Der Einsatz sozialer Medien im Journalismus bei oberösterreichischen Zeitungen

Abstract

Social media is gaining increasing importance in journalism. Especially among younger audiences, printed newspapers are rarely used and journalistic content is consumed primarily through social media. However, even when considering other age groups, there has been a steady increase in the use of social media as the main news source for years. This emphasizes the significant role of social media in journalism and highlights why it should be integrated into the strategies and daily journalistic work of newsrooms. Although social media is already actively used in this field, its utilization by journalistic editorial teams has been little studied so far. Furthermore, the current literature lacks relevant published empirical results on the current use of social media by newspapers in Upper Austria. This bachelor thesis aims to fill this research gap. After an introductory section, a theoretical foundation is established by defining key terms. Following, relevant content from literature on the use of social media by newspapers in general is brought together, divided into the areas of organization and workflow, goals, and applications. This forms the basis for the following chapters, which present the methodology and results of the empirical investigation. In this study, six expert interviews were conducted with representatives of Upper Austrian newspapers and analyzed using Mayring's qualitative content analysis. The results were then presented and interpreted. The thesis concludes with a summary. The results of the expert interviews are the core of this bachelor thesis and show that the relevance of social media is recognized in the newsrooms of Upper Austrian newspapers and that these platforms are used in a variety of ways. Nevertheless, social media remains of secondary importance, which is demonstrated by the lack of specialized social media teams. Generally, social media management is mostly unstructured and randomly generated. There is a significant lack of strategic considerations, which is reflected in the absence of written goals and the lack of definition and monitoring of key figures. Newsrooms use social media extensively for journalistic research, publication of editorial content, and audience engagement. This occurs on multiple social media platforms, with a noticeable shift in priorities among them. The experts emphasize the importance of their differentiated use and regional content.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Markus-Maximilian Eiselsberg (Supervisor)