Work

Engaging Audiences in Platformized Public Service Media Journalism: User-Generated Content and Editorial Practices in the funk Content Network

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study examines how user-generated content (UGC) is incorporated and negotiated within platformized public service media (PSM) journalism, using the German content network funk as a case study. Based on a qualitative content analysis of selected formats and their social media posts, the study shows that participatory affordances offered by social media platforms (SMPs) are present but rarely foregrounded as central elements of storytelling. Instead, UGC is typically used as illustrative material or selectively embedded within editorial narratives. The analysis investigates how UGC is solicited, incorporated, and visually integrated into editorial storytelling across different formats. The findings identify three recurring patterns of UGC integration that illustrate how audience participation is negotiated within everyday editorial production: (1) illustrative UGC integration, (2) community-oriented UGC integration, and (3) minimalist UGC integration. Overall, the study highlights how platformized PSM journalism integrates UGC in ways that remain strongly editorially moderated rather than fully participatory, demonstrating how participation is enabled, constrained, and strategically applied within platform infrastructures.

Source: Journalism and Media

DOI: 10.3390/journalmedia7020090

Authors: Saskia Prinzler, Sven Stollfuß, Ann-Kathrin Böttke

Institution: Leipzig University

Language: English

Topic: Media Studies and Communication

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,207

Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft