Action research at the BBC: Interrogating artificial intelligence with journalists to generate actionable insights for the newsroom
JOURNAL
Action research at the BBC: Interrogating artificial intelligence with journalists to generate actionable insights for the newsroom
Bronwyn Jones and Rhianne Jones | Journalism
This paper provides reflections on an embedded action research project undertaken over a three-year period at the UK’s largest public service broadcaster, the BBC. The project was aimed at eliciting research insights about the role and understanding of AI in news production and facilitate change in the newsroom. This paper surface the messy realities of conducting this work, including challenges to funding such long-term and resource-intensive research and the difficulties of measuring impacts. Practical guidance is also provided, that highlights the need for researchers to cost in time for translational work for example. Overall, the authors emphasise the value of action research in journalism studies, arguing for approaches that retain critical perspectives while closing the gap between theory, critique and practice.
Rationalisation of the news - How AI reshapes and retools the gatekeeping processes of news organisations in the United Kingdom, United States and Germany
JOURNAL
Rationalisation of the news – How AI reshapes and retools the gatekeeping processes of news organisations in the United Kingdom, United States and Germany
Felix M. Simon | New Media & Society
This paper surveys the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the newsroom, along with the ways in which it has re-shaped journalistic practices. Through interviews with publishers based in the United States, UK and Germany, the authors found that AI is increasingly being used to automate basic tasks such as summarization, verification and transcription. This technology is also being used on the business side of newspapers, allowing companies to streamline audience analytics, targeted content and distribution of stories. The study reflects that while it doesn’t fundamentally change journalism, AI systems reshape the news environment, giving greater power to large tech companies such as Google or OpenAI as they control the infrastructure that powers newsrooms. While AI pushes organizations to more efficient practices, it also requires more transparency to avoid allegations of bias or inaccuracies at the hands of automated systems.
Projections: The Social Internet
REPORT
Projections: The Social Internet
Henry Cooke & Ian Forrester | BBC Research and Development
This report focuses on the BBC, examining how the public broadcaster can use social media to connect with increasingly isolated online audiences. The authors highlight a pronounced shift away from addictive and algorithmic social media platforms like TikTok towards smaller and more private group chats or social spaces. For PSM this means a digital movement away from a large presence on larger social media platforms, into a wider variety of smaller spaces. This shift requires a higher variety of content across more topics, along with embedding themselves into online communities and establishing an engaged and collaborative relationship with their audiences.
Global platforms, new media generations and Anglo-American hegemony: An exploration of young audience viewing and language preferences in four European countries
JOURNAL
Global platforms, new media generations and Anglo-American hegemony: An exploration of young audience viewing and language preferences in four European countries
Andrea Esser and Jeanette Steemers | Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies
This study identifies the screen usage of younger audiences between the ages of 16 and 34 in Germany, Denmark, The Netherlands and Italy. It found that young people have moved away from locally-produced content, with their focus shifting toward English-language productions. US-based major streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video dominate long-form consumption in these countries, although British content has continued to increase in popularity on the continent. Usage of the English language forms a significant reason for British production’s success, with young audiences more likely to consume due to the accessibility of the language.
The rise and fall of European media: EU policy in the streaming era
JOURNAL
The rise and fall of European media: EU policy in the streaming era
Jean K Chalaby | European Journal of Communication
This article looks at European broadcasters, arguing that – despite the persistent efforts of the European Union – a trans-national media industry has failed to take shape on the continent. The author examine the development of pan-European media consolidation in the 1980s and 90s, with the 1989 Television Without Frontiers Directive ensuring the free movement of television content within the European market. Their research shows that this growth slowed dramatically in the 2010s, as digitization and the rise of major US-based streaming platforms led to revenue stagnation for legacy broadcasters. To prevent continued decline, Chalaby argues that European authorities need to increase their support for locally-based media platforms.
Smart TV Users and Interfaces: Who’s in Control?
JOURNAL
Smart TV Users and Interfaces: Who’s in Control?
Ramon Lobato, Alexa Scarlata, Bruno Schivinski | International Communication Journal
As smart TVs are flooding the market and increasingly replacing traditional non-connected TVs, very little is known about how smart TVs are used once they were bought.
Based on the case study of Australia, the authors examined the usage habits of smart TV owners, in particular the agency people have in relation to smart TV apps and interfaces. This study shows how unevenly the ability to customise a smart TV is across society and brings up how these findings could impact the current policy debates about prominence regulation.
How public service media are changing in the platform era: A comparative study across four European countries
JOURNAL
How public service media are changing in the platform era: A comparative study across four European countries
Marius Dragomir & Miguel Túñez López | European Journal of Communication
Public service media (PSM) benefit from certain advantages such as access to public funding and technical infrastructure, as well as a special regulatory framework allowing them to reach almost the entire population. However, this special position in society does not protect them from various challenges to which they are regularly confronted, including economic and political pressures or opposition from privately owned media. In the recent year, the shift to platforms has also brought its series of challenges.
This research looks into the transformation of four European PSM in response to the pressures related to platformatisation and how they adapt to this new digital landscape while maintaining the core values of PSM.
Are Public Service Media Innovative? Developing a Tool for Assessing Innovation in Production Processes
JOURNAL
Are Public Service Media Innovative? Developing a Tool for Assessing Innovation in Production Processes
Mónica López-Golàn, Azhara Cañedo & Olga Blasco-Blasco | International Journal of Communication
As society is going through a time of fast technological evolution, especially when it comes to platformatisation, public service media (PSM) have to rethink their public service mission to include the new needs and demands of their audience while keeping up with technological and digital innovation. However, their independence and their cornerstone role to support a democratic society should not be undermined by this transformation. In this study, the authors looked into the case of the Spanish PSM to assess the state of innovation in PSM production processes and concluded that in a context where PSM corporations are redefining their public value innovation should not be seen as an option but as a reality and that is should go beyong the technological aspect of innovation.
How public service media are changing in the platform era: A comparative study across four European countries
JOURNAL
How public service media are changing in the platform era: A comparative study across four European countries
Marius Dragomir & Miguel Túñez López | European Journal of Communication
2024
The platformisation of the public sphere has profoundly reshaped the media landscape, exerting particular pressure on public service media (PSM).
The imperative to uphold PSM’s core values—universality, independence, excellence, diversity, accountability, and innovation—has become increasingly complex amid the shift to digital ecosystems. These principles, essential to PSM’s role in democratic societies, now face additional strains as digital platforms alter traditional models of content distribution and audience engagement.
This article seeks to examine the evolution of PSM in response to these pressures in four European countries: Austria, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Accountability and platforms' governance: the case of online prominence of public service media content
POLICY BRIEF
Accountability and platforms’ governance: the case of online prominence of public service media content
Krisztina Rozgonyi | Internet Policy Review
2023
Public discourse has shifted online, with platforms becoming crucial sources and distributors of information. Public Service Media (PSM) increasingly depends on these platforms to reach a wide audience. However, these platforms control how PSM content is shared and engaged with, using their own algorithms and laws.
This paper explores the need for protections to ensure PSM content is delivered effectively on digital platforms, as part of maintaining media diversity. It examines current and potential policies for giving public value content, or “due prominence,” a special status online. This study also looks at whether current accountability measures are adequate for promoting media pluralism and offers recommendations for future policies focused on public-interest platform governance.