The ongoing relevance of local journalism and public broadcasters: Motivations for news repertoires in the Netherlands

Digitalization fundamentally changes how people consume, (re)distribute and use news. Users have increased possibilities to compose their own configurations of news media out of an increased array of different sources. In many cases, these can be accessed where-, when- and however they prefer. Accordingly, previous patterns of news use have come to shift. Among the key trends that have been identified are a growth of news consumption through mobile devices, increased cross-mediality, and the growing significance of social network sites for accessing and using news. The Netherlands is no exception to these developments. It has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the world and Dutch users have quickly adopted digital devices to employ new ways of accessing and engaging with news and information. This increase in possibilities to find, follow and consume news raises the question whether one can still distinguish patterns of news use in the Dutch media landscape, and if so, which ones. This country report analyzes which news media repertoires can be found in The Netherlands and studies the various motivations underlying the construction of these repertoires. Using Q methodology with think-aloud protocols, it distinguishes five Dutch news media repertoires and discusses how different perceptions of the ways users perceive the value of news in everyday life leads them to compose different subsets of media. First, this report addresses the national context of the study. Then, it briefly discusses the process of data collection and analysis. Finally, we present the found repertoires and explain what makes these combinations of news media valuable within people’s repertoires and the role they play in their daily lives.