ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on interrelated changes in the media ecology necessary to grasp the newfound complexity of media consumption. It outlines how audience engagement with news and different spatiotemporal configurations made possible by digital technology are trends that complement and reinforce one another in terms of changing the socially situated affordances of news use and the composition of our 'communication geography'. The chapter also highlights analytical challenges for understanding and conceptualizing the new interrelations between digital news content, production, and consumption, grounding this analysis with insights that emphasize the significance of spatiotemporal dynamics. It shows that a constructive place to begin thinking through digital journalisms' possible futures and the impact of the shifts transforming the media landscape is, to start with, in Jay Rosen's phrase, "the people formerly known as the audience." Social media, for instance, is premised on allowing users to orient to others and interact and share based on personal preferences.
