Özet:

The aim of this study was to show how the reader affected the role of editor or gate-keeper in digitalized journalism. To this end, in-depth interviews were conducted in Istanbul between 15 and 20 January 2018 with 15 journalists, employed as managers and internet editors on Turkey’s most visited mainstream newspaper websites of www.hürriyet.com.tr, www.sabah.com.tr and www.milliyet.com.tr. According to the journalists who took part in the study, the reader has a definite effect in the news production process. The reason for this is that in the digital environment, different from the traditional press, reader behaviour is visible and measurable. The journalists said that when they were making decisions on the news, the number of readings (clicks), the Google searches made by readers, the rate of readers shared the news item, topics which readers shared in their social media accounts, the length of time the news item was kept, and readers’ comments served as a guide. According to the journalists, these actions by the reader had four basic effects on the process of news production and the role of gate-keeper: The effect of the reader determining the content hierarchy, the effect of the reader determining the agenda setting, the effect of the reader on framing the news and change in editorial organizational structure. According to the journalists who took part in the study, when today’s internet editors make decisions on which news items to publish, and in which order to present them, they are guided most by click numbers, by Google search results and by the social media agenda.

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