Journalism’s political economy
What are the structural implications of pecuniary pressures brought on by the new media economy for news market competition and for journalism’s political function in democracy? The following projects will investigate the political economy of journalism and the impact of market forces for journalism’s function in democracy.
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Helge Østbye’s project on changes in newspaper ownership and economy
Østbye will investigate current and historically changes in the economic situations in the largest newspapers, media houses and corporations dominating the Norwegian newspaper market from the 1990s until today.
Knut Helland’s project on the economy of sports media rights
Helland will conduct an interdisciplinary analysis of journalism and media sports rights acquisitions, using economic and media theory to analyse media sports rights strategies within the commercial media market in light of the role of media in society.
Helle Sjøvaag's postdoctoral project on the impact of structural shifts on the news
Sjøvaag’s postdoctoral research asks how media ownership influences media content, and how content may in turn influence ownership structures. The project looks at the Scandinavian television and newspaper markets, specifically investigating the strategies of Schibsted and Telenor. With Norwegian media ownership law (Lov om eierskap i medier) currently undergoing revision, the situation also allows for analysis of the effects of technological and structural changes on the principles behind media regulation.
Dag Elgesem’s project on media support systems in a digitalised media landscape
Together with researchers at the Rokkan Centre Elgesem has conducted a survey of attitudes towards the future of the media support system amongst members of the Norwegian Society of Journalists (Norsk journalistlag) and The Norwegian Society of Editors (Norsk redaktørforening). Attitudes towards different proposals on the media support will be analyzed in light of the informants’ perception of threats towards the independence of journalism, what kind of medium they work for, and how long they’ve been in the industry. The results are not yet published.
