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Organizational gatekeeping in Australian sports journalism: A longitudinal study of three newspapers
- Source: Australian Journalism Review, Volume 45, Issue 2, Oct 2023, p. 181 - 199
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- 03 Nov 2022
- 17 Aug 2023
- 06 Nov 2023
Abstract
Sport remains a key component of the Australian newspaper industry despite the decline of print in a digital-dominated environment. The production of sports stories consumes significant staffing time and organizational resources, and it is therefore important to examine how newsrooms have altered their approaches to publishing over the past decade. This longitudinal study focusing on three Australian newspapers is part of the global International Sports Press Survey, which was first undertaken in 2011, and replicated in 2021. The Australian, the Herald Sun and The West Australian formed the sample of 1274 articles in 2011, and 1121 in 2021. The results highlight shifts in newspaper content, with many of the changes guided by organizational and social-institutional level gatekeeping influences. The findings provide further evidence of widespread changes to the industry, which include more homogenous content and a decline in total story numbers, depth, diversity and quality.