ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on key issues concerning the relations between journalists and their readers/audiences and how these have been changing over the past two decades. It must be noted, however, that throughout this book, audiences are understood as a crucial consideration or factor for most if not all layers of influences on journalism practices and news cultures. For as noted earlier, the audience – at least in the sense of the public – is nothing less than ‘the god term of journalism … the term without which nothing counts’ (Carey, 2007: 12). The chapter opens with a discussion of different conceptualisations of audi-
ences and sources of audience change. It then moves on to outline understandings of audiences as active participants in the mediated communication process. The middle sections of the chapter discuss the impact of new consumer cultures as well as technological changes on the relationship between journalists and their audiences. Similarly, trans-national migration and the increased importance of multiculturalism have played an important role in the changing nature of audiences and media practices, and these are discussed in the final part of the chapter. The chapter presents empirical findings from our interviews with European
journalists and is further informed by roundtable discussions with media professionals, politicians and media users/consumers (including non-governmental organisations) about the preliminary results of the research.
