News sha ing using sel -des uc i e con en in digi al na i e media om an
in e na ional pe spec i e
[ACCEPTED VERSION]
How o ci e: Six o-Ga cía, J., Rod íguez-Vázquez, A. I., & López-Ga cía, X. (2023). News sha ing using
sel -des uc i e con en in digi al na i e media om an in e na ional pe spec i e. Jou nalism P ac ice,
17(7), 1341-1356. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/17512786.2021.2000883
Abs ac : Na i e digi al media use o sel -des uc i e con en o he dissemina ion o
news is in es iga ed. This new o ma , cha ac e ized by i s epheme ali y, has become
ashionable wi hin he mos success ul social ne wo ks. Spanish media ou le s a e
analysed and compa ed wi h Eu opean and Ame ican ones. The esul s indica e ha
na i e cybe media a e dissemina ing con en h ough his o ma , inc easing audience
engagemen , especially wi hin he you h. In e es ingly, hese media ocus in en ly on
Ins ag am while neglec ing Facebook and You ube. Models o ansmedia, like swiping
up, c ossmedia and c oss-p omo ion na a i es a e alued, and made appa en is he
use ulness o he o ma o imp o e he gene al public’s pa icipa ion, and in he sending
o use gene a ed con en . This wo k del es in o an unde - esea ched ield, o e ing a
aluable pe spec i e o communica ion companies o in luence he daily spaces o
social in e ac ion by o e ing bi e size po ions o in o ma ion.
Keywo ds: c oss-p omo ion; epheme al con en ; news sha ing; sel -des uc i e con en ;
social media; swipe up.
1. In oduc ion
Jou nalism has ansi ioned om single-channel ac i i y o mul ichannel communica ions
(Neube ge , Nue nbe gk & Langenohl, 2018). This has acili a ed he eme gence o
hyb id and inno a i e o ms o in o ma ion p oduc ion on open pla o ms, hus
disman ling he classic na a i e s uc u es (He mida, 2013) and leading o he
eme gence o new models o jou nalism, such as he en ep eneu ial (Case o-Ripollés,
Izquie do- Cas illo & Doménech-Fab ega , 2016; Po lezza & Splendo e, 2016),
imme si e jou nalism (Sánchez, 2017) and cons uc i e jou nalism (Ai amu o & Va ma,
2018). This demons a es how communica ion companies and jou nalis s ha e o
cons an ly adap o ad ances in mobile echnologies (Bui & Mo an, 2019) in o de o
mee he needs o audiences who a e inc easingly echnologically sophis ica ed (Loosen
& Schmid , 2012).
Pa allel o he popula isa ion o mobile and web 2.0 echnologies engagmen has
become a media indus y buzzwo d (Law ence, Radcli e & Schmid , 2018) o he poin
ha jou nalis s ha e been o ced o eac o issues ela ed o he dissemina ion o use
gene a ed con en s (Johns on, 2016). The ela ionships be ween media and hei
audiences a e inc easingly in e wo en and ecip ocal in na u e, (Gaudeul & Gianne i,
2013; Lewis, Hol on & Codding on, 2014) and he mos ecen s udies conclude ha he
dialogic ela ionship be ween he wo sides should con inue o be encou aged so as o
inc ease public pa icipa ion (Wang & Yang, 2020). This is especially ue o young
people, o whom he amoun o con en p o ided on social ne wo ks, and use
in e ac i i y a es, a e o g ea impo ance. Fo hese easons, o ganiza ions a e
encou aged o in es in he p oduc ion o high quali y con en o hese spaces (Dabbous
& Ba aka , 2020; Fleming-Milici & Ha is, 2020; Gibson & T nka, 2020).
Acco ding o da a om We A e Social & Hoo sui e (2019), 45% o he wo ld's popula ion
a e use s o social ne wo ks, and 42% use hem on hei mobile de ices, ep esen ing
an inc ease o 9% and 10%, espec i ely, when compa ed o las yea . The same epo
indica es ha , on a e age, use s spend wo hou s and six een minu es a day on social
media and ha Facebook (2,271 million), YouTube (1,900 million) and Ins ag am (1,000
million use s) a e he ne wo ks wi h he highes numbe o use s. The dep h o audience
pa icipa ion on social ne wo king si es has been e i ied, and i is also p o en ha hey
p o ide a channel o access o he news (Wilding e al., 2018). Again, his is especially
ue o he you h, who consul news as a egula pa o hei connec ions o social
pla o ms (Boczkowski e al., 2017). This s udy will e i y he ways ha na i e digi al
cybe media make use o new o ma s o sel -des uc i e con en and bind hem o hei
b and.
2. The news on social media
Resea che s ha e s udied he use o Facebook o he dissemina ion o in o ma ion
published by he media in coun ies such as A gen ina (Raimondo, Samb ana, &
Ca doso, 2017), B azil (De Vasconcelos & F ancisco, 2018), Colombia (Villa, Jai o &
Sneide , 2017), Cos a Rica (Siles, Campos & Segu a, 2018), Uni ed S a es (Beam,
Hu chens & Hmielowski, 2018), Mexico (Cas illo, 2019), Ne he lands and Flande s
(Welbe s & Opgenha en, 2019), No way (Kalsnes & Olo , 2018) and in egions such as
Cen al Ame ica (Ca ballo, 2017) o Eu ope (Pé ez e al., 2017). In all hese cases, he
ne wo k is used as a mechanism o c ossmedia dis ibu ion o he same news ha is
published on he o icial websi es o he news si es, wi hou speci ic con en elabo a ion
o Facebook. On o he occasions, he ne wo k has also been used as a means o
inc ease he i ali y o con en (Segado, Del Campo & So ia, 2015) o o p omo e
jou nalis ic specializa ion h ough scien i ic dissemina ion (Ba is a, 2017).
Facebook has been ques ioned abou he anspa ency o he algo i hms i uses o
de e mine wha in o ma ion is shown on hei news eed, and he consequen absence
o con en cu a ion in ela ion o adi ional news alues (Buche , 2017; DeVi o, 2017).
This in spi e o he ac ha he use s o his social ne wo k claim o be inc easingly willing
o commen on news ha i s in o classic news alues such as nega i i y o
pe sonaliza ion (Salgado & Bobba, 2019). Howe e , a ecen expe imen al s udy
(Johnson & S . John III, 2019) de e mined ha use s iewed he con en ci cula ed by
he media wi h as much c edibili y as ha published by o he use s o o ganiza ions. This
acu ely demons a es he challenge aced by communica ion companies o inc ease hei
c edibili y le els wi hin he milieu o social ne wo ks.
Though esea ch in o he dissemina ion o jou nalis ic con en on Ins ag am is sca ce ,
he esea ch ha does exis poin s audiences p e e ing “ligh e ” o less-demanding
modes o in e ac ion wi h online news con en (Olo , 2017; G uzd, Lannigan & Quigley,
2018). This does no mean ha he ne wo k has no been used o exe cise ci izen
jou nalism as happened, o example, a e he a ack agains Cha lie Hebdo in 2015 in
F ance (Al Nashmi, 2018), o o o ganize poli ical mobiliza ion and p o es mo emen s
such as hose a ising om he 2014 p esiden ial elec ions in Romania (Adi, Ge odimos
& Lilleke , 2018). In spo s, i has been p o en ha na a i e o me acommunica i e
messaging esul s in g ea e in e es and engagemen by audiences h ough he
mani es a ion o commen s o likes (Romney & Johnson, 2018).
2.1 The ea u es o sel -des uc i e con en
All p e ious esea ch has ocused on he publica ion o news in he social media eed.
Howe e , Facebook, Ins ag am and YouTube ha e implemen ed a new con en
dissemina ion sys em ha mus be analysed. This is he sel -des uc i e con en , which
some au ho s call epheme al con en (Vázquez-He e o, Di ei o-Rebollal & López-
Ga cía, 2019), speci ically when e e ing o he Snapcha ne wo k (Baye e al., 2016;
So e , 2016), due o i s in insically empo a y na u e. I is a pla o m ha ejec s
pe manen a ailabili y in exchange o p omo ing he epheme al as i s main selling poin .
Tha is o say, he uniqueness o his ype o con en lies in i s expi a ion, since i does
no emain on he p o ile, bu disappea s a e 24 hou s unless he use decides o
inco po a e i as a ea u ed s o y (in he case o YouTube he du a ion o he s o ies is
one week). These s o ies a e designed o na a e e en s a he same ime hey happen.
Al hough hey allow li e b oadcas ing, hey a e used inc easingly less o co e li e e en s
and mo e o occu ences in he e y ecen pas . The s o ies a e highly audio isual and
allow he inco po a ion o gi s, emojis, il e s and s icke s o make he p oduc ion mo e
isually a ac i e. They las app oxima ely en seconds, which maximises isual impac
and call o ac ion. I s pe ishable na u e allows con en ha is o in e es o he audience
o be ea u ed, e en i i is inapp op ia e o emain on he p o ile (Six o, 2018). Las ly,
hese s o ies a ou he es ablishmen o ansmedia na a i es by o e ing accoun s wi h
mo e han en housand ollowe s he op ion o adding swipe up, ha is, he inclusion o
a link ha leads he use o an ex e nal websi e, so hey a e equi ed o isi i o comple e
he in o ma i e accoun .
The s o ies nei he limi no comp imise he usual dissemina ion o in o ma ion on he
eed, bu ein o ce and complemen he s o y elling. In gene al, hey ep esen he
abandonmen o he c ossmedia echniques ha a e usually p ac iced on p o iles. They
a e ins ead a new de elopmen in he e olu ion o jou nalis ic p oduc ion. I c ossmedia
p ac ices en ail he in eg a ion o c oss-media o con e gen media con en s o p o ide
use s wi h complemen a y in o ma ion combining di e en media o launch a common
message, bu adap ed o he speci ic ules and languages o each pla o m (Ma, Tanaka
& Nadamo o, 2006), o s o ies, he le el o adap a ion is highe han in o he i ual
spaces. This is because hey no only en ail he adap a ion o di e en no ms and
languages, bu also p oduce speci ic audio isual con en o his ype o suppo and
adap o he demands o each sel -des uc i e and pe ishable p oduc .
This ype o c oss-con en p oduc ion is amed wi hin he con ex o he jou nalis ic
con e gence ha has guided jou nalis ic companies since he end o he 20 h cen u y. I
has ep ecussions on he concen a ion o business g oups, he echnologies ha allow
c oss-pla o m dis ibu ion, con en de elopmen mul imedia, and he e sa ili y o
jou nalis s (Jenkins, 2004, 2014). These ci cums ances a e also he ones ha allow sel -
des uc i e con en o be used o encou age c oss-p omo ion be ween di e en media,
as well as be ween pla o ms wi hin he same business g oup. I has been p o en ha
his ype o p omo ion gene a es g ea e public in e es , and helps o ein o ce he
message and inc ease c edibili y, encou aging mo e posi i e a i udes owa ds he
p omo ion han hose gene a ed h ough he use o epe i i e p omo ions on a single
suppo (Tang, New on & Wang, 2007).
When he ‘swipe up’ echnique is used in he p oduc ion o sel -des uc i e con en , ha
media ou le is ac ually execu ing a ansmedia p ac ice, as i equi es he use o lea e
he social ne wo k and comple e he in o ma i e accoun using he o iginal sou ce. "The
ansmedia na a i e e e s o a new aes he ic ha has eme ged in esponse o he
con e gence o he media, which poses new demands o consume s and depends on
he ac i e pa icipa ion o communi ies" (Jenkins, 2006: 31), meaning ha hey ha e o
mo e om one space o ano he o ge an in eg al iew o he s o y elling. In his sense,
sel -des uc i e s o ies ac as a call- o-ac ion sp ing ha gene a es a ic o he web. On
he o he hand, Taddeo & Ti occhi (2018) ha e a gued ha young people a e mo e and
mo e capable o managing hese ypes o na a i es.
In addi ion o e adica ing passi i y (Sil a & Damasceno, 2019) by acili a ing he use 's
choice o he i ine a y hey wish o make, sel -des uc i e con en also enhances he
pa icipa ion o audiences in he o iginal s o yboa d h ough su eys and ques ions. Fo
a decade, social media use s ha e been ac i ely in ol ed in he dis ibu ion and
p oduc ion o con en ela ed o ha which hey consum (Robe s, 2016), because hei
sense o belonging o he communi y has inc eased (Xie & Lie, 2015). In many cases,
he le el o engagemen inc eases so much ha use s ele a e om p osume s o
adp osume s, ecommending and p esc ibing hei b and o choice (Fou nei & A e y,
2011; Sega a-Saa ed a & Tu -Viñes, 2017).
F om he poin o iew o o ganiza ional communica ion, he use o s o ies in jou nalis ic
companies ma ks a s ep o wa d in inno a ion (Singe & B oe sma, 2019), one ha
allows media in e es s o in e e e wi hin he usual spaces o public in e ac ion. Audience
measu emen sys ems also endo se he use o s o ies since hey show a lis o people
who isualized hem, which is a highly aluable da a no only o e alua e ROI ( e u n on
in es imen ) (Shay & Van De Ho s , 2019) and IOR (impac on ela ionships), bu also
o he implemen a ion o one o one s a egies. I he in o ma ion company conside s he
in o ma ion dissemina ed so ele an ha i dese es o emain in he p o ile,
unde s anding pe manence as he way o sa egua d knowledge and p ese e memo y
(So e , 2016), he e is he op ion o highligh he s o y and make i pe ennial. In his case,
al hough he na a i e main ains he p oduc i e and o ma ing cha ac e is ics o he sel -
des uc i e con en , i becomes an elemen o he p o ile ha p o ides addi ional
in o ma ion abou he opics ha his news si e conside s mos impo an .
Pe haps due o i being such a ecen phenomenon, s udies on sel -des uc i e con en
a e sca ce. Modes o and De Mello (2019) analyzed s o ies on Ins ag am and Snapcha
and concluded ha he na a i es we e essen ially an adap a ion o adi ional jou nalis ic
na a i es wi hin he amewo ks and limi a ions o hese social ne wo ks. On he o he
hand, Vázquez-He e o, Di ei o-Rebollal and López-Ga cía (2019) ha e poin ed ou ha
epheme al s o ies con o m o a isual model equi ed by use s and ha hei
consump ion is agile because hei na iga ion model a o s speed wi hin a con ex o
ne wo k con e sa ion. How a e na i e digi al media, c ea ed on and o he In e ne , using
his con en ? A e s o ies used? I so, when, and wi h wha pu pose? Do hey in ol e he
audience? These a e some o he ques ions a ound which esea ch is cen ed.
3. Ma e ial and me hods
A he beginning, a se o he esea ch ques ions (RQs) jus i ied he idea o an ac i e
e o o ind a new way o dis ibu e in o ma ion in social ne wo ks:
- RQ1: Is sel -des uc i e con en a common way o sha e news in na i e digi al
media?
- RQ2: Wha is he mos p ominen social ne wo k o he dissemina ion o news
as s o ies?
- RQ3: Wha kind o s o y elling o na a i es a e used in sel -des uc i e con en ?
- RQ4: Is he use o s o ies common as a c oss-p omo ional echnique be ween
media o he same co po a ion?
- RQ5: Is ci izen pa icipa ion encou aged h ough his ype o con en ?
The main objec i e o his esea ch is o explo e how na i e digi al media use sel -
des uc i e con en as a news sha ing echnique. As well as his, ou o he seconda y
objec i es a e posed:
O1: To de e mine which o he social media ha allow sel -des uc i e con en
ac ually use i .
O2: To analyse he equency wi h which his con en is published.
O3: To examine he na a i e echniques o c oss-p omo ional s a egies used in
sel -des uc i e publica ions and hei impac on audiences.
O4: To assess po en ial public pa icipa ion mechanisms ea u ed in hese ypes
o o ma s.
The analysis sample is composed o wen y- ou na i e digi al media ou le s included in
he p ojec "Na i e digi al cybe media in Spain: na a i e o ma s and mobile s a egy"
(Re e ence RTI2018-093346-B-C33) o he Minis y o Science, Inno a ion and
Uni e si ies, and co- inanced by he Eu opean Regional De elopmen Fund (ERDF).
Among he media analyzed, ac checking pla o ms such as Maldi a.es, as well as a
hyb id model ha combines simple language wi h ho ough analysis like El O den
Mundial a e also included, This is because, al hough hey a e no pu ely news media,
hei news sha ing is ele an in ega ds o sel -des uc i e con en . Mos o he media
analysed a e Spanish (six een o he wen y ou ), including he Spanish e sion o
Hu pos , hough i e US media and h ee o he Eu opean e e ences we e added (see
able 1). This allowed compa isons o be d awn be ween Spain, he es o Eu ope, and
in he Uni ed S a es, as in o he p e ious esea ch on digi al na i e media (Six o-Ga cía
e al., 2020).
Table 1. Na i e Digi al Media included in he sample. Own elabo a ion.
Coun y
Digi al Media Ou le
Founded
Spain
Eldia io.es
2012
El Con idencial
2001
OKdia io
2015
Público
2007
Libe ad Digi al
2000
El Hu Pos i
2012
El Español
2015
ElNacional.ca
2015
ElIndependien e.com
2016
Maldi a.es
2017
ElO denMundial.com
2012
NiusDia io.es
2019
LaRepublica.ca
2018
ElCa alan.es
2017
Me opoliAbie a.com
2017
Digi alSe illa.com
2016
Po ugal
Obse ado
2014
Ne he lands
De Co esponden
2013
F ance
Mediapa .
2008
Uni ed S a es
Poli ico
2007
Yahoo! News
1996
MSN News
2012
Buzz eed News
2006
Vice News
2013
Despi e being clea ly jus i iable cases due o hei uniqueness and he s eng h wi h
which hey en e ed he digi al scena io, and hence hei inclusion in he p ojec sample
endo sed by he Minis y, we can also e e o he ac ha i is a sample o in en ional
cha ac e , a non-p obabilis ic sampling echnique ha is used in scena ios whe e he
popula ion is a iable and consequen ly he sample is e y small, so i allows o selec
cha ac e is ic cases o ha uni e se (Iga ua, 2006; López-Roldán & Fachelli, 2015;
O zen & Man e ola, 2017). In e es in he Spanish media is de e mined by he inancial
p ojec in which his esea ch is amed. I was also necessa y o include o he ea u ed
Eu opean and Ame ican media wi h he aim o explo ing beyond local ends. These
media ou le s we e selec ed acco ding o scien i ic c i e ia. Selec ions we e based on he
da a collec ed in he Reu e s Ins i u e Digi al News Repo 2019 (Newman, 2019). In
Eu ope, he home-g own media wi h he highes pe cen age o weekly usage we e
selec ed (Medipa om F ance and Obse ado om Po ugal). De Co esponden
(Ne he lands) was added because i is o icially ecognized in ankings as one o he
media ou le s ha audiences a ibu e mo e hea d o b and. In he Uni ed S a es, he
sample is made up o digi al na i e media among he wen y-one online media ou le s
wi h he highes pe cen age o weekly usage, excep o Vice News and Poli ico, which
a e wo highly ac i e ini ia i es on social media ha we belie ed should be s udied due
o he obse a ion as eade s. Howe e , he explo a o y na u e o his s udy should be
aken in o accoun o a oid gene aliza ion o he esul s.
Fo he analysis, s o ies published by he selec ed media pla o ms on he h ee social
ne wo ks ha allow sel -des uc i e o ma s -Ins ag am, Facebook and YouTube- we e
moni o ed o a mon h ( om No embe 20 h, 2019 o Decembe 20 h, 2019). This b oad
ime ame was chosen o gi e a mo e accu a e pe spec i e on ends and ou ines ha
may ha e been al e ed wi hin sho e pe iods, and o educe he a iabili y o he
condi ion o any news cycles. None heless, due o he epheme al o ma , he da a was
always collec ed a he same ime, 11 a.m. (UTC +1). In addi ion, he a ious media
p o iles on Ins ag am we e acked o e i y he exis ence o ou s anding s o ies ha
could ha e been used a speci ic imes be o e he sample collec ion pe iod.
The analysis i ems we e es ablished based on he esea ch objec i es se :
- The use o sel -des uc i e con en , he ci cums ances unde which hey a e
used, and he equency o use.
- The iden i ica ion o ansmedia na a i e echniques (swiping up). I should be
no ed ha swipe up is a mechanism a ailable o accoun s wi h mo e han 10,000
ollowe s ha allows adding a link in he sel -des uc i e con en ha gene ally
leads he use o he co po a e websi e.
- Na a i e models: au onomous s o ies, epo ing, li e b oadcas s and he
exis ence o c oss-media o c oss-p omo ion p ac ices.
- Visual design analysis
- The po en ial o audience in ol emen and pa icipa ion.
4. Resul s
Mos digi al na i e media (83.33%) use sel -des uc i e con en o dis ibu e in o ma ion
o hei audiences on a egula basis (RQ1). This end is seen in he Spanish edi ion o
he media (75%) as well as in hose analysed o ob ain Eu opean (100%) and Ame ican
(100%) pe spec i es. The exis ence o wo Spanish media ou le s (eldia io.es and
la epublica.ca ) ha did no dissemina e con en in epheme al o ma du ing he en i e
pe iod o s udy -no , he e o e, on a egula basis-, bu do p esen highligh ed s o ies on
hei p o iles, is also es ablished. This goes o show ha despi e knowing he exis ence
o he na a i e o ma , he wo media sou ces ha e delibe a ely decided no o use i in
hei daily communica ion. Ins ead, his o ma is es ic ed o excep ional and spo adic
momen s, as well as o he ci cula ion o ins i u ional ad e ising aimed a a ac ing
membe s.
Acco ding o RQ2, Ins ag am is he mos popula si e o he dissemina ion o s o ies.
This is he ne wo k whe e he media dedica e mo e e o s o he c ea ion o ad hoc
con en . Con e sely, no cases o speci ic con en de elopmen we e de ec ed on
Facebook, excep o h ee Spanish media (OKDia io, Público and El Hu Pos ), ha e y
occasionally sha e s o ies wi h in o ma ion di e en om ha sp ead on Ins ag am.
None heless, no na a i e models a e obse ed on Facebook o he han hose used on
Ins ag am. In addi ion o his, no digi al na i e media use YouTube o dissemina e
in o ma ion in a sel -des uc i e o ma .
Despi e he widesp ead use o his ype o con en on Ins ag am, he e is no daily ac i i y
egis e ed in mo e han a hi d o he media analysed, nei he in he Spanish con ex no
in any o he compa ed ones (see able 2). In ac , he daily use o epheme al con en in
Spain is limi ed o a qua e o na i e media (25%), while in he Uni ed S a es he mos
common equency anges om 3-4 publica ions pe week (40%). Da a e e ing o he
occasional use o sel -des uc i e con en in Ame ica and Eu ope (40% and 66.66%
espec i ely) a e also no ewo hy, while in he Spanish case he spo adic use p o es
i ele an (8.33%). I is he Eu opean media ha publish he mos s o ies a day (8.2 on
a e age), ollowed by he Ame ican ones (7.7) and he Spanish (5.97).
On Facebook, he use o s o ies is much mo e limi ed, since only 31.25% o Spanish
na i e digi al media, 33.33% o he Eu opean and 40% o he Ame ican (33.33% o he
g oup) ac i ely use hem. In all cases, he con en dissemina ed is he same as on
Ins ag am, excep o he ac ha he numbe o s o ies is educed by 59.27% (50.74%
in Spain, 50% in he es o Eu ope and 77.09% in he Uni ed S a es). Digi al na i e media
p e e Ins ag am o e Facebook o YouTube when i comes o sha ing sel -des uc i e
con en . This leads us o in e ha when Ins ag am gi es he possibili y o sha e also on
Facebook –i is wo h emembe ing ha Ins ag am belongs o Facebook–, he op ion is
some imes selec ed and some imes no .
Table 2. Use o sel -des uc i e con en by na i e digi al media in social ne wo ks. Own
elabo a ion.
Ins ag am
Facebook
YouTube
Use o
s o ies
A e age
s o ies/day
F equency o use
Use o
s o ies
A e age
s o ies/day
F equency o use
Use o
s o ies
Spain
75%
5.97
Daily
25%
31.25%
3.82
Daily
0%
0%
3-4 weekly
25%
3-4 weekly
0%
2-3 weekly
33.33%
2-3 weekly
40%
< 2 weekly
8.33%
< 2 weekly
0%
Occasional
8.33%
Occasional
60%
Eu ope
100%
8.2
Daily
33.33%
33.33%
17.75
(The
a e age
igu e
co esponds
only o he
only media
ou le ha
uses
Facebook
s o ies -
Obse ado
Daily
0%
0%
3-4 weekly
0%
3-4 weekly
0%
2-3 weekly
0%
2-3 weekly
100%
< 2 weekly
0%
< 2 weekly
0%
Occasional
66.66%
Occasional
0%
USA
100%
7.7
Daily
0%
40%
7.12
Daily
0%
0%
3-4 weekly
40%
3-4 weekly
0%
2-3 weekly
20%
2-3 weekly
0%
< 2 weekly
0%
< 2 weekly
0%
Occasional
40%
Occasional
100%
O he Spanish media ha use s o ies, 75% eso o he swipe up echnique (RQ3), ha
is, a ansmedia model ha leads he use o an ex e nal websi e – he co po a e websi e
in his case-, in o de o comple e he in o ma i e accoun . In compa ison wi h he o he
Eu opean media his echnique is ep oduced in all o hem (100%), as well as in 80% o
he Ame ican ones.
Table 3. Use o swipe up na a i es. Own elabo a ion.
Swipe up
Use o swipe up on days wi h s o ies
Spain
75%
81.92%
Eu ope
100%
63.63%
USA
80%
54.89%
All
95%
71.73%
Besides sha ing an au onomous piece o news h ough s o ies, i is also common
p ac ice o media o ea u e a se ies o ela ed s o ies ha p esen he na a i e na u e
o epo ing. This p ac ice has been obse ed in six ou o en media ha use sel -
des uc i e con en (65%). Rega ding his o ma , i is also wo h commen ing on he, a
ime, ecu ing use o swipe us, especially among Ame ican media (80%). Mo eo e ,
apa om using swipe up, such epo s may p esen he image o a media epo e ,
include in e iews wi h ele an sou ces o inco po a e he es imonies o people in ol ed
in he e en s. The i s wo cases a e mo e equen in he Uni ed S a es, whe eas he
hi d is mo e p e alen in Eu opean ones (see able 4).
Table 4. Use o epo ing h ough s o ies. Own elabo a ion.
Use
Typologies
Wi h
swipe
up
Wi hou
ansmedia
Wi h
epo e
Wi h
in e iew
Wi h
es imonies
Wi h
su ey
Wi h
men ion
@
Co po a e
ad e ising
Spain
50%
25%
25%
16.66%
0%
0%
16.66%
8.33%
16.66%
Eu ope
100%
33.33%
0%
33.33%
0%
33.33%
0%
0%
33.33%
USA
80%
80%
20%
40%
20%
0%
20%
0%
20%
All
65%
40%
20%
25%
5%
5%
15%
5%
20%
Also acco ding RQ3, al hough s o ies we e o iginally concei ed o dissemina e li e
e en s in eal ime, he abili y o b oadcas pas e en s has become mo e and mo e o a
ea u e. In ac , among hose media ha use sel -des uc i e con en , he inclusion o
s o ies ha ea u e li e e en s is inciden al and examples a e only iden i ied in one
Spanish digi al media -Nius- and in wo Ame ican ones -Poli ico and Yahoo News-. Li e
modali ies wi h epo e and b oadcas s ea u ing co po a e ad e ising a e also
obse ed, al hough in he Uni ed S a es he i s ea u e p e ails o e he second ( able
7).
Table 5. Use o li e s o ies. Own elabo a ion.
Li e s o ies
Li e wi h epo e
Li e wi h co po a e ads
Spain
8.33%
8.33%
8.33%
Eu ope
0%
0%
0%
USA
40%
40%
20%
All
15%
15%
10%
Ou side o he li e o ma , he elabo a ion o jou nalis ic pieces ha a e sp ead
exclusi ely h ough s o ies is no e i ied, and he publica ion s a egies a e connec ed
o c oss-media p ac ices. Howe e , despi e he ac ha no p e e ence pa e n has been
d awn o any jou nalis ic specializa ion, since he opics ea u ed a e nume ous and
a ied (poli ics, spo s, pink p ess, economics, en i onmen al awa eness...), an
inclina ion o hose subjec s ha may cause mo e con o e sy among he audience is
e iden . This implies a ce ain ela ionship be ween in o ma ion and he sea ch o web
a ic gene a ion o e en clickbai .
By s udying c oss-p omo ional ac ions we ind ou ha some 20% o sel -des uc i e
epo s ac as a means o suppo o co po a e ad e ising ac ions, gene ally aimed a
a ac ing membe s o sel -p omo ing he indi idual media ou le (RQ4). In his case, we
e e o a c oss-p omo ional echnique ha uses he epheme al o ma o gene a e web
a ic o pe ennial pla o ms. In s o ies ha a e no pa o a epo , bu a he p esen ed
as isola ed pieces, we also ind c oss-p omo ion ac ions. Some o hem publicise he
media ou le , while o he s sha e publica ions om he media p o ile o om o he p o iles
belonging o he same g oup. Whils some 41.66% o Spanish na i es ea u e co po a e
ad e ising in hei s o ies, he igu e d ops o 33.33% o he es o he Eu opeans and
o 20% o Ame icans, as p esen ed in he ollowing able:
Table 6. C oss-p omo ion p ac ices ound in sel -des uc i e con en . Own elabo a ion.
S o ies wi h
co po a e
ad e ising
S o ies ha sha e
p o ile publica ions
S o ies ha sha e publica ions
om o he p o iles o he same
g oup
Spain
41.66%
16.66%
16.66%
Eu ope
33.33%
0%
0%
USA
20%
60%
0%
All
35%
25%
10%
Acco ding o RQ5, some 15% o all epo s inco po a e su eys wi h he objec i e o
collec ing use opinions abou newswo hy e en s, a end ha is g ea e in he Uni ed
S a es han in Spain. Howe e , he need o ge ci izens ac i ely in ol ed in jou nalis ic
con en s no limi ed o epo s, bu i is also applicable o hose news pieces ha a e
p esen ed au onomously. In ac , ou models o ci izen pa icipa ion a e iden i ied:
sha ing ollowe s' publica ions, close-ended su eys, open-ended ques ions and a ing
scales. All o hem a e designed o disce n use s’ opinions on ma e s, and o p o ide
small public opinion polls. Bo h in Spain and in he Uni ed S a es, he sha ing o UGC in
he o icial media p o ile and he open-ended ques ions ha allow ollowe s o submi
hei pe sonal opinions a e he mos p e alen . None heless, he use o ci izen
pa icipa ion mechanisms is highe in Spanish na i e digi al media in compa ison o hei
Ame ican coun e pa s, whils hei use in he es o Eu ope emains sca ce ( able 5).
Table 7. Implica ion o he audiences in sel -des uc i e con en . Own elabo a ion.
Sha ing ollowe ’s
publica ions
Su eys
Audience
ques ions
Ra ing
scales
Spain
58.33%
33.33%
50%
8.33%
Eu ope
33.33%
0%
0%
0%
USA
20%
0%
20%
20%
All
45%
20%
35%
15%
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