The Elephant(s) in the Newsroom: A Mixed Methods Study on the Use of News Agency Material

Abstract

News agencies remain one of the most important sources of journalistic reporting. It is all the more astonishing that, with a few exceptions, they still represent a major blind spot in journalism research. Using a mixed method approach of quantitative content analysis and qualitative interviews with practitioners from media outlets and news agencies, this study investigates how and how much online media outlets of different media types located in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia use material from different news agencies. The study also examines the differences in subject areas and geographical reference areas and explores the rationale behind how and how much news agency material is used. The study confirms the very high and, partially, even increasing relevance of news agencies in media markets in the present and the foreseeable future. It also asks critical questions about the implications for journalism and democratic societies as a whole.