Abstract
This study investigates the cross-media repertoires of news consumption of young adults in today’s fragmented multi-media environment, and examines the interactions between those repertoires and the consumers’ civic engagement and political participation. By using a Q-sort method, the respondents were asked to sort a number of elicitation cards on a relational scalar grid, which allowed for subsequent statistical factor analysis of these qualitative data and the generation of a sub-typology of media consumption repertoires as well as the discursive practices of the respondents. We also used a questionnaire which included questions about news consumption, political participation, and civic engagement. The findings revealed that most young adults used repertoires of digital and new media news consumption. The interviewees were highly conscious of their choices of news sources, and some young adults explicitly stated that they preferred to consume news from sources which reflected their own political views. In this study we were able to map news media repertoires of young adults in Israel and found that young adults do participate, and are largely involved, in activism and protests.
References
Adoni, H., & Nossek, H. (2001). The new media consumers: Media convergence and the displacement effect. Communications – The European Journal of Communication Research, 26(1), 59–83.10.1515/comm.2001.26.1.59Search in Google Scholar
Adoni, H., Peruško, Z., Nossek, H., & Schrøder, K. C. (2017). Introduction: News consumption as a democratic resource – News media repertoires across Europe. Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, 14(2), 226–252. Retrieved May,1, 2018, from: http://www.participations.org/Volume%2014/Issue%202/11.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
Alon-Tirosh, M., & Lemish, D. (2014). “If I was making the news”: What do children want from news? Participations, 11(1). 108–129.Search in Google Scholar
Anduiza, E., Cristancho, C., & Sabucedo, J. M. (2014). Mobilization through online social networks: The political protest of the indignados in Spain. Information, Communication & Society, 17(6), 750–764.10.1080/1369118X.2013.808360Search in Google Scholar
Atkin, D. J., Hunt, D. S., & Lin, C. A. (2015). Diffusion theory in the new media environment: Toward an integrated technology adoption model. Mass Communication and Society, 18(5), 623–650.10.4324/9781315164441-13Search in Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.10.4324/9781315680347-10Search in Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1990 [1977]). Reproduction in education, society and culture. London: Sage.Search in Google Scholar
Brough, M. M., & Shresthova, S. (2012). Fandom meets activism: Rethinking civic and political participation. Transformative Works & Cultures, 10. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/303/265. doi:10.3983/twc.2012.030310.3983/twc.2012.0303Search in Google Scholar
Camino, L., & Zeldin, S. (2002). From periphery to center: Pathways for youth civic engagement in the day-to-day life of communities. Applied Developmental Science, 6(4), 213–220.10.1207/S1532480XADS0604_8Search in Google Scholar
Carpentier, N. (2011). Media and participation: A site of ideological-democratic struggle. Bristol: Intellect Ltd.10.26530/OAPEN_606390Search in Google Scholar
Casero-Ripollés, A. (2012). Beyond newspapers: News consumption among young people in the digital era. Comunicar, 20(39), 151–158.10.3916/C39-2012-03-05Search in Google Scholar
Chan, K., & Fang, W. (2007). Use of the internet and traditional media among young people. Young Consumers, 8(4), 244–256.10.1108/17473610710838608Search in Google Scholar
Cortesi, S., & Gasser, U. (2015). Youth online and news: A phenomenological view on diversity. International Journal of Communication, 9, 1425–1448.Search in Google Scholar
Couldry, N., Livingstone, S., & Markham, T. (2008). ‘Public Connection’ and the uncertain norms of media consumption. In K. Soper & F. Trentmann, (Eds.), Citizenship and consumption (pp.104–120). London: Palgrave Macmillan.Search in Google Scholar
Dahlgren, P. (2007). Young citizens and new media: Learning for democratic participation. London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Davis, C. H., & Michelle, C. (2011). Q methodology in audience research: Bridging the qualitative/quantitative ‘divide’? Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, 8(2), 559–593.Search in Google Scholar
De Sola Pool, I. (1983). Technologies of freedom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.10.2307/j.ctvjz83s4Search in Google Scholar
Delli Carpini, M. X. (2004). Mediating democratic engagement: The impact of communications on citizens’ involvement in political and civic life. In L. L. Kaid (Ed.), Handbook of Political Communication Research (pp. 357–394). New York: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Domeyer, H., & Hasebrink, U. (2009). The meaning of media repertoires: A qualitative approach to the understanding of transmedial patterns of media use. Lecture at the conference “Transforming Audiences 2” in University of Westminster, London, 3 September, 2009.Search in Google Scholar
Dziopa, F., & Ahern, K. (2011). A systematic literature review of the applications of Q-technique and its methodology. Methodology: European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, 7(2), 39–55.10.1027/1614-2241/a000021Search in Google Scholar
Edgerly, S., Vraga, E. K., Bode, L., Thorson, K., & Thorson, E. (2018). New media, new relationship to participation? A closer look at youth news repertoires and political participation. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 95(1), 192–212.10.1177/1077699017706928Search in Google Scholar
Edgerly, S. (2015). Red media, blue media, and purple media: News repertoires in the colorful media landscape. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 59(1), 1–21.10.1080/08838151.2014.998220Search in Google Scholar
Eltantawy, N., & Wiest, J. B. (2011). Social media in the Egyptian revolution: Reconsidering resource mobilization theory. International Journal of Communication, 5, 1207–1224.Search in Google Scholar
Gans, H. J. (2003). Democracy and the news. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Graber, D. (2004). Mediated politics and citizenship in the twenty-first century. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 55, 545–571.10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141550Search in Google Scholar
Hasebrink, U., & Popp, J. (2006). Media repertoires as a result of selective media use. A conceptual approach to the analysis of patterns of exposure. Communications – The European Journal of Communication Research, 31(3), 369–387.10.1515/COMMUN.2006.023Search in Google Scholar
Hirzalla, F., & Van Zoonen, L. (2011). Beyond the online/offline: Divide how youth’s online and offline civic activities converge. Social Science Computer Review, 29(4), 481–498.10.1177/0894439310385538Search in Google Scholar
Hofstra, B., Corten, R., & Van Tubergen, F. (2016). Who was first on Facebook? Determinants of early adoption among adolescents. New Media & Society, 18(10), 2340–2358.10.1177/1461444815584592Search in Google Scholar
Huang, E. (2009). The causes of youths’ low news consumption and strategies for making youths happy news consumers. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 15(1), 105–122.10.1177/1354856508097021Search in Google Scholar
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: NYU Press.10.7551/mitpress/9780262036016.003.0012Search in Google Scholar
Katz, E. (2014). Back to the street: When media and opinion leave home. Mass Communication and Society, 17(4), 454–463.10.4324/9781315679402-2Search in Google Scholar
Lazarsfeld, P., & Merton, R. K. (1948). Mass communication, popular taste and organized social action. In L. Bryson (Ed.), The communication of ideas (pp. 95–118). New York: Harper.Search in Google Scholar
Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Smith, A., & Macgill, A. R. (2007). Teens and social media: An overview. Pew Internet and American Life. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from https://www.pewinternet.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/media/Files/Reports/2007/PIP_Teens_Social_Media_Final.pdf.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
Levin, D. (2012). The cottage cheese boycott: ‘Internet logic’ meets ‘media logic’. Kesher, 43, 23–28.Search in Google Scholar
Livingstone, S., Bober, M., & Helsper, E. (2005). Internet literacy among children and young people: Findings from the UK Children Go Online Project. Retrieved May 1, 2018, from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/397/1/UKCGOonlineLiteracy.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
Livingstone, S., Couldry, N., & Markham, T. (2007). Youthful steps towards civic participation: Does the internet help? In B. Loader (Ed.), Young citizens in the digital age: Political engagement, young people and new media (pp. 21–34). London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Lochocki, T. (2010). Trends, causes and patterns of young people’s civic engagement in western democracies. A review of literature. Oslo/Bergen, Norway: Centre for research on civil society and voluntary sector.Search in Google Scholar
Lorentzen, H., & Hustinx, L. (2007). Civic involvement and modernization. Journal of Civil Society, 3(2), 101–118.10.1080/17448680701554282Search in Google Scholar
Lunt, P., & Stenner, P. (2005). The Jerry Springer Show as an emotional public sphere. Media, Culture & Society, 27(1), 59–81.10.1177/0163443705049058Search in Google Scholar
Macintosh, A. (2004). Characterizing e-participation in policy-making. System Sciences, Proceedings of the 37th Annual Hawaii International Conference. doi:10.1109/HICSS. 2004.126530010.1109/HICSS.2004.1265300Search in Google Scholar
McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail’s mass communication theory. London: Sage.Search in Google Scholar
Nguyen, A., & Western, M. (2006). The complementary relationship between the internet and traditional mass media: The case of online news and information. Information Research: An International Electronic Journal, 11(3). Retrieved April 16, 2018 from http://InformationR.net/ir/11-3/paper259.html.Search in Google Scholar
Nossek, H., & Adoni, H. (2017). Coexistence of ‘old’ and ‘new’ news media in a transitional media system: News repertoires in Israel. Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, 14(2), 399–415.Search in Google Scholar
Ostman, J. (2012). Information, expression, participation: How involvement in user-generated content relates to democratic engagement among young people. New Media & Society, 14, 1004–1021. doi:10.1177/146144481243821210.1177/1461444812438212Search in Google Scholar
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants, part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6.10.1108/10748120110424816Search in Google Scholar
Schrøder, K. C. (2010). Citizen-consumers constellation of news media: Towards a typology of what people put into their shopping carts in the news supermarket. Paper presented to the RIPE conference, University of Westminster, London, 8–11 September, 2010.Search in Google Scholar
Schrøder, K. C. (2012). Methodological pluralism as a vehicle of qualitative generalization. Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, 9(2), 798–825.Search in Google Scholar
Schrøder, K. C. (2015). News media old and new: Fluctuating audiences, news repertoires and locations of consumption. Journalism Studies, 16(1), 60–78.10.1080/1461670X.2014.890332Search in Google Scholar
Schrøder, K. C., & Kobbernagel, C. (2010). Towards a typology of cross-media news consumption: A qualitative-quantitative synthesis. Northern Lights: Film & Media Studies Yearbook, 8(1), 115–137.10.1386/nl.8.115_1Search in Google Scholar
Sheafer, T., Weimann, G., & Tsfati, Y. (2008). Campaigns in the Holy Land: The content and effects of election news coverage in Israel. In J. Strömbäck & L. Kaid (Eds.), Handbook of election news coverage around the world (pp. 209–225). New York, London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Stenner, P., Watts, S., & Worrell, M. (2008). Q Methodology. In C. Willig & W. Stainton-Rogers (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research in psychology (pp. 215–239). Los Angeles: Sage.10.4135/9781848607927.n13Search in Google Scholar
Strömbäck, J., Falasca, K., & Kruikemeier, S. (2018). The mix of media use matters: Investigating the effects of individual news repertoires on offline and online political participation. Political Communication, 35(3), 413–432.10.1080/10584609.2017.1385549Search in Google Scholar
Theocharis, Y., & Quintelier, E. (2016). Stimulating citizenship or expanding entertainment? The effect of Facebook on adolescent participation. New Media & Society, 18, 817–836. doi:10.1177/146144481454900610.1177/1461444814549006Search in Google Scholar
Tsfati, Y., Tukachinsky, R., & Peri, Y. (2009). Exposure to news, political comedy, and entertainment talk shows: Concern about security and political mistrust. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 21(4), 399–423.10.1093/ijpor/edp015Search in Google Scholar
Tufekci, Z., & Wilson, C. (2012). Social media and the decision to participate in political protest: Observations from Tahrir Square. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 363–379.10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01629.xSearch in Google Scholar
Van Cauwenberge, A., d’Haenens, L., & Beentjes, H. (2013). Young people’s news orientations and uses of traditional and new media for news. Communications – The European Journal of Communication Research, 38(4), 367–388.10.1515/commun-2013-0022Search in Google Scholar
Van Exel, J., & De Graaf, G. (2005). Q methodology: A sneak preview. Retrieved April 16, 2018 from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gjalt_Graaf/publication/228574836_Q_Methodology_A_Sneak_Preview/links/02bfe50f946fc9978b000000.pdfSearch in Google Scholar
Van Laer, J. (2010). Activists online and offline: The internet as an information channel for protest demonstrations. Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 15(3), 347–366.10.17813/maiq.15.3.8028585100245801Search in Google Scholar
Watts, S., & Stenner, P. (2012). Doing Q methodological research: Theory, method & interpretation. London: Sage.10.4135/9781446251911Search in Google Scholar
Wolfsfeld, G., Segev, E., & Sheafer, T. (2013) Social media and the Arab Spring: Politics comes first. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 18(2), 115–137.10.1177/1940161212471716Search in Google Scholar
Yuan, E. (2011). News consumption across multiple media platforms: A repertoire approach. Information, Communication & Society, 14(7), 998–1016.10.1080/1369118X.2010.549235Search in Google Scholar
Youniss, J., Bales, S., Christmas‐Best, V., Diversi, M., Mclaughlin, M., & Silbereisen, R. (2002). Youth civic engagement in the twenty‐first century. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12(1), 121–148.10.1111/1532-7795.00027Search in Google Scholar
Appendix 1: Factor analysis
Rotated component matrix | ||||
Component | ||||
4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
0.069 | 0.144 | 0.054 | 0.888 | 2 |
0.293 | -0.175 | 0.136 | 0.767 | 6 |
0.245 | 0.192 | 0.434 | 0.731 | 11 |
0.292 | 0.239 | 0.28 | 0.724 | 9 |
-0.134 | 0.189 | 0.372 | 0.718 | 27 |
-0.018 | -0.102 | 0.409 | 0.716 | 26 |
0.217 | 0.063 | 0.333 | 0.716 | 28 |
0.259 | 0.143 | 0.181 | 0.674 | 7 |
0.261 | 0.103 | 0.211 | 0.662 | 29 |
0.363 | 0.44 | -0.062 | 0.657 | 5 |
0.001 | 0.256 | 0.189 | 0.656 | 35 |
0.247 | 0.299 | -0.054 | 0.652 | 4 |
0.435 | 0.098 | 0.184 | 0.652 | 10 |
0.02 | 0.503 | 0.099 | 0.628 | 3 |
0.109 | 0.223 | 0.536 | 0.598 | 24 |
0.53 | 0.057 | 0.391 | 0.514 | 1 |
0.068 | -0.165 | 0.848 | 0.122 | 30 |
-0.122 | -0.076 | 0.774 | 0.27 | 18 |
0.032 | 0.339 | 0.759 | 0.235 | 33 |
0.203 | 0.064 | 0.746 | 0.38 | 36 |
0.004 | 0.057 | 0.676 | 0.295 | 34 |
0.359 | 0.406 | 0.463 | 0.227 | 23 |
0.343 | 0.212 | 0.418 | 0.237 | 8 |
0.136 | 0.575 | 0.4 | 0.485 | 25 |
0.082 | 0.574 | 0.066 | 0.516 | 32 |
0.236 | 0.584 | 0.469 | 0.111 | 13 |
-0.116 | 0.598 | 0.469 | -0.02 | 20 |
0.047 | 0.787 | -0.112 | 0.028 | 17 |
0.199 | 0.705 | 0.063 | 0.227 | 15 |
0.257 | 0.605 | -0.33 | 0.201 | 12 |
0.468 | 0.455 | 0.241 | 0.155 | 19 |
0.892 | -0.081 | 0.04 | 0.249 | 16 |
0.843 | 0.168 | -0.148 | 0.22 | 21 |
0.733 | 0.392 | 0.237 | -0.101 | 31 |
0.454 | 0.25 | 0.32 | 0.293 | 14 |
0.439 | 0.056 | -0.297 | 0.213 | 22 |
Appendix 2: Survey questionnaire
Question 1
First, we would like to ask you about your participation in news coverage (mark all applicable with an x).
During an average week, in which, if any, of the following ways do you share or participate in news coverage? Please select all that apply.
Share a news story via a social network (like Facebook or Twitter).
Share a news story via e-mail.
Rate (or like) or recommend a news story.
Comment on a news story in a social network (like Facebook or Twitter).
Comment on a news story on a news website.
Write a blog/post on a piece of news or political issue.
Post or send a news-related picture or video to a social network site.
Post or send a picture or video of yourself to a news website/news organization.
Vote in an online poll via a news site or social network.
Take part in a campaign or group based around a news subject.
Talk with friends and colleagues about a news story (e. g., by e-mail, social media or WhatsApp).
Talk with friends and colleagues about a news story (face-to-face).
None of these.
Something else _____________________________________________
Question 2
Now, we would like to ask you several questions which deal with the importance of different types of media-connected activities in your life. Please indicate the degree of importance of each activity for your everyday life from ‘very important’ (5) to ‘not at all important’ (1). If the activity is not at all relevant in your life or in your country, please indicate it as ‘not at all important’ (1).
Not at all importantvery important | ||||
5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Writing letters to the editor of a print newspaper.
Taking part in an open radio discussion.
Voting (online or mobile phone/tablet) in media-invited polls.
Participating actively in groups on the web.
Creating (as initiator) content on social issues on the web using blogs, posts, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
Expressing opinion (as a reaction) in social media: blogs, Facebook, talkbacks, Twitter, YouTube.
Actively participating in the production of community/alternative newspapers/radio/television/internet channels.
Anything else you would like to mention in this context.
Question 3
Have the following cultural and social activities played an important role in your everyday life during the last month? Please indicate the degree of importance for each activity from ‘very important’ (5) to ‘not at all important’ (1). If the activity is not relevant at all in your life or in your country, please mark ‘not at all important’ (1).
Not at all importantvery important | ||||
5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Meeting with family members who do not live in my home.
Meeting with my friends.
Going out to the movies.
Going out to the theater.
Going out to sports events.
Going out to attend music concerts (classical, rock, pop, jazz, etc.).
Going out to attend lectures or other informative events.
Reading books (print or digital).
Going to art exhibitions/museums.
Anything else you would like to mention in this context.
Question 4
Have the following political activities played an important role in your life during the last year? Please indicate how important the role of each activity is from ‘very important’ (5) to ‘not at all important’ (1). If the activity is not relevant at all in your life or in your country, please mark ‘not at all important’ (1).
Not at all importantvery important | ||||
5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Membership in activist groups (social justice, environmental issues, nature and animal protection, veganism, etc.).
Attending protests or demonstrations in the public space.
Membership in a political party.
Joining petitions of democratic intervention.
Anything else you would like to mention in this context.
Question 5
To what extent do different sources of news play an important role in choosing topics for face-to-face conversations and discussions with your friends and family? Please indicate the relative importance of each source from ‘very important’ (5) to ‘not at all important’ (1). If this source of news is not relevant at all in your life or in your country, please mark ‘not at all important’ (1).
Not at all importantvery important | ||||
5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Printed newspapers.
News sites on the web.
Television news and current affairs programs.
Radio news and current affairs programs.
Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
Anything else you would like to mention in this context.
© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston