Exploring News Avoidance in the Spanish Hybrid Media Landscape
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7203/drdcd.v0i9.273Resum
This study investigates the phenomenon of news avoidance in the Spanish context, considering factors such as stress, information overload, media scepticism, and political polarisation that contribute to this behaviour. Utilising a focus group methodology, this study explores the complexities of news avoidance in supportive and non-judgmental settings. The study acknowledges the significant decline in news interest in Spain and the nation's socio-political dynamics as influential factors. These findings have implications for media literacy education, journalism, and understanding the role of the media in shaping public opinion. Furthermore, this study provides insights into countries facing similar challenges in their media landscapes. By uncovering the underlying reasons for news avoidance, this study has implications in various fields, including journalism, communication, and political science, to enhance democratic participation and informed decision-making.
Referències
Anderson, C., Bell, D., & Shirky, C. (2014). Post-industrial journalism: Adapting to the present. Columbia Journalism Review, 52(2), 36–42.
Banjac, S.; Hanusch, F. (2020). Aspirational lifestyle journalism: The impact of social class on producers’ and audiences’ views in the context of socio-economic inequality. Journalism, 2(8), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920956
Barberá, P., Jost, J. T., Nagler, J., Tucker, J. A., & Bonneau, R. (2015). Tweeting from left to right: Is online political communication more than an echo chamber? Psychological Science, 26(10), 1531-1542. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615593199
Boczkowski, P. J. (2021). Abundance: On the Experience of Living in a World of Information Plenty. Oxford University Press.
Boczkowski, P. J., Mitchelstein, E., & Matassi, M. (2018). News comes across when I'm in a moment of leisure: Understanding the practices of incidental news consumption in social media. New Media and Society, 20(10), 3523-3539. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817750396
Chadwick, A. (2013). The hybrid media system: Politics and power. Oxford University Press.
Chan M, Lee FLF, Chen H-T (2022). Avoid or authenticate? A multilevel cross-country analysis of the roles of fake news concern and news fatigue on news avoidance and authentication. Digital Journalism. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.2016060
Costera Meijer, I.; Rogers, R.; Westlund, O.; Witschge, T.
Díaz-Noci, J.; Serrano-Telleria, A. (eds.). Researching the news in the
Hybrid media system: An expert panel report. Barcelona: DigiDoc Research
Group (Pompeu Fabra University), DigiDoc Reports, 2021
PONR04/2021
Damstra, A.; Vliegenthart, R.; Boomgaarden, H.; Glüer, K.; Lindgreen, E.; Strömbäck, J. & Tsfati, Y. (2023). Knowledge and the News: An Investigation of the Relation Between News Use, News Avoidance, and the Presence of (Mis)beliefs. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 28(1), 1-20, DOI: 10.1177/19401612211031457
Díaz-Noci J. A revolt of the wealthy people? News, media, social classes and storytelling in a context of economic crisis and inequality: An essay on the role of the press in the Catalan pro-independence process (2009-2017). Barcelona: Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Comunicació, 2022. 68 p. (Serie Editorial DigiDoc. DigiDoc Reports). http://hdl.handle.net/10230/53748
Edgerly, S. (2022). The head and heart of news avoidance: How attitudes about the news media relate to levels of news consumption. Journalism, 23(9), 1828–1845. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849211012922
Fitzpatrick, N. (2022). No News is Not Good News: The Implications of
News Fatigue and News Avoidance in a Pandemic World. Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications, 8(3), 145-160.
Fletcher, R.; Kalegeropoulos, A.; Simon, F. M.; Nielsen, R. K. (2020). Information inequality in the UK coronavirus communications crisis. Oxford: The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
Garrett, R. K. (2009). Politically motivated reinforcement seeking: Reframing the selective exposure debate. Journal of Communication, 59(4), 676–699. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01452.x
Gil de Zúñiga, H., & Cheng, Z. (2021). Origin and evolution of the News Finds Me perception: Review of theory and effects. Profesional De La información, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2021.may.21
Goyanes, M.; Ardèvol-Abreu; A.; Gil de Zúñiga, H. (2021): Antecedents of News Avoidance: Competing Effects of Political Interest, News Overload, Trust in News Media, and “News Finds Me” Perception, Digital Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1990097
Kalogeropoulos, A.; Toff, B.; Fletcher, R. (2022). The Watchdog Press in the Doghouse: A Comparative Study of Attitudes about Accountability Journalism, Trust in News, and News Avoidance. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 1-22.
Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2014). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Lindell, J., & Mikkelsen Båge, E. (2022). Disconnecting from digital news: News avoidance and the ignored role of social class. Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849221085389
Lindell, Johan; Sartoretto, Paola (2018). Young People, Class and the News. Journalism Studies, 19(14), 2042-2061.
Majó-Vázquez, Sílvia; Kalogeropoulos, Antonis; Lindell, Johan; Cardenal, Ana Sofía / Pérez-Altable, Laura; Díaz-Noci, Javier (eds.). Inequalities and information access: An expert panel report. Barcelona: DigiDoc Research Group (Pompeu Fabra University), DigiDoc Reports, 2022
Morgan, D. (1997). Focus Groups as qualitative research. Sage
Masip, P.; Suau, J.; Ruiz-Caballero, C. (2020). Incidental Exposure to Non-Like-Minded News through Social Media: Opposing Voices in Echo-Chambers’ News Feeds. Media and Communication, 8(4): 53-62. DOI: 10.17645/mac.v8i4.3146
Morgan, D. (2019). Basic and advanced Focus Groups. Sage.
Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Robertson, C. T., Eddy, K., & Kelis Nielsen, R. (2022). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2022. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Retrieved from https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2022-06/Digital_News-Report_2022.pdf
Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Eddy, K., Robertson, C. T., & Kelis Nielsen, R. (2023). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Retrieved from https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-06/Digital_News_Report_2023.pdf
Padró-Solanet, A., & Balcells, J. (2022). Media Diet Polarisation: Evidence from Spain. South European Society and Politics, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2022.2046400
Palmer, R. A.; Toff, B. (2022). Neither Absent nor Ambient: Incidental News Exposure From the Perspective of News Avoiders in the UK, United States, and Spain. The https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612221103
Ryan, K. E., Gandha, T., Culbertson, M. J., & Carlson, C. (2013). Focus Group Evidence: Implications for Design and Analysis. American Journal of Evaluation, 0(0), 1-18. DOI: 10.1177/1098214013508300
Scherr, S., & Leiner, D. (2021). The populist hotbed: How political attitudes, resentment, and justice beliefs predict both exposure to and avoidance of specific populist news features in the United States. PloS One, 16(10), e0258220–e0258220. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258220
Skovsgaard, M., & Andersen, K. (2020). Conceptualizing News Avoidance: Towards a Shared Understanding of Different Causes and Potential Solutions. Journalism Studies, 21(4). https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2019.1686410
Song, H., Jung, J., & Kim, Y. (2017). Perceived News Overload and Its Cognitive and Attitudinal Consequences for News Usage in South Korea. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 94(4), 1172–1190. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699016679975
Strömbäck, J. (2017). News Seekers, News Avoiders, and the Mobilizing Effects of Election Campaigns: Comparing Election Campaigns for the National and the European Parliaments. International Journal of Communication, 11, 237-258. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/5919/1895
Tichenor, P. J., Donohue, G. A., & Olien, C. N. (1970). Mass media flow and differential growth in knowledge. Public Opinion Quarterly, 34(2), 159-170. https://doi.org/10.1086/267741
Toff, B., & Kalogeropoulos, A. (2020). All the news That is Fit to Ignore: How the Information Environment Does and Does Not Shape News Avoidance. Public Opinion Quarterly, 84(1), 366–390. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfaa016
Toff, B., & Palmer, R. A. (2019). Explaining the Gender Gap in News Avoidance: "News-Is-for-Men" Perceptions and the Burdens of Caretaking. Journalism Studies, 1563-1579. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2018.1528882
Ucar, I.; Gramaglia, M.; Fiore, M.; Smoreda, Z.; Moro, E. (2021). News or social media? Socio-economic divide of mobile service consumption. J. R. Soc. Interface 18: 20210350. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0350
Van Deursen, A. J. A. M., & Van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2019). The first-level digital divide shifts from inequalities in physical access to inequalities in material access. New media and society, 21(2), 354-375. DOI: 10.1177/1461444818797082
Zuiderveen Borgesius, F. J. & Trilling, D. & Möller, J. & Bodó, B. & de Vreese, C. H. & Helberger, N. (2016). Should we worry about filter bubbles? Internet Policy Review, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.14763/2016.1.401