The “Audience Logic” in Digital Journalism: An Exploration of Shifting News Logics Across Media Types and Time

Abstract

Mediatization research has repeatedly been accused of not taking sufficient account of the role of the audience. Whereas audience orientation is often implicitly assumed in concepts of commercial news logic, a stronger consideration of the audience in news media logic is needed, particularly in times of more interactive and participatory digital media. In this article, we investigate whether, on the one hand, market-oriented commercial logic has retained its importance and, on the other hand, a new connection-strengthening audience logic has emerged. We empirically analyze these two logics in a quantitative content analysis of political news coverage, combining a cross-temporal, a cross-national, and a cross-organizational perspective. Our results suggest that commercial logic has peaked in the past few decades and that an audience logic has developed in parallel. Yet, there are notable differences between countries and different types of media organizations.