Exploring the link between media concentration and news content diversity using automated text analysis

Bibliographic Data

ID7477571
AuthorsJonathan Hendrickx (0000-0003-2802-2802, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, corresponding author), Annelien Van Remoortere (0000-0003-1610-2661, WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY, THE NETHERLANDS)
Year2022
Volume25
Issue2
Pages353-371
Publication date2022-11-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14648849221136946
OpenAlexW4308654241
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited43

In this article, we explore the relationship between increased media market concentration and its effects on the diversity of news content. We assemble a dataset of 1,419,479 print and online ‘hard news’ articles published between 2018 and 2021 by the four largest newspapers in Flanders (Belgium). These include two popular and two quality titles owned by two rival media companies, which only emerged in recent years after a string of mergers and takeovers which fundamentally changed ownership diversity in the small yet increasingly concentrated Flemish media market. In our analysis, we compare articles for their similarity between titles belonging to the same company using automated text comparisons. We find that content is growing increasingly similar and expand the existing body of research on the link between media concentration and news (content) diversity in Flanders as well as beyond

Advertising · Business · Content analysis · Diversity (politics · Flemish · Geography · Information retrieval · Newspaper · Political science · Similarity (geometry · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Media Influence and Politics · Media Studies and Communication · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Artificial Intelligence · Law

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