Who owns the news consumer: Social media platforms or publishers?

At the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, we have conducted the first research aimed at evaluating how newsrooms are adapting to the rising influence of technology companies. We found that some platforms are becoming publishers, either by design or by default. Publishers, meanwhile, are experiencing a more rapid than expected shift in distribution towards platforms.

In the research, newsroom personnel at every level expressed anxiety about loss of control over the destination of stories, the power of their brand, and their outlets’ relationship with the viewer or reader. Many acknowledged that technology companies are, for some newsrooms, a potential lifeline. Individuals within news organizations felt they lacked the resources or expertise to create the level of innovation and access to new audiences that social media and platform companies offer. But there are critical issues of democratic and civic concern that have little visibility or priority, either within news organizations or platforms.