Clickbait Contagion in International Quality Media: Tabloidisation and Information Gap to Attract Audiences
Abstract
:1. Introduction
Expansion and Consequences of Clickbait: Erosion of Trust and Degradation of Information Quality
2. Materials and Methods
- C1. Identification of the unit of analysis. Media and information section to which it belongs (Front Page, Most Read, Most Viral).
- C2. Type of clickbait. Conduct a breakdown analysis of clickbait strategies based on the taxonomic proposal by Bazaco et al. (2019) and Diez-Gracia and Sánchez-García (2022), who identified two types of techniques from the preceding literature: those that manipulate the headline by omitting relevant data or creating an information gap, emphasise the importance of the protagonist, exaggerate claims or are attention-grabbing, etc.; and those that use tabloidisation techniques, soft strategies or striking multimedia resources.
- C3. Topic and journalistic genre. This category encodes which topic(s) on the journalistic agenda the identified clickbait content corresponds to, and which journalistic genre it falls into (informative, interpretive, opinion, etc.)
3. Results
3.1. Clickbait in the Media: Prevalence in Front Pages and Reach to Multi-Platform Audiences
3.2. Type of Clickbait in General Digital Media and Audiences
3.3. The Spread of Clickbait into Hard News and Information Treatment
4. Discussion and Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Scheme 420. | NYT | The Guardian | El País | Público |
---|---|---|---|---|
Initial sample | 420 | 420 | 420 | 420 |
Useful sample (with clickbait) | 174 | 90 | 133 | 119 |
Total useful sample | N = 516 |
Category | Variables |
---|---|
C1. Identification | -Media (NYT, The Guardian, El País, Público) -Information section (Front Page, Most Read, Most Viral) |
C2. Clickbait type | -Information gap. Intentional omission of the expected data, unanswered questions, use of numbers and lists, etc. -Exaggeration. Use of hyperbole or language to attract attention -Attention-grabbing language. Use of vocatives, calls for the reader’s attention -Importance of the protagonist. Use of a public personality or figure -Demand for urgency. Last-minute deadlines, updates or exclusive offers -Sensationalist delivery on social media. When clickbait or tabloidisation is found in the paratext of a tweet or post -Repetition and serialisation. Segmentation or reiteration of information -Soft news. Tabloidisation and sensationalism -Striking audiovisual elements. Demand or inclusion of videos, images or other resources that have an impact |
C3. Topic and journalistic genre | -Themes are categorised into general blocks following a cumulative coding system: politics, economy, events, wars, shootings, environment, health, curiosities, celebrities, sports, science and technology -Genre: informative, interpretive, opinion, interview, hybrid, multimedia |
NYT | The Guardian | El País | Público | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Front Page | Current affairs (24.59%) | Ukrainian war (40%) | National politics (31.25%) | Economy (15.15%) |
Shootings (21.31%) | Curiosities (13.33%) | International politics (25%) | Ukrainian war (15.15%) | |
Celebrities (14.75%) | Current affairs (13.33%) | Sports (12.5%) | The environment (15.15%) | |
Curiosities (9.84%) | Science and technology (6.67%) | Ukrainian war (9.38%) | International politics (12.12%) | |
Economy (8.20%) | International (6.67%) | The environment (9.38%) | National politics, Health, Current affairs (9.09%) | |
Most Read | National politics (31.82%) | Ukrainian war (27.03%) | Celebrities (23.81%) | Celebrities (22.03%) |
Current affairs (12.5%) | International (18.92%) | Sports (20.63%) | Sports (16.95%) | |
Shootings (12.5%) | Current affairs (18.92%) | Science and technology (11.11%) | Curiosities (8.47%) | |
Curiosities (9.09%) | Curiosities (13.51%) | Current affairs (9.52%) | Economy (8.47%) | |
Celebrities (9.09%) | Celebrities (8.11%) | Crimes (7.94%) | Ukrainian war (8.47%) | |
Most Viral | Current affairs (44%) | Celebrities (26.32%) | Sports (33.33%) | International politics (18.52%) |
Shootings (40%) | Sports (18.42%) | Celebrities (28.57%) | Culture (14.81%) | |
Science and technology (12%) | National politics (15.79%) | Science and technology (16.67%) | Crimes (11.11%) | |
Celebrities (12%) | Curiosities (13.16%) | Inequality and social movements (16.67%) | Sports (7.41%) | |
National politics, international politics (12%) | International politics (13.16%) | Current affairs (16.67%) | Celebrities (7.41%) |
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Diez-Gracia, A.; Sánchez-García, P.; Palau-Sampio, D.; Sánchez-Sobradillo, I. Clickbait Contagion in International Quality Media: Tabloidisation and Information Gap to Attract Audiences. Soc. Sci. 2024, 13, 430. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13080430
Diez-Gracia A, Sánchez-García P, Palau-Sampio D, Sánchez-Sobradillo I. Clickbait Contagion in International Quality Media: Tabloidisation and Information Gap to Attract Audiences. Social Sciences. 2024; 13(8):430. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13080430
Chicago/Turabian StyleDiez-Gracia, Alba, Pilar Sánchez-García, Dolors Palau-Sampio, and Iris Sánchez-Sobradillo. 2024. "Clickbait Contagion in International Quality Media: Tabloidisation and Information Gap to Attract Audiences" Social Sciences 13, no. 8: 430. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13080430