Making Change

Abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link Abstract:Diffusion of innovations theory typically has been applied to the spread of a particular technology or practice rather than the interplay of a cluster of innovations. This case study of a news company undergoing significant change seeks to offer a deeper understanding of multifaceted industry upheaval by considering the diffusion of three interdependent yet distinct changes. Findings suggest technological change faces the fewest hurdles, as journalists recognize the need to adapt their practices to newer capabilities. Changes to audience relationships face greater resistance, while responses to changes to the professional culture of journalism remain the most tepid.

What’s New about Whatsapp for News? A Mixed-Method Study on News Outlets’ Strategies for Using WhatsApp

“…Results on the engagement with the audience illustrate only small aspects of relational change (RQ 2.1 and 2.2). These findings are similar to the findings by Ekdale et al (2015), who found that technological change is faster than relational or cultural change in a newsroom. Just 8% of WhatsApp messages sent by outlets contain a dimension of audience engagement (RQ 2.1).…”

“…The findings indicate different levels of innovation diffusion in the newsrooms analyzed with yet only few accepting the relational change coming with the technological change. This could originate in path dependencies: journalists select and edit content for WhatsApp in a similar way as for other social media before and do not change their routines, which has been observed by Lasorsa, Lewis, and Holton (2012), Ekdale et al (2015), and Broersma and Graham (2013). However, for their audience WhatsApp is a mobile, interpersonal communication app, which is used differently than other social media.…”

“…More recently, the framework has also been used to understand how newsrooms work with social media: Von Nordheim, Boczek, and Koppers (2018) show that journalists' use of social media as sources can be categorized into different phases of adaption. Ekdale et al (2015) analyze the change process of a media company, including the use of social media in the newsroom. They identify three aspects of newsroom innovation: technological, relational, and cultural innovation.…”

“…Cultural innovation includes the perceptions about the nature and goals of journalism. Ekdale et al (2015) find that in a newsroom undergoing change, technological innovation is faster than relational and cultural innovation, and observe that "questions about relational change showed considerable skepticism that new ways offered a relative advantage to old ones" (Ekdale et al 2015, 948). Studying WhatsApp for news through the framework of innovation diffusion theory we examine whether technological innovation is preceding relational innovation.…”

“…Our literature review leads us to the following research questions relating to how WhatsApp for news might be developing as a new practice of journalists. Based on Ekdale et al (2015) we analyze aspects of technological change (RQ1.1 and RQ1.2: WhatsApp used for distribution) and relational change (RQ2.1 and RQ2.2: WhatsApp used for audience engagement) separately to understand whether innovation in one area might have diffused more deeply. Previous results suggest that at the beginning of the diffusion of the innovation, journalists would treat WhatsApp for news similar to existing practices, i.e., they would send similar messages as via social media channels that they have used for a longer period of time.…”