Gatekeeping in the Digital Age: Newsroom Resistance to News Personalisation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays an important role in the ongoing digital transformation of the news media industry. These technologies have significantly altered traditional paradigm: from personalization and data-driven reporting to ethical considerations and the evolving roles of journalists. Newsrooms today are made up of multidisciplinary technologies in content creation, analysis, and distribution. According to a recent study by Beckett and Yesse (2023) on the use of AI in newsrooms,
dissemination of news content and engage with their audiences more effectively. Within this specific area, personalization and recommendation systems are used to better
algorithms and user data to curate personalized news feeds given the dynamic news media environment (Bernstein et al., 2021; Ricci et al., 2022). These systems offer tailored
user experience, and improved engagement. However, the increasing reliance on NRS raises pressing ethical concerns: NRS can impact public discourse by determining which stories gain more visibility and engagement, users may be excluded from alternative perspectives leading to a narrower understanding of complex issues, and incur in the assumption they are seeing a comprehensive representation of news when they might be exposed to a limited selection based on their past behaviour (Du, 2023). This raises concerns about the formation of public opinion and the erosion of trust in media. While transparency and diversity can play a crucial role in tackling these everyday challenges (Loecherbach & Trilling, 2020; Sax, 2022; Vrijenhoek et al., 2020), what is at stake is the impact on citizens’ epistemic welfare. Epistemic welfare starts from the individuals’ right to know and be exposed to trustworthy, independent, and diverse information while respecting individual rights to their own data. Promoting epistemic welfare implies advocating for a broader vision at the societal level comprising, among others, those principles linked to the so-called “media welfare state” that may be “more durable and consistent than specific regulatory measures and that influence media” (Syvertsen et al., 2014). In this regard, news media organisations, and especially public service media (PSM) (Fieiras-Ceide et al., 2023; Larrondo et al., 2016; Sehl & Eder, 2023; Van Den Bulck & Moe, 2018), constitute an ideal example as key “institutions in charge of knowledge generation and dissemination” (Godler et al., 2020, p.216). Importantly, PSM serve a unique role in connecting diverse audiences around shared societal issues rather than catering solely to individual interests. This integrative function is achieved through a broad range of audiovisual content and by being perceived as a common provider for society. PSM is often seen as a trusted source of information and entertainment that transcends commercial interests. It serves as a reflection of a nation's collective identity, providing a shared space where citizens can engage in discussions, access information, and participate in cultural exchanges. However, challenges associated with its integrative function such as audience fragmentation and unequal access across social groups hinder PSM's ability to effectively reach all individuals engaged in these shared issues, limiting its potential impact (Puppis & Ali, 2023). Furthermore, public service broadcasters face the challenge of adapting to significant societal and market changes while upholding their core values as publicly funded media entities (Túñez-López et al., 2021).

Focusing on Spanish news media, the study employs two main qualitative methods. On the one hand, semi-structured, in-depth interviews with journalists, editors-in-chief and IT experts from the Spanish public service media (RTVE) are used to gain insights into the algorithms employed in news curation. On the other hand, ethnographic observation is conducted to understand the implications of NRS on news dissemination and audience engagement. The employment of both methodologies will shed light on the news media strategies and challenges related to the use of NRS in the newsroom as well as a better understanding of how these systems are integrated into newsroom practices and the day-to-day decision-making processes with an immersive approach. Overall, through these methodologies, the article seeks to contribute to a more informed and ethically conscious media environment.

Bearing the concept of epistemic welfare in mind and considering the need to incorporate journalistic values into algorithmic news solutions (Diakopoulos, 2019; Gulla et al., 2021), this paper aims to explore how NRS are designed and implemented in media organisations, an issue underreported in the literature on recommender systems (Ranaivoson et al, forthcoming). It delves into the complex interplay between technology and media and investigates the trade-offs between delivering personalized news recommendations and ensuring a diverse flow of information to users (Lim et al., 2023).

By analysing NRS’ design and implementation, we aim to confirm and eventually question the existence of “tech-editorial gaps”, understood as a disassociation between the technical and the editorial departments in the newsrooms, and the necessity for bridging roles considering not only the commercial objectives but also the editorial factors and the technical viability to drive economic growth and enhance cultural value creation (Møller, 2023; Smets et al., 2022). Ultimately, we aim to understand if and in what way NRS’ current deployment leads to certain stories being prioritized, the impact on users’ news exposure and therefore to contribute to the ongoing discussion on media ethics and responsible algorithmic use.