A new special issue of Journalism Studies explores the phenomenon of news avoidance, featuring contributions from Nordic researchers and including a systematic review of existing research on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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In recent years, news avoidance has emerged as a significant concern for both the public and the media industry. Media organisations face significant financial losses as audiences turn away from news. For the public, including researchers, there is growing fear that avoiding news may be diminishing knowledge and political engagement.\u00a0As\u00a0Kim Andersen<\/a>\u00a0from the University of Southern Denmark\u00a0eloborates:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n – News avoidance directly impacts democratic societies. When people consume less news, it can reduce their political knowledge and weaken the foundation of an informed citizenry. However, not all forms of news avoidance mean complete disconnection; many selectively avoid certain types of news, such as extensive negative coverage, to protect their mental well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest special issue of Journalism Studies<\/em> <\/a>explores the complex subject, with contributions from Nordic researchers. It includes a systematic review of the existing research,<\/a> conducted by guest editors Kim Andersen, Benjamin Toff<\/a>, and Brita Ytre-Arne.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n – Although academic research on news avoidance has significantly advanced our understanding of\u00a0different\u00a0experiences, there are still many unanswered questions. In the\u00a0introduction to the special issue of\u00a0the journal, we provide a systematic review of existing research to outline what we know, identify gaps in our knowledge, and illustrate the\u00a0rapidly growing\u00a0scholarly\u00a0interest\u00a0in the topic,\u00a0says\u00a0Ytre-Arne.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the\u00a0literature review,\u00a0the issue features\u00a0contributions from other Nordic researchers.\u00a0Erik Espeland<\/a>\u00a0from the University of Gothenburg\u00a0examines how political interest and age affect the likelihood of avoiding traditional news media and whether these effects have changed over time.<\/a>\u00a0Meanwhile,\u00a0Synn\u00f8ve Skarbs\u00f8 Lindtner<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Torgeir Uberg N\u00e6rland<\/a> from the University of Bergen\u00a0analyse how everyday conditions of poverty influence news consumption in Norway\u2019s “media welfare state”<\/a>. Lindtner observes:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n – Norway presents an intriguing case: Despite its extensive welfare system and minimal class differences, it has seen rising relative poverty and social marginalisation in recent decades. At the same time, Norway is\u00a0known\u00a0for its broad and equal access to news.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n N\u00e6rland adds: <\/p>\n\n\n\n – We are happy to have contributed to the special issue.\u00a0The\u00a0combination of favourable conditions on one hand, and persistent inequalities on the other,\u00a0not only provides valuable insight into the Norwegian context but also has potential relevance for understanding similar dynamics in other national contexts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Several articles in the special issues are available Open Access. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new special issue of\u00a0Journalism Studies\u00a0explores the phenomenon of news avoidance, featuring contributions from Nordic researchers\u00a0and\u00a0including a systematic review of existing research on the subject.","protected":false},"featured_media":19247,"template":"","categories":[258],"class_list":["post-19246","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories-highlights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n