Media diversity and the global superplayers: operationalising pluralism for a digital media market

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the problem of operationalising diversity to measure pluralism adjusted to the digital media market. Media diversity can primarily be considered at five levels, including the structure, organisation, production, output, and reception of media messages. Framework conditions are considered explanatory features on a structural level, while organisational aspects reveal variations in resource management. Production aspects account for diversity in reporting norms, while output diversity indicates the distribution and frequency of topics and sources. Reception concerns the diversity of media messages audiences are actually exposed to. The article argues that the fast-growing power of global superplayers warrants more consideration for the media’s infrastructure, urging researchers to adjust how structures are accounted for in media diversity analyses.

KEYWORDS:

• Diversity
• digitisation
• technology
• superplayers
• media regulation

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Research Council of Norway under Grant 230744.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

Research Council of Norway [Grant Number 230744].

Notes on contributors

Helle Sjøvaag

Helle Sjøvaag is a research professor of Media Studies at the University of Bergen. Research areas include journalism, media economy, and regulation. Sjøvaag has published extensively in international journals, for example, Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, Convergence, International Journal of Cultural Policy, Journal of Media Business Studies, and Nordicom Review.