Newspapers and Cross-Level Communications on Social Media : A comparative study of Japan, Korea, and Finland

Abstract

In order to examine how the same types of social media are perceived and utilized in different national contexts for journalism and news media, we studied mainstream newspapers in three countries where both newspapers and social media are viable: Japan, Korea, and Finland. Our in-depth interviews with journalists indicate both similarities and differences in the three countries. The most outstanding similarity is that newspapers have not fully incorporated cross-level communications available on social media platforms. Factors related to organizational structures, goals, policies, and procedures served as filters for the incorporation of social media into the news production and distribution system. On the other hand, differences were influenced by socio-economic factors in the three countries. Japan revealed a presence of strong offline networks of journalists and social systems; a strong online intermediary and corporate structure was found in Korea; while sparse resources were found to limit online activities in Finland. The present study indicates that mainstream newspapers in the three countries are trying to adjust to a changing media environment and to find a viable way to best utilize newly available opportunities enabled by online platforms.