalist die voor zijn nieuwsgaring géén gebruik maakt van de computer? Toch blijken veel journalisten nog onvoldoende vertrouwd met de enorme mogelijkheden die de computer en het internet bieden op het vlak van onlineresearch en data-analyse.

This paper looks at how mainstream media are currently reacting to the trend of citizen media. In order to look beyond the hype and high expectations about user generated content, we first try to put the debate on citizen and participatory journalism in context. We argue that the revived interest in participatory journalism is the result of both ex...

Deze bijdrage kadert binnen het brede debat over de opdracht van de publieke omroep en de mate waarin deze zich onderscheidt van haar commerciële concurrenten. Centrale vraag is of het grote belang dat in de Vlaamse performantiemaatstaven aan bereikcijfers wordt gehecht, geen te grote invloed heeft op de invulling van de programmering van de vrt, e...