"Research on motivations for news consumption has primarily focused on uses and gratifications (U&G) from both conventional and new media. However, there is a gap regarding age perspectives in this field. This study aims to address this gap by examining whether differences and similarities exist in
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the motivations for news consumption among the citizens of 23 European countries. Analyzing data from 45,073 respondents, the study finds significant variations in motivation across age groups, particularly in informational, learning, entertaining, and social gratifications. Interestingly, there are no age-based differences in motivation driven by civic duties. Furthermore, the study shows that country differences do not significantly influence the relationship between age and motivation. The results add valuable insights into both academics and practitioners in the field of news of consumption and expand knowledge of the current literature." (Abstract)
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"The relationship between the sound industry and its audience is influenced by the widespread use of smartphones as the primary means of accessing the internet. This has led to a transformation in media logics, particularly among young people in Colombia, as they adapt to an evolving ecosystem that
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is redefining the creation, production and distribution of media. The objective of this research is to determine the significance of podcasts in the information consumption habits of listeners/users and to examine how this digital innovation is positioned in the content offer of radio and independent producers. The study employs a mixed methodological approach, including a case study that involves the administration of 190 surveys to young people, the review and listening of digital repositories of podcast platforms and the conducting of fifteen interviews with podcast producers. The main conclusion drawn is that podcasts are revitalizing audio content on-screen, connecting young people with information and the reality of their environment." (Abstract)
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"Die Vielzahl von Informationen und Nachrichten, die täglich über unterschiedlichste Kanäle verbreitet werden, können für Nutzerinnen und Nutzer eine Herausforderung darstellen. Nachrichtenvermeidung (News Avoidance) kann die Folge sein. Wie der Reuters Digital News Report 2024 zeigt, ist das I
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nteresse an Nachrichten in der Mehrzahl der teilnehmenden Länder in den letzten Jahren tatsächlich merklich gesunken (vgl. Newman und andere, 2024 sowie Newman und andere, 2023). Die zunehmende Zahl an Nachrichtenquellen und die große Vielfalt an Nachrichten und Informationen (High-Choice-News-Avoidance-These) ist laut der Studie von Karlsen, Beyer und Steen-Johnsen (2020) jedoch nicht alleiniger Grund, warum Menschen Nachrichten vermeiden. Vielmehr spielen sowohl Faktoren auf Seiten der Nachrichten (beispielsweise bestimmte Themen; Negativität) als auch individuelle Merkmale der Nutzerinnen und Nutzer eine wichtige Rolle. Nachrichtenvermeidung ist vor allem in Krisenzeiten häufiger zu beobachten. Schäfer, Betakova und Lecheler (2024) untersuchten intentionale Nachrichtenvermeidung und konnten zeigen, dass diese durch spezifische Themen, wie zum Beispiel die COVID-19-Berichterstattung, verstärkt wird, und spezifischen Motiven – zum Beispiel Informationsüberlastung – geschuldet ist." (Seite 1)
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"Der Info-Monitor der Medienanstalten dokumentiert, wo und wie sich die Bevölkerung in Deutschland zum aktuellen Zeitgeschehen informiert. Nutzung: Der Bedarf in der Bevölkerung an Informationen zum aktuellen Zeitgeschehen ist groß. Mehr als 90 Prozent interessieren sich für aktuelle Themen und
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informieren sich mindestens wöchentlich. Die sog. etablierten Medien erfüllen diesen Bedarf nur (noch) bedingt, weil nur 60 % der Befragten die für sie relevanten Themen aufgegriffen sehen. 34 % sehen ihre Themen nicht repräsentiert. Vertrauen: Der Info-Monitor belegt einen klaren Zusammenhang zwischen Medienvertrauen und Demokratiezufriedenheit: Von den etablierten Medien Überzeugte (22 %) und diese kritisch Betrachtende (45 %) sind meist auch mit der Demokratie in Deutschland zufrieden. Skeptische (26 %) und Ablehnende (7 %) äußern häufiger systemkritische Ansichten. Nutzungsmuster und Medienvertrauen dieser Gruppen variieren stark: Von den etablierten Medien Überzeugte bevorzugen öffentlich-rechtliche Angebote und Tageszeitungen, Skeptische nutzen deutlich häufiger Suchmaschinen, Soziale und sog. alternative Medien. Ablehnende vertrauen vor allem Videoplattformen, sog. alternative Medien und Suchmaschinen. Skeptische vertrauen vor allem öffentlich-rechtlichen Angeboten, Informationen der Tageszeitungen und von privaten Radiosendern. Vertrauenswürdigkeit sozialer Medien: Die nicht gezielte Informationsnutzung zum aktuellen Zeitgeschehen überwiegt. Besonders stark ausgeprägt ist die Nebenbei-Nutzung bei Sozialen Medien, die vor allem für Jüngere eine wichtige Informationsquelle darstellen. Die Vertrauenswürdigkeit von Sozialen Medien als Nachrichtenquelle fällt gleichzeitig gering aus. Die große Mehrheit sieht in Personalisierung, Desinformation und Hassrede eine Bedrohung für Gesellschaft und Demokratie - und findet, dass die Anbieter der Social-Media-Plattformen zu wenig gegen diese Phänomene tun." (Auf einen Blick, Seite 2)
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"Basotho value the media’s role as a watchdog on government and support media freedom, but they are divided on whether their country’s media is actually free. Majorities endorse public access to government-held information such as bids and contracts, local government council budgets, and salarie
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s of teachers and local government officials. While radio is king among news sources in Lesotho, television and social media play a vital role as well, providing news to more than four in 10 citizens on a regular basis." (Conclusion)
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"Les données d'Afrobarometer corroborent l'idée que l'utilisation des médias numériques est en pleine explosion sur le continent, bien que les taux d'adoption aient pu ralentir au cours des dernières années. Cependant, ces nouveaux environnements médiatiques sont également source de défis.
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La réduction des obstacles à l'accès et le repli des autorités de régulation pourraient aussi signifier que les informations erronées et les propos incitant à la discorde, y compris les discours de haine et les appels à la violence, se répandent plus rapidement, avec moins souvent la possibilité de vérifier les faits et d'étouffer les propos préjudiciables. En outre, les fractures numériques défavorisant les femmes, les moins instruits, les pauvres, les habitants des zones rurales et les personnes âgées ne disparaissent pas. En réalité, nombre de ces fractures sont plus importantes aujourd'hui qu'elles ne l'étaient il y a près de 10 ans. En dépit de ces évolutions, un média de masse – la radio – continue de dominer le paysage médiatique du continent, son utilisation n'ayant connu qu'un modeste déclin au cours des dernières années. En outre, la radio est à bien des égards le média de masse le plus démocratique, car les clivages démographiques qui marquent l'accès aux médias numériques sont faibles, voire inexistants. Cela dit, nous devons être prudents et noter que la radio a ses propres inconvénients, notamment en ce qui concerne les informations erronées et les propos clivants. En raison des paysages médiatiques en évolution, les publics africains sont confrontés à des enjeux importants sur la manière dont ils interagissent avec les médias et sur la manière dont ils attendent de leurs gouvernements qu'ils traitent les médias. Les données d'Afrobarometer suggèrent que les Africains sont majoritairement favorables à ce que les médias jouent un rôle important dans l'obligation de rendre des comptes aux gouvernements, en particulier en ce qui concerne le fléau de la corruption. En outre, la grande majorité des Africains soutiennent le droit des médias d'informer comme ils l'entendent, sans ingérence gouvernementale. Enfin, une grande majorité de répondants considèrent que leurs médias sont largement libres, bien que les évaluations varient considérablement d'un pays à l'autre." (Conclusion)
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"Afrobarometer data support the notion that the use of digital media is exploding across the continent, although rates of uptake may have slowed in recent years. However, these new media environments also pose challenges. Reduced barriers to access and the decline of gatekeepers can also mean that f
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alse information and divisive language, including hate speech and calls to violence, spread more quickly, with fewer opportunities to check facts and squelch harmful speech. In addition, digital divides disadvantaging women, the less educated, the poor, rural residents, and older citizens are not vanishing. In fact, many of these divides are larger today than they were almost a decade ago. In spite of these changes, one mass medium – radio – continues to dominate most markets on the continent, with only modest declines in use over the past several years. Further, radio is in many ways the most democratic of mass media, as many of the demographic divides that mark access to digital media are small to non-existent. That said, we must be cautious to note that radio presents its own set of problems, including its own issues with false information and divisive language. Evolving media landscapes mean that African publics face important questions about how they interact with media and how they expect their governments to treat media. Afrobarometer data suggest that Africans overwhelmingly support media playing an important role in holding governments accountable, particularly with regard to the scourge of corruption. Further, strong majorities are supportive of media’s right to report as they see fit, free of government interference. And a solid majority see their media as largely free, although assessments vary widely by country." (Conclusion)
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"Most scholars focus on the prevalence and democratic effects of (partisan) news exposure. This focus misses large parts of online activities of a majority of politically disinterested citizens. Although political content also appears outside of news outlets and may profoundly shape public opinion,
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its prevalence and effects are understudied at scale. This project combines three-wave panel survey data from three countries (total N = 7,266) with online behavioral data from the same participants (over 106M visits). We create a multi-lingual classifier to identify political content both in news and outside (e.g. in shopping or entertainment sites). We find that news consumption is infrequent: just 3.4% of participants’ online browsing comprised visits to news sites. Only between 14% (NL) and 36% (US) of these visits were to news about politics. The overwhelming majority of participants' visits were to non-news sites. Although only 1.6% of those visits related to politics, in absolute terms, citizens encounter politics more frequently outside of news than within news. Out of every 10 visits to political content, 3.4 come from news and 6.6 from non-news sites. Furthermore, exposure to political content outside news domains had the same – and in some cases stronger - associations with key democratic attitudes and behaviors as news exposure. These findings offer a comprehensive analysis of the online political (not solely news) ecosystem and demonstrate the importance of assessing the prevalence and effects of political content in non-news sources." (Abstract)
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"Does the news media exacerbate or reduce misinformation problems? Although some news media deliberately try to counter misinformation, it has been suggested that they might also inadvertently, and sometimes purposefully, amplify it. We conducted a two-wave panel survey in Brazil, India, and the UK
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(N=4732) to investigate the effect of news and digital platform use on awareness of and belief in COVID-19 misinformation over time (January to February 2022). We find little support for the idea that the news exacerbates misinformation problems. News use broadened people’s awareness of false claims but did not increase belief in false claims—in some cases, news use actually weakened false belief acquisition, depending on access mode (online or offline) and outlet type. In line with previous research, we also find that news use strengthens political knowledge gain over time, again depending on outlets used. The effect of digital platforms was inconsistent across countries, and in most cases not significant—though some, like Twitter, were associated with positive outcomes while others were associated with negative outcomes. Overall, our findings challenge the notion that news media, by reporting on false and misleading claims, ultimately leave the public more misinformed, and support the idea that news helps people become more informed and, in some cases, more resilient to misinformation." (Abstract)
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"News is increasingly consumed via search engines. Yet, there is little research on foreign news consumption through search engines. This study thus focuses on the presence of foreign news in political search results in a peripheral country that is at the focal point of the international conflict be
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tween Russia and the West. For that, I conducted an algorithm audit of Google’s Web search results in Belarus to queries on the 2020 Belarusian presidential election. An analysis of 50,400 search results collected daily over 4 months surrounding the election from google.by revealed that Google in Belarus overwhelmingly favored foreign news outlets (mostly Western and Russian; 63%) over domestic Belarusian ones (37%). While the presence of Western news outlets (28.5%) may be argued to contribute to the democratization of the Belarusian public sphere, websites affiliated with Russia’s ruling elites (23%) most likely linked in favor of the ruling dictator Lukashenko. These findings advance the classic news flow research by demonstrating that international news flows are unbalanced toward a hierarchical core-periphery structure also when mediated through search engines." (Abstract)
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"A normative democracy presumes that citizens keep themselves informed on current events that provide them with the knowledge and capability to participate in political and civic life. Recent years, however, have seen an increasing global trend of intentional news avoidance among citizens, even doub
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ling in some countries within a few years. Based on the premise that quality journalism could be an effective strategy against this trend, this study examines the role of public service media (PSM) in news avoidance and its antecedents. Drawing on national surveys in 22 countries, the findings showed that PSM news access was generally related to news trust and perceived media independence and negatively related to perceived media cynicism across the countries. News trust was also consistently negatively related to news avoidance. The study suggests that PSM as a proxy for quality journalism could play a role in attenuating news avoidance by engendering news trust, even in countries where PSM has a relatively small market presence and low audience reach." (Abstract)
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"Mauritians take a strong stand on freedom of information: Overwhelming majorities value the media’s role as a watchdog on government, think the media should be free of government interference, and demand public access to information held by the government, such as budgets and contracts. A majorit
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y – but not all – also believe that their media is in fact “somewhat” or “completely” free. While television and radio are king among news sources in Mauritius, the Internet and social media also play a vital role, providing news to more than eight in 10 citizens on a regular basis." (Conclusion)
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"A large majority (71%) of Ethiopians "agree" or "strongly agree" that the media should "constantly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption." About six in 10 citizens (59%) endorse the principle that the media "should have the right to publish any views and ideas without governm
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ent control." A slim majority (51%) of respondents assess their country's media as "somewhat free" or "completely free," while 44% consider the media "not very" or "not at all" free. Close to two-thirds (64%) of adults own a mobile phone, 33% a radio, 29% a television set, and 5% a computer. Only 22% own a mobile phone with Internet connectivity. Radio is Ethiopia's most popular news source: 42% of citizens say they tune in "every day" or "a few times a week." More than a third (35%) say they regularly get news from television, while about two in 10 are regular consumers of news from social media (18%) and the Internet (17%)." Key findings)
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"Findings from the most recent Afrobarometer survey, in late 2022, show that most South Africans say the media should act as a watchdog over the government, constantly investigating and reporting on government mistakes and corruption. Citizens value media freedom and reject the notion that the gover
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nment should be able to prevent publications it disapproves of. Most citizens say the public and the media should have access to information held by public authorities, such as budgets and contracts. And a strong majority say South Africa’s media today is at least “somewhat” free. Television is the most popular news source in South Africa, but radio and social media also play a vital role, regularly providing news to more than seven in 10 citizens." (summary)
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"According to the most recent Afrobarometer survey, in late 2022, Emaswati broadly agree that the media should act as a watchdog over the government, exposing government missteps and wrongdoing. Citizens value media freedom and reject the notion that public information should be the exclusive preser
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ve of government officials. However, most believe that media freedom does not exist in practice in their country. Television and radio are the most popular news sources in Eswatini, but the Internet and social media are favoured, too, especially by youth, urban residents, and more educated citizens." (Summary, pages 1-2)
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"About three-quarters (76%) of Batswana say the media should "constantly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption." A similar share (77%) insist on media freedom, while 20% say the government should have the right to prevent the publication of things it disapproves of. In particu
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lar, strong majorities endorse the proposition that specific types of information be made publicly available, including information regarding budgets and expenditures for local government councils (88%) and bids and contracts for government-funded projects or purchases (88%). Half (50%) of those surveyed support making the salaries of teachers and local government officials public. About half (49%) say the country's media is "somewhat free" or "completely free" to report and comment on the news without government interference. Radio is the most popular source of news in Botswana, used at least "a few times a week" by two-thirds (67%) of citizens. Social media (47%) and television (41%) beat out the Internet (36%) and newspapers (29%) as regular news sources." (Key findings)
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"Television has a prime role to play in the formation of discursive domains in the everyday life of South Asian publics. This book explores various television media practices, social processes, mediated political experiences and everyday cultural compositions from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan
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and Sri Lanka. With the help of country-specific case studies, it captures a broad range of themes which foreground the publics and their real-life experiences of television in the region. The chapters in this book discuss gendered television spaces, women seeking solace from television in pandemic, the taboo in digital TV dramas, television viewership and localizing publics, changing viewership from television to OTT, news and public perception of death, redefining ‘the national’, theatrical television and post-truth television news, among other key issues." (Publisher description)
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