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Online trends and platforms come and go, and media professionals have historically shown a keen interest in adopting novel modes of content distribution in order to capture the interest of the elusive online audience. This paper provides insights into the employment of online interactivity by news media users in relation to the social media presences of a selection of Norwegian media outlets. Adopting a comparative approach, the study features analysis of data from online mainstay Facebook and from the comparably novel Instagram platform. Among other things, results suggest that the previously noted tendency for audience members to prefer “lighter” or less-demanding modes of interaction with online news content is further strengthened—especially on the latter of the two studied platforms. Given that Instagram tends to attract comparably younger users, the implications for the news media industries as well as for future trends regarding audience interaction in relation to news are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

News sharing across different social media platforms is increasingly impacting on our news habits. However, we know very little about what makes news popular in these settings. The current paper details what types of news stories are shared the most on two social media platforms--Facebook and Twitter. By conducting a qualitative content analysis and comparing data from four Norwegian media outlets, we find that editorial comment pieces about "softer" news topics are more frequently shared than "harder" news topics from all media outlets--except for TV2. For this latter broadcaster, the results suggest that sensational news and news regarding celebrities allows for viral effects to take place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates journalistic social media use from the perspective of the media organization. Specifically, we examine how media professionals working within Norwegian news organizations perceive social media guidelines by focusing on three empirical areas-assessing perceptions of scope, form and content. Data are collected and analyzed by means of a mixed-method approach. First, we provide results from a large-scale survey of Norwegian editors and journalists. Second, the article details insights from 14 qualitative elite interviews with editors-in-chief, working in leading news organizations in the context studied. The study shows that while the use of social media presents new dilemmas for the organizations, the main goal is to allow journalists to utilize them rather than to restrict their use. While guidelines are mostly present, they appear as subordinate to other, more informal methods of control. The relaxed approach identified leads to experimenting when new technology is introduced, and seems sensible in a rapidly changing technological environment. At the same time, pressure increases on the individual journalists who have to find their way in a field of work that grows ever more complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swedish newspapers have hosted Web pages since the mid-1990s, and are often pointed to as some of the most popular online locations in the Swedish-speaking online sphere. These organizations have also taken to social media, maintaining presences on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. The current study is focused on the latter of the two. It features a twofold aim, detailing the types of content provided by the four largest Swedish newspapers on their Facebook pages, and the types and levels of interaction this content is met with by their page visitors. For tabloid newspapers in particular, the types of news most provided (human interest-type stories) are not matched by the types of news most interacted with by the audience members. Possible reasons for and implications of this apparent imbalance are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]