Editorial 2

Dr. José-Alberto García-Avilés

Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche. España. jose.garciaa@umh.es

Digital journalism in the Network Society: innovating in a competitive environment

Periodismo digital en la Sociedad Red: innovar en un entorno competitivo

Internet’s rise as a dominant medium has transformed the ecosystem of the Network Society, bringing about deep changes in the economy, politics, culture, leisure and the public sphere (Castells, 1997). As a result, millions of communicators are connected to a Network increasingly intertwined, reaching global dimensions. Network communication pushes the limits and breaks frontiers: any isolated incident might originate international consequences, such as we have seen with Fidel Castro’s death, the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential elections, the referendum about the peace process in Colombia or the “Brexit” in the United Kingdom.

In the Network Society’s communication model, multiple actors interact from any place with feedback in real time; both media and users communicate among themselves in a constant flux, and messages originate around the individuals themselves (García Avilés, 2016). News professionals share the communicative sphere with bloggers, social media users and multimedia creators in a liquid environment, where the media have lost the monopoly of content production and distribution.

Change, both in journalistic contents and formats, is steadily increasing, often with a disruptive nature. However, there are many reasons to be optimistic because, as Andrés Azócar (2016) states, “post-journalism after journalism might be healthier, more transparent and more efficient than the current one”. Therefore, journalists and media companies should adapt and innovate in this disruptive ecosystem, implementing strategies to improve products and services, and satisfy audience needs” (De Lara et al., 2015).

This monographic issue analyses the overwhelming transformation digital journalism is facing after two decades of growth. The articles examine a wide list of related subjects: innovative media which increase news quality; new professional profiles; the role of social media or journalists’ perceptions about technological innovation.

Mark Deuze, Professor of Media Studies (University of Amsterdam), in Considering a possible future for Digital Journalism, highlights the first results of his research about 21 news start-ups that operate in 11 countries. With a few exceptions, most of these start-ups do not make enough income to cover the cost of producing quality journalism. Deuze emphasizes that these companies are experimenting with different sources of income in order to find viability in a very competitive environment. Even the very concept of “business” in these companies is highly diverse: many managers attach greater importance to values such as passion, public interest and social impact. The research question formulated to those behind these media initiatives is: how do you view the future of digital journalism? As Deuze explains, “the answers are hopeful”.

Throughout the development of the Network Society, digital media have undergone a deep and pervasive change. In Typology of Digital News Media: Theoretical Bases for Classification, Ramón Salaverría (Center for Internet Studies and Digital Life, University of Navarra) examines the process of settlement and diversification. As a result, the prolific classification of online media has become increasingly rich and complex. Based on a review of media typologies, this article proposes some theoretical bases for the distinction of the online media from previous media and, above all, for the differentiation of the various types of online media among then. With that purpose, nine typological criteria are proposed:

1) Platform

2) Temporality

3) Topic

4) Reach

5) Ownership

6) Authorship

7) Focus

8) Economic purpose

9) Dynamism

Media companies are implementing technological innovations which intend to improve their quality and productivity. In Technological innovation and convergent journalism. Case study on the transformation process of Bavaria’s public broadcasting service, Klaus Meier, Isabel Bracker and Melanie Verhovnik (Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt) explore the technological innovations and its challenges for journalism. Their study focusses on the public broadcaster from Bavaria, Bayerischer Rundfunk, one of the largest media companies in Germany; these researchers examine how journalists perceive the use of technology in the newsroom, with a focus on the most innovative professional practices.

Professional profiles and roles are renewed in the hyper-connected media environment. Virginia Luzón, Ángel Gómez and Rosa Cervantes (School of Communication, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona), deal with Emerging profesional Radio and Television figures in the Hipermedia Era. Their research explores the roles and responsibilities of those journalists who work in Quiz Show TV programmes and in radio magazines. In the field of television entertainment, new professional figures are emerging, such as the writer of casting or the scriptwriter of advertising pieces. They also identify the role of the scriptwriter, whose job is to produce content and he or she also assumes most of the traditional functions of the news reporter.

Social media also contribute to build journalists’ digital identity, improving the communication with their followers and increasing their autonomy. As both Amparo López-Meri and Andreu Casero, (Universitat Jaume I from Castellón) argue in Journalists’ strategies to build personal brand on Twitter: positioning, content curation, personalisation and specialisation, the journalist’s personal brand is a key asset to earn prestige and overcome the crisis in the field. Their study identifies four strategies journalists use in order to shape the image they project before their social audience: positioning, content curation, personalization and specialization. And they also deal with the main abilities and resources associated to each strategy.

In the hyper-connected society, information overload and communication speed have an impact on the quality of communication. This is the focus of the research by Javier Serrano-Puche (School of Communication, University of Navarra), Meta-analysis of Digital Consumption in the Contemporary Media Ecosystem: Key Factors and Emotional Implications. Serrano-Puche analyses the implications that media consumption has on people’s emotional dimension. The intensive use of technology sparks emotions in the users and it works as a channel to express their affections. Among the conclusions, it stands out the convenience that users adopt a critical and conscious media consumption pattern, associated to an adequate management of emotions.

Journalistic brands should increase their value on digital platforms. In Brand equity management strategies of Spanish press firms through their digital extensions María Victoria-Mas and Iván Lacasa (International University of Cataluña) argue that only a minority of traditional media companies have developed strategies to manage their brand equity. Both researchers conclude that the 44 top read print companies in Spain have not yet exploited the potential on online platforms to increase their value and they limit themselves to providing a partial communication about themselves. Therefore, media companies need to reinforce their audiences’ trust and to increase the value of their own brands in the online world.

We hope the articles included in this special issue of Mediterranean Journal of Communication will contribute to shade light on the challenges of digital journalism. I thank all the authors for their generous collaboration and the wonderful support of the Journal’s editor, Victoria Tur.

References

Azócar, A. (2016). “El periodismo después del periodismo”. Puro Periodismo. 5 diciembre. Available at: http://www.puroperiodismo.cl/?p=27752

Castells, M. (1997). La era de la información. Economía, Sociedad y Cultura. La sociedad Red (Vol. 1). Madrid: Alianza.

De Lara, A., Arias, F., Carvajal, M., and García-Avilés, J. A. (2015). Ranking de innovación periodística 2014 en España. Selección y análisis de 25 iniciativas. El profesional de la información, 24 (3), 235-245. http://dx.doi.org/10.3145/epi.2015.may.03

García-Avilés, J. A. (2016). La información ya no es lo que era. Diez propuestas sobre el periodismo en la Sociedad Red. Revista de la Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación, 3(5).

García-Avilés, J. A. (2017). [Editorial] Periodismo digital en la Sociedad Red: innovar en un entorno competitivo. Revista Mediterránea de Comunicación/Mediterranean Journal of Communication, 8(1), 3-5.