Paying Attention to Attention: A Conceptual Framework for Studying News Reader Revenue Models Related to Platforms

Abstract

Digital journalism has become entwined with the platform ecosystem as news companies distribute their news through platforms to gain audience attention and reader revenue. To understand where, how, and by whom individual user interaction is collected, measured and monetised, the concept of attention is critical. However, attention is a scarce and fluid commodity. It shifts between platforms and news sites, and is affected by new technologies and algorithmic changes. All this makes extracting monetary value from platform attention challenging. This article explores attention as a core concept to study digital journalism revenue models which are dependent on harvesting user attention on platforms. Three aspects of attention are considered as a part of the conceptual framing offered: attention as a scarce and fluid commodity; attention as a unit for measurement; attention as a source of monetisation. This framework is especially useful for understanding evolving attention patterns for news; news content monetisation opportunities, shifts in power balances between platforms and news companies, and associated risks with platform news distribution. CONCEPT DEFINITION: Attention.