TY - JOUR
T1 - Actors, actants, audiences, and activities in cross-media news work
T2 - A matrix and a research agenda
AU - Lewis, Seth C.
AU - Westlund, Oscar
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - In contemporary journalism, there is a need for better conceptualizing the changing nature of human actors, nonhuman technological actants, and diverse representations of audiences- and the activities of news production, distribution, and interpretation through which actors, actants, and audiences are inter-related. This article explicates each of these elements-the Four A’s-in the context of cross-media news work, a perspective that lends equal emphasis to editorial, business, and technology as key sites for studying the organizational influences shaping journalism. We argue for developing a sociotechnical emphasis for the study of institutional news production: a holistic framework through which to make sense of and conduct research about the full range of actors, actants, and audiences engaged in cross-media news work activities. This emphasis addresses two shortcomings in the journalism studies literature: a relative neglect about (1) the interplay of humans and technology, or manual and computational modes of orientation and operation, and (2) the interplay of editorial, business, and technology in news organizations. This article’s ultimate contribution is a cross-media news work matrix that illustrates the interconnections among the Four A’s and reveals where opportunities remain for empirical study.
AB - In contemporary journalism, there is a need for better conceptualizing the changing nature of human actors, nonhuman technological actants, and diverse representations of audiences- and the activities of news production, distribution, and interpretation through which actors, actants, and audiences are inter-related. This article explicates each of these elements-the Four A’s-in the context of cross-media news work, a perspective that lends equal emphasis to editorial, business, and technology as key sites for studying the organizational influences shaping journalism. We argue for developing a sociotechnical emphasis for the study of institutional news production: a holistic framework through which to make sense of and conduct research about the full range of actors, actants, and audiences engaged in cross-media news work activities. This emphasis addresses two shortcomings in the journalism studies literature: a relative neglect about (1) the interplay of humans and technology, or manual and computational modes of orientation and operation, and (2) the interplay of editorial, business, and technology in news organizations. This article’s ultimate contribution is a cross-media news work matrix that illustrates the interconnections among the Four A’s and reveals where opportunities remain for empirical study.
KW - Cross-media news work
KW - Digital media
KW - Journalism studies
KW - News institutions
KW - Sociotechnical emphasis
KW - Technology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84977599531&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84977599531&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/21670811.2014.927986
DO - 10.1080/21670811.2014.927986
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84977599531
SN - 2167-0811
VL - 3
SP - 19
EP - 37
JO - Digital Journalism
JF - Digital Journalism
IS - 1
ER -