An Illusion of Interactivity

Hybrids, materiality, and black boxes: Concepts of actor‐network theory in data journalism research

“…Second, technological actants are to be examined whether or not they have an effect on an actor's newswork and how they are embedded within "the entire organizational assemblage of journalists, businesspeople, and technologists" (Lewis & Westlund, 2015, p. 24). Several studies have explored how technological actants affect internal dimensions, the interplay of data tools and practices and epistemologies (De Maeyer, Libert, Domingo, Heinderyckx, & Le Cam, 2015;Fink & Anderson, 2015;Karlsen & Stavelin, 2014;Parasie, 2015;Parasie & Dagiral, 2013); external dimensions via material implications of the outcomes of data-driven newswork, such as visualisations (Appelgren, 2018;Lowrey & Hou, 2018) and a combination of internal/external dimensions (Borges-Rey, 2016;Bucher, 2017).…”

“…There is still a lack of empirical findings drawn from audience research other than theorisations of the audience, for instance by Hammond (2017, p. 411), who describes the audience as active participants of data-driven investigations under the notion of democratising effects of open data and data journalism that allows readers to explore and access data themselves. Appelgren (2018), in contrast, considers visualisations as delegating very little actual control to their recipients, only offering "the illusion of interactivity" (p. 322), thus depriving the audience of its agency. Lastly, activities examine how the prior three dimensions are brought together and formalised or routinised in "journalistically oriented activities" (Lewis & Westlund, 2015, p. 27).…”

“…Hitherto, most analyses of data journalism artefacts resorted to descriptive accounts of chart types and degrees of interactivity or data providers. Most of these endeavours were either standalone quantitative analyses (see Appelgren, 2018;Knight, 2015;Lowrey & Hou, 2018;Ojo & Heravi, 2017;Reimer & Loosen, 2017;Stalph, 2017;Tandoc & Oh, 2017;Young, Hermida, & Fulda, 2018) or integrated within qualitative designs (see De Maeyer et al, 2015;Parasie, 2015;Parasie & Dagiral, 2013;Tabary, Provost, & Trottier, 2016;Young & Hermida, 2015;Zhang & Feng, 2018). Few of these studies, however, take into account sociomaterial underpinnings of such artefacts.…”

(R)evolution of Perspectives on Interactivity: from a Media-Centered to a Journalist-Centered Approach

“…These responses of the audience and the interaction with the readers are the crucial elements of the news environment, and they have brought about a cultural transformation in journalism. The implications of this core feature of online or digital journalism reach far and wide: online interactivity is argued to challenge the most rudimentary journalistic practices (Boczkowski and Mitchelstein, 2012;Hermida, 2010;Domingo and Paterson, 2011;Singer et al, 2011;Larsson, 2012;Ramirez et al, 2016). The process of news production, the selection of news issues and news sources, and the active response to media contents are increasingly structured around audience behaviour and their personalised preferences.…”

“…Some very recent studies empirically reaffirm the old thesis that the future of journalism in the eyes of professional journalists remains in constant contacts with the news receivers, namely, in its interactivity (Ramirez et al, 2016: 83). On the other hand, studies like Ester Appelgren's (2017) use the example of data journalism to show how the illusion of interactivity replaces real interactivity.…”