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Jou nalism
2021, Vol. 22(9) 2332 –2349
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DOI: 10.1177/1464884919853740
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Edi o s e sus audiences
acing news: Is his
disc epancy also epea ed
on social news ne wo ks?
San i U u ia
Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), Spain
Begoña Zalbidea
Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), Spain
Idoia Camacho
Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), Spain
Jose Ma i Pas o
Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), Spain
Abs ac
This s udy examines whe he he equen disc epancy be ween publishe s and
audiences o e he news ha in e es s hem – he o me p e e ing ha d news, he
la e so news – is epea ed on social ne wo ks. Based on a sample o 8,000 news
s o ies uploaded o a Spanish-language news agg ega o o e 10 yea s (2006–2015),
he numbe o ha d, so and gene al news s o ies published on i s on page was
calcula ed. In addi ion, he news s o ies ha ecei ed he mos o es, commen s and
isi s we e analysed, and co ela ions we e sough among hese h ee a iables. The
esul s show ha use s mainly chose ha d news when o ing (50.2%), ollowed by so
news (30.9%) and gene al news (18.9%). This was in sha p con as o he esul s ound
o news consump ion, whe e isi o s access so news much mo e han ha d news.
The in es iga ion o e s some clues abou he ex en o which he dispa i y o in e es s
Co esponding au ho :
San i U u ia, Facul y o Social Sciences and Communica ion, Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU),
Ba io Sa iena, 48940 Leioa, Spain.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
853740JOU0010.1177/1464884919853740Jou nalismU u ia e al.
esea ch-a icle2019
a icle
U u ia e al. 2333
be ween jou nalis s and eade s acing news poses a eal p oblem, and i also p o ides
a new ou look on how edi o s can deal wi h audiences.
Keywo ds
Audiences, edi o s, ha d news, social ne wo ks, so news, use s
In oduc ion
The con as be ween he in e es s o edi o s and hei audiences when selec ing news,
ound in many in es iga ions, is an old conce n ha con inues o be an impo an issue in
media s udies. News p o essionals ollow di e en s a egies o sa is y audience
demands, especially in he age o new echnologies, ha make i possible o de e mine
he p e e ences o he public e y quickly. Howe e , o da e, he e has been no esea ch
on he exis ence o such con adic ions wi hin communi ies o use s, whe e people who
edi and people who isi web pages sha e he same ne wo k.
This s udy analyses his aspec by aking in o accoun da a p oceeding om he mos
impo an Spanish-speaking news agg ega o , he Menéame social ne wo k. This
eme ged in Decembe 2005, ollowing he ea lie pa e n o Digg, which was launched
in 2004, bu nowadays, i has mo e simila i ies wi h Reddi and is accessed by a ound 9
million unique use s each mon h (Ma ínez, 2017). The ne wo k has a p omo ion sys em
o linked news, in which use s can pa icipa e by sending a pos wi h a link and a sho
desc ip ion, while he es o he communi y o es wi h he aim o p omo ing he news
s o y o he on page o he si e.1 Only p oposals ha each a ce ain numbe o use s’
o es appea in he main en ance o he web, so hese news s o ies a e conside ed he
mos ele an by he ne wo k’s communi y a any speci ic momen and a e consequen ly
he only news ead by mos isi o s.
Is he disc epancy be ween edi o s and audiences o adi ional media acing news
epea ed on his social ne wo k? To answe his ques ion, we wo ked wi h a andom
sample o 8,000 news s o ies aken om 10 yea s in he his o y o he si e, om 2006 o
2015. The esea ch analyses wha kind o news use s choose o include on he on page
wi h hei o es and which news s o ies ecei e mo e isi s. In his way, i asks whe he
he e is disag eemen be ween he decisions hey make when gene a ing con en and
hei choices when isi ing hese en ies.
The esul s o he in es iga ion show clea ly ha membe s who gene a e con en p e-
e ha d news, while mos o he use s who isi he si e choose so news. This inding
indica es ha he adi ional opposi ion be ween edi o s and audiences is ully epea ed
on his news sha ing social ne wo k.
Wi h he aim o unde s anding and explaining he indings, he heo e ical ame o
he s udy in ol es wo main aspec s. Fi s , i examines he dispa i y o in e es s be ween
edi o s and media audiences, no ing he exis ence o di e en app oaches o he opic
among esea che s and schola s. Second, in o de o apply he esul s ob ained o he
news agg ega o Menéame o he ield o jou nalism, i ies o answe he ques ion o
whe he we can speak abou edi o s and audiences when dealing wi h use s o social
2334 Jou nalism 22(9)
ne wo ks. Besides, in he ‘Discussion’ sec ion, we a gue he con enience o p oposing a
new concep o cha ac e ise ano he side o audiences: hei dual na u e.
Abou he dispa i y o in e es s be ween jou nalis s and
hei audiences acing news
The e a e a leas wo di e en app oaches o analysing his ques ion. One line o
in es iga ion s esses he in ol emen o audiences and he impo ance o hei pa ici-
pa ion, while he o he is much mo e scep ical abou his possibili y because i consid-
e s ha while many ci izens subsc ibe o he idea o pa icipa o y cul u e, hey shun i
in p ac ice (Ka lsson e al., 2018). We will call he i s line o in es iga ion he pa ici-
pa i e app oach o audiences, and he second, he scep ical app oach o audience
pa icipa ion.
The pa icipa i e app oach o audiences is oo ed in he adi ional c i ical iew
which main ained ha he audience was simply condemned o lis en. Media o ganisa-
ions hemsel es ook he audience o be passi e, and he ole o he edi o included he
unc ion o speaking in i s name. They unde s ood ha jou nalis s ep esen ed he in e -
es s o he public, a a ime when he e we e ew op ions o con as ing di e en possible
in e es s, a gap ha was called he ‘missing link’ (Schlesinge , 1987). Du ing he inal
decades o he 20 h cen u y wi h he de elopmen o ecep ion heo y, which e ol ed
om cul u al s udies and he heo y o uses and g a i ica ions, schola s abandoned he
iew ha audiences we e passi e.
The ise o In e ne sp ead a e m ha was appealing o esea che s eage o adap
jou nalism o he digi al e a: pa icipa ion. Schola s asse ed hei ‘en husiasm abou new
democ a ic oppo uni ies’ (Bo ge e al., 2013) and exp essed hei con ic ion abou he
possibili y o inc easing he collabo a ion o he public. Ka lsson e al. (2018) summa ise
he si ua ion as ollows: ‘The main heo e ical a gumen conce ning pa icipa ion in jou -
nalism is ha he de elopmen o digi al echnologies now enables pa icipa ion on a
scale no p e iously possible, hus a ec ing a ious dimensions o jou nalism’. In his
way ‘pa icipa o y jou nalism’ was cons uc ed as a schola ly objec , and esea che s
ca ied ou a la ge amoun o in es iga ions a ound i .
The In e ne also b ough changes o he a i ude o edi o s by pe mi ing in e ac ion
and enabling he p e e ences o eade s and iewe s o be gauged be e and as e .
Media companies ha e also adop ed he idea o pa icipa ion because hey conside ha
one way o sol e p oblems in a space ha adi ional audiences ha e been abandoning
is o connec wi h hem mo e, and media execu i es deem ha audience engagemen ‘is
a way o inc easing p o i s’, while consume loyal y is he gene al aim (Ka lsson e al.,
2015). Engagemen ‘has become a media indus y buzzwo d and jou nalis s inc eas-
ingly accep ha hey ha e o in e ac wi h hei audiences’ (Law ence e al., 2018).
Edi o s ‘seek o econcile he no ions o jou nalism as a public good and as a commod-
i y’ (Belai -Gagnon, 2018).
Many esea che s and jou nalis s ook o g an ed ha he amoun o isi s o clicks
on he websi e was an indica o o audience pa icipa ion and a clea indica o o he
public’s in e es s. Howe e , he esul s did no sa is y he expec a ions o schola s abou
U u ia e al. 2335
he po en ial o new echnologies o imp o ing democ a ic alues. When using his
indica o , a widesp ead conclusion has been ha p o essionals seek in o ma ion based on
i s sociopoli ical ele ance, while he audience is sa is ied wi h en e ainmen and i ial
news (Boczkowski e al., 2011; Dick, 2011; Domingo, 2008; Lee e al., 2014; MacG ego ,
2007; Robinson, 2011; Singe , 2014; Tho son, 2008). ‘The mos iewed news’ label
omen s a highe publica ion o opics ela ed o such i ems, al hough jou nalis s eel ha
he use o his ype o da a clashes wi h hei p o essional s anda ds (Welbe s e al.,
2015).
Con a y o expec a ions he eal si ua ion schola s ound in hei in es iga ions p e-
sen ed nega i e ou comes ega ding pa icipa ion. Bo ge e al. (2013) summa ised he
eac ion exp essed by esea che s: hey el ‘disappoin men wi h p o essional jou nal-
ism’s obdu acy’, ‘disappoin men wi h economic mo i es o acili a e pa icipa o y jou -
nalism’ and ‘disappoin men wi h news use s’ passi i y’. The s udies poin ed o a gap
be ween pa icipa ion as an ideal cons uc and i s ac ual p ac ice.
Howe e , esea che s who can be linked o he scep ical app oach o audience pa ici-
pa ion conduc ed in es iga ions on he pe spec i e held by he ci izens hemsel es
ega ding pa icipa o y jou nalism (Ka lsson e al., 2018). They ound ha a la ge p o-
po ion o he public does no ha e any opinion on eade s’ commen s (Be gs öm and
Wadb ing, 2015), and membe s o he audience do no wan o in e ac o ge in con ac
wi h o he use s as much as jou nalis s expec ed (Heise e al., 2014).
Fu he mo e, edi o s and execu i es o jou nalism o ganisa ions who sha e his
app oach exp ess he idea ha audience demands a e no so impo an and ha espond-
ing o he desi es o he public is ‘ he leas impo an alue o jou nalism’ (Van de
Wu and Schoenbach, 2011). They hink ha p o iding en e ainmen and closely
a ending o audience demands a e no included in he s anda d concep ion o he jou -
nalis s’ ole.
Ka lsson e al. (2018) ound ha pa icipa ion is no a p ime cause o conce n o
audiences when asked abou wha cons i u es good jou nalism, and audience engage-
men in news media e en appea s o hem o be mo e o a p oblem han a bene i . They
a e qui e happy o see jou nalis s con inue hei adi ional wo k and keep hei oles as
edi o s and ga ekeepe s, and hey do no conside he absence o pa icipa ion o be nega-
i e. Use ul and e i ied in o ma ion is a supe io goal o hese audiences han pa icipa-
ion i sel .
Depending on which poin o iew one akes, he pa icipa o y app oach o he scep-
ical one, e y di e en conclusions a e ob ained abou how o deal wi h he dispa i y
be ween edi o s and audiences in hei news p e e ences. Basically, he pa icipa o y
app oach s esses he uneasiness p oduced by he dispa i y, ele a ing i o he s a us o a
p oblem, while he scep ical app oach ends o nuance he ele ance o his issue. We
expec ha da a p oceeding om social news agg ega o s abou news publica ion and
consump ion can p o ide a new ou look on he opic. The indings could p o ide sui able
sugges ions ha should assis jou nalis s in dealing mo e app op ia ely wi h he demands
made by news media audiences. Howe e , i is necessa y o es ablish ha he da a om
he wo ields, news media and social ne wo ks, a e compa able. The e o e, he i s ask
is o con as he cha ac e is ics o social ne wo ks use s wi h hose o he edi o s and
audiences o news companies.
2336 Jou nalism 22(9)
Edi o s, audiences and use s
In he p e-In e ne age, he selec ion, p oduc ion and dis ibu ion o con en was exclu-
si ely in he hands o adi ional edi o s, bu wi h he eme gence o he new echnologies,
he bounda ies o con en ional jou nalism a e mel ing down (Singe , 2014). Does he
ac i i y o social ne wo k use s in p omo ing con en ma ch he ole-played by edi o s in
adi ional media?
Media edi o s il e a lo o in o ma ion o selec a ce ain amoun o news each day, a
p ocess known as ga ekeeping since Shoemake ga e i ha name (1991), and like hem,
use s o social ne wo ks decide which con en is wo hy o a en ion. Howe e , in his
case, he decisions may also be in he hands o mechanical edi o s ha decide by means
o algo i hms he opics and en ies ha dese e inclusion in he in o ma ion low (B aun,
2015), while use s do no ha e ull con ol o e he p ocess because si es a e go e ned
by echnological and social p o ocols (Galloway, 2004).
P oduc ion o con en , an essen ial ea u e o he adi ional edi o , is called ‘use -
gene a ed con en ’ (UGC) in he con ex o social media. UGC has ce ain cha ac e is ics
ha blu he adi ional lines be ween p oduce s and consume s (Manose i ch and
Tenenboim, 2017), one o which being ha i is c ea ed ‘ou side he ealm o a p o ession
and p o essional ou ines’ (Naab and Sehl, 2017). This peculia i y places such con en
ou side he wo k ca ied ou by media edi o s, and i o en leads o poo quali y p oduc-
ion (He mida and Thu man, 2008; Mackiewicz, 2014; Rello and Baeza-Ya es, 2012;
Singe , 2014; Thu man, 2008).
Ano he exclusi e esponsibili y o he news edi o was dis ibu ion, which is now in
he hands o any use o he ne wo k unde he name o sha ing. The e ec is ha audi-
ences can access in o ma ion ha hey would no o he wise ha e eached (Kümpel e al.,
2015); some imes, hey p e e o sha e news wi h high in o ma ional alue o ele ance
(Ruda e al., 2014), bu many imes, new consump ion is ‘inciden al’, ha is, hey a e
sha ed ou o he need o socialise (Boczkowski e al., 2018).
Howe e , he e is a basic aspec in which he ac i i y o he adi ional edi o di e s
om ha o he use . He o she is someone who places he sel in he posi ion o he audi-
ence and es ima es whe he o no some hing is impo an o i (G eenbe g, 2010). In ha
sense, use s do no ac wi h he kind o esponsibili y ha includes ins i u ional oles,
ways o elling he u h, and ways o esponding o e hical p oblems (Hani zsch, 2007).
The main di e ence be ween he edi o o a medium and a use who publishes con en
on a social ne wo k is he ins i u ional and p o essional cha ac e a ibu ed o he o me .
The conclusion is ha use s pe o m many o he ac i i ies o edi o s, bu hey a e no
linked o any co po a ion o company ha pays hem o hei wo k; hey do no ha e o
ollow s ic ules o gene a e con en in o de o mee a ious s anda ds, and hey do no
need o ecei e o mal aining o ca y ou hei ac i i y on he ne wo k.
How should we speak abou audience on social ne wo ks? I e e s o a way o
unde s anding media consume s ha p esen s hem as composed o ‘o he s’, om
whom in o ma ion mus be ga he ed o know how hey a e o be se ed. I has emained
in ope a ion o a long ime due o he needs o news companies and esea che s
(Heikkilä and Ah a, 2015). Media indus ies, ad e ise s and audience measu emen
i ms ha e shaped a socially cons uc ed ‘ins i u ionalized audience’ (Napoli, 2011).
U u ia e al. 2337
Adap ing his concep o social ne wo ks p esen s di icul ies because use s, in heo y,
apa om being pa o some kind o audience can also become edi o s a any momen .
This does no p e en such social ne wo ks om ac ually being co po a e en i ies, bu
hei adminis a o s and owne s mus comme cialise he use s’ p ac ices in a way ha
does no comp omise hei goodwill.
The posi ions o edi o and audience a e no exac ly applicable in social ne wo ks,
bu nei he a e comple ely ex aneous o hem, so da a p oceeding om an analysis o
he news agg ega o Menéame could be aluable o ob aining esul s o apply in he
jou nalism ield.
How he news agg ega o Menéame wo ks
Like many ne wo ks, Menéame has a p o ocol which aims o c ea e a com o able si e o
use s because a ‘ i ual communi y abandoned o i s a e canno su i e o long’
(G immelmann, 2015). I has a eam o adminis a o s who gua an ee ha use s will
ul il he ‘condi ions o use’. The lis o condi ions is composed o se e al a icles ha ,
on one hand, indica e he basic elemen s o edi ing news s o ies wi h espec o how o
w i e and link hem. On he o he hand, i se s ou p ohibi ions: no sending in acis and
po nog aphic w i ings and links, no using he se ices o he social ne wo k o illici o
p omo ional pu poses, no disclosing he p i a e in o ma ion o hi d pa ies and so on.
Failu e o comply wi h hese condi ions esul s in he use ’s accoun being blocked.
Use s o Menéame can ca y ou ac i i ies di ec ly ela ed o edi ing. They ha e o
make a w i en p esen a ion o he news s o y ollowing a se ies o ecommenda ions on
how o w i e he ex . In he ‘Te ms o use’ sec ion o he websi e i s a es,
The i le, en y, geoloca ion and labels o he ex , as well as he ca ego y in which i is inse ed,
mus e lec and no dis o he con en o he link. Menéame is no a mic oblogging si e, o a
place o gene a e new in o ma ion o opinion columns in he space ese ed o he desc ip ion
o he subjec .
By means o hei o es, use s p omo e ele an news s o ies ha dese e o mo e o
he on page. The adminis a o s o he ne wo k call o esponsibili y when o ing.
They encou age o ing posi i ely on in o ma ion ha is o in e es o use s, bu ecom-
mend p e iously eading commen s and isi ing he linked si e. They ask use s o ensu e
ha he si e complies wi h he ules: i mus desc ibe he linked con en co ec ly (i.e. he
i le and desc ip ion should ag ee wi h he si e indica ed) and he au ho o he submis-
sion should no gi e an opinion o al e he con en . When use s conside ha he news
s o y p esen s some kind o p oblem, hey can cas a nega i e o e wi h nine di e en
op ions: i ele an , old, i ing, sensa ionalis , spam, duplica ed, mic oblogging, e one-
ous and plagia ism.
The e o e, o es can be posi i e o nega i e, bu use s ha e an unequal weigh since
each one has a sco e (called ka ma by he ne wo k i sel ) ha goes up o down based on
a ious c i e ia, o example, he amoun o news s o ies hey ha e p oposed ha ha e
made i on o he on page, he numbe o news s o ies ha use s o ed posi i ely o and
ha ha e also gone o he on , he accep ance o ejec ion ha hei commen s ha e
2338 Jou nalism 22(9)
ecei ed and so on. This can be in e p e ed as meaning ha each use ’s sco e (ka ma) is
ela ed o hei abili y o connec wi h he sensibili y o o he use s and p opose and o e
on news ha hey conside impo an ; ha is, in a ce ain way, he sco e ep esen s he
alidi y o hei edi ing c i e ia. As hey say on he social ne wo k i sel , he sco e ‘aims
o measu e he ins inc o know i a s o y dese es o each he on page’.
The algo i hm is qui e complex bu basically i de e mines how many o es a e neces-
sa y a each momen o a s o y o appea on he on page, and he numbe a ies
depending on he ca ego y in which i is included: cu en news, leisu e, cul u e, and
echnology. A cu en news s o y usually needs mo e o es han one o he es o ca ego-
ies. The aim o he algo i hm is no o enable a simila p opo ion o news in each ca e-
go y bu o y o ob ain a balance be ween he numbe o s o ies sen in and he s o ies
published in each one.2
Analysing he ype o in o ma ion included in hose ca ego ies, we see ha ‘cu en
news’ is he one which includes mo e ha d news. I can be obse ed ha in many
ins ances, he o he h ee ca ego ies ( echnology, leisu e and cul u e) need less o es han
he i s one and a e mos ly made up o so and gene al news.3 I seems ha he algo-
i hm ends o p io i ise hose h ee ca ego ies, p oducing a endency o unde ep esen
‘cu en news’ and, consequen ly, he p opo ion o ha d in o ma ion would be e en
highe i he algo i hm we e o ea all ou ca ego ies in a simila way.
Resea ch ques ions and hypo heses
Based on he abo e e iew, which conside ed he wo app oaches o audience pa icipa-
ion and he compa ison be ween news media and social ne wo ks, ou esea ch ques-
ions we e examined:
RQ1. How many use s p oposed news ha eached he main page o Menéame o e
he 10 yea pe iod (2006–2015)?
RQ2. Wha kind o news ecei es he mos o es om use s o publica ion on he
on page?
RQ3. Wha kind o news is mos isi ed?
RQ4. Wha kind o news is mos commen ed on?
In addi ion o he esea ch ques ions, ou hypo heses we e es ed.
H1. The amoun o use s who p opose news in he ne wo k is e y small compa ed
wi h he numbe o isi o s.
Al hough new echnologies ha e been seen as a key elemen o inc easing use pa -
icipa ion, he poin is ha only a small po ion o use s in a ne wo k sha es in o ma ion
o commen s on con en , while he as majo i y only isi s he si e (Ka lsson e al.,
2015). The e o e, i is w ong o hink ha access o digi al echnologies au oma ically
con e s people in o ac i e pa icipan s (Van Dijck, 2009). A basic a angemen , called
he ‘1% ule’, seems o be a wo k he e: i he e a e 100 people connec ed online, one
U u ia e al. 2339
will be dedica ed o c ea ing con en , 10 will in e ac wi h i h ough commen s o con-
ibu ions and he o he 89 will simply ead i (A hu , 2006). In addi ion, his ac i e
mino i y may ha e di e en ia ed cha ac e is ics in e ms o ideology and gende wi h
espec o he majo i y o use s (F iemel and Dö sch, 2015), which makes hem a selec
g oup ha comes close o ha ing some o he peculia i ies a ibu ed o edi o s.
H2. So news will ecei e he mos o es o appea ing on he on page.
H3. So news will be he mos isi ed.
When esea che s alk abou he ype o news social ne wo k use s a e gene ally in e -
es ed in, i is so news ha s ands ou (Baumga ne and Mo is, 2010). The social in e ac-
ion ac o is he main eason o aking pa in hese ne wo ks (Ancu and Cozma, 2009),
so so news will p esumably be he mos widely published and ecei e he mos isi s.
H4. Ha d news will be he mos commen ed on.
In ecen in es iga ions, au ho s, ins ead o only aking he numbe o clicks in o
accoun o measu e he in e es o he audience, ha e used o he kinds o indica o s
(Ko melink and Cos e a Meije , 2017). I was ound ha he news s o ies ecei ing he
mos commen s in online media do no coincide wi h he mos isi ed, so ha sensa ional
opics and cu iosi y-a ousing elemen s ge many mo e clicks, bu , howe e , poli ical and
social issues a e he i ems ha ecei e many mo e commen s (Tenenboim and Cohen,
2015). People wi h g ea e in e es in ha d news a e mo e likely o commen on bo h
news websi es and social media (Kaloge opoulos e al., 2017). In his con ex , esea ch-
e s assume ha he decision o w i e on a s o y and hus sha e ideas in a public o um,
indica es a special conce n o he news, so commen s can be unde s ood as an exp es-
sion o a deepe in e es (Ksiazek, 2018).
Me hod
The analysis conside ed he i s 10 ull yea s o Menéame’s ac i i y, om 2006 o 2015.
The uni e se unde s udy consis s o 156,800 news i ems ha appea ed du ing ha
pe iod, which a e g ouped in o 7,840 op pages. Due o his peculia i y, clus e sampling
was used o selec he uni s: 400 op pages we e chosen a andom, each o which con-
ains 20 news i ems, which add up o a o al o 8,000 uni s. This means ha he sample
wo ks wi h a 99 pe cen con idence le el and a 1.5 pe cen ma gin o e o .
One o he i s asks was o decide how o classi y he news. As said abo e, he social
ne wo k i sel equi es ha he edi ing use include he in o ma ion in one o ou pos-
sible ca ego ies: cu en news, leisu e, cul u e and echnology. Howe e , his classi ica-
ion is no use ul o he s udy o se e al easons: (a) he ca ego ies include bo h ha d
and so news o di e en deg ees, while dis inguishing be ween he wo is essen ial in
his in es iga ion; (b) he ca ego isa ion is le in he hands o he use , so he eliabili y
o he coding canno be gua an eed.
The e o e, i was necessa y o build a lis o ca ego ies ha would la e allow hei
easy assignmen o he classic dis inc ion be ween ha d and so news. Following an
2340 Jou nalism 22(9)
a duous p ocess o es ablishing a con incing classi ica ion, on which he eam wo ked
using di e en hema ic se ies, a inal lis o 14 ca ego ies was p oduced. Nine o hem
coincide wi h hose equen ly used in he analysis o he media: Poli ics, Economy,
Jus ice, Heal h, Educa ion, Socie y, Cul u e and shows, Science and echnology, and
Spo s. Fou o hem we e included due o hei special impo ance in he Spanish con-
ex du ing he pe iod analysed: Co up ion, LGBT, Immig a ion, and Violence and dis-
c imina ion agains women. Finally, he ca ego y ‘O he s’ includes he news ha canno
be en e ed in he p e ious ca ego ies.
To e alua e he eliabili y o he coding o hese ca ego ies, we measu ed he deg ee
o ag eemen be ween he di e en code s using he Kappa coe icien , which achie ed
a sco e o 0.78. The e o e, he deg ee o ag eemen app oaches he le el o ‘ e y good’.
These 14 ca ego ies we e eloca ed in a wide classi ica ion, ela ed o ha d and so
news. Fo his pu pose, a lis o h ee ypes was used, ollowing he me hodology p o-
posed by Lehman-Wilzig and Sele zky (2010), who a gue he need o c ea e a hi d
in e media e ype be ween he wo because he one ese ed o so news has o da e
included e y he e ogeneous hema ic blocks. Following hei c i e ia, a ype called
‘gene al news’ was added.
In his way, he 14 hema ic ca ego ies we e assigned as ollows: (a) Ha d news:
Poli ics, Economy, Jus ice, Educa ion, Co up ion, LG, Immig a ion, Violence and dis-
c imina ion agains women; (b) So news: Socie y, Cul u e and shows, Spo s, O he s;
and (c) Gene al news: Science and echnology, Heal h.
Se e al hema ic ca ego ies could be included unde di e en ypes. Fo example,
LGBT could all unde so news, bu we decided o include i unde ha d in o ma ion o
wo easons: (a) he opic has been gi en a high sociopoli ical ele ance in Spain in
ecen yea s and (b) mos news s o ies ela ed o i ha appea on he on page o
Menéame do no e e o celeb i ies and gossip bu , essen ially, o i s poli ical and social
ea men . Ano he example is Heal h. I can e en ually be included unde any o he
h ee ypes, bu in he case o his social ne wo k news s o ies ela ed o i a e mos ly
in o ma ion abou diseases, medicines, p ocedu es o heal hy li ing and so on, so in
ce ain way hey a e close o he Science and echnology ca ego y.
Th ee mo e a iables con aining in o ma ion a ailable on he agg ega o ’s own si e
we e aken in o accoun o answe he esea ch ques ions. The i s wo we e used as indica-
o s o newswo hiness, ha is, he in e es o impo ance ha use s gi e o he news: (a)
he numbe o o es ecei ed o decide whe he a news s o y dese es o be uploaded o he
on page and (b) he numbe o commen s made on each news s o y. The hi d a iable
was he numbe o clicks, which is an indica o o he p e e ences o use s as consume s.
Resul s
Use s who engage in edi ing asks on Menéame
F om he publica ion o he i s news on his social ne wo k on 7 Decembe 2005, un il
he end o 2015, use s sen in 170,364 news s o ies ha ecei ed he necessa y amoun o
o es o each he on page. Acco ding o he adminis a o s, a ela i ely small g oup o
use s, 21,138 o hem o be exac , uploaded all o hem.4 Mos use s con ibu ed only one
news s o y, bu he e was a educed g oup o 41 people who con ibu ed 15.6 pe cen o
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Au ho biog aphies
San i U u ia is a P o esso o Social Sciences and Communica ion a he Uni e si y o he Basque
Coun y in Bilbao, Spain. He is on he Boa d o Di ec o s o he Mas e in Mul imedia
Communica ion. His esea ch ocuses on P ac ices in Media and Social Ne wo ks and Media in
Eu opean Mino i y Languages.
Begoña Zalbidea is a P o esso o Jou nalism a he Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y in Bilbao,
Spain. She is he P incipal In es iga o o he esea ch p ojec Reac ions om Ci izen’s E hics on
he Menéame Social Ne wo k (2014–2018). She is also he Head o he Depa men o Jou nalism.
He esea ch ocuses on E hics o Jou nalism and Quali y o News.
Idoia Camacho is a P o esso o Jou nalism a he Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y in Bilbao,
Spain. She is also on he Boa d o Di ec o s o he Facul y o Social Sciences and Communica ion.
He esea ch ocuses on Specialised Jou nalism, Heal h Communica ion, In o ma ion E hics and
Co po a e Communica ion.
Jose Ma i Pas o is a P o esso o Jou nalism a he Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y in Bilbao,
Spain. His esea ch ocuses on Tele ision and Online Media News.
