Opening the Gates:Interactive and

Multimedia Elements of

Newspaper Websites in Latin America

Ingrid BachmannSummer HarlowThe University of Texas at AustinISOJ 2011

Aims Understand how newspaper websites in

Latin America are handling an industry-wide shift toward participatory journalism.

Are newspapers opening their newsrooms to citizens by providing web features that encourage reader participation?

How much participation is actually possible, considering the digital divide?

Theoretical framework Gatekeeping (White, 1950; Shoemaker,

1991) Citizen journalism, para-journalism,

public journalism, user-generated content, collaborative journalism, and participatory journalism (Black, 1997; Burns, 2010; Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2001; Rosen, 2008; Thurman, 2008; Vujnovicet al., 2010; Bowman & Willis, 2003)

Digital divide (Castells, 2001; Diani, 2000; Fuchs, 2009)

Methods Content analysis

19 Latin American newspapers Flagship newspaper from each country except Puerto Rico

Dec. 9-15, 2010 Home pages, and 2,304 articles coded

Inter-coder reliability Cohen’s kappa .81-1

Methods Multimedia

Video, photo, mobile devices, links

Interactive Sharing via social media or email, search feature, most popular stories

Participatory Reporting corrections, submitting citizen reports, reader comments

Results Homepage multimedia features

Results Homepage interactive features

Results Homepage participatory features

Results Stories’ multimedia features

Results Stories’ interactive features

Results Stories’ participatory features

Results The features were included in varying

degrees. These web features were not correlated

with press freedom or development. However, multimedia features and

combined web features were significantly correlated with Internet penetration. That is, newspapers from countries with higher rates of Internet access included more multimedia elements.

Conclusions These Latin American newspapers include

basic multimedia elements, but are slow to adopt more interactive and participatory features.

Newspapers in Latin America still follow a print-first mentality, adapting new technologies to fit with old practices.

Reader interaction allowed only on a superficial basis.

Digital divide limiting web features offered?

Will newspapers… …forego their traditional role as

gatekeepers and fully embrace the interactive potential of the Internet?

OR

…remain static, clinging to traditional print practices and philosophies in a digital world?

Opening the Gates:Interactive and

Multimedia Elements of

Newspaper Websites in Latin America

Ingrid BachmannSummer HarlowThe University of Texas at AustinISOJ 2011