TV newscast and active audience in Spain: case study of TV3-Televisió de Catalunya

Abstract

Journalism, one of the most powerful builders and influencers of the everyday social reality, is constantly changing. In recent years, due to the process of digitization, convergence and connectivity, television has been undergoing changes in its production process (newsmaking) because of the increasing presence of user-generated contents. This paper seeks to present proof of the importance of these contents and of their influence on the news production strategies of the news programs. An ethnographic study was carried out on TV3-Televisió de Catalunya. We discuss the preliminary results obtained from the analysis of this topic, taking a comparative approach to the main broadcasting companies of Spain and Brazil. It is observed that the demand for journalists’ work in the productive process is increasing and that it is necessary to develop new ways of sorting and verifying information, something which calls above all for professional versatility.

KEYWORDS: television, newscasts, journalism, active audience, user-generated contents, convergence, verification.