@inproceedings{01J1SAPZN1AMN04P5KBAFXR9WS,
  abstract     = {{Digitization has fundamentally changed the media landscape, radically transforming how media is created, distributed, and consumed. Today’s media users find themselves in a high-choice media environment (Van Aelst et al., 2017). In this context, media users have more agency than ever, as they decide which media to consume, via which platform and device they do so, and in what context (Evens et al., 2021). On the other hand, unintentional media use is also increasing. Due to the abundance of media, users are exposed to media content even if they do not actively seek it out (Gil de Zúñiga et al., 2021). Therefore, the agency of users is also more nuanced and complex than ever. These impactful changes have challenged scholars to analyse users’ cross-media uses, or media repertoires (Hasebrink & Hepp, 2017).
The supply of news also expanded rapidly in the 21st century (Praprotnik, 2016). News, like other content, is more accessible and delivered by various actors, in multiple formats, and on a wide variety of platforms and devices. In this context, the question is raised whether this increased quantity and diversity of news leads to a more diverse news consumption, and a more prominent position of news in the broader media repertoire of all users. While previous research has examined audiences’ news consumption patterns in particular (e.g., Peters et al., 2022; Picone & Vandenplas, 2022) the role of news within the broader media repertoire remains underexplored. Our study seeks to fill this gap. To capture users’ media repertoires, this research relies on the quadruple articulation framework, which states that an individual’s media use can be divided into four main components: platform, device, media content, and context (Evens et al., 2021). 
We used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to identify and scrutinize the media repertoires of Flemish media users. This mixed-methods approach allowed us to analyse distinct patterns of media use, as well as the motivations that drive media choices. In the initial phase of the study, we conducted an online questionnaire on the media habits of a representative sample of 2309 Flemish media users. Latent cluster analysis (LCA) was used to construct seven media repertoires, distinct in sources, platforms, and devices to consume media (nicknamed On-demand super streamers, Moderate viewers, News omnivores, Multimedia masters, TV addicts, Audio addicts, and Offline news users). In a subsequent phase, we conducted 47 in-depth interviews with Flemish media users, each belonging to one of the previously identified media repertoires. These interviews provided deeper insights into the meanings underlying the media repertoires. The quadruple articulation framework guides this analysis, allowing us to expose the four components of media use, and the prominence of news within these broader repertoires. 
Our results indicate that news plays a prominent yet divergent role in only a few identified media repertoires. The users featuring a predominantly online media repertoire with a diverse array of sources (e.g., On-demand super streamers) feature only a limited news repertoire. They consume news primarily through their smartphones and use few (digital) news sources. Users featuring a broad media repertoire (e.g., News omnivores and Multimedia masters) also have the most diverse news repertoires. As the name implies, News omnivores are the most interested in news and consume news through various devices and (online) news sources. Multimedia masters, who consume the most media of all repertoires, primarily consume news digitally via multiple sources. Finally, users with a more traditional media repertoire (e.g., Moderate viewers, TV addicts, Audio addicts, and Offline news users) are more likely to turn to television or newspapers for current events. Within this subset, TV addicts and Offline news users rely most heavily on these traditional channels for news. Offline news users even ignore digital news completely. Audio addicts, on the other hand, are the most digitally oriented of the traditional media repertoires, and their news consumption is distributed across multiple sources, while TV addicts rely primarily on television for their news.
In sum, this study comprehensively analyses the role(s) of news consumption within the seven media repertoires. Moreover, it identifies the drivers that keep different repertoires engaged with news, and the barriers that prevent some of them from expanding their news diet. These preliminary results already highlight the news needs of different media repertoires. A thorough analysis of the qualitative data at the final phase of this study can further nuance the position of news consumption within the media repertoires.}},
  author       = {{Peeters, Hanne and Van Damme, Kristin and Truyens, Pauljan}},
  booktitle    = {{ECREA Journalism Studies 2024, Abstracts}},
  keywords     = {{Media Repertoires,News Use,Mixed-Methods,Latent Class Analysis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Sheffield, UK}},
  title        = {{News use within media repertoires : prominent and diverse or absent and narrow?}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}