Technologies of participation: Community news and social media in Northern Sweden

Abstract

This article explores how different meanings of ‘participation’ are developed in the intersection between local journalism and social media. The study is based on qualitative interviews with media professionals working in community media organisations in northern Sweden. Three key themes are identified: participation as marketisation, participation and production, and participation and democracy. This article discusses how these three different forms of participation contribute to the constitution of journalistic identities in a local context and to its meanings within the media sphere in general. This article argues that the emergence of new digital media has not so much renewed the role of the media professional as it has led to a cementing of their professional identity. Social media are a necessity for the development of journalism and are celebrated for their potential to include audiences; yet journalists paradoxically seem to consider these same technologies of participation as a threat, not only to journalism but also to democracy.

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“…Journalists themselves see social media as both a threat and an opportunity for local news providers who simultaneously are compelled to adapt to a new media environment, and a multitude of new voices, while also recognizing the increased opportunities for relationship building, dialogue and storytelling (Carlsson and Nilsson, 2016). Focus group research suggests that a digital system that can aggregate local news from various sources and deliver the information to a community can be of great benefit to smaller communities, who have seen their access to local news drop over the last decade (Kavanaugh et.…”

The role of self-reports in the study of news production

“…Yet, scholars often take these associations as evidence of more or less stable meanings. As one example, Carlsson and Nilsson (2016) rely on interviews to investigate, as they put it, ‘the different meanings of participation that are articulated in the setting of community news media and public service media in Northern Sweden’ (p. 1114). To this end, the authors conduct interviews with 10 journalists.…”

Production perspectives on audience participation in television: On, beyond and behind the screen

“…Producers separate themselves from audiences by explaining that the audience is not sufficiently trained or willing to provide quality input, an argument they use to retain control over content production. This is what scholars call a ‘self-preserving strategy among media professionals’ (Carlsson and Nilsson, 2016: 1126) which allows for maintaining the status quo of established power relations (Carlsson and Nilsson, 2016; Janssen, 2009; Van Es, 2016). Debates about producers’ views on participation are part of a broader discussion about integrating new (networked) technologies, mostly social media, in television production.…”

“…We distinguish three stages: behind the screen, on screen and beyond the screen. Research suggests that behind the screen , producers use participation to hear different audience opinions as a way of feedback or they can use the audience as a source – although both tend to be done selectively (Ashuri and Frenkel, 2015; Carlsson and Nilsson, 2016). On screen , in the television broadcast, producers appreciate audience participation when it is scripted participation, mainly as a means of bonding (Janssen, 2009).…”

“…However, several studies show that producers are reluctant to draw substantially upon this kind of input as audiences often respond in critical and nondemocratic ways on social media. Therefore, social media use in television production is more concerned with spreading content created by producers than with dialogue and audience participation (Ashuri and Frenkel, 2015; Carlsson and Nilsson, 2016; Hille and Bakker, 2013). These insights from empirical production studies echo findings from journalism studies, focusing on newspaper and online news production, as several researchers found that journalists work in a production culture where they integrate audience participation in such a way that they can hold on to habits and a professional role as information provider (Paulussen, 2016; Singer et al, 2011).…”