News Recommendation and Information Cocoons: The Impact of Algorithms on News Consumption

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Applied Journalism
  • 222 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter examines algorithmic news recommendation that caters to individual preferences. It aims to illuminate the renewed relationship between media and news audience with algorithmic processes and to explore the impact that such a relationship entails. The chapter dissects the phenomenon of algorithm-based news recommendation and analyzes the effects that algorithmic news consumption may have on audiences. It intends to raise awareness and inform the public, technocrats, and policy makers of the impact of such news consumption and guide debate on ethical decision-making and possible policy change.

This chapter reuses some of the content in the author’s 2023 book “Algorithmic Audience in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” published by Peter Lang (https://www.peterlang.com/document/1282554), with the copyright clearance granted by the original publisher.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
EUR 29.95
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
EUR 139.09
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
EUR 181.89
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.statista.com/topics/1640/news/

References

  • Anderson, C. W. (2011). Deliberative, agonistic, and algorithmic audiences: Journalism’s vision of its public in an age of audience transparency. International Journal of Communication, 5, 19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C. W. (2013). Towards a sociology of computational and algorithmic journalism. New Media and Society, 15(7), 1005–1021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashley, S., Maksl, A., & Craft, S. (2013). Develo** a news media literacy scale. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 68(1), 7–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastian, M., Helberger, N., & Makhortykh, M. (2021). Safeguarding the journalistic DNA: Attitudes towards the role of professional values in algorithmic news recommender designs. Digital Journalism, 9(6), 835–863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beam, M. A. (2014). Automating the news: How personalized news recommender system design choices impact news reception. Communication Research, 41(8), 1019–1041.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beer, D. (2009). Power through the algorithm? Participatory web cultures and the technological unconscious. New Media & Society, 11(6), 985–1002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beier, J. (2007). The effects of customization and recommendation source on reader perceptions of a news website. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, M. (2018). Automating judgment? Algorithmic judgment, news knowledge, and journalistic professionalism. New Media and Society, 20(5), 1755–1772.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeVito, M. A. (2017). From editors to algorithms: A values-based approach to understanding story selection in the Facebook news feed. Digital Journalism, 5(6), 753–773.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diakopoulos, N. (2019). Automating the news. Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Du, Y. R. (2019). Algorithmic audiences, tailored communication, and the democratic imagination: A qualitative study of an “Insanely Popular” news app. In World Journalism Education Congress 2019, Paris, 2020 (p. 1093).

    Google Scholar 

  • Du, Y. R. (2022, August). Tailored communication, information cocoons, and news literacy: A national survey of algorithmic news app users in the age of artificial intelligence. Paper presented at the AEJMC (Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication) Annual Convention, Detroit, MI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Festinger, L. (1964). Behavioral support for opinion change. Public Opinion Quarterly, 28(3), 404–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, J. (2014). Media literacy, news literacy, or news appreciation? A case study of the news literacy program at Stony Brook University. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 69(2), 146–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goode, L. (2009). Social news, citizen journalism and democracy. New Media and Society, 11(8), 1287–1305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grier, S. A., & Brumbaugh, A. M. (1999). Noticing cultural differences: Ad meanings created by target and non-target markets. Journal of Advertising, 28(1), 79–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harcup, T., & O’Neill, D. (2017). What is news? News values revisited (again). Journalism Studies, 18(12), 1470–1488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helberger, N. (2019). On the democratic role of news recommenders. Digital Journalism, 7(8), 993–1012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joris, G., Grove, F. D., Van Damme, K., & De Marez, L. (2021). Appreciating news algorithms: Examining audiences’ perceptions to different news selection mechanisms. Digital Journalism, 9(5), 1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalyanaraman, S., & Sundar, S. S. (2006). The psychological appeal of personalized content in web portals: Does customization affect attitudes and behavior? Journal of Communication, 56(1), 110–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kreuter, M. W., & Skinner, C. S. (2000). Tailoring: What’s in a name? Health Education Research, 15(4), 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kreuter, M. W., & Wray, R. J. (2003). Tailored and targeted health communication: Strategies for enhancing information relevance. American Journal of Health Behavior, 27(S3), S227–S232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, C., Kalyanaraman, S., & Du, Y. R. (2011). Moderating effects of collectivism on customized communication: A test with tailored and targeted messages. Asian Journal of Communication, 21(6), 575–594.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maksl, A., Ashley, S., & Craft, S. (2015). Measuring news media literacy. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 6(3), 29–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maksl, A., Craft, S., Ashley, S., & Miller, D. (2017). The usefulness of a news media literacy measure in evaluating a news literacy curriculum. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 72(2), 228–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McQuail, D. (1993). Mass communication theory (3rd ed.). Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moores, S. (1993). Interpreting audiences: The ethnography of media consumption (Vol. 8). Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Napoli, P. M. (2014). Automated media: An institutional theory perspective on algorithmic media production and consumption. Communication Theory, 24(3), 340–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noar, S. M., Benac, C. N., & Harris, M. S. (2007). Does tailoring matter? Meta-analytic review of tailored print health behavior change interventions. Psychological Bulletin, 133(4), 673–693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parks, P. (2019). Textbook news values: Stable concepts, changing choices. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 96(3), 784–810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Potter, W. J. (2004). Theory of media literacy: A cognitive approach. Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Potter, W. J., & Christ, W. G. (2007). Media literacy. In G. Ritzer (Ed.), The Blackwell encyclopedia of sociology (pp. 2891–2895). Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powers, E. (2017). My news feed is filtered? Awareness of news personalization among college students. Digital Journalism, 5(10), 1315–1335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raza, S., & Ding, C. (2021). News recommender system: A review of recent progress, challenges, and opportunities. Artificial Intelligence Review, 55, 749–800.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, J. (2006, June 27). The people formerly known as the audience. PressThink. Retrieved December 23, 2021, from http://archive.pressthink.org/2006/06/27/ppl_frmr.html

  • Shin, D. (2020). Expanding the role of trust in the experience of algorithmic journalism: User sensemaking of algorithmic heuristics in Korean users. Journalism Practice, 16(6), 1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shin, D., Rasul, A., & Fotiadis, A. (2021). Why am I seeing this? Deconstructing algorithm literacy through the lens of users. Internet Research, 32(4).

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoemaker, P. J., & Vos, T. P. (2014). Media gatekee**. In An integrated approach to communication theory and research (pp. 89–103). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stavrositu, C. (2014). Selective exposure. In E. Harvey (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social media and politics (pp. 1117–1119). Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sunstein, C. R. (2006). Infotopia: How many minds produce knowledge. Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sunstein, C. R. (2007). Republic 2.0. Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swart, J. (2021). Experiencing algorithms: How young people understand, feel about, and engage with algorithmic news selection on social media. Social Media+ Society, 7(2), 20563051211008828.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roselyn Du .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Du, R. (2024). News Recommendation and Information Cocoons: The Impact of Algorithms on News Consumption. In: Barkho, L., Lugo-Ocando, J.A., Jamil, S. (eds) Handbook of Applied Journalism. Springer Handbooks of Political Science and International Relations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48739-2_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Navigation