Digital resources in the current journalistic narrative: Uses and limitations of hypertext, multimedia and interactivity

Abstract

Characterised by its multilingual and multiformat features, the multimedia journalism narrative is shaping a new ‘archaeology of composition’ (Manovich, 2005), also called the ‘new textuality’ (Anichini, 2003). As digital media celebrates its 25th anniversary (Salaverría, 2019), this research aims to examine the current state of the multimedia narrative in journalism. The defining elements of this narrative in the generalist information media have been analysed through the observation of hypertextual, multimedia and interactive resources. The methodology used is content analysis, allowing for both the systemization and description of the predominant parameters through the comparative study of four media sources: two digital (elconfidencial.com and eldiario.es) and two with their origins in traditional print (elpais.com and elmundo.es). The sample (N = 560) consists of a wide spectrum of the most topical news items, positioned as the most relevant by the media on their websites. The key findings reflect a limited use of multimedia elements in the so-called ‘narrative immediacy’. In particular, we have detected a misuse of hypertextuality, rendering it ineffective; a lack of relevance in the interactivity, and scant presence of in-house multimedia resources, which are more often provided by agencies. This scenario confirms the more sceptical view of the ‘techno-euphoria’ that was a feature of the early days of digital media and, in the current situation of immediacy, points to the need to enrich the multimedia narrative beyond the mere juxtaposition of digital resources that characterised the first 25 years of digital media.