Digital Journalism Practices and Media Systems
Summary
Digital journalism encompasses the transformation of news gathering, production and distribution underpinned by networked technologies, social platforms and data analytics. It operates within evolving media systems characterised by shifts in regulatory frameworks, commercial models and audience behaviours. Legacy media organisations have adapted to online delivery through hybrid formats, paywalls and interactive storytelling, while digital-native outlets have experimented with membership schemes, community engagement and algorithm-driven curation. The rise of platformisation has reconfigured power relations among publishers, technology intermediaries and publics, giving rise to new roles for peripheral actors—bloggers, citizen journalists and algorithmic agents—that challenge traditional boundaries of journalistic authority. Research in this field addresses issues of business model innovation, epistemological practices in multimedia formats, the sociology of news production and the global variation of media regimes. Practical applications include newsroom restructuring for multiplatform workflows, strategies for countering misinformation, the design of participatory interfaces and policy recommendations for platform governance. The global significance of this research is evident in comparative studies across Western and non-Western contexts, where differing audience expectations and press freedoms shape divergent digital journalism trajectories.
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Digital Journalism Practices and Media Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in digital journalism practices and media systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Digital journalism: The practice of creating, distributing and engaging with news content through digital platforms and tools.
Media systems: The organisational structures, regulatory environments and technological infrastructures that shape news production and dissemination.
Legacy media: Established news organisations originating in print or broadcast formats, now operating within digital channels.
Digital native media: News outlets founded and functioning primarily on digital platforms without a preceding print or broadcast history.
Peripheral actors: Individuals or entities outside traditional journalistic institutions who contribute to or influence news production and circulation.
Narrative authority: The recognised legitimacy of a journalist or media outlet to construct and present factual accounts.
Epistemological production elements: The methods and practices through which news organisations establish and communicate sources of knowledge and credibility.
References
- Navigating the Scholarly Terrain: Introducing the Digital Journalism Studies Compass. Digital Journalism (2019).
- Hybrid Engagement: Discourses and Scenarios of Entrepreneurial Journalism. Media and Communication (2018).
- Business Model Innovation in News Media: Fostering New Relationships to Stimulate Support from Readers. Media and Communication (2020).
- Journalism in Digital Native Media: Beyond Technological Determinism. Media and Communication (2020).
- Narrative authority in online video: Legacy media and digital native production styles. New Media & Society (2023).
- Dimensions of Peripherality in Journalism: A Typology for Studying New Actors in the Journalistic Field. Digital Journalism (2022).
- Strangers to the Game? Interlopers, Intralopers, and Shifting News Production. Media and Communication (2018).
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