The Democratic Significance of Everyday News Use: Using Diaries to Understand Public Connection over Time and beyond Journalism

Abstract

This article argues that journalism scholars should strive to understand the democratic significance of everyday news use, and that such an interest requires us to tackle some methodological and conceptual challenges. We utilize the concept of public connection as a starting point for prioritizing aspects of everyday news use that are most relevant to democracy. Based on a review of existing methods—surveys, interviews and digital trace data—we propose an approach that facilitates analysis beyond the moment, and beyond single platforms or providers, and which situates journalism and news as part of intricate media experiences in everyday life. Our approach centres on media diaries to achieve these aims, and we illustrate its relevance for public connection research with a case from Norway.