Beyond the Here and Now of News

When it comes to understanding news audiences, the stakes are high. Their practices establish everything from journalism’s economic feasibility, to its democratic impact, and sociocultural role. However, there is limited research on what causes people to become news consumers.

This project aims to understand the conditions that make news matter. It investigates the emergence, disappearance and (re)formation of news repertoires in everyday life and across the lifespan to address:

1) What causes news habits to form? Why do they change?
2) How does this impact public attention to social issues?
3) How can news organizations facilitate engagement?

By going beyond the here and now of news, this project provides fundamental insights into what underlies people’s shifting patterns of use.Its findings will improve our knowledge of how citizens view the civic potential of digital journalism and offer innovative ways for the news industry to reconceptualize its public mandate and economic models.