Platforms, Newsrooms, and Changing Power Dynamics A Case Study of Platform Dependency and Professional Autonomy in Dutch Newsrooms

Abstract

Social media platforms are increasingly important for news organisations to reach their audiences, yet the implications of this dependency on journalistic autonomy require closer examination at the level of individual practitioners in the Netherlands. This study investigates how social media editors and coordinators in Dutch newsrooms perceive and respond to the influence of social media platforms on their professional autonomy. Eleven editors and coordinators across ten Dutch news organisations were interviewed, including both regional and national, and privately as well as publicly funded outlets. The interviews were analysed abductively, revealing consensus on the asymmetrical character of the newsroom-platform relationship and its limitations for their professional autonomy, although the degree of constraint varied based on the platform, type of organisation, and specific case at hand. Responses to the platforms' constraints varied considerably, ranging from acceptance to persistent and creative attempts at innovation. By centring the perspectives of individual practitioners, this study contributes an empirical dimension to scholarly debates on the power of platforms and its implications for news media's role in a democratic society, while underscoring the need for coordinated regulatory action beyond...