Bottom Lines and Deadlines

Examining Local Digital News Startups’ Content Across Different Revenue-earning Sites

Bibliographic Data

ID12909548
AuthorsMónica Chadha (0000-0003-2106-441X, Arizona State University, corresponding author), Summer Harlow (0000-0001-6079-1439, University of Houston)
Year2018
Volume13
Issue6
Pages723-741
Publication date2018-12-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2018.1551729
OpenAlexW2905268897
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited52

This study examines independent news startups with self-reported revenue earnings in high-, middle-, and low-income categories and compares them in the areas of news content creation. The findings, based on a content analysis of 704 articles, reveal that low-revenue earners publish fewer stories than middle- and high-revenue earning sites. For-profit sites publish significantly more in low- and mid-revenue earning categories but non-profits publish significantly more in high-revenue earning sites. Most stories are still covered by editorial staff, including articles in the field of entertainment, lifestyle/health and community events about people, usually considered the domain of citizen reporters. The discussion section contextualizes these findings and recommends future research could consider examining these sites separately rather than clubbing them under the umbrella of “digital local independent startups.”

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