Completed projects

Media Policy, Minority Youth, and Community Affiliation: An Investigation of Media Experiences Among Minority Youth in Norway

This project, led by Torgeir Uberg Nærland, examined the media experiences of minority youth in terms of the extent to which different types of media content contribute to community affiliation and a sense of inclusion. These themes are embedded in today’s media policy. A central motivation behind current media and cultural policies is that media should serve as an arena for community formation and connection, thereby stimulating democratic participation. This consideration is particularly urgent concerning minority youth, who often experience exclusion and marginalization.

In contrast to previous studies focusing on symbolic exclusion in media experiences among minority youth, this project investigated the actual types of media content that contribute to symbolic inclusion. Through a series of in-depth interviews, the project explored:

1. The specific types of media content that minority youth perceive as relevant to them.
2. The degree to which minority youth feel that media content contributes to community affiliation.
3. The characteristics of media content that are relevant for fostering a sense of community.

By empirically exploring the media experiences of minority youth, this study aimed to shed light on the expressions of media and how media policy considerations related to community building come into play.

The Space of Knowledge in a New Public Sphere

This project explored the experience of publishing free and verifiable knowledge in today’s information and media society. It specifically focused on the state of freedom of expression in research and academia, how researchers perceive their space for expression, and what it’s like to conduct research on topics that shape Norwegian debates and politics. Additionally, the project built upon previous surveys conducted in 2013 and 2015, investigating where Norwegians draw the boundaries of freedom of expression in 2020.

Funded by Fritt Ord in the third round of their monitoring project on freedom of expression in Norway, the research project was led by Kjersti Thorbjørnsrud at the Institute for Social Research. Hallvard Moe (UiB) served as the work package leader for the subproject “Trust, Technology, and Affiliation – Information Freedom as the Basis for Freedom of Expression.”

Ana Milojevic: Datafication, Media, and Democracy: Transformations in News Work in a Datafied Society (DataMeDe)

DataMeDe investigated how datafication of the audience influences changes in news work. On one hand, datafication of the audience leads to the production of news content that captures the reader’s attention, regardless of how informative or valuable the news is. On the other hand, datafication also strengthens the relationship between journalists and readers, which is advantageous for the economic foundation of news work. However, knowledge in the field of audience datafication and its impact on news work varies significantly, and conclusions are based on the perceptions of journalists and editors. There is a belief that audience datafication bridges the “news gap” between journalists and the audience.

DataMeDe employed approaches from news sociology, hierarchy of influence, and audience studies. The project aims to enhance existing knowledge in the field through four interconnected levels:

1. Individual Journalists
2. Editorial Room Structures
3. Interorganizational Aspects
4. Audience Level

DataMeDe combined ethnographic observation and interviews at the first three levels, along with survey research at the audience level. This approach allows for:

• Identifying factors that influence the understanding and use of audience data by journalists, editors, managers, and media technology workers.
• Studying the differences between news preferences reconstructed from audience data and actual news preferences.

By highlighting the discrepancy between the audience’s actual news preferences and journalistic practices based on data reconstructions, DataMeDe contributes valuable insights. These insights can inform policy debates related to data tracking, audience privacy, digital media literacy campaigns, media industry practices, and the development of journalism education.

Hilde Sakariassen: Participation in the public sphere through social media

In her PhD project, Sakariassen researched the factors that promote or hinder participation in the public sphere through social media. She examined our perception of social media as part of our digital public sphere, investigating the extent to which we contribute to this sphere and how social background and personal characteristics can either facilitate or impede such contributions. The project utilized data from both surveys and interviews to shed light on inhibiting and facilitating factors for active participation in social media within our digital public sphere.

Algorithm-Driven Online Newspaper Front Pages

In spring 2019, Schibsted, a Norwegian media group, introduced an algorithm that controls several front pages of their online newspapers, including Bergens Tidende (BT) and Aftenposten. Previously, the news stories on these front pages were manually curated and ranked by editors. However, with the implementation of algorithm-driven front pages, the ranking process is now largely automated based on user data. The algorithm considers factors such as sales, traffic, and news value. Its purpose, according to developers, is twofold: to free up time for more critical journalistic tasks and to provide readers with more relevant content.

Despite these intentions, the adoption of algorithmic front pages has sparked debate and concern. Critics worry that algorithms may personalize news offerings and weaken the sense of a shared public agenda. To explore this transition, a qualitative newsroom study investigates the experiences of editorial teams in major Norwegian subscription newspapers—Aftenposten and Bergens Tidende—during the first year after the introduction of algorithm-driven front pages. The study aims to understand how the algorithm operates in practice and how content, quality, and angles are influenced by metrics such as readership and clicks.

The projct was funded by Medietilsynet (formerly RAM), and led by Marianne Borchgrevink-Brækhus. 

MeCin: Media Use, Culture, and Public Connection: Freedom of Information in the Age of Big Data

How is freedom of information utilized? Through a four-year research project funded by the Norwegian Research Council, a group of researchers aimed to understand how citizens in Norway engage with the public sphere or choose not to.

Led by Professor Hallvard Moe, MeCIn investigated how people in Norway exercise and experience their freedom of information. It also explored the role that media and cultural arenas play in shaping individuals’ connections to the public sphere across socio-cultural divides. The project was funded under the Norwegian Research Council’s KULMEDIA program from 2015-2019.

The Reception of “Skam” and the Public Sphere

In this project, postdoctoral researcher Synnøve Skarsbø Lindtner and doctoral candidate John Magnus Ragnhildson Dahl investigated how viewers of the series “Skam” (Shame) actually experience, interpret, and utilize it. They analyzed content related to the series in the comment sections of NRK P3’s “Skam” blog and on social media platforms such as Facebook. Additionally, interviews were conducted, and a comprehensive review of all written material about “Skam” in the Norwegian press—from the series’ launch in September 2015 until December 2016— was undertaken. The study aimed to gain a nuanced understanding of the democratic role that a popular series like “Skam” can play.

Consequences of Camouflaged Advertising for Readers’ Trust in Journalism

Most major Norwegian media houses have recently started investing in advertisements that camouflage themselves as news. Such ads can be problematic because they blur the lines between what is advertising and what is independent journalism. If readers perceive this distinction as unclear, these advertisements can undermine journalism by eroding people’s trust in its independence.

The project “Consequences of Camouflaged Advertising for Readers’ Trust in Journalism”, led by Erik Knudsen, aimed to provide new and significant empirical insights into how camouflaged advertising may impact readers’ assessments of the credibility of Norwegian newspapers and journalism.