This article discuss how the traditional format of journalistic news video reporting is adaptable to the 360-degree video format. One of the main issues regarding this immersive news format is how the viewers react to this form of news reporting and if they perceive the information presented in a news story with this format. If and how traditional video news journalism formats interlock with 360 journalism and immersive journalism at large. This raises the key question of in what extent 360 journalism is useful in news reporting and how it as its best should be used in video news journalism.

To address this question, this article draws on experimental empirical laboratory research where three 360 video news reports were produced according to traditional journalistic news video narratives. The viewer reactions to this reporting were analyzed using laboratory biometric psychophysiological data, observation studies and semi structured interviews about the respondent’s reception and decoding of the news stories in 360 video format. These analyzes examines viewer levels of attention, interactivity, immersion and recapitulation of affective reactions and presented facts. The main finding is that the traditional news video format as such is not fully adaptable to the 360 video format or 360 video journalism all together.

The article examines, describes and incentivize why this is not the case and discuss and suggest how 360 videos can be useful in news reporting without compromising professional journalistic core values. The article however also questions the perception that it is strictly the task of the news journalist to articulate “objective figures and facts” and argue that viewers occasionally could be given the additional opportunity to feel and experience certain news themselves through 360 videos.

Skillnaderna mellan yngre och äldres syn på nyhetskvalitet är mindre än man kunde tro. I denna studie framkommer att bäda äldersgrupper värderar tillförlitlighet, opartiskhet och saklighet högst, medan interaktivitet - möjligheten att kommentera, gilla och dela - rankas lägt.

Känslomässig dramaturgi efterfrägas sällan och text ses som den viktigaste modaliteten; ljud bedöms däremot som nägot mindre väsentligt av de yngre.

Resultaten av studien visar att yngre nyhetskonsumenter inte bildar ett tydligt avgränsat, homogent publiksegment som radikalt skiljer sig frän äldre. Samtidigt är publiken i ständig rörelse och preferenser för vad som utgör god journalistik fortsätter att fragmenteras.

Utmaningen för traditionella nyhetsredaktioner är att snabbare fånga upp dessa skiftningar och leverera samhällsrelevant, demokratistärkande journalistik som verkligen når hela publiken, inte minst de unga.

This article delves into the news consumption strategies of young Swedish citizens aged 18–25, focusing on how they interact with and interpret news in today's digital landscape. Utilizing a mixed-method approach that combines semi-structured interviews and an observational study enhanced by eye-tracking technology, this research uncovers the nuanced ways in which young people engage with news media. The study identifies a variety of personal strategies for finding news, ranging from active search to passive reception via algorithms on digital platforms. Young Swedes exhibit a preference for digital news sources, utilizing a blend of traditional news outlets and social media to access information. The findings reveal a complex picture of news consumption that is both selective and diversified. While traditional news outlets remain important for their credibility, social media platforms are heavily utilized for their accessibility and real-time updates. By analyzing the interaction patterns and preferences of young Swedes, this study contributes to our understanding of the evolving dynamics of news consumption among young adults in the digital era. It provides valuable insights for media practitioners and scholars interested in the changing patterns of news engagement and the future of news dissemination in the age of digital media.

Despite boasting strong performance in global democracy rankings, Sweden grapples with impending challenges to its democratic fabric (Lührmann et al., 2019). The escalating prevalence of disinformation within an increasingly polarized media landscape has gained notable attention, spurring a proliferation of research studies and fact-checking initiatives to fortify the democratic society against such threats (Bakir & McStay, 2017; Holt, 2019; Waisbord, 2018; Allcott & Gentzkow, 2021). Simultaneously, young adults (18–25 years) seem to be progressively distancing themselves from conventional news outlets, choosing instead platforms where emotional narratives reign supreme and adherence to journalistic standards is not necessarily a given (Newman et al. 2023). Given the divergent media consumption patterns of young citizens compared to older generations (Boczkowski et al., 2018; Newman et al., 2020), it is crucial to understand this demographic’s conception of news quality. Moreover, the disinformation conundrum is intrinsically linked with contemporary research on democratic innovation, the evolution of representative democracy, and the enhancement of civic practices and forums (Norris, 2011). The challenge of integrating the younger generation into these discussions is a pivotal concern in this discourseThis paper investigates how young citizens construe quality of news and the factors that influence their perceptions of news quality. Despite the abundance of news sources available, young citizens may struggle to distinguish between high-quality news and misinformation. Through qualitative interviews with young citizens (ages 18–25), combined with analysis of biometric lab data (eye-tracking and GSR), we explore the interplay between actual and measurable reactions to pieces of news and stated quality assessments, highlighting key factors that shape their perceptions of news quality, including trust and source credibility, relevance, and format. We find that these factors interact, at times paradoxically, with one another to influence young citizens’ judgments about the quality of news. Our results show that news items that cause more emotional engagement are not necessarily ranked higher in quality than less engaging news items. Our results have implications for news organizations and media literacy education programs, and we suggest areas for future research on news consumption and young citizens.

Syftet med projektet Young citizens and the quality of news: Construals, Emotions and Strategies har varit att utforska nya sätt att undersöka hur unga betraktar nyheter, hur de interagerar med nyhetsinnehåll och hur känsloreaktioner inverkar på bedömningen av kvalitet. 

Studien är gjord med hjälp av ett flertal metoder, både kvantitativa, kvalitativa och laborativa. Genom att be unga mellan 18 och 25 år att själva leta upp nyheter på sin mobil och samtidigt mäta deras ögonrörelser, genom att visa dem ett antal nyhetsklipp och mäta deras reaktioner samt genom att göra djupintervjuer med de unga om vad de sett och hur de upplevt det, har forskargruppen kunnat dra flera slutsatser kring hur unga definierar och reagerar på nyheter. 

Nu finns rapporten som sammanfattar projektet att läsa och ladda ner på Medier & demokratis hemsida. 

Studien visar bland annat att kvalitet för unga mediekonsumenter är intimt sammankopplat med upplevd relevans och att nyheters förmåga att beröra emotionellt beskrivs som väldigt viktigt för hur de unga i studien bedömer kvalitet. Hur de unga gör för att hitta nyheter varierar, men ett tydligt mönster bland studiens deltagare är att de föredrar textbaserade nyhetsartiklar. 

I rapporten ger forskarna flera tips på vad redaktioner bör göra för att lyckas nå de unga läsarna. 

Young adult citizens (18-30 years) tend to turn away from traditional news media and migrate to media where emotions occupy a more central place and where journalistic standards are not self-evident, thus challenging public discourse and the notion of quality associated with established news media (Schwaiger et al., 2022; Backholm et al., 2021; Baek et al., 2019; Berthelsen & Hameleers, 2021). In this paper, we test possibilities of investigating how young adult citizens construe (perceive, comprehend and interpret) and experience quality of news content in a high choice, hybrid media landscape (Chadwick et al., 2015), characterized by multimodal and intermedial possibilities offered in social media (Holt & Schirrmacher, 2021). In particular, we explore if there is a possible link between emotional reactions to news items, and subsequent quality rating. In media and journalism research, the importance of emotions evoked by news-content has been pointed out in recent years (Wahl-Jørgensen, 2020). Researchers have studied emotional aspects of different types of content (e. g. Uribe & Gunter, 2007), polarization (e. g. Marozzo & Bessi, 2017), and affective responses to political messages (Bakker et al., 2021). Lacking is, however, in depth analysis of how emotional reactions to news might interact with quality assessments. Since young citizens differ from older generations in media use (Boczkowski et al., 2018), it is especially important to understand the notion of quality from the perspective of this age group. Here, biometric data offer promising possibilities, since it allows for measuring emotional response as well as eye-movments during exposure to news. At the same time, methodology for journalism scholars is still at a developmental stage. Therefore, in this paper we present the results from a small-sample pilot study, using GSR and eye-tracking in combination with semi-structured interviews with young citizens about quality in news. Our findings are discussed in relation to the usability of this methodological approach and suggestions for further research are presented.