#5 - Scholarly article in Academic Search Complete

The Future of Breaking News Online?

Authors:

Thurman, Neil
Newman, Nic

Source:

Journalism Studies. Oct2014, Vol. 15 Issue 5, p655-667. 13p. 1 Black and White Photograph, 4 Charts, 2 Graphs.

Document Type:

Article

Subject Terms:

*ACCURACY in journalism
*ONLINE journalism
*NEWS audiences
*BLOGS
*MASS media
*SOCIAL media -- Research
GREAT Britain

Author-Supplied Keywords:

accuracy
balance
content preferences
live blogs
reader contributions

NAICS/Industry Codes:

519130 Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals

Abstract:

This study investigates news readers' use of, participation with, and attitudes to live updating news pages (also known as live blogs); an increasingly common online news format. Data derive from an online survey, and from web analytics of live blogs hosted by Guardian.co.uk and on the ScribbleLive platform. The survey elicited approximately 11,000 respondents and the sample was weighted to reflect the demographics of the online populations in the nine countries polled. The findings show the extent to which news consumers use live blogs to follow news, and, for the United States and United Kingdom, their preferences for different types of news content in this form. UK respondents' attitudes to the accuracy and balance of live blogs, and to their usability and convenience, are reported. The Guardian.co.uk data reveal the relative attention received by live blogs compared with picture galleries, articles, and an op-ed piece; whilst the data from ScribbleLive show the proportion of content contributed by readers in a sample of 11 live blogs. In answering a call for further study of this under-researched aspect of online news, this study extends our understanding of the changes taking place as news consumption shifts, increasingly rapidly, from print to online. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]