Media Pluralism and Online News: The Consequences of Automated Curation for Society

by Tim Dwyer (Editor), Derek Wilding (Editor)

Overview

The book arises from an international research project that explores the future of media pluralism policies for online news. It investigates the latest European policies and techniques for regulatory intervention, and examines the consequences of innovative news practices asking, ‘How will automation of news affect public opinion in the age of social media platforms, and what are the consequences?’

In Media Pluralism and Online News the authors make the argument that there is an urgent need for revitalised thinking for a media policy agenda to deal with the trends to platform power and concentrated media power, which is an ongoing global risk to public interest journalism.

In the transition to a media landscape increasingly dominated by broadband internet distribution and the dominance of US-centric new media behemoths Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Netflix the book investigates measures that can be taken to reduce this ongoing march of concentration and the attenuation of media voices.

Securing the public interest in a vibrant and sustainable news media sector will require that merger decisions assess whether there is a ‘reduction in diversity’ -- calling for a new public interest test and a more expansive policy focus than in the past. This would include consideration of the sustainability of local businesses; the encouragement of original and local news content; quality of content, in terms of the promotion of news standards; and new modes of delivery and consumption, including the ‘automated curation’ of news content by digital platforms. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781789388503
Publisher:	Intellect Books
Publication date:	08/23/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Associate Professor Tim Dwyer is the Degree Director of the Master of Media Practice at the University of Sydney and a visiting foreign professor at the College of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University.

Professor Derek Wilding is Co-Director of the Centre for Media Transition (CMT) at the University of Technology Sydney.

Tim Dwyer is the Degree Director of the Master of Media Practice at the University of Sydney and a visiting foreign professor at the College of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University. His research focuses on the critical evaluation of media and communications industries, regulation, media ethics, law and policy in an era of convergent media, algorithmic mediatization and the use of personalised data. His current Australian Research Council funded research is investigating the links between the preparedness of individuals to pay for news, the value of news brands and organizational cultures of news publishers, and the social value of news in promoting a democratic public sphere. He is the author of several books including Sharing News Online (2019) (with Fiona Martin) and Convergent Media and Privacy (2016). His new Intellect book (with Derek Wilding) is Media Pluralism and Online News: The Consequences of Automated Curation for Society.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Table
Acknowledgements

1. Introduction – Tim Dwyer and Derek Wilding

2. The Contemporary Policy Context: Plurality, Diversity and Automated Curation – Derek Wilding and Tim Dwyer

3. New Directions in Media Pluralism and Diversity Interventions – Derek Wilding and Tim Dwyer

4. Problem Definitions in European Policy Debates on Media Pluralism and Online Platforms – Kari Karppinen

5. Automation, News and Social Media Pluralism – Jonathon Hutchinson, Tim Dwyer and Derek Wilding

6. Researching Online News Media Diversities in China and South Korea – Tim Dwyer and Jonathon Hutchinson

7. Investigative Journalism and Media Pluralism: Voices from the Global South – Saba Bebawi

8. Conclusion – Tim Dwyer and Derek Wilding

Notes on Contributors
Index