J 2024

Time-based Variability in the Presence of Infotainment, Service, and Civic Roles in Czech Quality Press

TKACZYK, Michal

Basic information

Original name

Time-based Variability in the Presence of Infotainment, Service, and Civic Roles in Czech Quality Press

Authors

Edition

JOURNALISM PRACTICE, ENGLAND, ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2024, 1751-2786

Other information

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

Impact factor

Impact factor: 2.100 in 2022

DOI

Keywords in English

Journalistic role performance; the Czech Republic; media oligarchization; media ownership; content analysis; quality press
Změněno: 20/5/2024 18:10, Mgr. et Mgr. Michal Tkaczyk, Ph.D.

Abstract

In English

Evidence on how journalistic role performance changes in time and in relation to which factors is largely missing. This study investigates the presence of civic, infotainment, and service roles in the news, and examines whether their presence varies in time given the worsening economic conditions on the press market and changes in ownership type. A longitudinal content analysis of a representative sample of news (N=1871) published in four Czech quality dailies during three year-long periods (i.e., 2006–2007, 2011–2012, 2016–2017) was conducted. Bivariate analyses showed that the presence of the roles varied in time for all of the newspapers but to a relatively small extent. Ridge logistic regressions revealed that the presence of all three audience-related roles was associated with specific dailies and ownership types, but not with worsening economic conditions. As compared to privately-owned newspapers, likelihood for the presence of the service role was bigger in corporate-owned newspapers, and for the civic role it was bigger in oligarchic-owned newspapers. The findings suggest that corporate-owned dailies responded to worsening economic conditions by preferring a service role rather than an infotainment role, and that the effects of oligarchic ownership on journalism practice are complex and far from being straightforward.