An investigation into how the evolution of technology has effected the way news is consumed, and who it is consumed by in the UK






Morgan Lloyd






























Section 1: Research Context

The 21st century has brought about a dramatic change to the way in which news is produced and consumed. Technological advances, most importantly the internet in 1991 and more recently smartphones have made getting up to date with news much easier, and thus a common research topic for journalism scholars. With 36% of the worlds population projected to be using smartphones by 2018 (Statista 2018), they have provided users with a “cornucopia of personalised news on the go” (Batsell 2015). New methods of news production have arisen with the digital era and with technology at almost everyones fingertips in the UK providing pace, availability and a plethora of information, it is increasingly within reason for anyone to become an online contributor or ‘citizen journalist’ (Bruns 2007). The digital era has provided a wide variety of platforms and possibilities for consumers of news, including social media, blogs, podcasts, video production and audience “agenda setting” (Rosen 2006).

 Many audience theories also surround the transition in journalism from print to online. The main ideologies are the Hypodermic Syringe Theory, the Uses and Gratification Theory and the Reception Theory (Hall 1980, Morley 1978). Each of these relate to audience engagement helping to gain a deeper understanding into the ways in which audiences work, and in the case of this article, how news-readers consume news. The Hypodermic Syringe Theory stems back to the 1920’s and presents the understanding that audiences are passive in the way that they consume news. This means that consumers of news are injected with the ideologies of the heads of the media industry, in turn leading to the manipulation of the masses. Whilst this is still a prevalent issue in journalism research, it is seemingly outdated and with more leverage can be opposed in today’s modern society. For example, the Uses and Gratifications Theory, which assumes that the audience is active rather than passive. It suggests that an ‘active’ audience will use a text and not be used by it, for their own pleasure or gratification. This ties back to the idea of personalised news that you can access anywhere, at any time (Batsell 2015), as well as speaking to the notion of the previously mentioned audience agenda setting (Rosen 2006).

The traditional values of journalism are rapidly changing, “it’s always a good thing to remember to not think of people as idiots.” (de Certeau 1980). This inherently reinforces the notion of an active audience, one that can’t simply be influenced by their ‘gatekeepers’ (White 1950). However, until these new technologies came about, these ‘gatekeepers’ who were the editors, reporters and producers of news, held all the control, hence their label. The public was only free to send in letters and emails (Batsell 2015). This supports the Hypodermic Needle Theory thus highlighting the control of the media, but not necessarily how people are controlled by the news that they consume. The internet, computers and smartphones gave people the ability and platform to voice their opinions and personalise their own news at a grassroots level. “The people formerly known as the audience who were on the receiving end of a media system that ran one way… are today not in a situation like that at all” (Rosen 2006). This follows the idea that instead of audiences being only either active or passive, they have undergone changes from one to the other.

Research has shown a correlation between the rise of digital journalism and the decline in traditional journalism methods (Ryfe 2012,3, Wharl-Jorgensen 2017).  An earlier study undergone by Deuze (2001) resulted in the knowledge that journalists in the BBC are finding it increasingly difficult to quickly adapt to the ever-changing nature of technologies including the ‘Immediate’ nature of the internet. Furthermore, this is reinforced by further research into the BBC by (Lee-Wright 2007).  Wright (2007) found through qualitative research such as in depth interviews with senior BBC employees that “cuts and and re-organisation are shaking peoples confidence”. It is therefore seemingly apparent that traditional journalism is on a downwards trajectory and a new age journalism is something that people just have to get used to. This draws parallels with the idea of ‘creative destruction’ (Schumpeter 1950), that states that in order to progress you must destroy the old model in order to make way for the new. This can also relate back to the historical theory, the ‘Whig Interpretation’ (Butterfield 1931) which assumes that the past will always shape a brighter future. In this case, the assumption that technology is helping the journalism industry rather than destroying it. Van Goonen (2000) also describes this as ‘utopian’ ideology, presuming the internet is generally bringing a better world for all.

Section 2: Goals of the Research
Despite research showing that the ‘success’ of online news is a topic heavily scrutinised among journalism scholars it is still a relevant subject for journalism research, and one that needs constant updating in this ‘immediate’ online environment. The reason for scrutiny is that research into the success does little to source why traditional journalism is declining in the first place. “I would here make the plea for the importance of  bringing the study of the varied facets of journalism’s failure to the forefront” (Wahl-Jorgensen 2017, 259). Therefore this study intends to gain more of an understanding, through the perspective of the audiences and consumers, as to why traditional journalism is in decline. This will be done looking into The Independent news website as a case study. Rather than the commonly researched BBC, The Independent has been chosen for this study to remain within the context of a mainstream news site with a UK audience, that has been successful in maintaining a large  online audience.
The aim of this study will be to expand on Deuze’s previous work in the field, using his findings as a model in which to research new age audiences and the success of online journalism and failure of print. A mixed method approach will be used to analyse The Independent in regards to Deuze’s model of success and potential, to see if he was right about how to properly take advantage of new technology when it came to news online, and to see If The Independent has utilised the ‘potential’ relating to audience engagement. This will be done by conducting a quantitative survey,  followed up by qualitative in depth interviews and focus groups of The Independent readers.



Section 3: Theoretical Framework

part 1 - Ease of use

The plethora of easily accessible information afforded by the internet through smartphones, has made getting in touch with the news quick and easy for users. ‘Citizen journalists’ (Bruns 2007), who actively add to the production and consumption of news through sharing and commenting on social media and other platforms, help consumers create their own personalised media spaces where they will get the news they desire. “Interconnected people collaboratively curate and co-curate narratives” (Papacharissi 2004). With people now able to read contribute to the specific news they are interested in, at a fast pace, it would explain why people wouldn't want to sit reading through an entire newspaper based on ‘faulty assumptions’ of what newsreaders care about (Batsell 2015). Therefore news organisations were forced to reconsider what they deem ‘newsworthy’. Wall Street Journal editor for mobile, tablets and emerging technology David Ho described the more recent news methods as “a battle for people’s time, we need to make it worth their time.” Aside from the news content, speed and convenience is seemingly a predominant factor in determining what makes good news that the audiences want in this online news era. A website must then be able to engage the consumers and give them active options to be able to contribute to news in a short time frame in order to retain that audience. The producer must “consider the needs of an audience and wholeheartedly embrace constant interaction with that audience” (Batsell 2015).

Social media and in particular Facebook, with over 1 billion active users, has provided a huge mediascape for people to constantly share and analyse news content. Shirky (2010) described social media as heralding an “unprecedented age of creativity.” It gives people the platform to publish, comment, review, critique, share, promote, like, and generally get involved in every aspect of news. With people now able to spend their free time more ‘productively, creatively and altruistically’ (Shirky 2010) through modern technologies such as social media, news organisations must take on the responsibility of engagement and understand that “our cognitive surplus is so enormous that even diverting a tiny fraction of time from consumption to participation can create enormous positive effects” (Shirky 2010, Whal-Jorgensen 2017). The changing relationship between the audience and content-provider is one that should be accepted by journalists rather than feared. The technological advancements that are changing traditional methods and proving an ‘ingrained resistance’ among journalists (Anderson 2011), but according to Shirky (2010) this is only empowering and boosting audiences. Although many journalists would like to see the Hypodermic Syringe Theory remain relevant, it is no longer the case as consumption has evolved.

The previously mentioned study by Deuze (2001) highlighted strategies that enhanced the potential of online journalism using three combined characteristics - hypertextuality, multimediality and interactivity. According to Deuze these combined make for a healthy news site where journalists can really connect with their audiences as expected. Hypertextuality is the term used to refer to how a website uses hyperlinks to allow users to navigate freely through to other websites and sources, or equally between pages on that specific website. It is generally considered to be a fundamental feature of the internet’s connectivity, however if a website only displays internal hyperlinks, this could have negative effects, deeming the nature of the “world wide web” and Marshall McLuhan's “global village” theory effectively pointless and contradictory (Deuze 2001). Interactivity has three parts - the ‘adaptive’ (chatrooms and personalisation through smart web design), ‘functional’ (links, bulletin boards, moderated discussion) and ‘navigational’ (‘next page’, ‘back to top’ etc). It is commonly perceived that adaptive interactivity is the most sophisticated (Guay 1995). Thus allowing the website to “adapt itself in real time”. This continues to reinforce the successful nature of the sheer speed and ease of internet usage, and the ability to keep content constantly fresh and updated. Multimediality is to do with the content available. It is the introduction of various forms of media in a single text, for example a written article with a video feature and photographs. This is helps engage the audience, giving them various options of how to consume a text and decode it. A combination of these three media strategies is now clearly used by most news sites, thus deeming  previous research outdated: “Very few websites are employing multimedia… often only mainstream sites (BBC)” (Deuze 2001). The three virtues are the model with which this study will analyse The Independent, as most sites now employ these features and techniques.




part 2 - evolution from passive to active users

part 3 -



Setction 4: Methodology

Therefore, the starting aim of the study is to analyse The Independent in terms of its hypertextual, multimedia, and interactive features to test whether Deuze’s theory has proven correct almost two decades on, with a successful online news website being The Independent. Then, the aim is to investigate the consumption patterns of users of The Independent’s online users, using qualitative and quantitive research to see whether they agree with Deuze’s key characteristics, and gain an important understanding of how and why the masses have ‘chosen’ to transition to an online environment. This will in turn update Deuze’s findings, testing whether his model remains relevant. However, as Deuze focussed more on the production, using journalists as interview subjects, this study will focus on the consumption of these production methods through interviews with the audience of The Independent. What can be gained from this study could be a new ‘creative destruction’ of Deuze’s model, if research proves it outdated. Furthermore to gain the information needed by the people that matter most in this new digital era, the audience, to perhaps create a new model based on user wants and needs.

Facebook: survey to obtain interviewees, stats about fb user demographics (age etc), email interviews as unplausible to meet everyone within the timeframe, selected through survey results, an equal balance of gender and age.