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Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

4 Dec, 10 tweets, 2 min read

@EU_Commission

So, yesterday the @EU_Commission published its action plan with proposals to "Support Recovery and Transformation" in European media, including news.

Sprawling plan for sprawling industry estimated at €193b/year, of which news publishers only a small part.

A few highlights 1/9

One ambition is to foster investment by creating "MEDIA INVEST", with a target "to leverage investments of €400 million over a 7-year period" in hope of "making a significant contribution to addressing the gap in equity financing" (to help transform a €193b/year industry)

2/9

Also, more money for "Creative Europe programme" to €2.2b in 2021-2027 budget (so €300m/year), and "pending finalisation of negotiations, the programme will include for the first time actions focused on media freedom and pluralism, journalism, and media literacy." Exciting! 3/9

And lots of nudges to member states (EU budget ~€160b/year, member states ~€7 trillion/year) e.g. "Member States should pay attention to sectors that play a key role for our democracies" and provide support "in a way that respects and promotes media freedom and pluralism" 4/9

Then this rather opaque bit "Commission will launch a ‘NEWS’ initiative to bundle actions and support to the news media sector [and] will look holistically at the challenges facing the news media industry and provide a coherent response" Is this policy-speak for "more later"? 5/9

How will it be governed? Corporatism. EC to establish "European News Media Forum to engage with stakeholders, including media regulatory authorities, representatives of journalists, self-regulatory bodies (media/press councils), civil society, and international organisations" 6/9

Also, ambition to create a "European “media data space”", ("in full respect of data protection legislation") supported through "pro-competitive" industry collaboration including both for-profit and public service and money from Horizon Europe and Digital Europe Programmes 7/9

"More research is needed" (true). EC "will procure a report, the ‘Media Industry Outlook’ [to] explore media trends–from technology advances to emerging production and consumption patterns–and analyse their potential impact in the European media market and business models" 8/9

Aaand an old favorite: EC "will support research and innovation for advanced methods of search, discovery and aggregation, in order to facilitate the creation of independent alternative news aggregation services capable of offering a diverse set of accessible information" 8/9

And of course media literacy.

So - a bit of money, encouraging collaboration, institutionalization of corporatist approach (politics will be complicated), and maybe more to come under "NEWS" initiative. Plus: "over to you, Member States".

Not nothing, but not transformative 9/9

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More from @rasmus_kleis

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

@rasmus_kleis

4 Dec

@EU_Commission

The @EU_Commission published its proposed European Democracy Action Plan yesterday.

One observation: disinformation parts are very focused on foreign interference and largely avoids recognizing domestic actors, in particular fact that misinformation often comes from the top 1/4

Foreign interference is one important form of disinformation. But it is not the most widespread or necessarily most consequential.

HLG report stressed domestic actors, including politicians, in several places ec.europa.eu/digital-single…
It is clear few will touch this problem
2/4

We can dance arounds this all we will, but problem remain real, in EU too. Some things are clearly false, harmful, and malign. But often, what one person sees as destructive lies, others will see as political speech. Powerful actors like to avoid recognizing this complication 3/4

Read 4 tweets

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

@rasmus_kleis

4 Dec

Evidence, yes, but whose evidence & what evidence?

#COVID19 pandemic is accompanied by 'infodemic' and responding credibly+effectively is in part about media+communications

Yet media+communication research relatively absent from #COVID19 policy-making, I've told #WHEFEvents
1/4

@Stephen_Cushion

There is much timely and relevant research, e.g. work of @Stephen_Cushion et al theconversation.com/coronavirus-fa…

As well as our work at @risj_oxford e.g. reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/communications…,

Yet it is not clear it is being recognized and used rasmuskleisnielsen.net/2020/05/22/com…

2/4

Many scientific fields have much to offer on #covid19

Given news is most widely used source of information about pandemic, media+communication research is arguably one of them

Yet e.g. seems no media+communications researchers among of 120+ SAGE and SPI-B members in the UK

3/4

Read 5 tweets

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

@rasmus_kleis

19 Nov

What is the public’s perspective on journalism and the pandemic?

Speaking at #MédiasenSeine based on our UK #COVID19 news and information project, with three lessons and a look to the future.

Underlying research here reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/UK-COVID-19-ne… 1/5

First lesson - our UK data suggests most people are informed, cautious, and willing to take further measures, in part thanks to journalism 2/5

Second lesson - in the UK, information inequality has grown throughout the crisis, around e.g. age, gender, class, as initial surge in news use dissipated. We don't have data on ethnicity but would expect similar pattern. 3/5

Read 5 tweets

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

@rasmus_kleis

19 Nov

@risj_oxford

Was asked to speak about how #covid19 is impacting business of news at #MédiasenSeine.

Our @risj_oxford research suggests pandemic is accelerating move to more digital, mobile, and platform-dominated environment where news capture only a small share of attention+advertising 1/5

Meanwhile, many have flocked to already big platforms during the crisis, making it even more important to look at competition issues - but publishers should remember the purpose of competition policy is to protect competition, not specific competitors reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/our-research/w… 2/5

And new policies will not in themselves change reality that news is small part of media use. comScore data suggests all news combined accounts for about 3% of time spent in France, and 5 biggest publishers account about half that – leaving 500+ with just a tiny sliver each. 3/5

Read 5 tweets

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

@rasmus_kleis

10 Nov

@fedecherubini

New work out on how #covid19 has impacted independent news media, by @fedecherubini @simgandi and me

Most report big loss of revenue, but sizable minority expect stable or growing revenues. So few winners, many losers (including citizens)

Report here reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/few-winners-ma… 1/4

We surveyed strategic sample of 165 independent news media through our networks and INERC members.

Most report audience growth, but also expect revenue deline, often very severe declines of 30% or more.

But 14% expect stable or growing revenues even during #covid19 crisis.

2/4

Due to how we did survey respondents over-represent non-profits, but still gives us a sense of the variable impact of the crisis.

Our data suggest-
*Big, ad-supported media hit hardest (esp. newspapers)
*Smaller, online-only often doing better (both commercial & non-profit) 3/4

Read 4 tweets

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

@rasmus_kleis

5 Nov

Here are three values I think most journalists would like to base their work on

1) Seek truth and report it
2) Work with moral clarity
3) Serve the whole public

I wonder whether journalism faces inescapable trilemma that may require tradeoffs between different aspirations?

1/9

Recognizing there are irreducibly plural values does not entail relativism, simply recognizing sometimes we have to make choices btw things that are valuable in different and sometimes incommensurable ways and can't always have everything. (Recognize this from your own life?) 2/9

It's attractive-even seductive-to imagine that different good things we might want can all be accomplished at the same time. But can they?

Looking at the US right now, find it hard to imagine how journalism can cover Trump with moral clarity while also reaching whole public.
3/9

Read 10 tweets

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